Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie Over The Rainbow

"Love Live Sunshine! The School Idol Movie Over The Rainbow" is an animated motion picture from ''Love Live! Sunshine!! series, announced as part of "Aqours Hop! Step! Jump! Project"''. The movie premiered on January 4, 2019. The Blu-ray disc will be released on July 26, 2019.

Summary
Several years ago, a young Chika and You were playing on the beach when they came across a young Riko looking out to sea.

Fast forward to the present: following the closure of Uranohoshi Girls' High School, the members of Aqours vow to continue with just six of them. They travel to their new school within the Numazu suburbs, only to realize its decrepit state. Also, the school is barely big enough to fit all the transferees from Uranohoshi. They gather at a cafe to discuss their situation when they notice You talking to someone. Suspecting that their friend might have entered into a relationship, they follow the pair in secrecy across the city until Yoshiko blows their cover. You introduces them to the person, who turns out to be her cousin Tsuki.

According to Tsuki, the new school has relocated the transferees to Uranohoshi to the decrepit branch school for the time being. In the main school where they're supposed to go, parents have expressed concern about the sudden influx of transferees, which they believe will affect the school's functions. Chika proposes to hold a live show at the school to show their new schoolmates that they have nothing to fear. But on the day of the show, they commit a mistake, forcing them to reconsider the future of Aqours.

The next day, they all gather at the beach to discuss how to move forward without the graduated third-years: Dia, Mari, and Kanan. The members of Saint Snow, Sarah and Leah, arrive to give them advice, albeit dismayed by Aqours' current state. Suddenly, a helicopter flies too close to the beach. They identify it as Mari's helicopter, but the person on board is her mother.

At the Awashima Hotel, Mari's mother informs the girls that the graduated third years--who are currently in Italy for their post-graduation trip--have gone missing. They all agree to go, unaware of the truth behind the mother's motives.

With Tsuki, who was raised in Italy, as their guide, Aqours flew to Italy. Their first stop is Venice, based on the photo of a canal sent to them. All over the city, they came across cartoonish posters demonizing Dia and Kanan as preying on a helpless Mari. At the top floor of a building, Aqours reunites with the third years, who uncover the truth behind Mari's mother's reason for sending them to Italy. Before they could do that, a number of visitors recognize the third years from the poster. Mari throws a dress off of the building, prompting You and Tsuki to jump off to catch it. They're caught just in time, but the third years use the confusion to escape and flee to one of the family's manors ("Tousou Meisou Mobius Loop"). They agree that it was only a matter of time before the girls knew about Mari's situation.

Meanwhile, the girls' next stop is Florence where they climb atop the spire of the local cathedral and see a purple flash. They track the source of the flash to the manor, making sure they don't take a direct route to avoid being pursued by Mari's mother. Gathering once more, the third years reveal that the Ohara family is having Mari married off to another influential family, which she protests. Mari's mother eventually tracks Aqours down to the manor, and a mother-daughter confrontation ensues. During the exchange, it's revealed that Mari had run away from Italy to return to Japan and her friends. Mari vehemently insists on staying as a school idol, to which her mother gives her the chance to prove that her dream isn't a total waste of her future. Several days later, they perform at the Spanish steps in Rome to a sizeable crowd ("Hop? Stop? Nonstop! "). Seeing her daughter's resolve, Mari's mother finally admits defeat and leaves.

Aqours--all nine girls--returns to Japan to tackle the problem of the school's distrust of the Uranohoshi students. The third years insist that Aqours do this with only its remaining members, as having them join won't help the group move on.

One day, they get a call from Sarah, telling Leah that she wants to join Aqours after failing to form her own idol group. Ruby refuses to let her, reminding everyone of the promise she made with her sister following their joint Christmas show in Hakodate. To help rekindle Leah's dying flame, they arrange a joint live show to via livestream. Sarah dons on her school uniform, meeting Leah to perform together as Saint Snow one last time ("Believe again") with Aqours watching from Numazu. Later, Aqours performs as a group of nine one last time ("Brightest Melody"), with Saint Snow watching from Hakodate. Inspired by the brillance of the school idol groups, Tsuki shares the livestream videos on the Internet.

The buzz generated by the videos results in the girls' new schoolmates, once distrustful of the Uranohoshi students, to rally to their aid and prepare for a huge live show. Among them include Yoshiko's middle school friends, who have been long-time followers of the fallen angel Yohane, to her shock. The third years agree to stay in the audience for the first part of Aqours song, then leave. On the day, the six members manage to carry on with the performance ("Next SPARKLING!! ") even as the third years have departed.

In a post-credits scene, a group of girls gather at the beach to discuss the formation of their school idol group. Writing their group name in the sand, they decide on being named "Aqours," continuing its legacy with the next generation.

Cast

 * Anju Inami as Chika Takami
 * Rikako Aida as Riko Sakurauchi
 * Nanaka Suwa as Kanan Matsuura
 * Arisa Komiya as Dia Kurosawa
 * Shuka Saito as You Watanabe
 * Aika Kobayashi as Yoshiko Tsushima
 * Kanako Takatsuki as Hanamaru Kunikida
 * Aina Suzuki as Mari Ohara
 * Ai Furihata as Ruby Kurosawa
 * Tomoyo Kurosawa as Tsuki Watanabe
 * Akiko Yajima as Mari Ohara's mother

Notes & Trivia

 * This is the 2nd motion feature in the Love Live! franchise.
 * Several of the locations in this Movie is based on real-life locations:
 * The place where Aqours dance is Piazza di Spagna, one of the most famous squares in Rome.
 * The decrepit school that the 2nd and 1st years transferred to are based on a Storage Facility building located at Numazu.
 * This film marks the first full appearance of Mari Ohara's mother.
 * The film features a different origin for Riko: In the manga, she is first transferred to Uranohoshi High School for the first time as her father went to work here. In this film, a younger Riko made an appearance during Chika and You's childhood flashback.
 * The camera that a woman wields is able to film an 8K resolution video, which is similar to the FDR-AX45 Professional Camcorder manufactured by Sony.
 * The Rhododendron Flowers seen in the Hop? Stop? Nonstop! segment is used as gifts for Mother's Day in Italian countries in real life. In that case, Mari standing beside the flowers while singing to represent her actual feelings to her mother, complete with the petals flying forward, solidifying the fact that Mari thanked her mother for her great care.
 * Official Bio Inconsistencies: Mari's official character introduction in the Love Live! Sunshine!! Fanbooks, the TV Anime Official Book (1st Season) and the flashback in Finding a Way to Shine reveals that her mother is Japanese, but the said character in her full appearance in this movie has blonde hair instead of brunette, and speaks in a heavy foreign accent, implying that she's a mixed blood like her daughter, or she stayed too long in Italy (hence the development of the accent).
 * Likewise, this is not the first time that a character's appearance is completely inconsistent to the bio (or any other adaptations), as Maki Nishikino's Father had two different appearances in the manga adaptations of School Idol Project and School Idol Diary.

Continuity Notes

 * A younger Chika and You made their reappearance since I Want to Shine!!. Likewise, a younger Riko also appears since Catch the Transfer Student!.
 * Aqours began to sing Bokura no Hashittekita Michi wa… after WONDERFUL STORIES in the second season's last Episode.
 * The shop that Aqours passed by (along with the same cat that the owner holds) is previously seen in Awaken the power.
 * The 2nd Years (Chika, Riko, and You) and the 1st Years (Ruby, Yoshiko, Hanamaru) are now transferred to a new school since Uranohoshi Girls' High School's closure in the final episode of the Second Season.
 * Mari took a trip to Italy since the reveal of her plan in Finding a Way to Shine.
 * Mari Ohara's mother reappears in full since her daughter's flashback in Finding a Way to Shine.
 * Chika refers Dia with a "-chan" suffix since Don't Call Me Dia-san.
 * Mari's mother does a similar low-flying ability on her helicopter, as a callback to her daughter's in First Step.
 * Yoshiko points out Hanamaru's metabolism since the latter is seen eating a large amount of food in the Anime's two seasons.
 * During the nighttime sequence in Tousou Meisou Mobius Loop, The three girls' headbands are shaped after constellations: Ursa Major (Dia), Polaris (Kanan), and Cassiopeia (Mari). The third's headband is also a callback to younger Mari's stargazing chart in Finding a Way to Shine, as the Cassiopeia can be seen in the chart.
 * Mari's mother pointed out that her daughter's goal of being a School Idol as pointless in spite of her approval, which implies that she knew that her daughter (and her two friends) previously lost to Love Live! in Young DREAMER.
 * You wore her pair of glasses since Aye-aye, My Friend.
 * Prelude (Riko's pug) reappears since Our Own Radiance.
 * Chika's father finally appears in full body since his partial appearance in Finding a Way to Shine and Sea of Light, though his face is still obstructed.
 * Likewise, You's mother also reappears since the latter episode.
 * During Aqours' imagination of what if Leah joined Aqours, Yoshiko's vision of falling down is similar to Leah's failure in HAKODATE.
 * Dia and Ruby's mother reappears but her hair is longer than previous appearances resembling her more to her eldest daughter.

Errors & Goofs

 * Continuity Errors: While the flashback at the beginning of the movie is considered as Chika and You's first meeting with Riko, none of them actually remembered each other after Riko transfers to Uranohoshi Girls high.