Muse's Music Start!

μ's Music Start! (μ'sミュージックスタート!) is the thirteenth episode of the ''Love Live! School idol project'' anime series. It was aired on March 31, 2013.

Summary
Umi and Honoka still don't talk to each other from the previous episode's events. Honoka's friends think she's depressed because she quit being a school idol and that Kotori has been so busy preparing for her transfer that she hasn't been at school lately. They believe that this is the reason why Umi isn't talking to Honoka at all. They ask Honoka if she can walk with them since she doesn't have anything to do, and she agrees.

Eli and Nozomi are working, but Nozomi feels sad, so Eli tells her that "μ's isn't μ's unless there's nine members," which was what Nozomi said before, but Nozomi still feels sad. Eli decides to put μ's on hiatus, but Nico disagrees with Eli and says she wants to continue on being school idols. Maki says that they cannot continue without Honoka. Later, Nico tells Hanayo and Rin to practice with her. In the music room, Maki starts to remember Honoka clapping when she first sang "Aishiteru Banzai!".

Umi visits Kotori and asks her if she really is going to study aboard. Kotori tells her that there's nothing she can do about it at this point, which saddens Umi.

Honoka and her friends end up in an arcade and begin to play a dance game. After two of her friends play, Honoka goes against the winner of the previous round. When the songs begins playing, Honoka blankly stares at the screen, remembering Umi coaching μ's. Her friends snap her out of her daze and she begins to dance, getting an excellent score for each step. While her friend was exhausted afterwards, Honoka still had plenty of energy thanks to idol training. On the way home, she sees Hanayo, Rin, and Nico. Nico tells her that she loves being an idol and that everything is the way it is currently because Honoka quit. Rin and Hanayo tell her she's being too harsh, but Honoka says that Nico is right.

Eli visits Honoka's home, and Honoka pours tea for her. Eli says that she's sorry that she told everybody that μ's is going on indefinite hiatus when she didn't have the right to, because she is not the leader of the group. Eli confesses to Honoka that she's envious of her, because of her personality and how she's able to show her true feelings. She tells her that everybody was shocked that Kotori is moving and that it was more unbearable when they thought about how Honoka and Umi felt about it. Eli tells Honoka that she taught her to have courage and to move forward, without fearing change. She shows her her hand and says that she was saved by Honoka's hand. Later, Honoka checks the Love Live! ranking and it shows that A-RISE won first place. Honoka then changes to her practice clothes.

At the airport, Kotori's mother drops her off and Kotori tells her that she can walk by herself from that point. At school, Honoka is at the stage where she sang "START:DASH!!" for the first time. Umi is there because Honoka invited her, and Honoka apologizes. Umi laughs and tells her that she has always been a nuisance, but then tells her that she brought Kotori and her on a long ride, and that she took them to places that they didn't even have the courage to go to before, and also says that she wasn't mad that she didn't notice Kotori's feelings, because she wasn't honest with herself. Umi then begins to sing the first verse of "Susume→Tomorrow," then Honoka sings the second, and Kotori the third.

Before Kotori got on her airplane, Honoka arrives at the airport and grabs her arm. Honoka tells her that she wants to continue being school idols with her and hugs her, telling her not to go. Kotori begins to cry and says that she should be the one to say sorry.

The members of μ's wait for Honoka and Kotori backstage of the school auditorium. Honoka then comes running through the door but trips, hurting her butt. Kotori comes in as well, and despite being in their school uniforms, μ's begin to sing "START:DASH!!," this time with the whole auditorium filled.

Near the exit door, Principal Minami is watching μ's perform, when presumably Maki's mom comes in as well. The two both smile at each other, as though they knew each other in the past. A-RISE also happens to be watching their performance on the internet. After singing, Honoka tells the audience to say "μ's Music Start!" and μ's are in the school idol group rankings again.

Cast

 * Nitta Emi as Kousaka Honoka
 * Nanjou Yoshino as Ayase Eli
 * Uchida Aya as Minami Kotori
 * Mimori Suzuko as Sonoda Umi
 * Iida Riho as Hoshizora Rin
 * Pile as Nishikino Maki
 * Kusuda Aina as Toujou Nozomi
 * Kubo Yurika as Koizumi Hanayo
 * Tokui Sora as Yazawa Nico
 * Touyama Nao as Kousaka Yukiho
 * Sakura Ayane as Ayase Alisa
 * Asano Masumi as Honoka's Mother
 * Hidaka Noriko as Principal Minami
 * Miyake Marie as Hideko
 * Yamamoto Nozomi as Fumiko
 * Hara Sayuri as Mika
 * Sakuragawa Megu as Kira Tsubasa
 * Matsunaga Maho as Toudou Erena
 * Oohashi Ayuru as Yuuki Anju

Members of μ's

 * 1) Kousaka Honoka
 * 2) Ayase Eli
 * 3) Minami Kotori (returns in the middle of the episode)
 * 4) Sonoda Umi
 * 5) Hoshizora Rin
 * 6) Nishikino Maki
 * 7) Koizumi Hanayo
 * 8) Toujou Nozomi
 * 9) Yazawa Nico

Videos
Start Dash!! (Full Member Ver.) =