Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-24187738-20151214152123/@comment-27405847-20151216230746

"Listen, an idol's job isn't to show people their smiles, it is to make people smile. Never forget that!"

   Over the past 2 years, this quote from Yazawa Nico has resonated in my heart and in my mind as I continue to be a Love Live 'fan'. Fan, perhaps; would be an understatement when it comes to describing my burning passion for these school idols. Surely, I'd like to be described more as a devotee, an admirer perhaps, possibly even an advocate or a Love Live zealot? I like the sound of that. A Love Live zealot...

Well, my love for the Otonokizaka school idols can't really be described with a few English words, no, it's much more than that. I'm not the diehard Love Live fan with the most figurines, (in fact I have none yet), nor am I the guy with the most Love Live merchandise, (in fact I only have the Sunny Day Song School Idol movie posters I got from the cinema and T-shirt I bought a week ago), but it's gonna sound really mediocre (because it is mediocre) but for me, the feelings of love and affection for anything, fictional, or non-fictional, comes from within. At the end of the day, it's how much you love them, how much they mean to you. Truly, Love Live to me - μ's to us, is 'Our Miracle'. As I mentioned, my commitment to Love Live is indescribable in words and inexpressible by actions. However, 'Our Miracle' could possibly be the best word to describe the phenomenon that is  μ's.

So, where do I start? I've always been a shy person, but maturity built my character and I guess watching anime helped. Instances like Azumanga Daioh, K-ON!, Doraemon etc. and games like Persona showed me how much 'bonds' with people matter in a person's life. Although I have made a lot of friends at school, high school was the time where I truly appreciated friendship. Here is where Love Live! School Idol Project unravels. 

I have always been an admirer of slice of life animes, especially school ones. They intrigue me to the fullest because they show the most realistic or unrealistic events in a school boy or girl's life. Although the unrealistic scenes in the animes are hard-hitting, sometimes those unrealistic scenes can also be the scenes which give you a lesson. Love Live is possibly the most unrealistic high school life for a person like me. Idols, singing nationally, singing on the world stage, admired by many, lots of friends. Sometimes, when I see those unrealistic settings and atmospheres, I think to myself, I want to be like that at some point in my life, my high school life in fact. Those scenes where they admit to each other that μ's was disbanding and they all cry in unison at the beach, those scenes are pretty unrealistic, but the convey the most vivid emotions and lessons. But my dreams of being a school idol never flourished and unfortunately came to an end when I graduated high school a month ago.

To put it simply, I just really, really, really love and adore with all my heart, love anime girls. These 9 school idols in particular I love the most. "I never could understand even though I've passed it, if I become an adult, I wonder if I feel something nostalgic... I thought". Finally here we are, I'm actually explaining what Love Live means to me. First and foremost, whenever I watch Love Live and especially when I watched the School Idol Movie, I always feel something inside of me. It's an uncontrollable emotion, the emotion is both mellow and joyful because a part of me knows that these school idols always, always makes me happy for some reason. But whenever I think about, I know they will end soon and now that we're here, that 'end' is soon to come. At the end of the School Idol Movie, in that big cinema that filled about 15 seats (much more than I expected), I wanted to cry as the camera panned through their training clothes. I didn't. I went downstairs after the movie and got some more Sunny Day Song School Idol Movie posters because there were so much more untouched. I wanted to cry. I didn't. I was out of the cinema and was walking home. I was listening to Bokutachi wa Hitotsu no Hikari and I wanted to cry. I didn't. I'm not really sure where and when I am going to cry my eyes out, but I'm sure someday I will because Love Live means so much to me. Love Live taught me even further and embedded in my heart how friendships will last forever and how much friendships should be cared for because everyone needs friends. Friends will give you happiness, friends will always be there for you, for better and for worse. Friends will stay by your side at your best and at your worse because they are your friends. In my last 2 years of high school, Love Live made me care about my friendships more and more and I wouldn't have the bestest friends without these 9 school idols. Not only that, they convey so much more messages in their songs which I love to hear every single day! Aishiteru Banzai, Bokura wa Imma no Naka De, START: DASH!, KoreKara etc. etc. Even though I can hardly understand them, just from the tones of their voices I know they are singing for a cause and obviously I look up the translations and hope that someday I can learn Japanese and to the fullest degree, appreciate the true meanings of these songs. They aren’t just catchy, they mean something.

And so, with the end of μ's coming, it is truly a sad time not only for me, but for everyone who supports μ's. But as fans of   μ's "We won't settle for fond memories, let's dash with all our might!". I just wish I was there from the very start of μ's. That is my only regret. I was only there for about 2 years. I feel like I haven't appreciated μ's as much and now that the Final Live is coming, it's pretty sad and I've also finished high school so I've got a massive road ahead of me. Me - "The little bird's wings have finally grown large, it's a day to take flight. The wide sea's warm colour beckons in the distance. It's painful, just like a painting drawn within a dream..." "Would you like to try winding back time?" "No, no, no, this moment is the greatest. After all, after all, this moment is the greatest!"

LOVE LIVE is much more than just catchy songs, beautiful voices and good looking girls and so "cheers for the love! I'm glad to be here because our present exists right here. Again cheers for the love. It's only just begun, I'm counting on you guys again tomorrow, we've yet to reach our goal!" <span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">

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