May 23, 2023
Love Live! Sunshine!! School Idol Diary isn't meant to be a long series (3 or 4 volumes max) and is composed of self-contained chapters around the different members of Aqours, meaning 1 chapter per character and possibly an "event" volume where all of them are reunited. Volumes here are really short, barely above 100 pages so it's hard to give an elaborate assessment of this but there are still a few things to be said:
First off, Masaru Oda’s art is still one of the big highlights of this similarly to the other Sunshine manga she worked on, she really knows how to draw a wide
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range of expressions which makes the character feel alive and bring a great sense of comedy into the narrative.
The different stories however, are pretty much a mixed bag, the first 2 chapters being skippable, they're just recaps of events you already know with tons of exposition with Chika's constant stupid monologue, masaru oda even rehashes the start of her own sunshine manga and it doesn't add anything character wise. I also hate how it always try cramming haphazardly romance between Chika and Riko, it doesn't work at all and I'm tired of it.
The subsequent chapters were much more enjoyable as they were this time focused more on comedy and also managed to give some really great flashbacks on them as kids that I didn't know I needed.
You’s chapter shows how she came to admire her father who worked as a sailor and how she came to like the sea so much, it's a bit more bittersweet than the rest seeing how she had to live without him and constantly wait for his return. Seeing You as a child full of energy and running around everywhere was very cute to see!
The next one shows Yohane hitting puberty and finding a new passion in occultism, trying hard to make new friends at the same time. It's probably the chapter which excels the most in its visuals, we get to see her in a lot of cool gothic dresses and creative visual effects around it.
Hanamaru's chapter is mainly centered around her time in kindergarten. This time, she's the one being a scaredy cat, she's frequently having nightmares, be it in the temple where she lives or at school. Fortunately, she will make the acquaintance of Ruby Kurosawa who's not that brave either but will help her face her fears. It also establishes a romance between them but is more nuanced than the ChikaRiko one and really manages to hit.
Finally, the chapter centered around Ruby displays the origin of her passion for idols and how she used to share this hobby with her sister which sadly disappeared over he years. Alongside this, we also get to see her with Yohane and Hanamaru visiting Akihabara and having a photoshoot together as a way for Ruby to regain some confidence in herself and in her potential to become herself an idol like she always dreamed of.
I certainly hope the next volumes will be in the same vein as the last chapters and end in a positive note, I'll be sure to update this when the new volumes come out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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