History YMMV / LoveLiveSunshine

* WinTheCrowd:
** [[spoiler:Riko's confession to Chika]] might have developed a beacon of hope for the Yuri fans who wanted a ''canonically gay couple'' in the ''Love Live!'' series... [[spoiler:well, until later episodes barely mention their romantic relationship.]]
*** For [=YohaRiko=] fans, an official tribute episode for the pairing won many of their hearts.
*** As for [=YouRiko=] shippers, You [[spoiler:unexpectedly confessing to Riko]] is also considered as one of the best moments.
** One of the trailers for the ''Over the Rainbow'' movie had the sudden spoken word "marriage" had drew more attention to the Yuri fans, which they hoped for a genuine same-sex relationship between the Third Years, eventually jossing the queerbaiting once and for all. [[spoiler:This is unfortunately not the case.]]
** To some fans who greatly dislikes Korean music, the Shibuya Note Awards 2018 voted Aqours as 1st place with {{Music/TWICE}} [[TakeThat being beaten in second place]].

* NoYay:
** Many fans (including shippers) are against any [[IncestYayShipping incest relationship between Ruby and Dia]].
** For western fans, Ruby is considered as their "precious gem", as they intend to shout anything Enforcer-related if they see one single NSFW pic of her.

** Much like the previous series, het ships are nearly non-existent in the fanbase. It is downplayed, though, since the lack of ''any'' male characters (not even as background characters!) means there are no actual boys to be shipped with the girls anyway.
*** To make things better, Dia's chapter in the ''School Idol Diary'' reveals [[spoiler:that she plans to run away if her future (arranged) marriage happens]].
** Due to voice actresses taking their own [[ActorShipping shipping]] UpToEleven, almost everyone in the fandom refuses to acknowledge the [=VAs=] as straight people thanks to that.

** "Guilty Night, Guilty Kiss" sounds a lot like [[Music/KatyPerry "Teenage Dream"]], resulting in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHo2r4HlzxI this mashup]].

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: ''School Idol Festival'' reveals that although that [[BigEater Hanamaru can eat whatever she wants]] (which is viewed her as possessing a very high [[HollywoodPudgy metabolism]] in the Anime), Hanamaru realizes that [[https://imgur.com/a/agoISrJ she has limits of eating]], as she got a [[https://imgur.com/1fyWmix tummy pooch from eating too much]].

** Dia has her fair share of fans due to being [[CoolBigSis a very good sister to Ruby]] and an incredibly LargeHam whenever [[HairTriggerTemper she loses her temper]] (which by extension hugely subverts her YamatoNadeshiko vibe), as well as a {{Tsundere}}. On the latter point, some people like how she's a different type of tsundere from [[SugarAndIcePersonality Maki]]; although both are type A, Dia is a ''classic'' tsundere rather than a ''modern'' one like Maki. She also got a cult following from [[AudienceSurrogate people that went through the first episodes thinking the anime and the future school idol group would likely never surpass µ's]]. Still, a bunch of people do dislike her hair-trigger temper and overreactions (which happen very, VERY often), finding them unnecessary at best and exaggerated at worst.

** As stated above, Dia tends to be shipped together with Sarah as a literal [[JustForPun sister ship]] to the Ruby x Leah pairing after the latter gained traction in the second season even though, compared to their younger sisters, Dia and Sarah don't have as much meaningful onscreen interactions as they did in the anime.

* ShipMates: Fans who ship Ruby with Leah also happen to ship both their older sisters together as a complement to their younger sisters' ship.

* {{Mondegreen}}:
** One of Mari's lines from Season 1 Episode 11 and Season 2 Episode 4, "嫉妬ファイヤー"[[note]]Translated as "Flames of Jealousy"[[/note]] ''seriously'' sounds like "''Shit'' Fire".
** The opening chant from Yoshiko's solo in Season 2 Blu-Ray 3, "in this unstable world", is actually her repeating the words "dark or white", but because of the heavy audio filters combined with Aikyan's slightly sketchy English pronunciation, it's often misheard as "white taco" or some variant thereof.
** Ruby's line "ippai, seippai" from "Mitaiken HORIZON" has been famously misheard as "Eat pie! Say eat pie!".

** The Shibuya Note Awards 2018 creates a rivalry with K-pop group {{Music/TWICE}} when the said group lose to Aqours in the vote.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Some fans of ''School Idol Project'' have expressed disdain for ''Sunshine!!'' due to the series [[DarkerAndEdgier doing away with some of the lighthearted feel]] that was present in the original series in favor of a more dramatic overarching plot.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: ''School Idol Festival'' reveals that although that [[BigEater Hanamaru can eat whatever she wants]] (which is viewed her as possessing a very high [[HollywoodPudgy metabolism]] in the Anime), Hanamaru realizes that [[https://imgur.com/a/agoISrJ she has limits of eating]], as she [[RealityEnsues got a]] [[https://imgur.com/1fyWmix tummy pooch from eating too much]].

* SpecialEffectsFailure: The CGI stage and audience used in the "DREAMY COLOR" PV is ''really'' obvious and stands out a lot, and for some fans who otherwise loved the rest of the video it can come off as [[{{Narm}} narmy]] by comparison.

*** Ruby was this through Season 1. All of her character niches from Dengeki canon were surgically extracted from her and given to other characters[[note]]In the Dengeki manga, Ruby is a costume designer, childhood friends with Hanamaru, the straight man among the first years, a long-time school idol fan, and afraid of dogs; these were all passed down to You, Yoshiko, Hanamaru, Dia, and Riko in the anime respectively, although Ruby is also a novice costume designer in the anime[[/note]], and those that weren't can't be implemented anyways (such as DoesNotLikeMen, in an anime where males are background characters at best), leaving her as nothing but a SatelliteCharacter to her big sister Dia. She gets fleshed out in Season 2 with a two-part character arc alongside Leah from Saint Snow.

** You's arc in Season 1 Episode 10. Due to the fact that she was so far the only character without a backstory and little character traits other than being Chika's friend, a common fandom theory and hope would be that she would have an arc near the end of the series where she, [[GreenEyedMonster fed up about Riko slowly taking over her place in Chika's life]], would reach her RageBreakingPoint and explode at either one or both, then leave the group, cueing a reconciliation to end the season or possibly end the season on a cliffhanger. Not only does this not happen, the minimal anxiety she had expressed toward Riko is resolved pitifully easily, and she ends her CharacterFocus episode in almost exactly the same place that she started.

** Fans who hoped for a possible µ's cameo from ''start to finish'' (especially Season 2) had their dreams crushed as neither of them didn't actually appear in the end. All the fans could hope for was their actual appearance in the ''Sunshine!!'' movie...[[spoiler: and it ''still'' ended up not happening, as detailed below.]]
** While Season 2 is generally seen as a better attempt at an overarching story in the franchise, it also made the cast over-inflation extremely apparent, which can't be helped due to the 9-member format. Of the entire second season, only five characters get a CharacterFocus across three CharacterFocus episodes total, but only three of those characters actually have any meaningful character development, and four of the nine main cast members (You, Riko, Hanamaru, Yoshiko) wind up [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter totally wasted]] due to their irrelevance to the overarching plot. Conversely, the characters that did matter to the plot (Chika and the third years) get a high amount of focus, which, depending on the viewer, may push the third years into SpotlightStealingSquad territory due to a significant chunk of screentime being dedicated to them.
** The ''Over the Rainbow'' Movie had some:
*** Several fans believed that the movie should have given their favorite rare pairs a chance to shine on-screen, although the closest thing they can find is both You and Yoshiko doing dance training together.
*** As for the conflict of Mari's arranged marriage, many fans believe that the argument should have been taken seriously, instead of relying on one of their songs to change her mind. Meanwhile, the yuri fans feel that Mari should have confessed that she truly loved Kanan in front of her mother as well, and in doing so solidifying the confirmation of the [=KanaMari=] pairing.
*** After ''2 seasons of teasing'', '''''[[spoiler:none]]''''' [[spoiler:of the µ's members made a physical cameo in the film, especially for the fans who were hoping for them to eventually return to see Aqours' performance in the final act, or even perform together with them for their last animated performance. It was a hard hammering in for all who still didn't grasp it that yes, the original group had long since disbanded and was gone for good, and there was nothing that was going to bring them back into these events that were transpiring far past their time.]]

** (Ultimately) '''''averted''''' to Ruby, as lewd fanarts of her [[{{Jailbait}} only attract even more enforcement-themed responses]] (At least for English-speaking fans), unlike the other [[SugarAndIcePersonality red-haired first year]] in the [[Anime/LoveLive previous series]].

** Riko's mother is also this although the only available pairing is with Chika's mother and notably with Yoshiko's mother due to the charisma of the [=YohaRiko=] ship.

* ActorShipping: Continuing from the previous series, the voice actresses are once again often shipped with each other. Some of them even take the teasing [[UpToEleven up to eleven]] by getting near each others' faces, or in some cases: a kiss on a cheek in a live show (Ainya to Anju), which makes you wonder if any of them are straight ''at all''. What makes it even better as some of them didn't actually bother to hide it.

** In the second season's third episode, Kanan accidentally breaks off the lever as she intended to speed up the transport vehicle. Has her exercising really made her that strong, or was the lever just rusted to the point where a teenager could break it bare-handed?

** Yoshiko is the largest example of this trope, similarly to Nico. She's one of the most popular characters, but also one of the most divisive, for her {{chuunibyou}} behavior; some people love and find her as a very interesting character as a result of this, others downright hate her (or just like her the least among the main cast) for it, since [[StaticCharacter she doesn't break out of it a lot]]. This mostly has to do with the way she was handled in season 2, as it [[{{Flanderization}} exaggerated her chuuni persona]] compared to season 1. Following the conclusion of season 2, many fans were split about her; one side still appreciates her [[ContraltoOfDanger dynamic singing voice]] and like her RunningGag, while the latter feel that her running gag was overused and caused her to fall victim to the worse side of flanderization, with [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter no meaningful impact on either the plot or any of the other characters]].
** Kanan is a complicated example. She is liked by many people for being sort of a CoolBigSis to the Second Years during the first episodes, for being a [[OnlySaneWoman pretty mature person that doesn't work herself up about stuff]], and for being a CuddleBug. The LesYay moments she shares with [[ChildhoodFriends Mari]] are also interesting and fun, whereas her status as the resident MsFanservice has also attracted some people. There are, however, a big number of detractors that dislike her for refusing to reconcile with Mari during the first episodes, and being a {{jerkass}} to her for seemingly no reason; even after the reasons for this come afloat [[spoiler:(not wanting Mari to hurt herself further during a qualifiers' performance, and forcing her to accept her chance to study abroad)]], people feel it was too much of a DisproportionateRetribution. Although episode 9 [[spoiler:(on which Kanan takes [[ArmorPiercingSlap a huge slap to the face]] from Mari [[WhatTheHellHero when the latter learns what happened]], but refuses to hit her friend and '''finally''' reconciles with her)]] had most fans genuinely forgiving her after all what happened, some people would {{never live it down}}. Finally, while she does {{subvert|edTrope}} CharacterRerailment later on in episode 6 of Season 2, the fact it implied she would go back to her old jerkass ways didn't help matters, either.
** Fortunately for the Second Years, unlike the original ''Love Live!'', they aren't hit with this as a group as much as the former Second Years were due to the anime focusing more on Aqours as a whole. However, they're still divisible in their own right.

** Ruby is liked for her {{Moe}} personality, her high adaptability despite being [[ShrinkingViolet pretty shy]] and having HiddenDepths to her character as the younger sister of Dia. However, she is also criticized for being the "generic Moe" character of the group, for having the tendency of saying "Pigii!" each time something happens that she doesn't like, and for [[ExtremeDoormat not being able to stand up for herself]]. Episodes 8 and 9 of season 2 managed to subdue the lattermost point by giving her some genuine CharacterDevelopment though, which [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap saved her for some fans]].
** Mari, to a much lesser extent than her fellow Third Years. Some people find her {{Cloudcuckoolander}} and [[TheGadfly gadflyish personality]], fluent {{Engrish}}, and character tics as pretty funny and endearing. Others, however, find them as well as her voice rather annoying, similar to Rin.

** Season 2 episode 10 has one of these. [[spoiler:The girls all want to go to the top of a hill to see shooting stars, so Mari takes them for a drive in her camper van. Suddenly, the vehicle sparkles, lifts off the ground, and ''flies in the air à la Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial''. The others are amazed, and none of them seem to question it. It isn't clear if this is actually happening or if it's supposed to be some kind of visual metaphor.]]

** Episode 9, which established the third years' backstory: who was in the wrong, Mari or Kanan? On the one hand, Kanan did [[spoiler:lie to Mari about her actions prior to the series, run away instead of facing her, and then acted cold to her when they met again]], all very selfish things to do, but on the other hand, Mari shows a remarkable lack of concern for anyone other than herself that episode as well, repeatedly attempting to drag Kanan into Aqours and not taking no for an answer; when she finds out the truth about [[spoiler: how Kanan deliberately threw the idol contest in the past to stop her from getting hurt]], she is enraged, seemingly not caring that [[spoiler:Kanan did it to protect her, and if it didn't happen she could have been injured permanently]]. There is also a [[TakeAThirdOption third option]] that maintains they were both being very immature. Furthermore, was the intervention of Chika and the rest of Aqours necessary, or was it an issue Mari and Kanan could have sorted out on their own and none of their business in the first place?

** Song centers are a particular sore spot for the fanbase since the anime tends to [[SpotlightStealingSquad give a lot of focus to Chika]] on the insert songs, with Lantis/Sunrise also giving her a lot of focus in the promotional videos. One side argues that she steals the focus that other characters should have (especially with songs such as "Mijuku Dreamer" and "Awaken the power" - that are the climax of the character development for the 3rd years and Ruby/Leah, respectively, so it's argued that Chika shouldn't receive any focus to begin with); add to this that characters like Ruby, Mari and Hanamaru have barely had the opportunity to be the center in songs. The other side argues that Chika's prominence in songs isn't that extreme (for an example, she ''does'' have a few more lines, due to repetition, in "Mijuku Dreamer" than the other girls who ''aren't'' the third years, who are very obviously the focus of the song); there is also the fact that Chika ''is'' the leader of the group and is pretty much guaranteed to get more centers than the others, much like Honoka leads the number of song centers in Muse.

** Is Season 2 an improvement over the first? Many feel it did, namely in telling a far more dramatic and emotional story that additionally averted the franchise's much hated penchant for PoorCommunicationKills. Others however criticize the season for completely altering character relationships in the name of PanderingToTheBase (most infamously in regards to Riko), as well as completely side-lining several characters (with You, Yoshiko, and Hanamaru - and even Riko to a smaller degree - all being DemotedToExtra) in favour of focusing on [[SpotlightStealingSquad Chika and the Third-Years]].
** When it comes to real life; are the voice actresses (Notably Suwawa (Kanan) and Aina (Mari)'s [=and/or=] Rikako (Riko) and Aika (Yoshiko)'s LikeAnOldMarriedCouple chemistry) actually just teasing the fandom for the sake of [[RatingsStunt boosting the audience ratings]], or are they really THAT affectionate to one another behind the scenes? A [[https://twitter.com/yujachachacha/status/1006089608298311680 translation]] of a magazine indicates the former. In Suwawa's case, her interview comments and off-screen actions does raise a few eyebrows.

** The moment where Aqours [[spoiler: receive 0 votes for their live performance in Tokyo]] and the fallout of this event? Heartbreaking. Four episodes later, when the girls find out that even after their reputation has been bolstered and they'd been admitted into the Love Live prelims, the number of new applicants to their school is exactly 0, Dia exclaims that this feels like a bad joke. This is then taken to it's most comical conclusion when Aqours has to melodramatically reenact this moment in Episode 13, complete with Chika giving a faux-anguished shout of "WHYYYYYYYYYYY?"

** The two lookalikes in Season 1 episode 12 and Season 2 episode 4, who resemble Honoka and Hanayo in terms of appearance. [[note]]Some of the fans (jokingly) speculated that this was their ships' ([=HonoTsuba=], [=RinPana=]) offsprings.[[/note]]

* EvenBetterSequel: While reactions were [[ContestedSequel initially heavily split]], it got better as time passed, and Season 2 episode 7 is considered the tipping point for ''Sunshine!!'' to more or less succeed the original.

** Since the 1st season's 12th Episode, several fans will always believe that the Honoka-lookalike is ''actually [[HasTwoMommies Honoka and Tsubasa]]'''s [[BabiesEverAfter biological daughter]], while her ''real'' mother is ultimately seen as the kid's [=nanny/guardian=].

** Complaints about the third-years being a SpotlightStealingSquad can be traced back to the original series, where the second-year trio largely occupied the brunt of screentime. However, in the original, every character at least got ADayInTheLimelight. ''Sunshine'' isn't so kind with its CharacterFocus, and some of the girls who are supposed to be major characters end up DemotedToExtra as a result.

** In the 2nd Season's 9th Episode, a special effect consisting of dog ears and nose is added onto Ruby's photo. In real life; the filter is mostly (over)used by most young women, which is controversially dubbed as the “hoe/thot filter” .
** Although this is more of a coincidence than intentional, the [[https://imgur.com/a/cVatX torn-off poster]] on the punk-rock-themed Yoshiko UR card released on Feb. 28, 2018 may reference the infamous Shanghai Happy Party Train FMT.

* GrowingTheBeard: The ''Sunshine'' series apparently tries to be somewhat more realistic, with setbacks and angst playing a prominent role. While most would say this marks episode 8 as the Beard Growing moment for the show, success in the overall series is somewhat questionable. By the the movie, however, the script writers arguably manage to tackle some serious themes and a great degree of depth can be found to the point where many feel that ''Sunshine'' ended on a much stronger note than the original series did in its movie.

*** Suwa Nanaka mentions that Dia is also a total loser only allow the fans to see Dia as a true ThirdWheel despite not being one.

** Chika's speech in episode 5 mentions how μ's didn't care what other people think of them or if it would affect their popularity. While it is a heartwarming moment and it's true, some viewers will remember that μ's actually spent an entire episode of ''School Idol Project'' trying to change their image exactly for the sake of getting more appeal (by doing stuff like dressing up like Music/{{KISS}} and imitating each other).

** Yoshiko getting [[FourIsDeath fourth place]] in the Aqours 1st Center Election (the same where You got first place). She even {{lampshade|Hanging}}s how fitting that is.

** During the 4th Center polling, there was a bitter rivalry between Hanamaru and Yoshiko fans, both believing that their girl was more deserving of the center spot. Ultimately, Hanamaru won the poll and got "Mitaiken HORIZON"... then it was revealed that Yoshiko ''got a center anyway'', on the ''same single'' no less, by simply winning the ''{{VideoGame/Shadowverse}}'' poll instead.

** In Episode 3 of Season 1, one of You's outfit ideas is a "train-theme" sketch. A year later, ''Happy Party Train'' was announced as their third single, and the music video has Aqours wearing train conductor-themed outfits.

** The infamous "Sexy Home Tutor" sketch is now this, because in School Idol Festival: All-Stars, you can have Ruby as the center when performing "Starlight", a song with very fanservice-y dance moves.

** You post-Season 1, episode 10, as the fans began to portray her as a complete yandere to Riko after her [[spoiler:confession to Chika]].

* NarmCharm: In episode 13, the girls of Aqours re-enact the events of how the group was formed on stage. While it is rather cheesy, especially with the over-the-top way the girls act, it's still genuinely heartwarming at the same time.
* NauseaFuel: In a very minor extent: The foreign fans' initial reactions to the [[https://rr.img.naver.jp/mig?src=http%3A%2F%2Fpds.exblog.jp%2Fpds%2F1%2F200604%2F06%2F56%2Fb0002156_1362245.jpg&twidth=1000&theight=0&qlt=80&res_format=jpg&op=r Grilled Mikans]] and the [[http://chara.lovelive-matome.com/imgs/love04/201712/yakimikan01.jpg Mikan stew]] seen in the 2nd Season's 11th Episode, which were believed as part of bizarre Anime-only/Millennial cuisine that is inedible in real life. However, [[AluminumChristmasTrees those foods are real and edible dishes]].

** A brunette-haired Kanan fan in Season 1, Episode 12, which is ''rarely'' viewed as Mari's "love rival" by the fandom.
** The generic female cashier and the customer seen in the Lucky Pierrot restaurant in Season 2, Episode 9, which they're interpreted as a [[HoYay couple]] due to their eyes contacting to each other and possibly blushing. (And again, they also had sweat drops on their faces, which might have implied that they overheard the conversation between the first years.)
** A third-year student from Season 1 episode 9 is pretty much like Shuka Saitou, the main VA of You Watanabe.
* OneTrueThreesome: All of the trios, but especially the third-year trio of Dia, Mari and Kanan due to their shared history [[spoiler:as a three-person school idol group]] and how each one has quite a bit of ShipTease with the other two.
* PanderingToTheBase: The show usually provides easy shipping fuel for ships that are most popular with fans. This is most prevalent with Riko; in the first season, [=ChikaRiko=] was pushed quite heavily, but upon entering Season 2, seeing that [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight Yoshiko x Riko]] was gaining ground, the anime suddenly stopped pushing [=ChikaRiko=] quite so heavily (though there were still moments) and instead started pushing Yoshiko x Riko. [[spoiler: Only to throw a curveball at the end with ''You x Riko''.]] Add the fact that [=YoshiRiko=] might not even be ''that'' popular[[note]][=YoshiMaru=] fanart on Pixiv outnumbers [=YoshiRiko=] by 50%, and a lot of [=YoshiRiko=] fanart only came out '''after''' episode 5.[[/note]], and episode 5 becomes an appeal to the ''very'' {{vocal minority}}.

** In response to Yoshiko x Riko getting more screentime, Yoshiko x You became this. Nobody expected it when the two were paired in season 1's ED, but quite a lot of people welcomed it since they were the [[PairTheSpares "remainders"]] of their respective year groups ([=ChikaRiko=] and [=RubyMaru=] were clearly paired off). Many hoped that the two would get interactions since they're the only ones who live in Numazu and take the bus together. However, season 1 ended without the two having any meaningful interactions, and even when they got a duet together in the summer-themed CD which gave fans hope that the ship wasn't dead, [[spoiler:both]] season 2 [[spoiler:and the movie]] ended the same way.
** In a minor extent: both Kanan and her brunette fan from the first season's 12th Episode. The latter would be considered as a DesignatedLoveInterest given the lack of any buildup to their relationship.

** [=YoshiMaru=] and [=YohaRiko=] fans started their war with the Yoshiko/Riko-themed short story in the November 2016 issue of Dengeki G's magazine. The flame wars further boiled up with the second season's fifth episode (which is a tribute to the pairing) and the simultaneous reveal of both [[http://gs.dengeki.com/ss/gs/uploads/2018/11/e972027614f103a2fbfaac441ecf332a.jpg the cover of the Sunshine Perfect Visual Collection book with Yoshiko and Hanamaru doing the heart-to-heart hand gestures]] and the [[http://gs.dengeki.com/ss/gs/uploads/2018/11/4cdc6e0574c07f632004cf8e479e7a5c.jpg other half pieces of the Over The Rainbow Movie visual magazine]], where it was confirmed that the wrist held by Riko belongs to Yoshiko.

** Season 1, Episode 8: [[spoiler:Aqours finding out that they placed 30th out of 30 in the competition with 0 votes]]
** Season 1, Episode 9: [[spoiler:Mari and Kanan's reconciliation]]
** Season 1, Episode 10: [[spoiler:Chika and Riko's confession scene]]
** Season 2, Episode 7: [[spoiler:Aqours failing to gather 100 prospective students, thus Uranohoshi is forced to close and merge with a nearby school]]
** Season 2, Episode 13: [[spoiler:You's unexpected confession to Riko]]

* SlowPacedBeginning: A common complaint that many fans had was that the first seven episodes seemed [[ItsTheSameSoItSucks repetitive of what had already been done in the original anime]] with many fearing that the show was just going to coast by on the same plot of the original Love Live! Then came [[WhamEpisode episode 8]] and Sunshine began actively subverting many of the tropes of its parent show and a major plot of the first season became about Aqours learning to shine in their own way and not just be µ's imitators. The plot then became a lot stronger and the show allowed itself to gain its own unique identity.

* {{Squick}}: A good number of fans who were against people ''shipping [[InterspeciesRomance Riko and Shiitake]] [[BestialityIsDepraved together]]''. [[spoiler:And since Shiitake had gave birth to 2 puppies and wore a sweater with Riko's image color, let's just hope this didn't get worse.]]

*** '''You'''. She ends up being one of the least developed characters in the entire series, thanks to a combination of factors such as [[SpotlightStealingSquad the show pushing Riko's screentime at You's expense in Season 1]], a lack of defined motivation for joining Aqours beyond wanting to do something together with Chika (which also makes her a SatelliteCharacter by extension), a minor CharacterFocus that ''accomplishes nothing'', and a straight-up lack of meaningful screentime or dialogue in Season 2 (which lead to the fandom joke that "You is the new Kanan"). It says something when Saint Snow, the ''rival group'', not only got a better CharacterFocus than her, but it actually gave them more character development than her. This has led to many fans perceiving her as one of the ''most underutilized characters'' in the franchise, especially jarring considering she is also one of the most popular characters in Aqours.

** After episode 8 finally removed the ItsTheSameNowItSucks factor from the series for many fans, the plot threads dangled in it seemed to be suggesting a third-year arc focusing on their shared backstory and working out the issues they had with each other. While all this did happen, it occurred in the space of one episode, and many fans thought it would have been better if it was drawn out longer.
** You's arc in episode 10. Due to the fact that she was so far the only character without a backstory and little character traits other than being Chika's friend, a common fandom theory and hope would be that she would have an arc near the end of the series where she, [[GreenEyedMonster fed up about Riko slowly taking over her place in Chika's life]], would reach her RageBreakingPoint and explode at either one or both, then leave the group, cueing a reconciliation to end the season or possibly end the season on a cliffhanger. Not only does this not happen, the minimal anxiety she had expressed toward Riko is resolved pitifully easily, and she ends her CharacterFocus episode in almost exactly the same place that she started.
** Any fans hoping the [[spoiler:apparent LoveConfession at the end of Episode 10]] would lead to an actual romance and possibly even canon couple in the group were shot down by Season 1, episode 11, which went right back to StatusQuoIsGod. And the entire relationship was largely ignored in Season 2, rendering the entire build-up retroactively pointless.

** While Season 2 is generally seen as a better attempt at an overarching story in the franchise, it also made the cast over-inflation extremely apparent, which can't be helped due to the 9-member format. Of the entire second Season, only five characters get a CharacterFocus across three CharacterFocus episodes total, but only three of those characters actually have any meaningful character development, and four of the nine main cast members (You, Riko, Hanamaru, Yoshiko) wind up [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter totally wasted]] due to their irrelevance to the overarching plot. Conversely, the characters that did matter to the plot (Chika and the third-years) get a high amount of focus, which, depending on the viewer, may push the third-years into SpotlightStealingSquad territory due to a significant chunk of screentime being dedicated to them.

* WinBackTheCrowd: Episode 8 saved the series in many fans' eyes. It expanded the third years' background (even offering [[OutOfFocus Kanan]] some much needed screentime, and cementing Dia as a CoolBigSis) and gave Aqours [[spoiler: a harsh result in a school idol competition (they get last place with ''zero'' votes) as well as a necessary lesson about how trying to be like µ's won't take them any further]], and was overall a [[TearJerker tear-jerking]] yet well-done episode.

** You is the first to suffer from this: the fans sympathized her from being "cucked" after [[spoiler:the confession between Chika and Riko since Season 1 Episode 10. It only gets even worse when You is witnessing Riko getting close to Chika (by squishing her cheeks) in front of her eyes in Season 2, Episode 10. History repeats itself, folks.]] It only [[SarcasmMode gets even better]] if one realizes that You serves as an oarsman on a Gondola where Chika and Riko sat on the CD cover for Marine Border Parasol.

** Despite the reduced use of UsefulNotes/{{Japanese Honorifics}} in English compared to Japanese, the English dub still needed to convey Dia's concerns about getting closer to the other girls in Episode 4 of Season 2. It did so by changing dialogue to incorporate various terms of endearment. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BVNnj6qk0w results]] have some [[HoYay interesting implications]] when interpreted a certain way, however.

*** You went this way ''hard'', especially in Season 2. She ends up being one of the least developed characters in the entire series, thanks to a combination of factors such as [[SpotlightStealingSquad the show pushing Riko's screentime at You's expense in Season 1]], lack of defined motivation for joining Aqours beyond wanting to do something together with Chika (which also makes her a SatelliteCharacter by extension), a minor CharacterFocus that ''accomplishes nothing'', and a straight up lack of meaningful screentime or dialogue in Season 2 (which lead to the fandom joke that "You is the new Kanan"). It says something when Saint Snow, the ''rival group'', not only gets a better CharacterFocus than her, but it actually gives them more character development than her. This has led to many fans perceiving her as the ''most underutilized character'' across both μ's and Aqours.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Listed under the "Aqours" folder [[AwesomeMusic/LoveLive here]].

* AmericansHateTingle:
** You consistently ranks on the top of polls in Japan (her fanarts also outnumber everyone in Sunshine), in large part due to Shuka Saito's charisma. In the west though, where exposure is almost entirely via the anime, reception is mixed due to her being OutOfFocus often, with many considering her little more than a SatelliteCharacter for Chika.

*** Chika is liked for being even more of a GenkiGirl than Honoka was, and for having a pronounced CharacterDevelopment throughout the anime; [[DynamicCharacter she learns to become a school idol while differentiating her group from µ's]], and is considered by some fans to be a better leader than Honoka was. She is, however, disliked for still being too similar to Honoka while trying to copy from her at first; this feeling comes more from both Honoka fans and haters, some of which have called her a worse and more selfish leader than the former. Some other people also find her genki girl tendencies to be overbearing.

** Ironically, one of the most iconic insert songs from ''Over the Rainbow'' doesn't even have Aqours in it: Saint Snow's "Believe Again" is frequently considered to be one of the main highlights of the movie.

* WinBackTheCrowd: Episode 8 saved the series in many fans' eyes. It expanded the third years' background (even offering [[OutOfFocus Kanan]] some much needed screentime, and cementing Dia as a CoolBigSis) and gave Aqours [[spoiler: a harsh result in the Love Live selection (they get ''zero'' votes) as well as a necessary lesson about how trying to be like µ's won't take them any further]], and was overall a [[TearJerker tear-jerking]] yet well-done episode.