Due to its nature as an indirect sequel to the manga adaptation of Love Live!, all spoilers for it may have been unmarked. You Have Been Warned
Love Live! Sunshine!! is an ongoing Schoolgirl Series manga written by Sakurako Kimino and illustrated by Masaru Oda that began serialization in Dengeki G's Magazine in May 2016. It is an installment in the Love Live! franchise following the adventures of the school idol group Aqours and a sequel to the original Love Live! manga.
The manga follows Chika Takami, an ordinary high school girl attending Uranohoshi High, a small school in Uchiura, Numazu that's on the verge of being shut down due to its declining student population. Enamored with the exploits of µ's, a legendary school idol group who won the very first Love Live school idol competition, Chika sets out to make her dream of becoming a school idol come true. Accompanied by her childhood friend Kanan Matsuura and Riko Sakurauchi, a transfer student from Otonokizaka High, the story of "Aqours" begins here.
Although the manga has been on hiatus since 2018, the series was spun off into the Love Live! Sunshine!! School idol diary manga in 2018, a manga adaptation of the School idol diary short stories that are included with the anime Blu-Rays. Unlike the School idol diary stories for the original group, which are based around the anime, the School idol diary stories for Sunshine!! are an extension of the manga.
This manga contains examples of:
- Adaptation Deviation:
- Once again, the starting trio is different from both the original "Kimi no Kokoro wo Kagayaiterukai?" MV and the anime. In this iteration, it's Chika, Kanan, and Riko who comprise the initial three.
- Riko's transfer is very briefly stated to be due to her father's job and not related to having any background in music.
- Although Uranohoshi is said to be shutting down like in the anime, Chika's take on the matter is a lot more resigned and less reactionary compared to her anime counterpart.
- The origin of Yoshiko's Chuunibyou behavior is implied to stem moreso from her Born Unlucky traits and less so from being an attention seeker.
- A key writing change in both the manga and School idol diary is that Kanan and Mari have no apparent familiarity with school idols at the start of the series. Compare this to the anime, where the 3rd years formed the original Aqours.
- The 1st year dynamic is quite a bit different in the manga, as while the anime prefers Hanamaru/Yoshiko and Hanamaru/Ruby, in the manga the Hanamaru/Yoshiko pairing is displaced by Ruby/Yoshiko instead.
- Adaptational Explanation: In other continuities, it's not really explained why Chika wants to save Uranohoshi so badly, as it starts out as just wanting to copy µ's but later inexplicably evolves into a topic that's very dear to her heart. The manga and School idol diary explains that Uranohoshi has been in Uchiura ever since the town was established long ago and has been an iconic part of the town's history ever since, with Chika expressing a poignant regret to Riko that a sacred part of Uchiura's legacy will end after the current generation of students graduates and that the town's children won't have the chance to experience the same things when they grow up.
- Adaptation Personality Change:
- Riko is depicted as significantly more timid and shy compared to her non-manga counterpart. She's less of a Straight Man and easily freaks out at comparatively minor things.
- Compared to her non-manga counterpart, Yoshiko generally acts normal more often while still mostly having her Chuunibyou side intact. She is also shown having an interest in school idols from the get-go. Incidentally, this makes the manga continuity possibly one of the only instances where Yoshiko isn't treated as a joke for 90% of her screentime.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Hanamaru is not familiar with Yoshiko at all beyond some basic information. Ironically it's Ruby who's more familiar with Yoshiko, although mostly because she sees her as a cool city girl.
- Alternate Continuity: The manga predates the anime, and as such tells an entirely unique story with the same characters and setting as the anime and games. Many character relationships, events, and personalities are thus treated differently in the manga despite having the same basis in the Dengeki G's short stories like all the other media.
- Arranged Marriage: Dia notes in her School idol diary that part of her role as the heir to the Kurosawa household is to get married to a suitable man with status, and her family is actually in talks to prepare her for the ceremony. However, seeing Ruby's rebellious spirit towards the family's traditions gives her the resolve to consider running away if said arranged marriage ever occurs.
- Badass Biker: Kanan owns a jet ski and uses it to go to Uranohoshi.
- Bowdlerize: The English version printed in Malaysia (the only known official translation) is known for adding some modesty and additional articles of clothing to certain panels to cover up the girls better.
- Childhood Friends:
- Chika and Kanan share this dynamic, as in the anime. You has also known Chika since childhood, although this aspect of their relationship is significantly downplayed compared to other canons.
- A flashback also shows the three playing with Hanamaru and Ruby as children.
- Kanan and Mari have been friends since young. Downplayed with Dia; Kanan has been acquainted with her since kindergarten but they haven't really known each other prior to being together in Aqours.
- Subverted with Hanamaru and Yoshiko, who don't personally know each other at the start of the manga.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Several of the other Aqours members appear on the way to school at the start of Chapter 4.
- Even the Girls Want Her:
- Riko's beauty is commented on multiple times by both Chika and various background characters.
- Ruby's reaction to Yoshiko after their first meeting is essentially a Squee, and she has some particularly curious complements about Yoshiko's figure in School idol diary.
- Indirect Kiss: It's not alluded to, but in Ruby's School idol diary, Yoshiko grabs a boxed strawberry milk for Ruby and a black coffee for herself after rooftop practice. After Yoshiko finishes her motivating speech and her coffee, she swipes Ruby's half-finished strawberry milk and drinks the entire rest of the box with Ruby's straw before Ruby has a chance to protest.
- Ms. Fanservice: Kanan gets multiple gratuitous shots in her wetsuit and in her bikini (under her wetsuit), especially in Chapter 1.
- Mythology Gag:
- Various Imagine Spots throughout the first few chapters of the girls performing as school idols shows them wearing their "Kimi no Kokoro wo Kagayaiterukai?" outfits.
- The School idol diary manga depicts the characters wearing their monochrome school uniforms (originally an artifact from early promo material) as their winter uniforms.
- In the School idol diary manga, Chika is seen watching videos of µ's performing "Bokura wa Ima no Naka de" and "START:DASH!!" from the anime.
- There are panels in the School idol diary manga featuring Yoshiko sitting on a throne in a similar style to Aika Kobayashi's live performance of her solo song "in this unstable world" from Aqours' 3rd Live.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Chika gets very in Riko's face when she finds out that Riko is from Otonokizaka. She even hugs her despite the two essentially being complete strangers at this point.
- Running Gag: Chika referring to Riko as a "city girl" and seeing her with a sort of exoticism, which never fails to turn Riko into a flustered mess.
- Ship Tease:
- Chika and Riko get some particularly intimate scenes in the first few chapters prior to Riko joining the club.
- There's some strong subtext between Ruby and Yoshiko, especially in School idol diary.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: In other media, You is typically implied to be able to balance all of her obligations on top of being a school idol because she's just that good. However, in the manga her decision to join Chika and Riko as a school idol meets a substantial obstacle when her diving instructor gives her an extremely packed training schedule, making it very difficult for her to join.
- Younger Than They Look: During their first meeting, Chika initially mistakes Riko for a university student due to her elegance. This makes their second meeting (when Riko transfers into her class) all the more surprising to her.
