At first glance, it might be hard to figure out why Love Live is so popular, but if you dig a little deeper, it can be as clear as day. Thanks to groups like AKB48 and Morning Musume in the 2000s, idol culture had begun to grow again thanks to the sheer impact these groups had on the entertainment industry. Thanks to the success of these two groups, more and more idol groups began to debut including the idol raising simulation/rhythm game in 2005, The Idolmaster, which eventually led to the introduction of Love Live! School Idol Project.

On June 6th, 2010, with the combined efforts of animation studio Sunrise, music company Lantis, and Dengeki G’s Magazine, Love Live! School Idol Project was introduced to Japan. Every month since, there would be more information about an unnamed idol group including character introductions, interviews with the voice actresses, and every so often a new single by the group would be released. What made this group so interesting was the fact that, despite being fictional, each character had personalities that were likable and fans were able to participate in voting contests for popularity and even being given the opportunity to name the group!  

2013 was an important year for the Love Live! franchise as that was the year the anime adaptation made its debut in January followed by the release of the mobile phone rhythm game, Love Live! School Idol Festival, in April. Both saw great success, which included multiple concerts, meet-and-greets, and guest appearances at major events. A considerable amount of merchandise like figures, keychains, and autograph boards were released during events or online which helped accelerate its growth. 

With the release of the anime, fans finally get to see their favorite characters on television interacting with each other and see the members grow both as individuals and as the idol group, μ's (pronounced muse) as they compete in the idol contest “Love Live!”. It’s hard not to like at least one of the members when their personalities are all unique. Honoka Kosaka, the leader of μ's, is an optimistic and daring girl who pushes herself towards the group’s success. Nozomi Tojo, wise but frequently mischievous, is ready to offer advice to the group in troubled times and tease them as punishment to keep the girls in check. Rin Hoshizora, a lover of all things cat-related, always takes into consideration how the other members feel and still looks for any opportunity to hug anyone of them. Of course, you wouldn’t know any of this unless you have watched the anime!

Following the success of their two seasons and an upcoming movie in June 2015, a teaser for a new project was released in April of that year. 

Following the success of Love Live! School Idol Project, the next series of the franchise was announced: Love Live! Sunshine!!. Following Chika Takami and her dreams of becoming an idol, she walks in the same path as Honoka and makes many new friends to create the idol group, Aqours, and compete in the same competition μ's once took part in. 

This new group was met with a positive reception, and the result was terrific. This series takes place in the small city of Numazu, well-known for its fishing industry. Outside of that Numazu was one of your average small towns as described in the anime. Thanks to the anime and its choice to highlight many locations in Numazu, fans have been flocking to the city to see these spots. The residents of Numazu have openly welcomed visitors thanks to Love Live and have gone as far as incorporating elements of the anime into many locations that were shown. In Nakamise Shopping Street, there are Love Live banners flying and maintenance hole covers with the members of Aqours on it. The Awashima Hotel, highlighted many times in the anime, even has special tours and meals you can reserve if you choose to visit Numazu! If this isn’t enough, there’s also a special Love Live cafe just outside of Numazu Station! 

_{(Love Live! Sunshine!! Cafe, Photo credits: Rin-Senpai)}

At first glance, it really can be unbelievable how fast Love Live has grown in 9 years. With more concerts, meetups, and guest appearances than your average celebrity in that time frame, it’s easy to tell just how popular they are. Not to mention collaborations like the ones with Granblue Fantasy and Shadowverse. The idol industry has grown so large that its worth is nearly $1 billion! It isn’t too hard to see now why Love Live has become the successful franchise it is today. With a plethora of merchandise like fans, rubber straps, postcards, and of course cosplays, there is a lot of ways for fans to continue supporting the franchise as well as their favorite characters. 

With another upcoming game as well as a 2-day event in January celebrating the great success Love Live has had with μ's, Aqours, and their new group Perfect Dream Project, it doesn’t look like the series will be losing steam anytime soon. Now might be the best time to hop on the train to see for yourself and maybe join in on this fandom.

Shop Love Live! Merchandise

Get The Conversation Started #ZenPlus.