Franchise history
Love Live! School Idol Project was first announced in the July 2010 issue of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine, which revealed that the magazine would be collaborating with the anime studio Sunrise and the music label Lantis to co-produce the project. The project officially began with the August 2010 issue of Dengeki G's Magazine, which introduced the story, characters, and a more detailed explanation of the project.[2] The original plan for the story was written by Sakurako Kimino, who also writes short stories and light novels for Love Live!. Yūhei Murota created the original character designs.[3]
Starting in August 2010, online mobile phone popularity contests were periodically held to rank the characters, which influenced the positions of the idols in the anime music videos produced by Sunrise. For example, the idol who ranked first in a given contest would be in the center position in the front row in the music video that followed. Other polls were used to determine different aspects of the idols, such as hairstyles and costumes.[4] Fans also determined the name of the initial school idol group, ultimately choosing the name μ's (, muse). Lantis released the group's first single in August 2010,[4] and they continued to release several more singles and albums over the course of the next two years, including performing their first concert in 2012 at Yokohama Blitz in Yokohama, Japan. This was soon followed by an anime television series that aired from 2013 to 2014, and an anime film in 2015.[5]
The rhythm game series Love Live! School Idol Festival developed by KLab and published by Bushiroad's Bushimo for Android and iOS platforms launched in 2013. The initial game is free-to-play with an in-app purchase system. It features songs and characters across multiple Love Live! titles, along with newly introduced girls, and stories that are not included in other media. The English localization was released worldwide in 2014,[6] and it also was localized in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and South Korea.[7] An arcade version of the game developed and published by Square Enix titled ''Love Live! School Idol Festival: After School Activity was released in Japan in 2016,[8] and a PlayStation 4 port was released in North America, Japan, and Southeast Asia
The next major installment in the franchise was the spin-off Love Live! Sunshine!! announced in 2015.[11] Fans also chose the name of the idol group for Sunshine, deciding on the name Aqours (, aqua).[12] Similarly to ''Love Live! School Idol Project'', Lantis released the group's first single in October 2015,[13] releasing several more singles into the following year. This was followed by an anime television series that aired from 2016 to 2017,[14][15] and an anime film in 2019.[16]
In March 2017, the official website of Love Live School Idol Festival launched the "Perfect Dream Project",[17] which featured nine new girls that would be incorporated into Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club; a tenth member was added in 2020. Unlike μ's and Aqours, they are not a traditional group, but rather individual school idols who compete with each other are referred to collectively as the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club. The idols are featured in ''Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars alongside μ's and Aqours, and appear in the main Love Live! School Idol Festival'' game.[18] Lantis released the debut album for Nijigasaki High School Idol Club in 2018,[19] and this was followed by two more albums and several singles over the course of the next two years, including performing their first concert in 2018 at DiverCity Tokyo Plaza Festival Square. An anime television series premiered in 2020,[20] with a second season which premiered in 2022.[21]
In January 2020, a franchise-wide concert, titled ''Love Live! Fest'', were held at Saitama Super Arena, in commemoration for the franchise's ninth anniversary. All three groups at the time performed at this concert, including μ's, which was their first performance after a three-year hiatus since their "final" concert in April 2016.[22][23]
Another spin-off titled Love Live! Superstar!! was announced in 2020 as an anime television series.[24][25] Fans also chose the name of the idol group for Superstar, deciding on Liella! .[26] The anime series premiered in 2021;[27] a second season aired in 2022.[28] A third season premiered in 2024.[29]
Another spin-off, focusing on "virtual school idols" was announced in February 2022. They began their activities in late 2022, with the six new girls referred to as the Hasunosora Girls' High School Idol Club.[30] A teaser video in October 2022 announced the launch of a smartphone app, Link! Like! Love Live!, released in April 2023.[31]
A new project that focuses on musical theater performances titled School Idol Musical was announced on September 26, 2022. It features 10 all-new girls, five of each who are students of two "legendary schools" located in Osaka and Hyogo.[32] It has been performed in 2022 and early 2023 at the New National Theatre Tokyo and Umeda Arts Theater in Osaka;[33] in 2024 at the Theater Milano-Za, Tokyo;[34] and in 2025 at the Nippon Seinenkan Hall in Tokyo and Shin-Kabukiza in Osaka.[35] It was adapted into ''Love Live! School Idol Musical the Drama'', the first live-action television series of the franchise, on Mainichi Broadcasting System and related stations in 2024, with all the main cast played by current or former idols from Hinatazaka46 (Miho Watanabe), ≠Me (Nanaka Tomita), AKB48 (Nanami Asai, Mizuki Yamauchi), Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku (Ayaka Yasumoto, Yuna Nakamura), Chō Tokimeki Sendenbu (Julia An), (Rina), STU48 (Akari Yura
A new project titled Bluebird was announced on February 2, 2025.
