EPISODE 02: A Kind Person

Second Episode! This week is going to be a lot more interesting.

Right now, let us find out the happenings today in the LoveLive! Series! But before that, let us read the Story Episode!

Basically, Story Episodes are now my new feature in this segment. And make sure to read them every week, since they have continuities! Can you still recall and remember of what has happened last week in the story?

CONTENTS
  1. STORY EPISODE
  2. HEADLINES
  3. LLSIF HIGHLIGHTS
  4. ALL STARS HIGHLIGHTS
  5. EXTRA CORNER
STORY EPISODE

That time, in the evening, Chiharu is browsing information with her smartphone.

“LoveLive! Finals… Upcoming PVs and singles… Well, these are making me dizzy after all.”

As she continues to browse the feed, she has saw some relevant news.

“I see. So this School Idol Group has regained their rank, and was able to enter to the finals again last year. Also, they were the LoveLive! Finals winners last year. I wonder of what could be their secret to be always at the dominating rank? Maybe, there is something deep that not many of us could understand.”

And also, she remembers that quote on her dream:

“You are a School Idol and…”

And after that, she puts her smartphone away, and she sleeps.

The following day, Chiharu really expected that there is a pop quiz today. And she got a perfect score.

“Congratulations, Miss Umiboshi. How did you manage to land a perfect score in my pop quiz?”

“It is because I remembered you saying that we should always study for our lectures at anytime if we got time!”

“I see. Very good! But then, don’t go easy next time in my next one! Actually, this was your practice in order to pass the upcoming examinations!”

“Thank you very much, teacher!”

Later, in the school cafeteria, Chiharu is eating her lunch alone. Minutes later, somebody has sit in the front of her.

“It is very unusual for you to eat alone without any friends.”

“Yeah, and I am feeling weird lately… Eh? Haruka Konoe?”

“Yes! Do you want to eat lunch with me?”

“Yeah… Sure.”

HEADLINES

And now, let us go to the happenings in the School Idol Universe, or otherwise, the LoveLive! Series!

Due to the number of occurrences that are happening at the same time, some highlights that were announced before may not be included in this Episode (The best way is to follow their feed)! Right now, here are some of the things encountered during the past weekend, and this week!

Liella!: First Live Tour Additional Performance & 2nd LoveLive! Tour

Actually, this “bonus” live leg tour performance of the group, Liella!, is happening tomorrow! Generally, this was announced a long time ago, since last year, at their 5th live leg tour (Tokyo Leg Tour)!

Further reading: Liella! First Live Tour Additional Tokyo Live Performance

That’s right, it shall occur tomorrow at weekends! This time around, the two actresses who voiced the characters behind Sunny Passion, the worthy rivals of Liella!, shall be appearing in this live performance tomorrow!

And on the other hand, Liella! shall be having their upcoming live performance, which shall serve as their 2nd Live! The title, as seen from their official live page, is Liella! 2nd LoveLive! ~What a Wonderful Dream!!~. And their 2nd Live performance shall be held on at least two venues across Japan, namely on Pia Arena MM, at Yokohama (March 12 and 13, JST, weekends), and on Nippon Gaishi Hall, at Nagoya (April 2 and 3, JST, weekends). Further details of it, such as the reveal of the key visuals, shall be revealed on their upcoming livestreams via YouTube, or at their concluded live performance this coming weekend tomorrow!

This is something to watch out, LoveLive! fans.

Countdown LoveLive! Event Review and Summary!

And also, in this week, I was able to give some highlights, as well as giving it a review and summary!

This is something of a memorable event, which features almost all of the School Idol groups in one stage!

This blog post report of mine is a bit longer! Go to this link for the detailed parts, which also include the songs in the setlist!

Nijigasaki: 4th Live! ~Love the Life We Live~

And also, to give you a heads up, the 4th live performance of the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club shall take place at Kyocera Dome Osaka, in Japan, at weekends of February 26 and 27, 2022! Of what you had heard that their song, L!L!L! from the Countdown LoveLive!, is of a short-sized version performance, this time, in their 4th Live, it shall be on a full version song performance!

Official live goods are now up for pre-orders, and you can order them via your respective local Anime licensors per country or region!

For residents within Japan, you can win a lottery ticket for the Nijigasaki 4th Live, by playing in the LoveLive! ALL STARS game! And that shall be highlighted later on the ALL STARS Highlights in this Episode!

And aside from the things above, overseas paid streaming has been announced for the fans outside of Japan! The ticket price is at least 6,000 yen per day!

Be sure to look forward into their upcoming 4th live performance on February, since after their live performance, the trailer video for the upcoming Nijigasaki High School Idol Club Anime Season 2, shall be revealed! And this is something to look forward into! Don’t miss this!

µ’s: Hanayo Koizumi’s Birthday

In this part, I am going to give Hanayo Koizumi a birthday greetings message — in the next Episode!

Her birthday shall be celebrated on January 17, every year! If you are a fan of hers, make sure to celebrate with her! And finally, don’t forget to check out her birthday box scouting, where it shall be highlighted on the LLSIF Highlights later!

Though her birthday shall be celebrated early, before on the next Episode, at least I had done something, rather than nothing!

Aqours: Livestream (January 17, 2022)

Let’s go to the Aqours Side! In fact, these shall be relevant!

There shall be an upcoming livestream, which shall feature some members of Aqours!

It shall be streamed on some video streaming sites like YouTube, on January 17, 2022, at 8:00 pm JST! Hosts shall be Arisa Komiya, Aika Kobayashi, and Ai Furihata!

They shall be talking about the highlights during their last DREAMY CONCERT 2021 Event, and they shall be talking about the details of their upcoming 6th LoveLive! Tour, which shall occur in just a month away from this Episode!

Be sure to tune-in to their upcoming livestream, since they might give out info and announcements with regards to their ongoing We Are Challengers Project, and some other related information (like the Second Solo Concert Album Series), such as content updates for the LoveLive!-related games! I don’t know, but these announcements coming from Aqours themselves are indeed spine-chilling than before!

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LLSIF HIGHLIGHTS

Let us now go into the highlights and happenings in the LLSIF rhythm game! So far, what are the things encountered in the past weekend, and in this week?

My Event Grinding for this month is temporarily suspended. Instead, I was given a special mission. But then, what did I do that time when I was currently suspended in grinding the ongoing Icon Collection Event in the μ’s Side? Generally, those are something to be highlighted later in this part. So, keep reading!

Icon Collection: Surrounded by Sparkling Snow! (Final)

Like I said, I ain’t going to be participating in this Icon Collection Event. I had said this before in my Twitter post that I shall be temporarily suspended in my Event grinding until the end of this month. And yes, I had volunteered myself to do that!

This is definitely my final event update for this one. And then, this is going to be my first Event that I shall not be participating for this year. My Event Report summary on a Twitter post shall be labelled as “DNP”, or “Did not participate”.

Well, expect something like this as a same DNP result in my JP Side soon, during at the end of the Aqours Event on January 20-31, 2022.

Inori-D’s Special Mission – The Rundown!

Okay, as I am temporarily suspended from my Event grinding in the Icon Collection Event, which shall end tomorrow afternoon, JST, here are some of the things that I had done during my suspension period!

Basically, here are the rundowns of my special mission or tasks that I did from the past weekend, and this week!

1. Scouted for URs Maki and Yohane from the New Year 2022 Limited Box Scouting!

Indeed, I scouted for her because I needed her powerful scoring skills, and she is suitable for my ongoing meta team that I had been composing in the past weeks, since the New Year’s Eve!

And also, on the same week, I had managed to get another UR, who is Yohane! And just like Maki, she has the same skills that can further increase my scores tremendously by a single skill activation!

2. Maxed-out some lower member rarities’ Bond Points (via Rhythmic Carnival)!

As I am striving hard to do my best to max-out as many lower-rarity members’ Bond Points as possible, I am a bit struggling to play hard, especially if I am waiting in a room during the Rhythmic Carnival period.

Since Rhythmic Carnival is only occurring on every Fridays at 4:00 pm JST, until Monday at 3:00 pm JST, I had used this chance to do this strategy, and to collect more points from every successful Rhythmic Carnival plays.

3. Live Arena Grinding!

And when the Rhythmic Carnival duration has expired, I had continued my grinding, by maxing out the Bond Points of my lower-rarity members, through the Live Arena.

Since Bond Points Charm items don’t really work in the Live Arena, my strategy is that I must do some Live Sessions first, and then by playing in the Special Sessions in MASTER difficulty. Sometimes, when Special Sessions are triggered (maxing the Tension Gauge out), during the team selection screen, I choose a Special Session opponent that I had challenged previously (notably the lower Special Session Opponents Stage). But then, grinding within Live Arena for Bond Points can be time-consuming, since doing Live Session plays against a rival player won’t give you any Bond Points at all upon finishing the live show.

Basically, the reason why I grind for Bond Points is that in order to unlock their Side Stories, and to get at least 1 Love Gem by reading them! You know now the reason, do you?

Generally, to mention to you early on time, this is just the “Part 1” of my Special Task or Mission, whilst being suspended from my Event grinding!

Hanayo Koizumi Birthday 2022 Box Scouting (And more…)

As you have head the news that these new Birthday URs are now powerful and better than ever, this is something that for players like me should never underestimate. Starting with this Birthday UR set (Brilliant Jewelry), and from Hanayo Koizumi from µ’s, expect these Limited URs to come and appear on at least two (2) types of Box Scouting banners! So then, to repeat my sentences, as told in the previous Episodes, you should scout for her UR, if you are a fan of hers! Show your dedication and love for her!

The first type of banner uses only the “paid” Love Gems to Scout. And that is, it is considered to be a “Paid” Box Scouting. To generally spoil you, these paid boxes won’t allow you to use your green Scouting Tickets, as well as other kinds of Scouting Tickets (i.e. µ’s or Aqours-only Scouting x11 Tickets). And then, it really forces the players to use their own money to scout for this UR in the paid Box Scouting banner. The benefit? Instead of the usual 100 members box scout, it has only 50 members to scout! And surely, you need at least 230 Paid Love Gems in order to guarantee yourself this UR!

But then, aside from drawing it along with the other 50 members, there is a chance that her signed (autograph) version of her UR can be drawn! And then, there is no difference if you are possessing a Signed UR or not, in terms of Skills. Definitely, these Signed URs are something that you can flaunt against your rival or friends.

The second type of the Box Scouting, during a character’s birthday, is the “Free” Box Scouting banner. And this time, you can use your Free Love Gems there, as well as some of your other Scouting Tickets there!

Although it’s free, there is always a chance that you could draw up her new Birthday UR! But then, there are consequences.

Since that Free Box Scouting banner can allow you to get her previous Birthday URs that appeared from the past years, all I can say is that you could even “gamble” yourself into this situation. Although you have enough resources to attack the box and to guarantee yourself with a UR, the chances are really small for you to get her featured Birthday 2022 UR. And the downside is that you could even get her previous Birthday UR, if in case that you haven’t acquired any of her previous Birthday URs that appeared.

So then, what I can say is that: If you want something new, you should be eager to pay for it with your own hard-earned money. Yeah, and it is really not fun to play and to scout on something like this anymore.

And starting from Hanayo from µ’s onwards, expect these type of Box Scouting banners to appear in the future weeks and months! Yep, it shall start on You Watanabe’s birthday on April, and on Ai Miyashita’s birthday on May!

Paid Box Scouting? Definitely, you could read more about it below!

The Rise of “Paid” Box Scouting and Signed URs

Ever wondered and observed lately that there are some Box Scouting banners that are considered as “Paid”? It is because you will have to just deplete that box by using your own “Paid” Love Gems to scout on that box! And as usual, your normal “solo-yolo” Scouting Tickets, as well as your other Scouting x11 Tickets won’t work on this one.

Like this one from the embedded Tweet above (52 Million Players Worldwide Celebration Campaign)! In fact, you shall have to spend a total amount of bucks in order to guarantee yourself a brand new UR!

And also, you could always have a chance in drawing a Signed UR (autographed) from that Paid Box Scouting banner! But for what benefit? Yet they have no differences when it comes to their personal scoring skills, these Signed URs are something that you could flaunt against with your friends and rivals!

And then, we could really expect something like these in the future succeeding months, especially when the game’s 9th Anniversary is just around in a hunch.

And as said from the previous sentence in the last topic above: If you want something new, you should be eager to pay for it with your own hard-earned money. Yeah, and it is really not fun to play and to scout on something like this anymore.

The G2-Tier URs – Part 1

As a promise, I shall tell you about these new kind of exquisite, yet powerful URs that can only be acquired exclusively in every campaign events from the game itself! In fact, I have already declared these kind of URs by me, myself!

From now on, I shall declare and call them as “G2-Tier URs”!

Basically, what are these new G2-Tier URs that are appearing recently in the past months, and in last year?

The G2-Tier URs, or the meaning actually of G2 is “Generation Two” or Second Generation, are the type of URs that can be acquired from either some of the ongoing exclusive campaign events, and even getting them from just Honor Scouting (Stamp Scouting) banners! Why do these such URs can be called by me by any means?

To find out, please continue reading below, along with their pictures!

There are many variations of G2-Tier URs, when it comes to Skills. And the most notable kinds of G2-Tier URs that I had recently encountered so far are the Score Up, Perfect Score Ups, and the Skill Level Boost URs!

G2-Tier UR versus Standard/Normal UR (Score Up)

To give you brief comparisons, please refer to the following pictures below for some illustrative examples!

My Standard UR on the left (Hanamaru Kunikida) versus the G2-Tier UR on the right (Chika Takami). Drag the slider in the middle to either left or right to see the differences!

As previewed in my intro Episode, these kind of G2-Tier Score Up URs are considered as the “powerful” URs to be found in the game. This shall be a simple explanation!

My Standard UR, Hanamaru Kunikida, is having a Score value of 4,305 when successfully activated on a 50% chance, on at least 22 incoming Rhythm Icons count, assuming that she has already a maximum Level 8 Skill! And on the other hand, my G2-Tier UR, Chika Takami, has a Score value of 12,780 when activated on 17% chance, on at least 48 incoming Rhythm Icons count! Though Chika is only at Skill Level 4, it is really indeed that she has more scoring value than my UR Hanamaru, who has a smaller score value, and yet she is just at only Skill Level 8!

But then, to explain further, these Score Up URs in G2-Tier are really designed for ultimate scoring competition. In fact, they are needing and requiring considerable rhythm playing skills to master. And to explain from the intro Episode, they have Rhythm Icon counts that are indeed higher than those Standard URs! And did I already mention it that these such higher Rhythm Icons count are “divisible by two”?

Indeed, it is true that they have the twice the amount of Rhythm Icons count in order to activate successfully their absolute Scoring values! And make sure to supply it with some URs that can increase your Skill Activation Chances!

And it is really up to you on how will you master these G2-Tier Score Up URs. In fact, they are really designed to be used on higher difficulties — notably on any songs that has higher Combo Counts! You just have to play on MASTER difficulty songs for better results!

Though the fact that I can’t explain it further right here in this Episode, how about the other kind or variants of G2-Tier URs that I had recently encountered? This is something to know about, and it shall be talked next Episode! Look forward into it!

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ALL STARS HIGHLIGHTS

As usual, we shall be highlighting this game… with a smile!

Make sure to read the infos carefully, so that you could have an idea on what’s coming up next, and which one should be done!

EXCHANGE: Whoo! New Year Girls Party! (Final)

Okay, let us highlight this part! As usual, it’s a post-New Year’s Eve celebration in the ALL STARS multiverse game!

So then, talking about Event grinding… And then, I wasn’t able to grind properly in this Event, though I am doing my dailies every day (Sometimes I forgot to do them on the other days). And since JP and Global (EN) Sides are not merged into one yet, I am almost having no time in grinding in both of the sides at the same time.

For the featured three songs in the Song Voltage Rankings, make sure to give them a shot, if it happens that your members and teams are well beefed-up! And place higher in the rankings by delivering a powerful Voltage Score on the three songs!

Don’t forget to exchange your collected points with some featured items in the Items Shop, since the featured UR, as well as its other featured SR members, are there! And make sure to secure them right before the duration period has expired!

Final results of my Event grinding progress shall be reported via my Twitter account later! And yes, it shall end later in less than six hours from this Episode!

School Idol Channel Weekly Bulletin

In this part, let us know what has happened in the last ranking results! And it is quite expected for me to see the outcome. And as usual, the results are just vary from each other!

In the JP Side, Hanayo Koizumi snatched her Rank 1 Channel victory! And also, I was able to join in her channel just before the ranking grind period has started! And then, I just only finished in 16th place, on the other hand, in the Global Side, also on the same School Idol Channel.

To find out the results, please do read the following tables below! Or you could refer to the ranking records made within in the game, in the School Idol Channel Rank Standings!

JP SIDE RANKINGS (ROUND 41 – JAN 3 TO JAN 10)
RANKSCHOOL IDOLGROUPAVERAGE CHEER POINTS
1Hanayoμ’s8,751
2SetsunaNijigasaki6,012
3KasumiNijigasaki5,042
4Kotoriμ’s4,713
5AyumuNijigasaki4,510
6EmmaNijigasaki4,259
7YouAqours3,906
8DiaAqours3,834
9RikoAqours3,831
10ChikaAqours3,705
GLOBAL SIDE RANKINGS (ROUND 28 – JAN 3 TO JAN 10)
RANKSCHOOL IDOLGROUPAVERAGE CHEER POINTS
1SetsunaNijigasaki4,321
2AyumuNijigasaki4,153
3KananAqours3,405
4Makiµ’s3,317
5RikoAqours3,285
6EmmaNijigasaki3,233
7DiaAqours3,198
8Kotoriµ’s3,183
9Eli µ’s 3,152
10Nico µ’s 3,046

Alright, let me give you some useful tips, just in order to feel on what’s being like in the Top 1 in the School Idol Channel Rankings with your School Idol Partner! You can somehow use this tip!

You can always predict on who could be the next School Idol to be on the top position! And that is, when you could able to know when is her birthday! For example, Ayumu Uehara’s birthday is on March 1, and the channel ranking grind has started since February 23. Before when the grind starts at most 12:00 pm JST, you have to switch your current School Idol Channel to Ayumu. You cannot change a channel once the rank grind period starts, and you have to wait it to finish before switching channels again.

Definitely, you can’t just stuck yourself in just one School Idol Channel, notably a channel of your best girl! There are always benefits, especially when placing in top rank in the School Idol Channel Rankings. With this, you can able to get many strengthening items, such as School Idol Memories and Mementos! And not only that! You could also have an opportunity to receive these “bonus” strengthening items, which can be useful in your School Idol-related upgrades!

So then, don’t just be stuck into one School Idol Channel of your School Idol (notably your Oshi or best girl)! Just remember that you need to make everyone else powerful, and not just your best girl! And this is really the objective of the LoveLive! ALL STARS game!

JP SIDE Only: Nijigasaki 4th Live Campaign

For people or residents who are living within Japan, especially English-speaking folks who live within Japan, this is your chance to go and see the girls of Nijigasaki High School Idol Club in their upcoming 4th Live Performance!

A special campaign event is now ongoing, and you have to read this carefully for the details!

For the fellows who are playing in the JP Side, and if you are residing within Japan, then this could be your chance to participate!

How to join?

Just simply play in the LoveLive! ALL STARS game in the JP Side! And clear the Story Chapter 30 of the game in HARD mode! Once you have successfully cleared it, you shall be given a Serial Code within your game! And that Serial Code shall be given to all players who had participated and cleared the one mentioned in the second sentence above! Yes, and this campaign challenge shall last until on February 1, 2022, at 12:00 pm JST! And take note that this is only for the JP Side of the game!

Some key details to note!

Issuance of Serial Codes (upon completing the challenge before February 1, 2022 JST)

DATE: February 4, 2022, at 12:00 pm JST
Lottery Application Period

DATE: From February 4, 2022, at 12:00 pm JST until February 8, 2022 JST
Announcement Result

DATE: February 13, 2022, at 12:00 pm JST

If you are lucky enough in drawing URs in the ALL STARS game, are you lucky enough to win a ticket going to the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club’s 4th Live? Definitely, you shall find it out, if you try to join!

More details (Japanese):

https://www.lovelive-anime.jp/nijigasaki/sp_4thlive_skst.php

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EXTRA CORNER

Last week, we had introduced this segment! And today, let us have our very first SIF Quiz — in this Extra Corner topic! And yes, it shall last until the end of this quarter (at least 3 months, or at least 12-13 Episodes)!

For our Question #1! Please read carefully!

Q: What was Eli Ayase’s miraculous thing for her?

  1. Meeting Everyone
  2. Friendship and Bonds
  3. Being a School Idol

And finally, for Question #2! Please pay attention!

Q: Who’s scolding Yoshiko “Yohane” Tsushima to not write “Fallen Angel” terms when writing letters to someone?

  1. Riko Sakurauchi
  2. Hanamaru Kunikida
  3. Dia Kurosawa

If you think you answered them correctly, just wait for my answers, as well as explaining them each in the next Episode! Look forward into it!

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STORY EPISODE (EPILOGUE)

And then, Chiharu told Haruka everything about on what she has heard yesterday around her.

“I see. So you have been hearing that we are currently practicing very hard for the LoveLive! Finals.”

“And your fans in our school are rooting for you! When I heard that, I tried to put my hopes on you!”

“Really? Thank you very much!”

“I hope that your effortful dance and voice trainings should never be put into a waste!”

“Yeah, and I am sure that my big sis will be proud of me!”

“Wait… Is your big sister a School Idol, also?”

“Yeah. And she is now studying on a more, prestigious school. That’s why she is always studying very hard at night!”

“I see. But then, good luck on your finals, in the LoveLive! competition!”

“Thank you very much! By the way, I have to go now! Our group is going to have our practice session today!”

“Can I have your mobile number, please? Just in case I want to ask something.”

“Sure! You can always text me if you got something to ask.”

“Thanks, Haruka!”

After that, she left.

When the afternoon came, Chiharu is walking on an empty street. She was humming her favorite LoveLive! song that comes first into her head.

And that voice was heard from somewhere.

“It seems that you are really fated to be a future School Idol, someday.”

She turned around and she saw somebody at her back.

“Eh? Don’t tell me that there is a molester following me! I have to run away, or else…”

“If you are talking about that, then I ain’t one of them.”

“Whatever. But then, who are you?”

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lierre, the School Idol Oracle.”

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Whenever you try something that can make you happy, you are doing everything just to achieve it. But when you are closer to winning, you still lose at the end, and is it frustrating? But no matter what, they are just around in order to help you to be on the top!

Next time on School Idol Festival Journal Log SEASON TWO, “A Passionate Player”.

EPISODES ARCHIVE (SEASON TWO)  BACK TO HOME PAGE


Inori Donz

Inori Donz is a blogger, video gamer, Anime enthusiast, bicycle rider, and Anime figure photographer. His favorite area of concentration is 'LoveLive! Series', where he plays its featured smartphone video games, as well as watching its Anime series counterparts. "I like Anime, toys and figures, and mostly, I like playing free-to-play video games. Definitely not your usual commoner you see everyday in the streets." He started his blogging journey since December 2013, with a free WordPress blog, named 'IemDonz Blog'. That free blog contains most of his Anime figure photography works, as well as some of his opinions and experiences in the Anime world.