Preliminary remarks
Lots of club tracks this year it feels like. I guess because Aqours were comparatively quiet the genre spread wasn’t as varied as it could have been. My honourable mentions go to Nandodatte Yakusoku for the funk instrumentation reminding me a bit of 90s Shiro Sagisu, even though the actual song is fairly forgettable. OUR P13ECES is in a similar position. I really didn’t believe another group would get a BokuHika style song mixing all their names and a bunch of song titles, so that’s neat even if its music is also fairly generic.
Worst of the year goes to Bubble Over. The water title is cool because like MONSTER GIRLS or the blue bird imagery which evolves across the music videos for Eutopia, EMOTION and Stars We Chase it highlights this moral link R3BIRTH has in place with Aqours. But the actual song is pretty blegh. Reminds me of Love Novels a bit, and that’s like…the lowest I can give to a Love Live song. In fact I had something of a negative bodily reaction just by looking it up. Vroom Vroom isn’t fantastic either tbh. Sometimes R3BIRTH gets a bit too kpop, if you know what I mean.
Song Ranking
Very pretty song. Musically it forms a kind of set with Stella, but I like this one more. Additionally, I always perk up when Love Live songs say “ashita wa hareru ne” or “hareru ya”. The title of Mirai Yohou Hallelujah acknowledges that they’re writing in a secondary meaning as “hallelu” and “hallelujah”, which ties back to the School Idol Movie, BokuHika’s hidden chant and Honoka subsequently injecting this biblical dressing to a lot of the imagery in following series. It’s neat to see in motion.
This is somewhat similar to the style that Keke had in Oh! Ready Steady Positive so it’s cool to see her pulling that musical identity forward with her.
Not catchy…but that actually becomes its main appeal. This is a solid ballad all throughout. I do feel that there are other ballads this year where skipping through them you’d find parts to catch your attention, which this is comparatively lacking in. Nothing particularly stands out. But the ebb-and-flow when listening to this from start to finish is nice enough to pull it ahead of its competition for me.
Good song.
Solo and subunit tracks being the most prominent content for Aqours at the moment + the existence of Nijigasaki have put a spotlight on how the full lineup of nine can at points musically stifle them. Shuka Saito certainly is not a bad singer, but You has always been something of a weak link in Aqours imo. Autotune aside, this is probably You’s best showing so far. The music feels designed for her voice and character in a way that many of her other performances haven’t.
Plus cheeky bonus points for perhaps incorporating the Launch Base Zone “GO!” sample (like in Genki Zenkai Day Remix). The crazy part of me wants to say the “woo” is a sample from Sonic Unleashed too, but it’s not that easy to hear. That whole Sega Ambassador thing seems to have crossed into the music a couple times now and it’s neat. Though Level Oops! Adventures is obviously still the most extreme example with all the direct Sonic sound effects.
Mia sings like a Disney Channel chick and that style of genuine western pop is pretty unfamiliar for me, so at first I always think I don’t like her tracks very much. But they have a lot of staying power. Maybe they have an unfair advantage for staying in my mind because I can latch onto the english much easier, but nevertheless – catchy.
Kanan started off as the weakest singer in Aqours by far, so I’m continually shocked when her solos end up in my annual ranking. Sakanasakanasakana was a bit weak, but after that they lock right onto her musical niche with these tracks sounding right out of a Shinkai film.
It took me a few several tens of listens to warm up to this, since I figured if they were ever to shift Chika off her signature broadway style then she should be going for something aggressive and deeper like Anchan’s Kokarute. To turn around and release a ballad was slightly anticlimactic. Chika is called “monster” under Love Live’s symbolic terminology, so I’ve always wanted one track where they really let her roar. And while I do still feel that, I would also say that by now I’ve managed to unlock my enjoyment of this solo. This is the first time they’ve had the character sing soft like this. It’s nice.
Extra catchy.
Drum n bass is one of my favourite genres and the koto always sounds cool. Mixing them together makes for a pretty interesting genre combination.
Musically this is a lot softer than most surrounding songs in S2 which creates an impression that it lacks the same punch, then I think back and realise it’s arguably the most memorable track used in that entire season. I rate it below stuff like Eutopia and Eternal Light because I consider those to be its better, but since this is comparatively simple it’s far more potent an earworm.
I had a kpop phase once. Love Live has been very kpop in recent years. The math checks out. This composition probably could just pass as f(x) or Blackpink if the singers were swapped.
Cheesy, but very catchy and has a deceptively great instrumental.
Keke and Mei establish that the “miracle of nine” has been recognised as a proper setting concept by this point in Love Live’s societal timeline, and this song is definitely where you feel them channelling it most strongly. While it may be less ambitious than Chance Day Chance Way from their clash at regionals, it makes total sense why this is what Liella believe will counter Wien’s tracks. Where hers are full of trickery by injecting a dramatic new genre and instigating symbolic forces to try and succeed as a solo idol in the mainline series, this competing track is just an honest group song. It’s fun, catchy and designed to be something the audience would clap along to. I suppose in that sense it comes to be understood as the culmination of Liella’s character friction with the new members in S2. Wien became Love Live’s enemy and sought to take the crown by pulling ahead on her own, but when stared down by the sinister strings of Edelstein we see Liella shoot back with something which conveys it’s okay if there’s a skill gap, just do what you can. This is further cemented by the fact that its lyrics are basically just a repetition of various staple concepts from the series like “hearts connected as one”, the star, kagayaki and choosing whether to exist within the past, present or future.
DiverDiva. That’s it. That’s my explanation. Thank you for coming to my talk. One small thing that tickles me a bit is the “3-2-1 DD” call at the start bringing back to mind a lot of Girls’ Generation songs since they’d often use “ayo GG” in their song adlibs. It’s a small thing so it isn’t important enough to the track’s identity for me to really fixate on it as a main selling point, but just something I figured I could mention in this box idk
Here I would suggest that the six evil string hits at the start of this are a twisted application of the Main Theme of Love Live Superstar leitmotif. Similar to smile smile ship start using Sunshine’s main theme, except this time performed with specific narrative intent. Love Live casts always have a detractor opposed to the School Idol Club who totally changes tune once they join, but using the motif there emphasizes how Wien is the only character who still carries her hatred onto the stage with them. I’m trying not to let my narrative biases influence this musical ranking, but dang it that’s just cool. Wien is cool. In so many ways she acts as the most direct crystallisation of all the rambling I’ve ever done about Love Live’s symbolic workings, on account of being seemingly sentient to what she’s doing in distorting the setting with her charisma. Anyway. Love Live 2022 Song Ranking. The bass in the back of Wien’s tracks are an awesome touch. The compositions are probably the most theatrical/dramatic that the series has ever had, but that booming bass then turns it back into being understood as an idol track. It’s a very unique combination of sounds that immediately make her feel like a new force moving within Love Live.
It’s a hard pick between Wien’s two songs, but this one probably comes out on top due to the more unusual backing music and vocal pacing.
I do say Dia has been the one with the strongest showing in the Aqours solos, but Riko runs a very close second for me. All of her tracks have been great at showing what the seiyuu can do in different genres while still feeling like a natural expression of the character’s motivations and personality.
Generally I dislike when songs have talking intros or interludes but I can ignore it here since the melody is so good. It’s the kind of song you have to listen to at minimum twice in a row because of how addicting the chorus is.
There I was thinking Aqours had been quiet this year, and then the next day they announce a real, actual collab with the main Hatsune Miku IP (editor’s note: they did then continue to be quiet). The title track from the release was played very safe, but this B-side is more dynamic and ends up a total banger for it. Aqours always do so well with EDM.
One of Liella’s most unique-sounding songs. During the ranking process it’s one that I listened to, went “oh wow”, moved onto the next song, and then returned back to immediately force it into top 3.
The top comment on the official MV is “What I love about Lanzhu is that she thinks she’s better than everyone and she’s right”. Now there’s nothing left for me to say about its sound because that’s just the proper reaction to Eutopia. It’s a banger, Lanzhu is a queen and that slower segment running from 2:36 – 3:25 sticks in my head for so long after listening to it. Is it supposed to hint at the loneliness which she believes is an unavoidable side effect of her power? The lonely sun, offering both a plea and challenge for someone who can keep up with her. I say yes, since the inserts used within the anime series do often conform to its structure to engage with the storyline (ie Angelic Angel’s lyrics addressing the “what do we sing for”/Future Honoka appearance immediately prior in School Idol Movie, or Water Blue New World’s interpretive dance triggering the blue bird to manifest as a symbolic ripple).
This was my most played Love Live track on both Spotify and Musicolet’s annual roundup, and indeed what I immediately thought of putting at #1. So yeah, pretty decisive winner there. Not my fault that the undisputed best Love Live song of the year came out on the very first day. Dia solos have just been so good. Better luck next time everyone else.
All up, a solid showing. Liella and Nijigasaki have further come into their own thanks to the incredible second seasons of each. Though I have to say that I personally feel 2021 was stronger for the music of the franchise. Plenty of great songs here, but nothing really breaches the insane heights of the Shooting Star Warrior single, Kuru Kuru Cruller or Phoenix Dance.
skapbadoa 