Love Live opinon book

Ranking of the rivals

1.  A-rise. 

Now even though we got to see very little of A-rise ( in the anime at least) I can't but still love them and see them as the top rival group in all of Love Live. They're the type of rivals who feel like a big threat but are actually super chill and supportive of their opponents, which in all honesty I like seeing in the media as it shows humility and grace in the face of defeat. It is also important to note while A-rise only has 2 songs, those 2 songs are absolute bangers and really show off the vocal power of its member's seiyuus. I do wish we got a little more screen time with A-rise or a couple of more songs as I feel they could have been so much more than rivals to build up Muse. My ranking also may or may not be influenced by Anju being my 3rd favorite character in all of the School Idol Project too but who knows, only I do hehe.

2.  Saint Snow. 

I have to say this immediately about Saint Snow, they are amazing rivals and are what I envision A-rise would've been if they got more attention. Saint Snow, despite being a duo, are masters at their craft, producing songs that are energizing and get the blood pumping with excitement. I love the rock-esque feeling they put in their songs combined with Leah's rapping makes for some really unique and enjoyable music, making Aqours music look weak in comparison ( no hate to Aqours though ). It is fortunate that Saint Snow got the love and attention they deserved getting more screen time and songs than A-rise, and as I stated earlier in this ranking is how I imagined A-rise would be if they got more attention. 

3. Sunny Pa

I absolutely adore the tropical feel of Sunny Pa's music, it feels like a reflection of their island home of Kōzu-shima. A small island but it's full of charm and wonder, like Sunny Pa's 2 songs, but more so with Hot Passion. I do worry they will get the A-rise treatment and be forgotten about when they put out banger hits and have the same friendly rival feel as A-rise. I want to hear more of their music and unique vocals so hopefully we get more of them and their music in season 3 of SuperStar. I also like how they gave Yuna shark like teeth, I like quirky designs like that and helps to make her stand out and match her bright and bubbly attitude. We can hope they get more love least they become another A-rise which would break my heart.

4. Wien Margarete.

Wien, I thought she had great potential as a rival as she felt like a true threat but not as mean spirited as Lanzhu. Her 2 songs Butterfly and Edelstien felt like songs that could be in Revue Starlight or some huge broadway production, needless to say they had me impressed. Wien could have been a bigger threat but unfortunately the way season 2 ended ruined any potential for that cool rival that feels like a boss type vibe she had going. I feel Wien is an example of what a good rival could have been but I feel the negative reception on Lanzhu made the team more cautious with how they implemented her. Before wrapping up I like how they made her Austrian as we could have gotten a song in German which would have slapped with her vocals. 

5. Lanzhu Zhong and the School Idol Association ( game version )

Probably one of the worst things to come to Love Live was Lanzhu Zhong and the School Idol Association. A rival group based on "good intentions" from Lanzhu but feels more like something built on betrayal with Ai and Karin stabbing their friends in the back to join. We can't forget Lanzhu's tyrannical behavior trying to shut down the main idol club because she saw hers as "better" and to "help" the 7 remaining Niji girls. Lanzhu has potential to be a good rival but they really didn't handle her well, like at all. Fortunately in the anime they toned her down alot and made her somewhat likable but her status as a rival will go down in Love Live infamy. Lanzhu is the Fallout 76 of Love Live, a disaster that could have been avoided easily with proper planning. To give Lanzhu some credit she was not trying to do the things she did out of spite, though the way it was written was poor so it was hard to understand. To be fair her songs are good, the fact she sings in English, Japanese and Chinese is really special and something never seen in Love Live so she gets a little more credit there, but overall she is the rival I hated the most, and I hate how the School Idol Association was basically built on betrayal by Ai and Karin.

Whew, that was a doozy to write but I had fun discussing the rivals and ranking them based in a varity of factors. Well goodbye for now, next chapter will be ranking of the main groups and what I like about each.