The official Twitter account of the Love Live! Sunshine!! project has announced the start of a brand new series starring the idols from Aqours, as puppets.
【速報】『ラブライブ！サンシャイン!!』実写映像化！スペシャルムービーが公開されました。 https://t.co/Vowg4RK762 #lovelive
— ラブライブ！公式 (@LoveLive_staff) March 31, 2017
The first episode of the Love Live! Sunshine!! puppet show has been released on Youtube, with the main cast reprising their roles from the anime. The episode itself is 15 minutes long.
There will also be a second season of the Love Live! Sunshine!! anime that will air this Fall/Autumn. The first season of the anime aired in Summer 2016 and ran for a total of 13 episodes.
The main cast for Aqours, the idol group and main characters of the series, includes:
- Anju Inami (Ino Yamanaka in the Naruto Stage Play) will voice Chika Takami
- Rikako Aida (Poona in Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart) voices Riko Sakurauchi
- Nanaka Suwa (Yaya in Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de) as Kanan Matsuura
- Arisa Komiya (Gravure Idol and Yoko Usami/Yellow Buster from Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters) is voicing Dia Kurosawa
- Shuka Saito (First Major Role) will join the cast as You Watanabe
- Aika Kobayashi (Singer of Freezing ED) will voice Yoshiko Tsushima
- Kanako Takatsuki (Cover Artist, Part of AnisongCollab) as Hanamaru Kunikida
- Aina Suzuki (Contestant in the 2013 Anison Grand Prix) voices Mari Ohara
- Ai Furihata (Various Game Voices) is voicing Ruby Kurosawa
The leading members of the anime’s production staff includes:
- Director: Kazuo Sakai (Mushi-Uta)
- Series Composer: Jukki Hanada (Steins;Gate, Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!)
- Anime Character Designer: Yuuhei Murota (Love Live! School Idol Project)
- Sound Director: Yukio Nagasaki (Gangsta., Ao Haru Ride)
- Music Composer: Tatsuya Katou (Mirai Nikki, Free!)
- Animation Studio: Sunrise (Gintama, Code Geass)
Here is the main promotional video for the first season:
Love Live! School Idol Project is an original anime produced by Sunrise studios that aired in January 2013. The conception of the anime project started in 2010 by Dengeki G’s Magazine. The editors wanted the project to be heavily influenced by fans, such as the costumes, hairstyles and names. Throughout this process, a manga of the project simply called Love Live! began in early 2012 by Sakurako Kimino and Arumi Tokita. The next part in the project was the anime series, followed by this app and an OVA. The second season of Love Live! School Idol Project aired in 2014 and an anime film was released in Summer 2015. The main idols of the anime, µ’s, held their last concert in early 2016. A new project titled Love Live! Sunshine!! was announced with an anime airing in July 2016.
Here is a synopsis of the Love Live! Sunshine!! from MAL:
Uranohoshi Girls’ High School, a private school in the seaside neighborhood of Uchiura at Numazu city, Shizuoka prefecture.
A small high school in a corner of Suruga Bay, it is home to nine teens, led by second-year student Chika Takami, driven by one seriously big dream: To become the next generation of bright, sparkling “school idols”!
As long as we don’t give up, any dream can come true… All we have to do now is keep pushing hard for fame and glory!
Now their “School Idol Project” begins to make their dreams come true!
Did you enjoy the first episode of the Love Live! Sunshine!! Puppet Show? A second season of the Love Live! Sunshine!! anime is also currently in production for the Fall/Autumn 2017 anime season. Further details will be revealed soon.
You can visit the project’s website for more information: http://www.lovelive-anime.jp/uranohoshi/
And follow their Twitter as well: @LoveLive_staff
“Love Live! Sunshine!!”, “Love Live! School Idol Project”, images and all associated brands and titles © 2017 Love Live! Project, Sunrise, Lantis and ASCII Media Works