Nijigasaki High School Idol Club

Nijigasaki High School Idol Club (虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会, Nijigasaki Gakuen Sukūru Aidoru Dōkō-kai) (often abbreviated as Nijigaku or simply Nijigasaki) is a Japanese multimedia project from the Love Live! series and its game series Love Live! School Idol Festival. The group was first introduced in 2017 as "Perfect Dream Project" and was initially created as part of the game Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars.[1] Unlike μ's and Aqours, the previous groups from the franchise, they are not a group but rather individual school idols who compete with each other while working together to keep their school idol club alive.

Nijigasaki High School Idol Club
Official Japanese logo
虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会
(Nijigasaki Gakuen Sukūru Aidoru Dōkō-kai)
GenreMusic
Anime television series
Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club
Directed byTomoyuki Kawamura
Written byJin Tanaka
StudioSunrise

They are featured in the spin-off game Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars along with μ's and Aqours. They also appear as SR rarity cards in Love Live! School Idol Festival.[2][3] The girls were split up into groups of three to begin activities in three different apps before their addition to the game: Dengeki Online website (Kasumi, Karin, Setsuna), Famitsu App website (Ayumu, Ai, Rina), and the game's official website (Emma, Shizuku, Kanata). Each place is working as a separate room or branch office for the Nijigasaki High School.[4] An anime adaptation by Sunrise has been announced.

Plot

Nijigasaki High School is located in Odaiba, Tokyo. The school is popular due to its free school style and diverse majors.[5] The story centers on the members of school idol club in Nijigasaki, and their attempt to prevent the club from being abolished.

Characters

Where appropriate, plot descriptions mentioned below refer to the story in Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars. Other parts of the franchise, such as the manga and novel series, feature some variations in the storyline.

The girls from Nijigasaki High School. From left to right: Emma, Kanata, Karin, Kasumi, Ayumu, Shizuku, Ai, Setsuna, and Rina.

Main
Ayumu Uehara (上原 歩夢, Uehara Ayumu)
Voiced by: Aguri Ōnishi[6]
Ayumu is a second year who became a school idol after a suggestion by the protagonist the game, who is her childhood friend. She is distinguishable by semi short hairstyle, a hair bun with a tiny braid around it, and hairpins on her right side of her head. Ayumu likes to put effort toward everything, especially as a school idol. Her image color is pink.
She did her early activities at the Famitsu App website and is described as a "hard-working type school idol" (コツコツ系スクールアイドル, kotsukotsu-kei sukūru aidoru).
Kasumi Nakasu (中須 かすみ, Nakasu Kasumi)
Voiced by: Mayu Sagara[6]
Kasumi is a first year who refers herself as "Kasumin." Due to her full name, she's often called "Kasukasu" as a joke, which she hates (as it means "dried out" in Japanese). She belongs to the general course. She is the first person that the protagonist encounters at the school idol club, where she was striving to keep the club alive. She is distinguishable by her beige-colored semi-short hair and a star-shaped hairpin. She wanted to become a school idol more than anyone and sometimes tries to be mischievous to her rivals. She also likes to send hate mails to her rivals, although sometimes it naturally becomes a normal fan mail. Kasumi refers to the protagonist as "Senpai." Her image color is yellow.
She did her early activities at the Dengeki Online website and is described as a "black-hearted type school idol" (腹黒系スクールアイドル, haraguro-kei sukūru aidoru).
Shizuku Osaka (桜坂 しずく, Ōsaka Shizuku)
Voiced by: Kaori Maeda[6]
An honorable first year student and theater club member who was introduced to school idols by her admired senior, she belongs to the international exchange course. Shizuku is one of the five original members of the school idol club, but unintentionally departed as she became devoted to the theater club. She is one of the original N-rarity girls introduced in School Idol Festival; she originally was a Seiran High School student. She is distinguishable by her long brown hair and red ribbon. Her image color is aqua.
She did her early activities at the School Idol Festival website and is described as a "junior type school idol" (後輩系スクールアイドル, kōhai-kei sukūru aidoru).
Karin Asaka (朝香 果林, Asaka Karin)
Voiced by: Miyu Kubota[6]
Karin is a third year student who aims to become a model and has confidence with her body; she belongs to the life design course. Her personality is passionate and mature, but also has some pureness. She's good at coordinating clothes. Her image color is blue.
She did her early activities at the Dengeki Online website and is described as a "sexy older sister type school idol" (セクシーお姉さん系スクールアイドル, sekushi onee-san-kei sukūru aidoru).
Karin is regarded as "2018 MVP" for ranking first-place for three consecutive months; taking only 2nd and 3rd in the other monthly polls.[7]
Ai Miyashita (宮下 愛, Miyashita Ai)
Voiced by: Natsumi Murakami[6]
An energetic second year, Ai is an honor student despite her gyaru appearance. She loves to make puns especially using her given name ("Ai" means "Love" in Japanese) and refers herself as "Ai-san." She joined the school idol club because she likes to try new things. Her image color is orange.
She did her early activities at the Famitsu App website and is described as a "true gyaru type school idol" (ガチギャル系スクールアイドル, gachi gyaru-kei sukūru aidoru).
Kanata Konoe (近江 彼方, Konoe Kanata)
Voiced by: Akari Kitō[6]
A third year who always looks sleepy and unmotivated, she belongs to the life design course. Kanata refers herself as "Kanata-chan." One of the original five school idol club members, she stopped coming to the club because she has to repair her exam scores; she agrees to return as Ayumu promised her that Shizuku and Ai would help her with her studies. Despite being sleepy, she is actually a very educated student and often gets high scores. She is one of the original N-rarity girls introduced in School Idol Festival; she is originally a Shinonome Institute student. She became a school idol to get a praise from her younger sister Haruka Konoe, another school idol introduced in the game. Her image color is purple.
She did her early activities at the School Idol Festival website and is described as a "spoiled older sister-type school idol" (甘えん坊お姉さん系スクールアイドル, amaenbō oneesan-kei sukūru aidoru).
Setsuna Yuki (優木 せつ菜, Yūki Setsuna) / Nana Nakagawa (中川 菜々, Nakagawa Nana)
Voiced by: Tomori Kusunoki[6]
A second year who, for some reason, does not wear a school uniform nor had anyone seen her at the school (there's even no illustration of her wearing a school uniform). Setsuna is an otaku who likes to sing anime songs. Her image color is red. In All Stars, it is revealed that Setsuna Yuki is actually her stage name, with her real identity being Nana Nakagawa, Nijigasaki Academy's student council president. She belongs to the general course. She is one of the original five school idol club members and had left because she was unable to tolerate its atmosphere due to her strong feelings towards school idols. This caused the club's failing state. Under her student council president disguise, she commands the protagonist to gather 10 members in order to keep the club alive. After 8 members (excluding the protagonist) gathered, she reveals herself to be Setsuna Yūki and rejoined the club.
She did her early activities at the Dengeki Online website and is described as a "??? type school idol" (？？？？系スクールアイドル, ???-kei sukūru aidoru).
Setsuna is regarded as "2017 MVP" for ranking first-place three times out of the six monthly popularity polls held; she held second-place in the other polls.[8]
Emma Verde (エマ・ヴェルデ, Ema Verude)
Voiced by: Maria Sashide[6]
A third year exchange student who came abroad from Switzerland. Growing up there, she loves what nature brings, like mountains and forests. She belongs to the international exchange course. Emma is distinguishable by her twin braids, freckles on her face and her well endowed figure. Her favorite food is bread and she is able to eat many of it, as well as mixing it with other food. Emma is one of the original N-rarity girls introduced in School Idol Festival and originally only named "Emma." She was a Y.G. International Academy student. Her image color is green. She is one of the five original school idol club members; her absence from the club was simply because she went back to her home country for a while — leaving a letter that Kasumi misunderstood as a challenge letter from another school's club.
She did her early activities at the School Idol Festival website and is described as a "pure type school idol" (純粋系スクールアイドル, junsui-kei sukūru aidoru).
Rina Tennoji (天王寺 璃奈, Tennōji Rina)
Voiced by: Chiemi Tanaka[6]
A first year student who claims to have a very cute face, but is too shy to show it; thus, she covers her face with the "Rina-chan board," a small notebook with a drawing on it of a facial expression she made with Ai. During live shows, she wears a cat eared pair of headphones with a small monitor that covers her face. She belongs to the information processing course. Her image color is gray. In one of Rina's bond episode of the game, she eventually decides to reveal her face to the protagonist. After completing a certain goal, player is also able to remove Rina's mask during live shows.
She did her early activities at the Famitsu App website and is described as a "face-hiding type school idol" (顔出しNG系スクールアイドル, kaodashi NG-kei sukūru aidoru).

Other characters
Yu Takasaki (高咲 侑, Takasaki Yū) / Protagonist
In the game, players assume the role of the protagonist, a second-year student at Nijigasaki High School who is also Ayumu's childhood friend. The protagonist becomes interested in school idols after seeing joint live between μ's and Aqours but after looking for a related club in Nijigasaki, the protagonist learns that the existing school idol club is on its last legs of survival and decides to rebuild and reform the school idol club. The protagonist acts as the manager and song composer for the rest of the members. The protagonist's gender is left vague in the game and is nameable.
The anime equivalent of the game's protagonist is depicted as a girl with black, a bit of green tip twin tailed hair. Her name was decided through fan votes.[9]
Shioriko Mifune (三船 栞子, Mifune Shioriko)
Voiced by: Moeka Koizumi
Shioriko is a first-year student who for some reason, wants to abolish the school idol club. She later become the student council president, taking Nana Nakagawa's position, so she can abolish the clubs she thought has no merits for the school. Is it revealed that rather than personally hating the school idol club, Shioriko is just seriously thinking about Nijigasaki High School.

Broadcast and distribution

An anime television series titled Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club has been announced.[10] The series is animated by Sunrise and directed by Tomoyuki Kawamura, with Jin Tanaka handling series composition and Takumi Yokota designing the characters.[11] A public vote was held to decide the name of one the anime's characters, who is based on the player character in the game.[12]

Discography

While working individually, the girls also released singles as group as well as divided into three mini units. The sub-units was decided by votes from users. Instead of three mini units consisting of three members each as with μ's and Aqours, the Nijigasaki girls were divided into groups of two, three, and four. Deciding on the mini units along with their names concluded on June 10, 2019. The results consist of: DiverDiva (Karin and Ai), A・Zu・Na (Ayumu, Shizuku, and Setsuna), and Qu4rtz (pronounced "Quartz") (Kasumi, Kanata, Emma, and Rina).[13]

Singles
Title Artist(s) Release date Peak Oricon
chart positions		 Notes
"Super Nova" DiverDiva February 12, 2020 9[14] DiverDiva's 1st single
"Dream Land! Dream World!" A・Zu・Na 8[15] A・Zu・Na's 1st single
"Sing & Smile!!" Qu4rtz 10[16] Qu4rtz's 1st single
"Muteki-kyū Believer" (無敵級*ビリーバー) Kasumi Nakasu
(voiced by Mayu Sagara)		 July 29, 2020 A single by Kasumi Nakasu who won the election in 2019.[17] Also includes Nijigasaki's first single.
Albums
Title Artist(s) Release date Peak Oricon
chart positions		 Notes
Tokimeki Runners Nijigasaki High School Idol Club November 21, 2018[18] 5[19] The group's 1st album containing the opening theme song for Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars
Love U My Friends October 2, 2019[20] 5[21] The group's 2nd album
TBA September 2, 2020 The group's 3rd album

References
  1. ""Love Live" Perfect Dream Project Teases μ's, Aqours, and Something More". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  2. "「ラブライブ！スクールアイドルフェスティバル新情報発表会」での新情報のお知らせ". ラブライブ！スクールアイドルフェスティバル (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  3. "ラブライブ！虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会の活動について新展開のお知らせ". ラブライブ！スクールアイドルフェスティバルALL STARS（スクスタ） (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  4. "News from PDP". 1, 2, 3シャイン！！. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  5. ""Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS" Begins Service Today on September 26". KLab Inc. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  6. "虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会キャスト初公開！". ラブライブ！スクールアイドルフェスティバルALL STARS (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  7. "2018年 年間MVP". ラブライブ！スクールアイドルフェスティバルALL STARS（スクスタ） (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  8. "2017年 年間MVP". ラブライブ！スクールアイドルフェスティバルALL STARS（スクスタ） (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  9. "『ラブライブ！虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会』テレビアニメに登場する"あなた"の名前が"高咲 侑（たかさき ゆう）"に決定！". Famitsu (in Japanese). Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  10. "Love Live! Franchise Gets New Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Dōkōkai TV Anime". Anime News Network. Anime News Network. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  11. "Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen TV Anime Unveils Staff". Anime News Network. Anime News Network. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  12. "電撃G's magazine編集部" (in Japanese). Twitter. January 28, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  13. "新ユニット名は【DiverDiva / A・ZU・NA / QU4RTZ 】「虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会」". ブライブほしいものブログ (in Japanese). Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  14. "Super Nova" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  15. "Dream Land! Dream World!" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  16. "Sing & Smile!!" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  17. "「ラブライブ！虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会 新曲を歌えるのは１人だけ!?アニメーションＰＶ付きシングル総選挙」結果発表！". ラブライブ！虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会 (in Japanese). 30 November 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  18. "ラブライブ！虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会デビューアルバムリリース決定". 【公式】ラブライブ！スクフェス事務局 at Twitter (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  19. "Tokimeki Runners" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  20. "虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会 2ndアルバム Love U my friends". ラブライブ！虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会< (in Japanese). Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  21. "Love U My Friends" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
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