The mandatory beach-and-swimsuit episode has arrived! However, it’s not all fun and games in this episode. As expected of the Love Live series, the second years’ drama comes and threatens to change everything right after Aqours became a complete 9 member group. Other than that, the episode features cooking, late-night rendezvous, and a big, BIG declaration from Riko.
The episode opens with Riko and Chika messaging each other. While Riko is telling Chika that she needs to write the lyrics, Riko receives a message that sends her heart into disarray. What could it be?
After the OP, Dia asks the girls what does summer mean to school idols. Everyone gets the answer wrong, causing Dia to chew out the gals.
The girls relocate to the school clubroom. Dia asks Ruby to say the correct answer, which is the Love Live competiton. As an award, Dia showers Ruby with her love. Dia isn’t holding back anymore at winning our hearts now, is she?
Dia then reveals that she somehow secured μ’s supposed training schedule. The girls balk at how physically demanding this training regime is, but Kanan nonchalantly says she might be able to do it.
Suddenly, You brings up that Chika was asked by the neighborhood council to help run a summer snack bar. Chika and You both insist that they’re not trying to skip out training like Spartans under the blazing sun.
The group decides that they’ll help run the snack bar during the day and practice at night. Chika also declares that she’ll make things work out so that they can all stay at her family when it’s time to sleep. Everyone more or less looks pumped up to meet up at the beach the day, except for Riko, who stares at a specific set of piano sheet music when she returns home.
The next day has the girls running amok. Hopefully these gifs and pics properly demonstrate how much fun they’re having.
After fooling around, the girls turn to snack bar only to see it’s a rundown shack. In comparison, a rival food stall located next door looks much more glamarous and popular. Dia gets fired up to beat their rival and starts assigning roles. Riko and Chika are to stay by the roadside while wearing advertising boxes! Kanan will pass our flyers and lure in customers with her amazonian body! Mari, Yoshiko, and You will be in charge of cooking!
While You demonstrates her amazing talents once again by easily whipping up some omelet yakisoba, YOHANE prepares some mysterious takoyaki and Mari brews a menancing stew. As expected of members of sub-unit, Guilty Kiss, who kind of have a little devil image!
Despite all of their efforts, the snack bar remains desolate until Chika calls up some of her classmates to ask them to visit their floundering business.
After they’re done helping out at the snack bar, Aqours start their training. Kanan manages to get by, but the other girls are wiped out.
After finishing their training, the girls head to Chika’s place to wash up. Chika’s older sister comes out and warns them to mind their noise levels so they don’t disturb the other customers. Mari’s stomach rumbles, causing her to ask if there’s food left for them to eat.
Chika says that they are only allowed to eat the leftovers – You’s yakisoba pretty much sold out, but Stewshine and Tears of a Fallen Angel were ignored. The girls decide to give the food a try. To their surprise, the Stewshine tastes really good. However, Mari had used premium ingredients in order to make the stew, so each bowl costs around 100,000 yen. And as it turns out, Yoshiko’s Tears of a Fallen Angel was flavored with tons of tabasco sauce instead of octopus.
As the girls continue fooling around, Riko heads outside and deletes the text notice that had shook her earlier in the episode. Meanwhile, Chika heads to the inn to fetch something. Upon reaching the inn, however, she overhears Riko’s mother telling Chika’s sister that Riko should have a piano competition coming up, but she hasn’t said anything about it.
After the girls head to bed, Chika looks into the piano competition and finds out that it’s happening on the same date as the Love Live prelims. She wakes up Riko and asks to talk outside.
Riko confirms that the piano competition had her feeling conflicted, but she realized that she had to choose between her friends (and her town and her school) or piano. In the end, Riko felt that the piano was less important. RIKO YOU’RE A REAL GOOD GIRL
The two head back inside, but not before Chika makes an upset face.
The following day has a repeat of the previous day’s events – Riko and Chika stand by the roadside, Kanan (who is now joined by Mari) hands out flyers while snickering at the poor second-years, You and Yoshino are in the kitchen, Hanamaru and Ruby bring out the food to the customers, and Dia takes their orders.
Kanan, Riko, and Chika then head over to Riko’s place to talk about the lyrics. Chika apparently decided that the theme of the song is something being precious to you. Upon hearing that, Riko looks towards the piano sheets. Chika follows her gaze and sees that it’s the song that Riko was working on back in episode 2, when she was in a piano slump.
The girls rejoin the others, where they find Mari and Yoshiko being depressed over the fact that no one bought Stewshine or ToaFA takoyaki again.
You comes to the rescue again and turns the leftovers into Sailor’s Curry with Stewshine and some lovely Tears of a Fallen Angel!
To the girls’ surprise, the Sailor’s curry tastes amazing. Unfortunately, while You can seemingly do anything, she can’t get Chika to open to her. She seems to have put two-and-two together and realizes that Riko might have something to do with Chika feeling depressed. This seems like a drama bomb waiting to explode sooner rather than later.
After dinner, Dia attempts to lecture the others about the history of Love Live. The girls end up being too noisy, however, forcing Chika to urge everyone to sleep in order to avoid the wrath of the God of the Inn. I have to say, though, Dia’s scream is very similar to Ruby’s shrieks. They are truly sisters!
After everyone has fallen asleep, Chika wakes up Riko again and asks Riko to follow her. They then bike, in the middle of the night, to school, where Chika asks to listen to Riko’s song.
Afterwards, Chika compliments the song and then encourages Riko to enter the piano competition. After much smooth-talking, Riko seems to agree with Chika, calls her a weirdo, and then says the biggest line in the series thus far as the sun rises.
The next episode is titled, “Friendship, Aye Aye.” It’s almost guaranteed to be a You episode. See you next week.
The Lily Garden 
One thought on “Love Live! Sunshine!! Episode 10 Review”