Otonokizaka High, a traditional national school, has stood in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, for generations. This is where the second year high school student Honoka Kosaka learns about the crisis her school is in. If there are fewer applicants than the school would be able to accept, then the school will close in three years—after all current students graduate. Since her grandmother and mother both graduated from Otonokizaka, Honoka starts to think of ways to stop the school that she also loves from closing. The only possible way is to increase the number of prospective students, so along with her best friends Kotori Minami and Umi Sonoda, she searches for the best selling points for her school. There were no such features to be found. Honoka returns home feeling dejected, and then she learns that her younger sister Yukiho is going to try and attend a popular school called UTX. The next morning, to find out why that place is so popular, Honoka visits UTX. That is when she sees their school idol group “A-RISE.” She is floored by their brilliant performance and comes up with a secret plan to save her school, but...

In order to gain more prospective students, Honoka and her friends decide to form a school idol group. They pay a visit to the student council and request to perform their first concert after the Welcome Party for the new school year. They ask to use the auditorium, but the student council president, Eli Ayase, responds by saying the Welcome Party is not playtime, and she will not acknowledge their idol group. With some timely help from the student council vice president, Nozomi Tojo, Honoka and friends are somehow able to get permission to use the auditorium and begin preparations. They decide to take suggestions for their group’s name, while costume design is left to Kotori, and Umi is put in charge of their debut song’s lyrics. Umi’s special training sessions begin... Meanwhile, Honoka asks a first year student named Maki Nishikino to compose their debut song after hearing her playing the piano and singing. She refuses outright, lending further support to Eli’s words of warning. Honoka grows a bit depressed, but after her classmates encourage her and she ÿ nds that someone offered a suggestion for their group’s name, she returns to normal. Honoka goes to the music room after school to ask Maki one more time, but...

The group decides to accept the name suggestion. They are now µ’s, and their debut song is complete. As the concert draws closer, they start to see the results of their training, and their popularity around school has been increasing. Umi then says that she is too afraid to perform in front of others, so they decide to hand out fliers to help Umi get used to the concept. This also helps to serve as advertising for their concert! Perhaps thanks to those efforts, µ’s idol ranking rose just a smidge, but it was more than enough cause for celebration for the three of them. The costumes for their concert are soon completed. Although Umi initially protests the short skirt length, the three change their focus over to nailing their first concert. The next morning, it is finally the day of the concert. As the Welcome Party comes to a close, Honoka and crew hand out fliers to the students deciding which club to join, and with the help of their classmates, they move on to the actual performance. The three check one another’s costumes and think about all the time they spent practicing—all for this one performance. The curtain rises, signaling µ’s first concert is finally about to begin, but...

µ’s finishes their first concert despite the auditorium being empty. Despite this, Honoka and her friends do not lose heart, instead vowing to someday sing in front of a full house. But in order for them to do that, they first need to have five members before they can be recognized by the student council as an official club. The very next day, Honoka goes to invite Hanayo Koizumi, the first year who came to µ’s debut concert, to join, but Hanayo flees the scene like she committed a crime. In truth, she has admired idols from a very young age, which means she has a strong interest in µ’s. Her best friend, Rin Hoshizora, recognizes that truth and pushes her to join the idol group because she lacks the confidence to make the decision by herself. At the same time, Hanayo finds a dropped student handbook by the idol group’s recruitment poster and goes to Maki’s house to return it to its owner. Maki also urges her along, telling her that it’s fine to do the things you really want to do. And then, when Hanayo drops by the sweets shop Honoka’s family runs, she finds Honoka and her friends there by happenstance. They tell Hanayo that they will be waiting for her decision. She makes the decision to become a member, but she isn’t alone...

After welcoming Hanayo, Rin, and Maki, µ’s member count becomes six. Suddenly, a mysterious girl tells Honoka to disband µ’s immediately. And due to the start of the rainy season, the girls are unable to practice on the school’s roof like they used to. The six hold a meeting at a fast food joint out of necessity. They know that if they could at least be recognized as a real club, then they could borrow a classroom to practice in. This is when Honoka finally realizes that they have enough µ’s members to meet the requirements for establishing a school club. The girls immediately turn in an application to the student council, but they are told that there is already an idol-centric club at their school called the Idol Study Club, and they would rather not create an excess of clubs in a school with a dwindling student body. At the suggestion of the student council vice president, Nozomi, they decide to try and negotiate with the Idol Study Club. That is where they meet the third year student Nico Yazawa—the one who had told them to disband µ’s. When the girls tell her that they want a place to practice as µ’s, Nico tells them that their singing and dancing abilities are almost nonexistent, and that they are desecrating the concept of idols. She refuses without hesitation, but something is off...

After welcoming the third year, Nico Yazawa, as the newest member of µ’s, the group can now perform formal club activities. The girls are asked by the student council if they can film their club. Honoka started to get carried away after learning that they can keep using the video camera to make a promotional video for µ’s, but all the footage of her made her seem quite un-idol-like. After filming Nico and the first years, the camera made its way to the group leader, Honoka. While using it at her home, she is asked an unusual question. Among the second years, who make up the core members of µ’s, Umi is in charge of writing the songs, while Kotori thinks up the dance steps. Honoka, however, has no such role. Then why, she is asked, is she the leader? The next morning, they call an emergency meeting to respond to this unique issue. Honoka seems to have no problem with letting go of her leadership role, but the group is unable to decide on a successor. Nico then comes up with the idea for a song and dance competition among the seven members. Who will become the new leader!?

The school idol group bubbles with excitement once they learn that the idol festival, Love Live, will be held shortly. That news, along with µ’s rank soaring thanks to their promotional video, the girls impulsively decide to aim to compete. But in order to compete, they need the school’s permission, and they are convinced that Eli, who has always been against µ’s activities, will shoot them down. The director approves of their entry without much thought, but under the condition that none of the group members fail their exams. Honoka, Nico, and Rin—the triumvirate of poor study ethics—become rather downtrodden, spurring the other members to decide to help them study. Meanwhile, Umi encounters a girl in front of the school gate who is absorbed in watching a µ’s concert video. Umi surprises the girl by leaning in to watch it, and she learns that this girl’s older sister was who took the footage and posted it online. And the girl’s older sister happens to be none other than the student council president, Eli. Unable to grasp why Eli stubbornly refuses to accept µ’s activities, Umi pays a visit to the vice president, Nozomi...

The girls’ strenuous efforts were all in vain! The director suddenly says that it has already been decided that the school will close. However, that decision depends on the turnout for the open campus in two weeks. Eli wants to protect her grandmother’s alma mater. With that resolve in her heart, she convenes a student council meeting to think of ways to make the open campus a success. Meanwhile, the plan for µ’s concert is given to Eli, who doesn’t recognize any of their dancing talent, and therefore refuses to approve their plan. Despite that, the girls start practicing for the open campus. Ever since Umi saw Eli’s ballet video, she tells her fellow members to improve their dancing. After being told several times that they are no good, Maki and the others demand to hear what they are doing so wrong. That is when Umi tells them what she learned, and suggests that they have Eli teach them how to dance. Although originally opposed to it, the group decides to ask Eli to be their coach thanks to Honoka voicing her support for the idea. Surprisingly, Eli agrees. Eli’s harsh lessons begin...

After welcoming Eli and Nozomi, µ’s now has a total of nine members. Their new formation was popular at the open campus, so the director decides to continue observing the situation before deciding to close the school. The girls are gaining morale, but Kotori has been absent from practice for the past few days. Even so, µ’s school idol ranking has risen all the way to 50th place—but it will still be tough to get in the top 20, a requirement for being able to perform at Love Live. To reach that goal, Eli comes up with a drastic solution. Meanwhile, as part of their practice, the girls visit Akihabara. At the school idol shop, they see a picture of Kotori in some kind of maid outfit. And then Kotori herself arrives. After an intense interrogation, she finally confesses that she lacks self-confidence. Kotori, who had developed this complex because of Honoka and Umi, had taken a job at a maid cafe in attempt to change herself. After seeing Kotori and the charms of Akihabara, Eli plans an impromptu concert right on the street. They decide that Kotori should write the newest song’s lyrics, but...

One summer day, less than a month before the selection process for Love Live! will begin, Honoka suggests that they all go to the beach for an overnight trip after hearing some of the girls complain about practicing in such hot weather. Although the Idol Study Club has almost zero budget for such an excursion, Honoka begs Maki to let them use her family’s beach house. Eli believes the upperclassmen/underclassmen dynamic will get in the way of the group’s growth, so in order to raise their unity, she decides to take advantage of the trip and tells the members of µ’s to no longer distinguish by student grade. The first and second year students are a little taken aback by suddenly having to refer to their upperclassmen with the informal -chan honorific rather than the polite -senpai honorific. The girls arrive at the beach house and immediately try to practice, but Honoka and Nico shirk responsibility and run straight into the ocean. The others reluctantly decide to forego practice for the day. While everyone is playing, Maki sits by herself under a beach umbrella and reads. Nozomi notices that Maki is the only one who is struggling to open up, so she joins Maki in buying dinner supplies and correctly guesses what her real problem is. And then, that night...

One summer day, less than a month before the selection process for Love Live! will begin, Honoka suggests that they all go to the beach for an overnight trip after hearing some of the girls complain about practicing in such hot weather. Although the Idol Study Club has almost zero budget for such an excursion, Honoka begs Maki to let them use her family’s beach house. Eli believes the upperclassmen/underclassmen dynamic will get in the way of the group’s growth, so in order to raise their unity, she decides to take advantage of the trip and tells the members of µ’s to no longer distinguish by student grade. The first and second year students are a little taken aback by suddenly having to refer to their upperclassmen with the informal -chan honorific rather than the polite -senpai honorific. The girls arrive at the beach house and immediately try to practice, but Honoka and Nico shirk responsibility and run straight into the ocean. The others reluctantly decide to forego practice for the day. While everyone is playing, Maki sits by herself under a beach umbrella and reads. Nozomi notices that Maki is the only one who is struggling to open up, so she joins Maki in buying dinner supplies and correctly guesses what her real problem is. And then, that night...

Hiding her poor condition due to a cold, Honoka attempts to perform at the school festival concert. However, she overdoes it and collapses on stage, forcing µ’s school festival concert to be called off. A few days later, the µ’s crew goes to visit a recovering Honoka. Eli then reports that they refused to enter Love Live without her. As a result, µ’s name vanished from the idol ranking board, and their goods start to get removed from the school idol shop in Akihabara. A few days later, Honoka returns to school, but after failing her goal to participate in Love Live, she seems to have plunged into a deep depression. On the other hand, their activities as the Idol Study Club paid off, as student applications to Otonokizaka High have increased exponentially. The school decides to accept new students for the next school year. The Idol Study Club immediately holds a party in celebration of the school’s continued operation. This is when Umi reveals a shocking fact—in two weeks, Kotori is leaving Japan to study abroad. Honoka is surprised, but...

Honoka blames herself for failing to notice Kotori’s distress and decides to resign from being a school idol. In response, Eli proposes that all µ’s activities cease and the group go on hiatus. Honoka, who lost sight of her original goal, can’t even see eye to eye with Umi anymore. Her classmates take her to an arcade to try and cheer her up. That is where Honoka decides to play a dance game. When she gets a high score, she realizes that she cannot possibly remove her desire to be an idol from her mind. On her way home, she encounters Hanayo, Rin, and Nico climbing the steps to the local shrine. While using unfriendly language, Nico does her best to encourage Honoka. On top of that, Eli stops by Honoka’s house and confesses that she was always envious of how Honoka acts as freely as she does, and that she was saved by Honoka offering her a hand. That night, Honoka makes her decision, and the next morning, Umi goes to the school auditorium in response to a summons. It is there that Honoka tells Umi her honest feelings about the future.