The popular Love Live franchise tells the story of high schoolers forming idol groups. The original series followed µ's, while the second series Love Live! Sunshine followed Aqours. Both groups have humble beginnings but go on to compete in the Love Live idol competition as they seek to establish a worldwide fanbase for their music. With the new series Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club currently airing, let's settle once and for all which of the previous idol groups made a bigger impact with their music.
µ's managed to make a miracle out of a rough situation. The group was created due to the desperate situation that Honoka's school was in, with the institution planning to shut down unless they received enough applications. Honoka sees becoming an idol at first as something she does purely for the school's sake, but after spending time singing, she develops a special love for performing on stage.
In Love Live: School Idol Project, µ's tried twice to win Love Live. During the first wave, rankings were key to determining who progressed in the musical tournament. With the system functioning in part due to how few idols there were at the time, the only way for idols to get into Love Live was to rank among the top 20. µ's put in extra effort to achieve their goals, a process that paid off for them. µ's progressively became more popular to the point it manages to break into the top 20. The only reason that Honoka's group didn't progress was that Honoka became sick from pushing herself too hard, rather than any lack of talent.
Despite that setback, the group rose to even greater levels of popularity. The second Love Live tournament was the last time their third-year idols could win. They surpass the infamous group A-Rise with their song "Snow halation" and take victory. Thanks to their victory in Love Live, the group receives an invitation to perform abroad in New York, but after all of this, they choose to disband the idol group.
Whereas the members of µ's achieved their goals against fewer competitors, the members of Aquors enter the fray years after the idol sensation has taken a hold of their world. With this surge of idols, the competition is more intense. Aquors itself was first founded with a desire to shine like µ's. Like the former idol group, Aquors faces off in Love Live twice but with differing circumstances.
Aquors failed in their first Love Live. At that moment, they thought that they performed just fine, but recieved no votes when they sang in the regionals. While this served as a small setback for Chika and her friends, they eventually found the resolve to perform on stage again. After this setback, the group discovered what makes them truly shine. Choosing to stop chasing after µ's path, they forged their own legacy in the idol sphere as they made new friends. Regardless of the ordeals they faced in their school, the members of Aquors managed to win Love Live the second time around.
Ultimately, weighing which idol group is better depends on how much the difficulty of their circumstances is factored in. Both groups cement themselves as influential idols of their respective series, with many great performances and an influential mark on the larger history of idol anime. While µ's does a much better job in terms of their performances, they don't face the same level of competition that Aquors ends up dealing with. This makes Aquors' victory all the more significant.