BanG Dream!

There was a time when I had no standard and could watch any show and enjoy it. That was the time I watched this show and rated it a 7. It's been a while but now that I've seen many other shows I feel like I can rate shows more accurately based on my own preferences and tastes. If I'm being honest the story really is predictable, the art is good but maybe lacks a bit of frames every now and then and the idea of cute girls doing cute things isn't for me, at least in this format anymore. But this is a music show after all and that is the are which this show excels at. I think there is any other reason to watch this show all the way to the most recent third season. Unless you enjoy this show of course. Just speaking from analytic point of view and reviewing the story, art and characters it's not worth it. However all of us have something they like and others don't. I think the first episode can determine whether or not you will like the show.

Bang Dream! is definitely different from K-On. The band aspects and the good music were in a way similar, but that’s the end of it. Bang Dream! shines on its own. The story is actually generic, its the usual plot that you see in any slice-of-life animes starring only high school girls. But what separates them from the bunch would be the characters and the progression of their story. The pacing was quite slow compared to the usual pacing of a slice-of-life high school girls anime, but very compact and solid as they were able to showcase everything. Their setting was also quite interesting. Yes, you don’t see much guys/men in the series, but the thought of having a studio cafe for girl bands sounds really BADASS. Even though it was unrealistic, it was still fun to watch it. I do want to point out the use of episodic introduction/focused arcs of the lead characters. It is the usual trope that we see on SoL, but I am getting tired of it. It would have been great if they layered each of their arcs since the beginning, then slowly their arcs would unfold. Just like how they handled Saaya’s arc. That’s the ideal way of storytelling, showing subtle moments of her struggle and background in every episode to get that right Bang! (pun intended) at the exact episode where her arc is focused. That way the viewers watching would appreciate each member/lead character of the series. Cuz I am talking about the some of the characters anyway, gonna start sharing my thoughts about them. Like the story, the characters were generic but still, really likeable. The main character, Kasumi, is your typical genki MC. She’s noisy, sociable, friendly and optimistic. I’ll be honest, I’m not too fond of her. Out of all the main girls, she’s my least favorite. Still, her role in getting everyone together is quite vital and she is pretty much the foundation of their group. The moment she collapsed, everything else fall as well. Even though I’m not too fond of her, I do empathize and understand her struggles. Her development wasn’t that large, but dang, it resonates hard. Her struggles near the end reminded me alot of my own hardships. So seeing her stand up again, with the help of her bandmates/friends, was really heartwarming. Now, for the other members of Poppin’ Party, my most favorite character would be Arisa. She’s the tsundere one, and she is very precious. After seeing her in the very first episode, I know there was something with her that was different. Not only that she is smart, she’s also innocent when it comes to friendship. Like I said, she’s precious. I also like that she’s pretty much the voice of reason in the group, and I totally get her. Oh! oh! Oh! Her friendship with Kasumi is so cute and precious. It’s very genuine. Though compared to the early episodes of the series, their display of friendship lessen. Still, you can easily tell that both of them cares for each other and are pretty much besties status. I am a bit disappointed though, her background wasn’t tackled much. It would be nice that she would get a proper arc in the next seasons. After all, I wanted to know more about her. Saaya, the one who got the most development, she’s okay. Her first encounter with Kasumi was weird, but in a way, realistic. I like that she interacts well with Kasumi even though the latter is crazy. Like I said above, she got the ideal character arc, and that definitely helped us, viewers, know more about her and her struggles. Her struggles were really relatable and her confrontation scene with Kasumi was one of the best I had seen in awhile. (kudos to the writers!) Rimi also got a decent amount of development. She’s really shy and timid, but I liked that she was able to overcome her fears and be able to shine like her own sister. She’s really cute too. Also, her being the bass player and the one composing their music….definitely a PLUS to me. Lastly, Tae. She’s peculiar. Tae’s someone who loves music and in a way…kinda dumb. She resonates well with Kasumi and goes along well with the other members. I can’t really say much about her, cuz she’s forgettable and the least developed member of the group. As a group, the lead characters play well with each other. Even though they are different in terms of personality, they still have the right amount of cohesiveness to make they group work. I don’t much opinion about the other supporting characters. Most of them are there only cuz of the story, though I do wanna point out that there’s actually parents involve in this series. It makes this series more grounded and realistic. Now, for the art and animation. Bruh, they actually used CG correctly. I had seen alot of failed attempts in using CG in idol animes. I always wished for it to improve. Seeing this series to have a decent CG, especially during the performances, it made the series more fun to watch and enjoyable. The character designs looked generic, but they are actually not bad. The overall art was pretty decent. Even the lighting and color scheme of the series wasn’t painful in the eyes. It was also consistent. Definitely alot better than I expected. Of course, I won’t move on until I discuss its music. Infairness, they actually have good music. They are fun and easy to listen to. I can’t really compare them to the awesome K-On discography, but Bang Dream!’s music are pretty decent. I’ll definitely check their music out. Overall, Bang Dream! was what I expected it to be, a simple slice-of-life anime about girls getting into music and form a band. In some ways, this anime is quite similar to some of the idol animes out there and I am not complaining. Bang Dream! actually delivers. I had fun watching the series. I would definitely recommend this to everyone who likes idol animes or the current plot-trend of slice-of-life, you guys would definitely like this series. If you are not part of that niche, I think you can still enjoy watching this one. Anyway, that is all for now.

I'm reviewing this from the standpoint of someone who's been a huge fan of the BanG Dream mobile rhytm game for some time before I decided to start watching the anime. I'll do my best not to be biased, but I think BanG Dream is an amazing, expansive media franchise, combining good music with great characters and every part of it has been more or less enjoyable for me. At the moment there are 7 bands and the first season of the anime focuses on the main band of the series, Poppin'Party. The anime does a great job adapting Band Story 0 from the game, which is about how Poppin'Party got together in the first place. Without giving away too much, the story is about Toyama Kasumi, a girl who discovers her love for music and seeks to form a band. Together with her newfound friends and bandmates, she has lots of fun, but also goes through lots of hardships in order to fulfill her dreams. Both the comedic and dramatic moments were adapted perfectly and they might be even more impactful than how they were in the game. Nothing was left out from the original story, so new BanG Dream fans can easily jump in, while existing fans got new scenes and more fleshed out minor characters. For example, aside from Rimi's sister, Yuri, none of the Glitter Green members appear in the game that much, but they're more prominent in the anime and we get to know them a lot better there. There are even some cameo appearances from the other bands which don't have a part in the story of the first season. I already know and love the characters from the game, but they're just as enjoyable and lovable in the anime. Since this first season focuses on the band Poppin'Party, all the members get a lot of screentime, their own arcs and development. Saaya's arc was my favourite one among them and its finale was my favourite moment of the season. As for my favourite character, I don't think I have one. The whole main cast was equally great. Another thing I like about BanG Dream is how it balances slice of life, drama and music. An equal amount of time is spent on lighthearted moments and humour, character drama, character development and showing the band practicing, preparing and playing music. All those aspects are executed with a lot of heart and soul, too. It's not just all about cute girls or fanservice; it's about the characters being friends, growing as people, giving their best and doing what they love. Since this is a music anime, the music in it is obviously important and there's a lot of it. Poppin'Party's songs aren't the most revolutionary music you'll ever hear, but I think they still stand out among music from other similar anime. Most of the songs fall into the J-Pop genre but there's a lot of variety and I personally love them. My favourite among the ones used in season one is Star Beat and it's probably one of my favourites from the whole franchise. Another thing I love about the music is how the songs that appear in it sound raw and natural, fitting for an amateur band. Sound editing was used minimally so the music sounds just like how it would sound being played in the venues they are playing in (a basement, a school gym, an empty live house...). Aside from the songs, the background music is also surprisingly memorable and adds a lot to the anime. The art and animation are wonky sometimes, but it wasn't distracting to me. The animation being off-model at times maybe even makes the characters more expressive; especially Kasumi, who's hyperactive and lively almost all the time. Something that did bother me is how, in a lot of the performance scenes in the first half of the season, the characters are playing music, but we don't see them actually playing their instruments at all. Instead we get a close up shot of them swaying and singing, while their hands are just kind of moving off-screen. It's like they were trying to show them playing their instruments as little as possible, presumably because they didn't have the time or money to animate it properly. From episode 8 until the end (where most of the performances are), every performance is properly animated, though, so it's not too bad. In those performance scenes the characters are animated with CG, which isn't perfect, but it's good enough not to take me out of the experience. Considering it's just a bunch of still shots, the ending looks surprisingly awkward and it's impossible to ignore how strange and uncanny the characters look. On the other hand, the opening is the complete opposite. It's very animated, natural and feels perfect for the series. In conclusion, BanG Dream season 1 might not have the very best art or animation of 2017, but it's still an above-average music anime full of heart and soul. It's a feel good show full of great characters and music that's guaranteed not to leave you indifferent.

In an already exhausted genre like this Bang Dream is refreshingly good. I listen to the music from Poppin Party and Roselia all the time, and I'm impressed that the voice actors actually play their instruments, especially since those songs aren't simple. The characters are genuinely lovable, and it might play heavily on my own dream of finding that perfect group to play music with, but the story hit notes that brought tears to my eyes like few other things have. I keep expecting the show to hit a stale arc, but I'm into season 3 now and it's honestly kept everything right up there. At first I didn't like that the music performances and later seasons were all CGI, but then I noticed how well animated it is and how much the 3d actually adds to the animation making the music performances incredibly lifelike. And again, the music alone is a reason to give this show a go, but the story and characters give it that much more impact.

I know this project for a long time now because of the games and their actual live ( I really love their seiyuus so talented AF) so this year I decided to take a chance to try the anime. First of all I have low expectation in this kind of anime, i hate anime with pure fanservice only but not much with plots but this one is different and i was surprised! As expected the story revolves around a girl who aspire to perform in the stage and shine! That's cute and all, she's very persuasive af and honestly kinda annoying but it is her best trait. She is the MC, Kasumi. The first 3 to 4 episodes was you usual moe anime. Girls being just kawaii girls and practicing guitar with fucking twinkle twinkle little star makes me want to drop it but after that episodes the train of emotion comes rushing in so fast. The later half of the anime shows us the realistic side of being a performer such as hard practice and time management and other stuff such as for example Saya's mother being sick of all the time. BTW i love that episode, Kasumi and friends trying to convince Saya to join the band. Imma say its the strongest episode for this season. If you love anime about band plus some moe moments this anime is really good for you. The animation is fine, im not really bothered by the CGI animation during some scenes and of course it is a musical anime so the music here is good AF and I love their songs XD Even the songs not played in the anime. Character wise i love all of them. They are unique to each other and as you can see my DP is Tae. lol. She's funny af so she's mah waifu. I really enjoyed the show tho the first 3 episodes were weak but the rest specially 8-12 is really enjoyable and full of emotions.. 8/11

Story 6/10 Kasumi Toyama is a high school girl who doesn’t really know what she wants to do with her life but when she discovers a star shaped guitar and live music she has a transformation and decides that she wants to one day be up on the stage playing music and sparkling. Being a determined happy person that doesn’t really know how to take no for an answer she sets out to form a band but going from no musical experience to performing live may be harder than she thinks. Art 7/10 The characters and backgrounds looked nice the CG wasn’t the best but it wasn’t terrible either. Sound 8/10 Nice catchy OP and the music in the episodes was enjoyable having a really upbeat vibe the sound was also decent and the voice acting was reasonable. Characters 7/10 Likable characters here although I wouldn’t say they are overly complex they are more than one dimensional though having their own different personalities. Enjoyment 7/10 I had some fun with BanG dream particularly in the final episodes as things picked up with the band and there were some tense and dramatic moments. Overall 7/10