Anime in music.
It's always there! Maybe not at it's main theme, but always present.
It could be in the opening and endings, the background music or even a character humming a song.
This time however, we'll be focusing on anime that has music as their main theme!
I invited Chun over for the blog so he can talk about one of his favorite shows/games!
Which is:
BanG Dream!
This anime is one I have found out by chance actually! I remember I got a recommendation in the Google Play store for the BanG Dream game on the day it was released. And I thought the gameplay looked pretty neat, so I just tried it out. It was only later that I found out that BanG Dream is waaay more than just an anime; it is a whole franchise consisting of anime (3 seasons and several films), manga, live concerts and even weekly podcasts! I have been a great fan ever since I downloaded the game.
The anime is about Kasumi Tomoya, a first year high-schooler. When she was a child she went camping and saw the starry sky. It gave her this doki-doki kira-kira feeling: a feeling you get when you are super-duper excited about something. She did many things afterwards in order to recreate this feeling, however, without much success. Then, one day, she visited a live house (a music venue featuring live music) and got this exact feeling when watching one of the girl bands perform. Thinking how awesome it is to be in a band, luck was on her side when she stumbled upon a star-shaped guitar in a pawn shop and she immediately fell in love with it. She started playing and then recruiting her classmates into forming a band!
The band, called Poppin’ Party (or PoPiPa in short) gradually becomes better and reaches more and more fans (their music is really upbeat and catchy!!). However, there are many, many more girl bands out there, so they really have to do their best to stand out! Whilst the first season is mainly focused on PoPiPa, the second season gives more screen time to the other bands that are part of the whole BanG Dream franchise: Hello, Happy World!, Pastel*Palettes, Afterglow and, my personal favorite: Roselia. Each of the members of these bands have their own background and reason (which I believe is more clearly explained in the game) for being in the band they are.
I like how the seasons are showing the progress that PoPiPa is making, from being this casual friends-only band in season 1, all the way to competing with two bands (Roselia and Raise a Suilen) in season 3 to become the best girl band! This amazing showdown being held at a concert venue they all dreamed to play at: Budokan in Tokyo. And a really nice thing is, the voice actors of Poppin’ Party, Roselia and Raise a Suilen have actually performed at Budokan as well! They are still doing concerts every year!
There are not many anime in my opinion that gets better with every next season, but the BanG Dream series is definitely one of them! (Even though they started using CGI from season 2). Definitely do check it out, and if you are not in the mood for some anime, why not try the game or watch some live concerts on YouTube!
Chun wrote a passionate piece of text about BanG Dream!
I... Might check it out after this blog goes live. 😳
Now here are my lesser known pics for the music genre!
Show By Rock!!
While we’re on the topic of girl bands, how about some anthropomorphic animal girls playing instruments?
Who doesn’t love to see a cat girl playing guitar and having a sheep girl play the drums.
If this catches your interest, then this show is for you!
Don’t worry, you have quite some content to go through!
With it’s 2 seasons of the main group and a spinoff show, this show gives you a lot of cool characters playing their instruments!
If that still isn’t enough, it has it’s own game too!
The adventure starts with Cyan, who decides to play her favorite rhythm game but suddenly gets sucked in, literally!
She finds herself in a place called Midi City, where music rules! (Also quite literally)
However, not everyone who makes music has pure intentions.
An evil plan is set in motion to engulf the city in pure darkness!
Cyan, by the way, is a very talented guitarist with a lack of confidence.
Back in her world she never thought of herself as too special of a person.
But that needs to change if she wants to save Midi City!
Follow Cyan while she pursuits the road of a hero together in a band with her new found friends.
Mermaid Melody Pitchi Pitchi Pitch
What a mouthful of a name. 😰
I found this show on youtube back in 2013.
After just having finished Tokyo Mew Mew, this one was in my youtube recommendations!
Me, who just started watching anime, gave it a try of course!
This music anime aired back in April, 2003!!
Some older anime really hold up, even during the modern standards.
However, this show does have its moments where you, indeed, realise that it was made almost 20 years ago.
But still… It was so enjoyable!
Mermaid Melody, as you’d expect, is about mermaids!
The show is mostly about the Princess of the North Pacific Sea, Lucia, who serves as our main character.
Each princess is entrusted with a magical pearl. Giving them singing powers.
However, Lucia entrusted hers to a boy who fell overboard from a ship.
Lucia must travel back to the human world and reclaim the pearl that once was hers.
Using the power of music, Lucia is able to protect herself and other mermaid kingdoms from the evil villains that come to kidnap the mermaid princesses.
The animation could be a little bit on the rough side, with repeated motions and characters going off model.
But the fun banter and drama between the characters will most likely keep you pulled in.
If not that, the very good and memorable songs will make you come back for more!
The show is based on a 7 volume manga (sadly out of print) and has a second season waiting for you!
Are you excited to find some new music to add to your spotify playlist?
Or... maybe listen to it in secret.
Whatever option may choose, we hope you'll enjoy the ride these shows will take you on!
What music anime is your favorite?
Be sure to share it with us in the comments! (* ^ ω ^)
