BanG Dream!, also known as , is a Japanese music media franchise owned by Bushiroad. Created by Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani in January 2015 with original story by Kō Nakamura, the project began as a manga before expanding to other media. In addition to other manga, BanG Dream! includes an anime television series, live concerts, singles and albums, and the mobile rhythm game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! by Craft Egg.
The franchise's premise is based around all-female bands whose members are also voice actresses in the anime and mobile game; , the project has eight groups, five of which are capable of playing their respective characters' instruments. The first band, Poppin'Party, was formed in February 2015, and further groups were introduced in 2017 with the launch of the mobile game: Afterglow, Pastel Palettes, Roselia, and Hello, Happy World!. In 2018, a backup band called The Third was renamed Raise A Suilen and joined the series, followed by a seventh unit named Morfonica in 2020. Further expansion in 2022 introduced MyGO!!!!! and Ave Mujica. For live performances, Poppin'Party, Roselia, Raise A Suilen, Morfonica, MyGO!!!!!, and Ave Mujica's voice actresses play their own music, while the others are limited to vocals.
The anime, which follows fictional representations of the bands, has three seasons of 13 episodes each. The first season, produced by Issen (OLM with Bushiroad) and Xebec, aired from January to April 2017. Sanzigen took over production duties for the second and third seasons, which were respectively broadcast in winter 2019 and 2020. A concert-centric movie BanG Dream! Film Live was released in 2019, followed by a sequel Film Live 2nd Stage in 2021. Three band-focused films have also been produced: the two-part Episode of Roselia series premiered in 2021, followed by BanG Dream! Poppin'Dream! premiered in 2022. Spin-off anime series include BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Pico and its sequels Pico: Ohmori and Pico Fever! by Sanzigen with DMM.futureworks and Pastel Life by Studio A-Cat. An anime following MyGO!!!!! titled It's MyGO!!!!! aired in 2023.
The series has enjoyed international popularity for its live performances and mobile game, while the anime has seen mixed but improving reviews with later seasons. In 2018, the franchise expanded to include a male-based counterpart Argonavis from BanG Dream!, which was spun off into an independent brand From Argonavis in 2021.
Plot
BanG Dream! follows Kasumi Toyama, a happy-go-lucky girl and a new student at Hanasakigawa Girls' High School. During her first weeks at the school, she tries out for numerous clubs in an effort to rediscover the "Star Beat", a "sparkling, heart-pounding" feeling she experienced while looking up at the stars in the night sky as a child.
One day, while returning from school, she spots a trail of star stickers that lead her to a pawnshop owned by her classmate Arisa Ichigaya. In the storage area, she finds a star-shaped guitar with glittery stickers on it and quickly becomes attached to it. The two later visit a local live house, Space, where Kasumi decides to create a band upon watching a performance by a group named Glitter Green. She then recruits Arisa and three of their classmates – Sāya Yamabuki, Tae Hanazono, and Rimi Ushigome – to join her, though they are reluctant for personal reasons. Despite their initial misgivings, the five overcome many hurdles and ultimately agree to form the band "Poppin'Party". With her bandmates, Kasumi finds the excitement that she had been looking for.
During their first year of high school, Poppin'Party meets and befriends four all-girl bands at Hanasakigawa and nearby Haneoka Girls' High School, each of whom has their own stories: Afterglow consists of five childhood friends who maintain their friendship through music; Pastel Palettes is an idol group who are capable of playing their own instruments; Roselia is a gothic rock band who strives to become the perfect band; and Hello, Happy World! is an eccentric band that seeks to spread happiness. As second-year students, they encounter Raise A Suilen, an electronic music group aiming to revolutionize the girl's band genre, and Morfonica, a newly formed classical band of first-years at Tsukinomori Girls' Academy with dreams of changing themselves for the better.
History
Early history (2015–2016)