Girls Band Cry

The 'girls making music' genre has been getting pretty saturated, and going in I felt like it wouldn't have anything new to add. I was surprised, however, to find an incredible Anime with massive depth, maturity and jaw-dropping visuals. Writing 9/10: (very mild spoilers, no plot details) There is genuinely intriguing and intricate character drama going on in this show, including lovable and hateable characters that struggle like real people. I see a lot of talk about how annoying the characters can be, especially the lead Nina, but I actually found this to be a breath of fresh air, and makes for a fascinating protagonist. She's asheltered kid who struggles with insecurity, anger issues, and forces her ideologies onto other characters, but through this lens there is a very sobering and genuine growth. It would be one thing if the characters were annoying or troublesome without purpose, but the writing is executed with clear intent and maturity. Just in it's 13 episode runtime, it explores a lot of different themes: learning to love yourself, accepting change, rejecting cowardice, revenge, parental roles, independence, creative growth, and probably a lot more I can't intelligently analyze. All of these themes are explored with maturity and fantastic character writing, something that really surprised me when getting into this show. If there is one thing I could complain about, it would be that the pacing was a bit fast over-all, and it barely scratches the surface of actually being in a band and making music. Also, the whole "rock" and "rawness" thing is a bit silly considering their sound is pretty mainstream J-rock stuff, but maybe I'm just an elitist. (its good tho) Characters 9/10: The two main leads, Momoka and Nina are simply captivating to follow. Momoka desires Nina's singing, and Nina desires her music, but they aren't compatible. The way they see each other defies expectation. Their relationship is a constant rollercoaster, and that push and pull is a work of art in itself. Subaru is the one character in the show I feel is truly likeable at her core, and she's simply iconic, I love her. She serves as the balance to the volatile dichotomy of the two leads, as well as the comic relief. The two characters who end up being bandmates also add an interesting dynamic to the show, although I wish they had more development. The three main girls, Nina, Momoka and Subaru, are one of my favorite casts to be put to screen in a very long time. I really want to see them continue their story; 13 episodes was not enough. Art 9/10: Some of the most emotive, creative, and beautiful CGI-2D hybrid art I've ever seen. It's so good it almost transcends 2D animation at some points, for me. The amount of nuance in the facial expressions, the intricate and diverse mannerisms of the characters, the slapstick comedy moments, they squeezed every last drop they could from the CGI backbone of the show and it WORKS SO WELL. There are some brief sections with just 2D art that don't look very good, but it's overshadowed by the incredible CGI character animation/dramatic direction. There is also a great use of effects, especially the visual motif of the red and black sparks coming off of Nina in certain scenes, that are incredibly memorable and emotionally effective. The directing consistently proves how much love they had for this show, it just oozes with personality and detail. Music 8/10: I'm very glad that the song driving the entire plot is actually a banger; I think it would have been silly if a mid song changed Nina's life and set this whole story off to begin with. I love that Nina's VA is actually doing the singing, especially since it's a driving conflict in the show. I also love the music video style insert songs throughout the Anime, great visuals and outfits. Other than that, I don't think all the music is peak or anything, but it's not bad in the slightest. The actual OST of the anime itself, not the band music, was just fine. In some parts it sounded a bit cheap or emotionally ineffective, but it never bothered me too much. Again, this anime excels in it's character drama, the music is mostly a vehicle to deliver the themes of the show. CONCLUSION/TLDR: This anime blew me away. It isn't a masterpiece by any means, but as a 'girls making music' anime, it's probably the best written I have ever seen. Almost no fan-service or tropes, it relies completely on the characters and the plot, which has a very unpretentious, genuine, mature quality to it. The main character, Nina, is refreshingly broken and difficult to deal with, and this dynamic leads to fantastic depth, conflict and potential growth. It has some of the most emotive and well-performed CGI I have ever seen, borderline exceeding 2D animation for some of the emotional moments. While 'Bocchi the Rock' excels in it's music, animation and comedy, for me, I will always prefer genuine or even uncomfortable drama and complex characters over just pure fun, which this anime delivers excellently. It is an absolute shame this anime didn't get licensed, because it now has less eyes and ears to enjoy it. Even though it's gaining a strong cult following outside of Japan, I fear that it won't be enough for a second season. But I still plan to buy Blu-Rays, push for localization, and support them to show we care. Please, do the same! tl;dr tl;dr - it is absolutely worth watching, and gets better with each episode. 9/10 - Amazing show. Use NakayubiSubs for fan-translation please! Thanks.

This is one of those anime of which I will have much to say, so, buckle in, I guess. This anime is a spiritual sibling to "Bocchi the Rock", and yet it couldn't be more different. "Bocchi" is kind of a gag anime that happens to have a story - which is, I guess, somewhat understandable considering its origination as a 4-koma manga. "Girls Band Cry" is an original anime, and doesn't have any of that baggage coming from source material, so it is free to be what it is. I loved Bocchi and I considered her story to be inspiring and attimes emotional, but other than being about the formation of a girl rock band, it has very little in common beyond the atmosphere, which both seem to share to some degree. Maybe that just has something to do with rock being a bit grungy, by nature. And what it is, is a story about coming of age, about self-actualization, about finding comfort in the most unlikely of friends as five girls who are very much unlike each other form a band and try to make it to the top. While there are some very funny moments in this anime, this is not a comedy. This is a drama. There is a lot of emotion, a lot of crying, a lot of confrontation (the number of times they have a loud confrontation smack in the middle of a public place is somewhat beyond belief). But at the end of the day, there is no character that escapes the "coming of age" that this anime, at its core, is about. And the characters... wow, the characters. They come alive. It's almost like they're real people, that's how well written they are. Nina is an annoying "Morality monster" with a strong sense of justice that has gotten her in a whole heap of trouble, Momoka is a guitarist who left her previous band just as they were on the cusp of going pro, Subaru is a high school drummer who Nina didn't get along with at first, Rupa and Tomo are friends who have their own story.. So much care is taken with the characters that they just come alive, and it's amazing. I have never seen a character with Rupa's name, by the way. And as they bumble through forming a band, you start to think they're real, and that's what makes this an amazing anime, and worthy of a high rating. There is some controversy about the animation, and I think it's warranted, because they used 3D animation all the way through, which is pretty unique. And they did it well. My complaints about the animation have nothing at all to do with the fact, itself, that it's 3D, my complaints have to do with the fact that they did *exactly* what almost every other 3D animated show/movie does - and that's using overexaggerated movements. If you've ever seen a Disney/Pixar movie, you'll know what I'm talking about. Sometimes their movements are fluid and natural, and those are impressive. Other times they're pretty much hamming for the "camera", and that is so amazingly annoying I can't even describe it. They *almost* had it. *Almost* had a beautiful anime with animation that would have been almost impossible for any other 2D studio to match, and they blew it. That's so disappointing. The music is really good, the OP is unironically good, and that's not the most common of things. It has some really weird rhythms that work really well. All the insert songs are pretty good, and I'd say that they took a lot of care to get that right. Though the instrument animation isn't really all that great, especially the keyboard animation. I know that's difficult, but they took so much care with everything else, that's just a mite bit annoying too. In summary, it's a high quality anime with well written characters, great animation, and great music, that somehow manages to just fall short on the animation, and given how much care they obviously put into it, that's a disappointing and borderline unforgivable self-own. Recommend from me, strong recommend, actually, but don't be surprised if it doesn't really blow your socks off.

Girls Band Cry is a real gem that came out of left field to dominate this season, even if it never got an official sub. It is a surprisingly nuanced story, and while it never again quite hit the highs that I expected from it after episode 8, it was consistently fantastic from beginning to end. To start off, yes; this show is CG. In past years, this alone would've been enough to have most anime fans turn up their noses at it. However, Studio Orange has in the recent past shown more and more that you can make a beautiful show with CG, and withthis offering Toei has blown even that out of the water. While there are the occasional animation error, the characters are so expressive, both in face and movement, and the backgrounds are so well done that it's entirely forgiveable. Additionally, there are tasteful drops of 2d animation throughout the series that are used brilliantly to emphasize certain aspects (like a flashback or a character you should notice.) Overall, one of the better looking animes I've watched! The music is also phenomenal, and the band has also released numerous songs outside of the show (as this is looking to be a multimedia project). If you have the chance, you should listen to their discography, as if you like the music in the show I can guarantee you'll like everything else they have to offer. Up next, the characters. Nina, the main character, can be grating at first. However, as the series goes on, and her backstory is fleshed out, it becomes more understandable, and she mellows out by around episode 8. The other characters are all supremely well done, and most get episodes unto themselves that really flesh out their backstories and characters. They're far from caricatures, each having a distinct personality, all of which end up being enjoyable both on their own and how they bounce off eachother. Finally, the story. While still fantastic, this is probably the weakest point of the show. At points it's among some of the best anime I've ever seen (particularly episodes 8 and 10), though at others it feels like it meanders a bit. I also feel like, though every episode resolved well, there are some which I felt would've been better if certain other story directions were taken rather than what was shown. Still a fantastic story overall, and much more consistent in quality and plot than its main competitors this season. Overall, I cannot really recommend this show enough. If I could I'd give it a 9.5; almost there, just with a few plotlines that wrap up in a way that's a bit weaker than what I could've hoped. Far and away my number 1 for the season, really hoping that it's officially localized in the near future!

Girls Band Cry is the best girls band anime I've ever seen. No, correction: the best anime I've ever seen, period. If you let the fact it's 3D dissuade you, you're missing out big time. Girls Band Cry is outstandingly well animated, written, and a pure joy to watch. On the topic of animation, the characters more expressive and detailed in 3D than they could ever be in 2D. From dynamic music performances to casual conversation scenes, they're nothing like the stiff, glassy dolls you may know from D4DJ or BanG Dream. I actually found myself realizing how underwhelming 2D can be after watching GBC. The storyis refreshing. For the most part, it avoids overdone tropes in the music/slice of life genre by excluding the characters from a typical school environment. The story also strikes a wonderful balance between drama and comedy, never getting to heavy handed or losing focus. There's also basically no filler, each episode contributing to the overall story in some meaningful way. Characters, especially our protagonist Nina and guitarist Momoka, have real depth and relatability, but not in the memeable "literally me" Bocchi sense. Her story and those of her bandmates unfold at a natural pace, avoiding the typical "1-episode-per-character-arc" writing style that plagues slice of life anime. The ending of an anime can make or break it, and I'm glad to say Girls Band Cry's ending is pretty good. Many lingering questions are answered and we get to see how our cast of 3D girls have grown. That said, while the ending is satisfying, its not super "conclude-y." Season 2? Who knows. But just because I say Girls Band Cry is my favorite anime to date doesn't mean its without fault. To avoid spoilers, I'll say that some characters leave some development to be desired. They're introduced (in my opinion) too late into the story and I feel the writers are forced to gloss over their backstories. Also, this is a bit of an aside, but I feel the musical styles of Togenashi Togeari (the main band) and Diamond Dust (the rival band) are a bit backwards. Diamond Dust is shown to be an idol-like group, but their music is more "rock." TogeToge, to my ear, leans toward a J-pop sound, despite having an edgier aesthetic. That said, the music is okay overall. Not my vibe, but that's my opinion and it doesn't change what I think about the anime. In conclusion: watch Girls Band Cry. Or don't. But you should.

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