To be honest, I watched the first season of the original BanG Dream! (Bandori), thought it was okay, and then never visited the franchise again after that. So when the successor series, BanG Dream! It’s MyGo!!!!! aired in 2023, I passed on it. But then MyGo got quite a lot of positive buzz so I’ve since been wondering if maybe I missed out on it. I figured I’d cover the show in a series review but with my episode review backlog looking pretty empty these days and since I’m still mulling over some shows I have listed as a big maybe, I figured why not make this my next show for retroactive coverage. Should still be topical since it’s not like BanG Dream! is going to end anytime soon. I am aware that MyGo has a sequel, Ave Mujica – The Die is Cast –, which is currently finishing its broadcast (and yeah, I picked an awkward time to cover MyGo). For now, I’m just committing to this first show.
Normally when covering an anime I haven’t seen before, I go one episode at a time. For MyGo however, I did watch the first three episodes back to back. They aired together so I kind of wanted to experience them the same way most viewers did at the time. You can watch the first episode just fine and decide what to do with the show from there but I do recommend binging up to Episode 3 if you got the time to spare. The setup for the story doesn’t come full circle until you get to that point.
MyGo opens up with members of a bang called CRYCHIC waiting for one of their members, Sakiko “Saki” Togawa (Kanon Takao), who is running late. When Sakiko finally arrives, she abruptly announces that she’s quitting CRYCHIC, resulting in a big falling out with her bandmates and the band’s breakup. It’s quite the dramatic note to start the show on. I was bit taken aback by the use of Frédéric Chopin’s “Prelude, OP. 28, No. 15” a.k.a. the “Raindrop” prelude. That’s a very artsy choice to do in an anime about cute girls playing in a band. I will admit however that the show does revisit this scene and the choice of music does feel more fitting after you get more context.
Sometime later, we see a new girl, Anon Chihaya (Rin Tateishi), transferring into Haneoka Girls Academy as a first year student. On her first day, Anon discovers that every girl in the school and possibly their mother as well is in a band. I get that it’s because the senior students and alumni are also in a band but it’s a bit silly, don’t you think? Competition in the area must be insane. Since Anon wants to be in the in-crowd, she of course wants to make a band, preferably one where she does guitar and vocals. Anon meets Sakiko by chance and attempts to invite her into the prospective band but seeing as Sakiko quit a band not too long and the franchise may or may not have plans for her, she declines.
Anon instead sets her sights on inviting the only other girl in her class who currently isn’t in a band, Tomori Takamatsu (Hina Yōmiya). Unbeknownst to Anon, Tomori is one of the former members of CRYCHIC. Tomori is a very quirky girl. Throughout the episode, we see her do a bunch of things such as collect rocks and starring at some birds nesting in Haneoka’s campus. In one scene, Anon asks Tomori about some penguin-themed band-aids she has, prompting the latter to start rambling about how much she loves penguins. Suffice to say, Tomori is a bit of a loner who does her own thing. By default, this is the most relatable character in MyGo.
While hanging out with Tomori, Anon notices a notebook where her classmate has written down original song lyrics. Impressed, Anon takes Tomori to do karaoke at a live house called RiNG, hoping to invite the latter into her band. Presumably due to what happened with CRYCHIC, Tomori is hesitant to join and she tries to gauge how committed Anon is about being in a band together. When Anon gives a casual answer, Tomori runs off. Anon tries to apologize but she gets stopped by one of Tomori’s old bandmates and an employee of RiNG, Taki Shiina (Coco Hayashi). Taki immediately gets angry at Anon when she finds out about her attempt to recruit Tomori. Normally, this would be around the time where at least form of the band or club would be formed, complete with an insert song no less. I really like that this episode subverts my expectations then, by having the band fall apart on Day 1 and have Tomori ditch the potential insert song scene. Considering that Anon wants to be in a band to be popular, she does come across as pushy as she tries to invite Tomori into her band. To be fair however, Anon doesn’t know the full picture and it’s assuring that she does at least regret making Tomori feel uncomfortable. Also, without going too far ahead, I must admit that by Episode 3, I can’t help but just feel bad for Anon as she attempts to make her band work.
Watch BanG Dream! It’s MyGo!!!!! on Crunchyroll
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