BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! – Ep. 12

After all the prep last episode, MyGO moves right along to the big concert day for its penultimate episode. Funnily enough, Afterglow precedes Maigo again and this time around, we briefly get to hear an insert song by them. It would’ve been funny if Poppin’Party was present too (it doesn’t appear to be the case as Kasumi and Saya are working at RiNG for the event). One of these days, I need to get far enough in the original Bandori to see more of Afterglow. I’m certainly more willing to go back after watching MyGO. Also while I’m discussing cameos, it is neat to see the owner of Space at the live show to support Rāna. It’d be cool to one day see Rāna share a scene with grandmother, assuming that hasn’t already been done after this show.

While the main characters wait for their turn, Anon discovers that people are already shortening “Maigo no Band” to “Maigo”. Taki reckons it’s because having “band” in the name feels redundant. I guess it lacks the puniness that “Kessoku Band” has. The shortening to “Maigo” actually works in Anon’s favor. Using her Engrish, Anon notices that the phrase “itsumo maigo” (which translates to “always lost”) sounds a lot like “It’s My Go”, which Anon thinks sounds similar to “It’s my turn”. After the show, the girls settle on “MyGO!!!!!” as their new name, with Anon adding the five exclamation points to represent each member of the band. It took almost the entire season but the show finally does its big title drop. Like I said in the last post, I think the show taking its sweet time to get there works. It absolutely needed all the character development in order for the band’s name to carry any significance. “MyGO” sounds a bit weird to me but I kind of still dig the double meaning behind it, how it refers to both the girls’ feeling lost and them finally taking initiative.

We actually get treated to two new songs, as opposed to just one with a repeat of “Hekiten Bansou” (though the girls do perform briefly before the episode cuts away). Maybe I missed something or maybe the episode is playing loose with the continuity. It’s hard to harp on it anyway because having two new songs makes things more exciting. I really dig how the songs contrast with each other. The first, “Mayoi Uta”, refers to the girls’ journey, how they each were finding their way. Meanwhile, the second song, “Melody”, appears to be more about the girls’ resolve and unity. There’s more individual singing from everyone in “Mayoi Uta”, which suits the individual arcs each character went on. With “Melody”, the others harmonize more with Tomori, conveying how they attribute her for keeping the group together. Interpretations aside, these songs are just bangers and the cast (especially Hina Yōmiya) did a fantastic job recording these songs.

After the live show, the girls receives a bag full of cucumbers, which Soyo realizes is a gift from Mutsumi. I must’ve blanked out from MyGO’s drama because I forgot cucumbers is Mutsumi’s favorite snack. Even though Mutsumi means well here, Soyo returns and rejects the gift, telling Mutsumi that she’s the last person she wants to receive support from. Considering that Soyo treated Mutsumi like a pawn and Mutsumi did contribute to Soyo’s return to MyGO, her refusing the olive branch bothers me a little. At the same time however, I get why Soyo is still salty. Mutsumi wasn’t much help to her when she tried to revive CRYCHIC. Also, if you recall, Mutsumi’s supposed dissatisfaction with CRYCHIC and her taking Sakiko’s side is partly why the band fell apart. In a way, Mutsumi is actually the reason Soyo couldn’t keep CRYCHIC together. For Mutsumi to show her support after the trouble Soyo feels she’s caused, it understandably rubs Soyo the wrong way.

The ending of this episode is a curious one. Following the live show, we see Sakiko meet up with Nyamu-chi, whose real name is revealed to be Nyamu Yūtenji. Curiously, Nyamu asks Sakiko if the cafe they’re meeting at is too expensive for her. A bit odd considering that Sakiko was established to be rich in Episode 3. Sakiko reveals that she’s forming a band and she invites Nyamu to join her, due to her drumming skills and popularity. To sweeten the pot, Sakiko mentions that she’s already recruited Mutsumi, who is the daughter of a famous actress, and Uika, who we know is a popular idol. Sakiko doesn’t mention who the bassist is but considering the instrument and the lack of any other candidate for us to consider, she likely is referring to Umiri. Realizing how stacked the roster is, Nyamu is of course interested in joining the band. Sakiko creating a new band is kind of to be expected, especially if you know what comes after MyGO. What I can’t help but notice is that everyone Sakiko recruits is either popular or super talented. If this band is her way of forgetting CRYCHIC, then her trying to make it so prestigious feels like she’s trying stick it to her former bandmates. It sounds extremely scummy but maybe there’s more to this than the show lets on.

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Watch BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! on Crunchyroll