Well, that’s another season of Bandori completed. This sure was quite the experience. Honestly, I’m not sure which of the two recent Bandori shows I like more. I find Ave Mujica more self-indulgent, harder to sit through, and less consistent than MyGO!!!!! but there’s an ambition and insanity to the show that makes it more interesting than MyGO‘s more grounded approach. Ave Mujica is a pretty captivating bunch and they enjoy a more balanced spotlight than MyGO!!!!! but other than Umiri, I find them a lot less likable. I suppose the shows even out for me in terms of how much I like it. Regardless, I enjoyed both series so that’s still a win in my book.
For twelve episodes, Ave Mujica‘s story has been an intense and sometimes exhausting experience. How funny then that the thirteenth and final episode of the show is the most lighthearted and least story-driven chapter. The plot of Episode 13 is Ave Mujica making their re-re-debut at a theater while MyGO!!!!! hold their latest concert at RiNG at the same time. That’s pretty much it. You’re also treated to a whopping five insert songs, two from MyGO!!!!! and three from Ave Mujica. The episode is practically a concert film, and a very good one at that.
I don’t really mind the lack of story for three reasons. One, the concerts tend to be where Sanzigen’s CGI shines best so it’s neat to see them flex again. Two, the show is literally over. All of the plot developments in the show have either been resolved or have reach a good stopping point. The staff could’ve easily thrown in a sequel hook but I think it’s wise to hold off on doing so. At this point, the viewer is owed a break from all the insanity they had to sit through and some concert scenes where the characters get to just have fun does the trick. And three, for a band anime, Ave Mujica has frankly been lacking with actual band performances so it kind of needs to fulfill its quota while it still can. I’m not kidding, if you exclude technicalities such as Ave Mujica’s performance of the OP or Uika’s rendition of “Greensleeves”, the five insert songs in this episode comprise more than half of the show’s entire list of new tracks. That’s how sparse the actual band part of the show has been. To reiterate what I said in a previous post, a band anime can get away with this if the story is good or interesting. I do think Ave Mujica pulls it off but you know, there’s singles and concert tickets to sell so maybe the show should get cracking before it’s over. Better late than never as I always say.
It’s really nice to watch MyGO!!!!! perform again. That hasn’t happened since the end of the last series (unless you really want to count an insert song you briefly see them practice in Episode 7). I had my doubts they’d perform again since they play second fiddle in Ave Mujica but I’m glad to see the show squeeze in a concert. MyGO!!!!! ended up being pretty integral to the story and during the show, they reached an even better headspace than they did at the end of their series. It just feels right to have them hold a concert that narratively commemorates all that while Ave Mujica does the same. The music itself is certainly worth wait. I forgot how good MyGO!!!!! can get. Both of the new songs are some serious bangers. I find the first one, “Ichijitsusenshu”, catchier though I do concede the second one, “Tanebi”, is more creative with its backup vocals and some of the lyrics being spoken rather than sung. Something else that I really like about the songs is that the lyrics reflect MyGO’s growth and solidarity but they could also be referring to the band’s relationship with Ave Mujica, certainly Tomori’s friendship with Sakiko at least.
The rest of the episode is pretty much reserved for Ave Mujica’s big return (again, the last one doesn’t count apparently). Along with the concert, the band performs another one of their little theatrical plays. In this play, the band’s characters are knights who reside in paradise and wish to forget their troubles. They await for the return of the person who can grant their wishes, the “Goddess of Forgetfulness”, played by Sakiko/Oblivionis. When the Goddess appears and grants the knights their wishes, she declares that while the knights may forget their pain, she will not. What’s interesting about this particular play is that it feels less like the band playing a bunch of characters and more just being themselves. All of the things that ail the knights are references to the actresses’ own experiences, such as Mutsumi’s loss of identity and Uika’s struggle with her own existence. As Sakiko, she did literally declare herself as God last episode so of course she’s playing a goddess. Joking aside, Sakiko essentially uses her role in the play to reaffirm her determination to take responsibility for the band. I suppose the girls stopped pretending to be characters the moment Nyamu made them take off their masks but I do think this play denotes where they are now, how they’re no longer hiding their feelings and instead being honest with themselves and with each other.
Something that I love about Ave Mujica’s music is that thematically, they’re actually not that different from MyGO’s. Their songs also act as a reflection of how far they’ve come along. But save for maybe the third song, Ave Mujica sounds more aggressive and self-deprecating by comparison. The second song for example pretty much has Uika singing about how she’s a pretender, alluding to her living a complete lie up until recently. It’s a little funny but it does match where the band currently stands. They’re not exactly running a tight ship and they’re not close with one another like MyGO!!!!! but they’ve also sorted out a lot of stuff and they’re determined to keep at it. All three insert songs are solid on their own but I think they especially work as a set that mirrors Ave Mujica’s growth, starting off with a hectic and chaotic number before ending with something more bittersweet.
As the concert comes to a close, there’s a brief moment where Mutsumi holds up a mirror, one of the props used in the play, and she sees Mortis smiling back at her. I don’t think this necessarily clarifies on Mutsumi’s current identity but it does at least confirm that Mortis still exists somewhere in her mind. The scene then cuts to MyGO!!!!! wrapping up their concert, holding their hands together and thanking their fans. I find it funny that the Ave Mujica show ends with the other band but Ave Mujica did hijack MyGO‘s finale so maybe it’s fair to end things with MyGO!!!!! instead. I suppose this scene brings the story of both MyGO!!!!! and Ave Mujica full circle, beginning and ending with the band that started it all, especially with that last shot of Anon and Tomori holding hands. It’s a bit moot though since this story isn’t over just yet.
So last month, the owners of Bandori announced there’ll be an Ave Mujica movie releasing in the fall. Before that, it was already announced that there’ll be a third series that continues both MyGO’s and Ave Mujica’s storylines. Frankly, I’m more than happy to take a break from this part of Bandori but I look forward to see what happens next. Having watched Ave Mujica‘s finale, I’m now somewhat surprised that there’s more on the way. There’s definitely some more that can be done with Ave Mujica but MyGO’s story feels pretty done at this point so I’m curious what the staff could do with them going forward. Hopefully, the wait won’t be too long.
Anyway, I’m all caught up on MyGO/Ave Mujica for now. I was 50/50 on this but I will be tackling the original Bandori right after this post. It is admittedly a lot to cover (three seasons plus a whole bunch of miscellaneous stuff) but I’m a lot more curious about this franchise’s less intense beginnings and it is canon with the recent shows so screw it, why not? There’s also an entirely new installment, YUME∞MITA, premiering this summer and I’m considering covering that as well.
Watch Ave Mujica – The Die is Cast – on Crunchyroll
Xenodude Scribbles 