Before I blogged about It’s My GO!!!!! and Ave Mujica, I had watched the entire first season of the original BanG Dream! anime. To be frank, I thought it was just okay. I had a fun time but it wasn’t enough to make me continue onto Seasons 2 and 3 and it wouldn’t until MyGO that I decided to give the franchise another whirl. While covering the more recent installments, I’ve entertained the idea of eventually going back to the original and see if it’ll click more. At 39 episodes plus a much of miscellaneous material, the original series is maybe too long for episode reviews but since I’m willing to go back and since the recent shows are canon with it, I figure I may as well cover it as a bonus of sorts. At least it won’t be as long as Love Live! was.
It’s worth noting that Season 1 was animated by studios Issen and Xebec, as opposed to Sanzigen, who has gone on to animate every subsequent season/series. It is therefore the only main installment that’s largely done in hand drawn animation as opposed to CGI. I kind of like the 2D art style in this season but I wouldn’t say it looks so good that I miss it. I’ve gotten pretty used to Sanzigen’s art style now so going back to this season feels visually jarring now.
Episode 1 first introduces us to Kasumi Toayama (Aimi), a young girl beginning her first year at Hanasakigawa High. If the name sounds familiar to newer fans, that’s because some of the main characters in MyGO/Ave Mujica attend this school. Following her first day of school, Kasumi tries out a bunch of different clubs. Her objective is to rediscover the so-called “Star Beat”, which Kasumi describes as a “sparkling, heart-pounding” feeling. Kasumi first felt the Star Beat when she stargazed as a child and she’s been trying to find that exciting thrill again ever since (I guess stargazing got boring for her?). Honestly, the whole concept sounds super-cheesy but it’s justified by Kasumi’s high spirited character and the fact that she coined the term when she was little.
While heading home one day, Kasumi notices a bunch of golden star-shaped stickers placed around the street. Intrigued, Kasumi follows the trail and eventually finds herself at a pawn shop, where she finds a star-shaped guitar. I frankly think the show is being a bit on the nose with all the star imagery but whatever, just roll with it. Since Kasumi is technically trespassing private property and stealing an item (and now that I think about it, that’s pretty darn funny), she attracts some ire form the shopkeeper’s granddaughter, Arisa Ichigaya (Itou Ayasa). Curiously, Arisa is the New Student Representative at Hanasakigawa, even has high grades too, but for whatever reason, she’s chosen to skip out on school. When Kasumi discovers that the guitar still works, she impulsively becomes interested in playing it at a music venue. Not wanting Kasumi run off and get arrested for theft, Arisa begrudgingly goes with her to the nearest venue, a live house called Space.
At Space, Kasumi learns from the venue’s owner (Mami Koayama) that she’d have to pass an audition before she could play in a live show. That really should be a given but I think at this point, it’s very apparent that Kasumi hardly has any braincells in her silly head. The owner manages to convince the girls to purchase tickets for the next live show, featuring the band Glitter Green. During the concert, Kasumi experiences the star beat again and decides that she wants to form a band, setting the rest of the season’s story in motion. Oddly enough, Glitter Green is actually a minor band in the Bandori franchise, with only two singles released in real life. Frankly, it’s a little strange that the band that inspires the main protagonist of the show to form her own is this one and not any of the other major bands that the franchise had already formed at the time. For what it’s worth though, the song they perform in this episode is pretty decent.
Throughout the episode, we get minor appearances by the other three main characters in the show, all of whom are conveniently in the same class as Kasumi and will inevitably form a band with her. There’s Rimi Ushigome (Rimi Nishimoto), who appears to be very shy, and Tae Hanazano (Sae Ōtsuka), who also works part-time at Space. Probably the most prominent character in the premiere besides Kasumi and Arisa is Sāya Yamabuki (Ayaka Ōhashi), a girl Kasumi immediately befriends on the first day of school who currently helps around at her family’s bakery. There’s a curious little moment during Glitter Green’s concert, where Saya gets an invitation to go to Space with a friend, only to change her mind and go back home. I vaguely remember Sāya having the best arc in the season so fingers crossed that remains to be the case.
Xenodude Scribbles 