Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re embarking on a new adventure, as we explore the first episode of the currently concluding BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! I’ll confess, I have virtually no experience with the overall BanG Dream! franchise; I found the first season’s first episode perfectly watchable back when it premiered, but have since then skipped out on the continuing struggles of its various bandmates. However, I’m told that MyGO is more or less self-contained, and beyond that, everything I’ve been learning about this show via twitter osmosis seems to indicate MyGO is a unique and apparently kinda devastating experience.
I’ve seen musicians choking out performances through tears, memes wagering the relative toxicity of all the show’s principle relationships, and all manner of other inexplicable reactions to MyGO’s clearly tempestuous drama. Alongside their wealth of experience composing for various idol shows, series composer Yuniko Ayana also tackled the brilliant and devastating given, so I’ve no doubt they can articulate convincing human tragedy. What form that tragedy will take remains a tantalizing mystery, so let’s not waste another moment – onward to MyGO!
Episode 1
We open on a rainy day in the city. Reasonable backgrounds, and a strong sense of melancholy atmosphere providing by the boards and this backing piano melody
As we pan in on a band rehearsal space, the CG character models are already being put to unique boarding effect, with a pan around the characters that also includes their reflections in a wall of mirrors. A shot that would be impossible for several reasons in traditional animation
“Saki-chan!” Apparently the four others were waiting for Saki. Our gloomy girl at the window seems particularly excited for her arrival
I like the hair shading and highlights of these models
Saki apparently only came to announce she’s quitting their band, CRYCHIC
The girls have a variety of distinct reactions to this news – the purple-haired girl on the floor seems particularly shocked, while the blond girl facing away seems almost to have expected this
Taki, the drummer, is clearly pissed
“Could you please not talk like a spoiled child? You need to practice more than anyone else, Tomori.” Dang, Saki’s not taking prisoners. And Taki seems particularly protective of Tomori
Opening with an acrimonious band breakup is certainly a way to announce this isn’t going to be your usual hopes-and-dreams music drama
Mutsumi, the girl facing the window, admits she’s never thought this band was fun. And the rain returns to lead us out of this brutal intro
The clack of feet on polished stone and murmur of announcements in the background lead us into an airport, where a new pink-haired girl appears to have just arrived. It’s appropriate for a music show, but I continue to be impressed by this production’s atmosphere-rich sound design
We cut in to Haneoka Girls’ Academy
Apparently pink-hair was the student council president at her middle school. She speaks to the school’s officials as if she’s reading from a promotional script, waxing artificially about leading an “enriching high school life”
“This is where I’m going to start over”
Over the hedges, she spies Tomori from the band breakup
Tomori appears to be collecting particularly interesting rocks, and scurries away when she realizes she’s been noticed
Pink-hair’s name is Anon Chihaya
Though she says she’s transferring late due to family circumstances, her earlier thoughts regarding starting over imply there may be more to it than that
Now Tomori’s arranging the rocks on her desk, while Anon reflects on how well her student introduction went. Tomori is unapologetically herself, Anon is entirely preoccupied with assuming the “correct” presentation
Tomori has trouble keeping up conventions, and struggles to introduce herself
Anon’s temperament switches on a dot whenever she finds it necessary, now switching to a bubbly affectation as she chooses her lunch companions. And through her reflections on being known as Chihaya back at her old school, it seems clear that she now wants to define herself in opposition to everything she was before
The other girls describe Tomori as a “guileless girl” and “like a cute little animal.” Given the other characters are apparently also seeing what I’m seeing here, it seems Tomori isn’t just “anime shy,” and might actually have some deeper difficulties with communication
“Huh? Are we done talking about me already?” Anon already proving herself a delightfully cynical and self-absorbed heroine
Looking around after class, Anon discovers basically every one of her classmates is in some kind of band
Meanwhile, Tomori appears to be satisfying her compulsive instincts by organizing the blackboard’s colored buttons. So she’s got her fixations and hyperfocus, which the show is treating in a refreshingly matter-of-fact tone
Anon is swiftly invited to join this group, but declines at the thought of being relegated to rhythm guitar
Anon seems to live alone, further indicating she’s lying about her “family circumstances”
“My face muscles are tired.” Yep, faking smiles all day has a tendency to wear you out
We momentarily flash back to some moment of crisis in her previous school, when she received some kind of devastating note. Color design once again sets the tone well
Anon blows dust off her guitar, then seems surprised that the strings are out of tune. So she’s basically a novice
Following the sound of a piano, she discovers Saki. I appreciate that they actually have her hands play the part she’s performing
Anon asks her to join a band, and Saki declines. Neat use of the piano cover here – the mention of a band prompts her to briefly hold the cover open, but Saki soon regains her senses and closes it fully, as if visually declaring that that segment of her life is over
I like how Tomori keeps popping up in the background of Anon’s classroom conversations, emphasizing how this rambling quest for a band will inevitably lead back to her
“I don’t really want to get that serious about the band, though.” God, Anon is so good. Love that our heroine for this band drama is someone who can’t actually play guitar, only wants to be in a band so she can keep up appearances at school, has no interest in musical performance beyond being the star, and ultimately is most concerned about ensuring this band doesn’t waste too much of her time
Laughed out loud at Anon immediately flubbing her proposition to Tomori by tripping over a garbage bag and eating shit
Tomori shares her collection of penguin bandages. When Anon says “I like penguins,” Tomori immediately lights up, explaining how this particular bandage depicts a bearded penguin. Yeah, this genuinely feels like an earnest depiction of someone on the autism spectrum, who tends to only open up in the context of her favored topics
Tomori wants friends, but isn’t really equipped for the kind of small talk Anon is wielding to connect with her classmates. But when the topic is penguins, she has no shortage of things to say
“I think what I like is finding them… probably.” She has a lot more difficulty talking about herself, even in the context of describing why she likes penguins
Anon doesn’t quite get it, but she’s enough of a people-pleaser to keep Tomori happy
“The astronomy club seems to attract a lot of dreamers.”
Tomori asks Anon to join the club, to which Anon responds with a bright “okay! I’ll think about it!” Tomori knows this is a polite rejection, but can’t offer the polite acceptance of that, instead immediately looking downtrodden. You get the feeling she runs into a lot of polite rejection
“If I bring in the class’s mascot character, we’ll definitely attract attention!” Oh my god Anon
“Even if I were in a band, it would just go wrong again… so…” I love how Tomori’s having this profound emotional struggle while Anon’s just frowning and wondering why she’s such a bummer
Over at Tsukinomori Academy, we run into two more former members of the band: Mutsumi and the brunette who was so determined to moderate things
Apparently Saki and Mutsumi have been friends since early childhood, making it all the stranger that Mutsumi never enjoyed being in the band. Perhaps she joined out of obligation?
“Things will go back to being the way they were. Just leave it to me.” Still playing the mediator
Meanwhile, the drummer Taki is working at a coffee shop, and appears as blunt and standoffish as ever. Asked if she wants to work the floor, she states “I’d rather not interact with people”
“Why do you think things will go wrong if you join a band?” Anon seems to exhibit just the right mix of cordiality and indifferent bluntness to break through Tomori’s shell
Very fun watching Anon jump between genuine interest in hearing about band drama and visible indifference to more complicated or nebulous conflicts. Anon seems to thoroughly enjoy having a friend that she doesn’t have to perform generic cheerfulness around
“I think… it was my fault.” “I see. That’s rough.” She doesn’t even look up at this confession. Anon is great
“You gotta believe you can make it better next time. I mean, life is long, right? You’ll never make it otherwise.” Genuinely good advice from Anon. And this also seems to be coming from her own experience – her reinvention at this school is an expression of faith that life is long enough for everyone to start over and do better the next time
“Will you keep the band going for our whole lives?” Tomori really can’t stomach the thought of being abandoned again
Anon scoffs at this, and Tomori flees. Anon catches her outside Taki’s coffee shop, where Taki is swift to leap to her defense
And Done
Whew, what a mess! Frankly, I’m not sure getting in a band together would be emotionally healthy for any of these characters, and that’s a delightfully twisted position from which to start a band-centric drama. Anon is already proving herself a delightfully twisted yet altogether sympathetic heroine, demonstrating both an understanding of and casual indifference towards adolescence social convention that makes her a joy to follow. And the characterization of Tomori is just as nuanced and convincing, presenting someone who is influenced but not defined by her difficulties with communication, in a way that feels sympathetically true to life. Just one episode in and we’re already deep in the psychological weeds – I’m sure things will only get thornier from here, and I’m eager to find out how!
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