I started watching Girls Band Cry after seeing this middle finger video:
The 3D CG animation might take some time to get used to, but it’s better than a lot of other anime that use 3D CG. I heard that the animators adjust most of the scenes frame by frame, so… let’s press F to pay respect to their livers:
The voice actresses also play their own instruments in their real-life band, Togenashi Togeari:
The synopsis might make Girls Band Cry sound like yet another anime about girls forming a band: it’s a story about a group of dropout girls, each with their own problems, playing in a band and chasing their dreams. Yes, it is that cliché.
But it’s not your typical CGDCT anime. The best part of this show is actually the arguments, fights, and conflicts. (Eh?)
The main character, Nina, is a ordinary high school student wounded hedgehog aka the queen of quarrels aka the monster of righteousness (正論モンスター).
As people get older and become part of society, they tend to keep a certain distance from others to avoid conflict. But this distance also makes it hard for people to really understand each other.
But Nina doesn’t seem to have gone through this process. So she doesn’t hold back at all. So in the anime she’s always arguing with someone. Sometimes it’s Nina’s fault, sometimes it’s someone else’s. I can totally understand why Momoka can’t handle her.
Momoka’s character is a bit like a disillusioned middle-aged man. She worked hard when she was young but was crushed by society. She started to lose confidence in herself, showing a ‘hot outside, cold inside’ personality, and lost her drive.
Because Nina’s character is similar to a younger Momoka, stubborn and driven, it makes Momoka see her past self in Nina. So when Nina gradually walks a path similar to her past self, Momoka starts to show signs of avoidance. Her image has changed from a reliable big sister at the beginning to a 20-year-old girl who needs support and a push.
Then we have Tomo, who’s a perfectionist. She put pressure on her bandmates for her professional goals in the past, which caused them to leave the band. This made her hold back in the current band because she’s afraid of another disbandment.
To alleviate these conflicts, the production team added not one, but two high EQ characters to smooth things over. I quite like this design. It’s rare to see such high EQ characters in this type of anime.
One of them is Subaru. She accurately understood the personalities of the band members from her first appearance and played a buffering role in the relationships of the band. Without Subaru, the anime would be more like Girls Disband Cry.
Another high EQ character is Rupa. She’s basically the nanny of the entire band. There’s not much of her personal plot yet. I only know that she is of South Asian descent and she has a sad past. It will probably be a highlight later.
Unfortunately, the anime is currently only available in Japan. So, if you’re keen on watching it, you might need to ahem, swim to Japan.