BanG Dream!

BanG Dream!
File:Bang dream.jpg Poster showing the members of the "Poppin' Party" band. Clockwise from the center: Kasumi, Saya (upper right). Rimi, Tae, and Saya.
バンドリ (Bandori)
Genre	Music, slice of life
Manga
BanG Dream!: Star Beat
Written by	Aya Ishida
Published by	Bushiroad
Magazine	Monthly Bushiroad
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	January 2015 – present
Manga
Written by	Mami Kashiwabara
Published by	Bushiroad
English publisher	SG: Shogakukan Asia
Magazine	Monthly Bushiroad
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	2016 – present
Manga
Written by	Hakuto Shiroi
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Magazine	Dengeki G's Comic
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	2016 – present
Anime television series
Directed by	Atsushi Ootsuki
Produced by	Akane Taketsgu Atsushi Iwazaki Atsushi Ōta Naohiko Furuichi Yashiyuki Shiotani Yasuhiro Nakajima Yuichi Kawakami
Written by	Yuniko Ayana
Music by	Junpei Fujita Noriyasu Agematsu
Studio	Issen, Xebec
Licensed by	NA: Sentai Filmworks
Original network	Tokyo MX, KBS, SUN, AT-X, TVA, TVS, BS11, BS Fuji, tvk, MMT
English network	SEA: Animax Asia
Original run	January 21, 2017 – April 22, 2017
Episodes	13 + OVA
Video game
BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!
Developer	Craft Egg
Publisher	Bushimo
Genre	Adventure rhythm
Platform	iOS, Android
Released	March 16, 2017

BanG Dream! is a Japanese media franchise created in January 2015 by Bushiroad. It consists of the musical group Poppin' Party, which was formed in February 2015, as well as multiple manga series and an anime television series adaptation by Issen (OLM with Bushiroad) and Xebec, which aired from January 21, 2017 to April 22, 2017.

Plot

The series revolves around Kasumi Toyama, a high school student with a happy-go-lucky personality. She is initially excited that she got admitted into a prestigious high school. But in reality, she is actually looking for the "Star Beat", a sparkling and exciting sound which she heard while looking up at the night sky during her childhood days. Ever since then, she is constantly searching for something that will stir her spirits up.

One day, while returning from school, she comes across a pawn shop owned by one of her classmates. In the storage area, she finds a strange star-shaped guitar with glittery stickers on it. Without knowing, she immediately decides to form a band after witnessing the performance of "Glitter Green" at a live house. She then recruits four of her classmates, Saya Yamabuki, Tae Hanazono, Rimi Ushigome and Arisa Ichigaya, whose pawn shop she visited. Despite their initial misgivings, they reluctantly agree to form a band called "Poppin' Party". By overcoming many hurdles and solving some of their personal problems, Kasumi eventually finds the excitement that she had been looking for.

Characters

Poppin' Party

Kasumi Toyama (戸山 香澄, Toyama Kasumi)

Voiced by: Aimi Terakawa

The lead singer and a guitarist of the band she formed, who plays a red ESP Random Star. She is hyper, cheerful and overexcited at times.

Tae Hanazono (花園 たえ, Hanazono Tae)

Voiced by: Sae Ōtsuka

Called O-tae by Kasumi and other band members, she plays a blue guitar in the band. She bonded with Kasumi during Home Ec and taught her the beginning chords.

Rimi Ushigome (牛込 りみ, Ushigome Rimi)

Voiced by: Rimi Nishimoto

Rimi is called Rimi-rin by Kasumi. She plays a pink bass guitar and with her elder sister Yuri Ushigome, she made up a song on chocolate cornet. She's usually very very shy, but loves.

Sāya Yamabuki (山吹 沙綾, Yamabuki Sāya)

Voiced by: Ayaka Ōhashi

The drummer of the band who played in another band before her mother fell ill. She helps her family in handling the local bakery.

Arisa Ichigaya (市ヶ谷 有咲, Ichigaya Arisa)

Voiced by: Ayasa Itō

The sarcastic keyboard player of her band. Although she was reluctant to join the band, she made up the name Poppin Party. She lives with her grandma and owns the pawn shop where Kasumi found her guitar.

Afterglow

Ran Mitake (美竹 蘭, Mitake Ran)

Voiced by: Ayane Sakura

The lead singer and guitarist of Afterglow who is a first-year student at Haneoka Girls' High School. Ran's family has a 100-year history as experts in ikebana. She is strong-willed, hates losing and gets lonely easily due to her awkward and aloof nature. Her friends and family are more important to her than anything else.

Moca Aoba (青葉 モカ, Aoba Moca)

Voiced by: Sachika Misawa

The second guitarist of Afterglow and a first-year student at Haneoka Girls' High School. Moca is entirely indifferent to things she does not have interest in, but will do just about anything for the people she loves, especially Ran whom she's particularly close with. She likes to focus on one thing at a time, and playing the guitar is her focus now. She also loves manga and the buns from Yamabuki Bakery. Moca has a habit of calling herself "Moca-chan" when she's feeling really confident.

Tomoe Udagawa (宇田川 巴, Udagawa Tomoe)

Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa

The drummer of Afterglow and a first-year student at Haneoka Girls' High School who is also Ako's older sister. Tomoe is a candid girl who never badmouths others and carries no regrets. She plays an important role in keeping Afterglow forward. She gets along well with the adults in the shopping district, playing the taiko drums for them in local festivals. Just like her younger sister, she has a weak spot for fashion.

Himari Uehara (上原 ひまり, Uehara Himari)

Voiced by: Emiri Katō

The bassist of Afterglow and a first-year student at Haneoka Girls' High School. A cheerful, good-natured girl who keeps the band together, but also gets teased a lot by her fellow bandmates. She is not great at reading between the lines, and her efforts can sometimes be fruitless. She is easily moved to tears when she feels touched. Himari also likes baking and comparing sweets from different convenience stores.

Tsugumi Hazawa (羽沢 つぐみ, Hazawa Tsugumi)

Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto

The keyboardist of Afterglow and a first-year student at Haneoka Girls' High School who is also part of their student council. The most ordinary girl in Afterglow, Tsugumi has a positive personality and doesn't sweat the small stuff. Her cheery kindness keeps the band members' spirits high. Just like Himari, she also likes baking.

Pastel*Palettes

Aya Maruyama (丸山 彩, Maruyama Aya)

Voiced by: Ami Maeshima

The vocalist of Pastel*Palettes and a second-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls' High School. Aya is an avid admirer of idols who worked hard for 3 years before getting chosen to be the vocalist of Pastel*Palettes. She gets worked up easily and tends to cry a lot, though outwardly she's very cheery, high-spirited, and bubbly.

Hina Hikawa (氷川 日菜, Hikawa Hina)

Voiced by: Ari Ozawa

The guitarist of Pastel*Palettes, a second-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls' High School and also the younger twin sister of Sayo. Hina is a true genius, able to do just about anything after one single demonstration. She is a cheerful and candid girl, though not good at understanding the feelings of other people, and gets easily bored. Hina also uses to weird words to describe feelings, such as "boppin'" and "zappin'".

Chisato Shirasagi (白鷺 千聖, Shirasagi Chisato)

Voiced by: Sumire Uesaka

The bassist of Pastel*Palettes, a second-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls' High School and Kaoru's childhood friend. Having been a famous actress since she was a child, Chisato has learned to cherish her private life and the friends therein. Underneath her kind and pleasant outlook, Chisato can be quite calculating and even blunt and cold at times, especially towards Kaoru's dramatic personality.

Maya Yamato (大和 麻弥, Yamato Maya)

Voiced by: Ikumi Nakagami

The drummer of Pastel*Palettes and a second-year student at Haneoka Girls' High School with glasses. Prior to joining the band, she was just a studio musician working for the agency, just brought as a replacement to the band. Happiest when surrounded by musical equipment, Maya is a true tech geek. She becomes almost impossible to stop when talking about her beloved hobby, and completely loses track of time when she starts tinkering with all kinds of parts and equipment.

Eve Wakamiya (若宮 イヴ, Wakamiya Eve)

Voiced by: Sawako Hata

The keyboardist of Pastel*Palettes and a first-year student in Kasumi's class at Hanasakigawa Girls' High School. Eve is a half-Japanese, half-Finnish, and grew up in Finland. She is pretty easygoing and kind to everyone. She loves and is fascinated by the Japanese culture, and believes in the way of bushido. Before joining Pastel*Palettes, Eve was a model at the same agency.

Roselia

Yukina Minato (湊 友希那, Minato Yukina)

Voiced by: Aiba Aina

The perfectionist vocalist of Roselia, and takes everything in regards to music very seriously. Usually cold and stoic, but would show her softer side to people she eventually warms up to. She is best friends and childhood friends with Lisa. Outside of band, she is a second year at Haneoka Girls' High School.

Sayo Hikawa (氷川 紗夜, Hikawa Sayo)

Voiced by: Kudō Haruka

The guitarist of Roselia and a second-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls' High School. She is the older twin sister of Hikawa Hina, from Pastel*Palettes.

Lisa Imai (今井 リサ, Imai Lisa)

Voiced by: Endō Yurika (2017 - May 2018)

The bassist of Roselia, and also Yukina's best friend since childhood. She has the appearance of a gyaru, but often does things that does not suit that image, and ends up hiding it. Outside of band, she works part-time in a convenience store with Aoba Moca, from Afterglow. Like Yukina, she is a second year at Haneoka Girls' High School.

Ako Udagawa (宇田川 あこ, Udagawa Ako)

Voiced by: Sakuragawa Megu

Roselia's drummer and younger sister to Udagawa Tomoe from Afterglow, whom she admires a lot. She is a third-year student at the middle school branch of Haneoka Girls' High School, making her the youngest one in the band as well as youngest overall. She is known to often have chuunibyou tendencies, which could be the result of the time she spent playing games online. She is best friends with fellow band-mate Rinko, whom she met through an online game.

Rinko Shirokane (白金 燐子, Shirokane Rinko)

Voiced by: Akesaka Satomi

Keyboardist of Roselia, and a second-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls' High School. She is usually shy and asocial, and would get scared if she was around a large crowd or people she was unfamiliar with. In her free time, she likes to read and play online games, where she met her best friend Ako in.

Other characters

Shifuna Tsuzuki (都築 詩船, Tsuzuki Shifuna)

Voiced by: Mami Koyama

Ririko Maji (真次 璃々子, Maji Ririko)

Voiced by: Yuko Gibu

Asuka Toyama (戸山 明日香, Toyama Asuka)

Voiced by: Yuka Ozaki

Yuri Ushigome (牛込 ゆり, Ushigome Yuri)

Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori

Yuri is the elder sister of Rimi Ushigome. She's also in a band called "Glitter Green" alongside her friends Uzawa Rii, Wanibe Nanana and Nijikki Hinako who often plays on the livehouse 'Space'. She's on the guitar and vocals. She has a pretty good voice and sings very well. She's also really beautiful and has a matured and benevolent personality.

Bands

Poppin'Party

Formed by Kasumi Toyama in her journey to rediscover an excitement she felt. Although their raw skill is not considered the best, they make up for this with their strong energy and innate connection between each other. Their name references the 'popping' theme of their band and music.

Afterglow

A band formed between Ran Mitake and her childhood friends. They have a "rough-around-the-edges" aesthetic, and their music follows a rebellious theme. The name comes from the English term for the effect on the sky following a sunset.

Pastel*Palettes

An idol group who were formed into a "idol band" as a gimmick by a talent agency. They were ultimately permitted to perform their own music, and have become popular for their originality as a result. "Pastel*Palettes" refers to the colorful and varied personalities of the group.

Roselia

A popular gothic J-rock band that is recognized at a near-professional level and are catching the eye of the music industry, and scounters. Their name is a combination of "rose" and "camellia".

Hello, Happy World!

Formed by Kokoro Tsurumaki to achieve her dream of making people smile. The band is popular with children and they often perform at preschools, however their music has appeal across all age ranges. They are named after their soul mission to "make the world happy" through their music.

Media

Manga

A manga series titled BanG Dream!: Star Beat, written by Aya Ishida, began serialization in Bushiroad's Monthly Bushiroad in January 2015. A second manga series by Mami Kashiwabara began serialization in 2016, also in Monthly Bushiroad. A third manga series by Hakuto Shiroi also began serialization in 2016 in ASCII Media Works's seinen manga magazine Dengeki G's Comic.

Anime

An anime television adaptation animated by Issen and Xebec aired from January 21, 2017 to April 22, 2017 on Tokyo MX. The anime has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks. It was streamed on the Anime Network and by Crunchyroll. The anime ran for 13 episodes and will be released across seven BD/DVD volumes. An original video animation episode has been announced and will get advanced screenings before being released on November 22, 2017 on the 7th BD/DVD volume.

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Game

In March 16, 2017, a rhythm mobile game for iOS and Android titled BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! (バンドリ！ ガールズバンドパーティ!, BanDori! Gārusu Bando Pāti!) was released. The game is developed by Craft Egg and published by Bushiroad's game subsidiary Bushimo. The main story of the game puts players in the role of a self-named worker at the CiRCLE live house, who aids Poppin' Party in recruiting girl bands for an event. The game also features multiple original stories for the individual bands, most of which explore the backstories of the bands and their members.

The English version was released on April 4, 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Smartphone game official website