Girls Band Cry

Everyone yearns to find their true purpose in life. This is also true for Nina Iseri, a 17-year-old girl looking to enroll in a good university, but the world always seems to work against her. On her very first day in Tokyo, she gets lost, ignored, and locked out of her new apartment. However, an unexpected opportunity arises when Nina meets Momoka Kawaragi, one of her favorite guitarists.

After Nina joins Momoka for a street performance, Momoka decides they should start a band together. While Nina initially hesitates, her determination grows as they start acquiring more bandmates—the beautiful drummer Subaru Awa, the aloof keyboardist Tomo Ebizuka, and the intelligent bassist Rupa. The five girls face challenges both in the music industry and within themselves, but their shared passion for music never lets them give up on their dreams.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Iseri, Nina Main

Rina Japanese

Awa, Subaru Main

Mirei Japanese

Kawaragi, Momoka Main

Yuuri Japanese

Rupa Main

Shuri Japanese

Ebizuka, Tomo Main

Natsu Japanese

Hina Supporting

Kondou, Reina Japanese

Rin Supporting

Urushiyama, Yuuki Japanese

Nakata Supporting

Kanuka, Mitsuaki Japanese

Ai Supporting

Miyashiro, Momoko Japanese

Nana Supporting

Matsuoka, Misato Japanese

Hirayama, Tadashi Producer

Sakai, Kazuo Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Miyoshi, Keiichirou Sound Director

Imura, Kenji Episode Director

Reviews

Dec 27, 2024

MidniteAndBeyond

Recommended

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Watching this show and the Shiny Colors anime back to back is like stinkin night and day! This is without question the greatest 3D animated anime I've ever seen in my life. It gave me so much hope for this style of animation to become more mainstream in the future. There was not a SECOND of stiff expressions or still, sluggish movement in this entire show! EVERYTHING is in constant motion and feels so alive and vibrant in ways that I never even thought were possible in 3D anime! Any sort of limitations or restrictions I thought the technology had was just ... completely shattered by this show. And it even sprinkles in 2D animation with its opening and in various flashbacks within the show that look equally as amazing! It's one of the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous pieces of art I've ever seen in my life. You absolutely should watch it, if only to see and acknowledge it for the incomparable work of art that it is. And not just with the visuals! The sound design is amazing, too! Not just with the songs that the characters perform, but also with the background music that accompany and perform alongside every scene and fit perfectly with the emotion of every spoken word throughout every single episode. If you for whatever reason are someone who tends to avoid "idol shows" or musicals, ~~skill issue~~ I highly encourage you to give this one a shot. It truly surprised me and gave me so many more things about the anime medium as a whole to be appreciative of. This show has also been long sought after since its taken so long to finally hit streaming services over here. Please support it now that its finally available for legal streaming. We need to see more shows like this. It's truly a game changer and I cannot wait to see what works of art will spawn in the future as a result of this one's influence.

9.5/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jan 3, 2025

lan_zhu

Mixed Feelings

I was really hesitant to start this when I saw that it was a 3D anime, after all my experience with with genre has never been very good, and even Suzume failed to deliver the same charm that I still believe it would have had it been produced a few years later or in 2D.

And yet I was drawn in by the first episode. It's a bit cliche, yes. (Jellyfish Can't Swim had the same opening after all.) I guess I'm a bit of a sucker for stories about helping small artists. The dynamic between Momoka and Nina from the beginning was adorable. Nina ... herself was just full of surprises, but I'll save my complaints for later.

Animation was a solid 6/10 for me. Not bad, not amazing, but pretty decent and just a slight bit above my expectations. The first clip I saw of GBC, I was really turned away because of it, but I got used to it in time. I think it even improves as the show progresses. The rendering and shadows/lighting is a bit too harsh and unpolished for my taste, especially as an anime. There were also a few clunky movements, although it was verrrrrry smooth in most scenes. You can't compare it to ZZZ or WUWA, but because the genre's severely different, I think it's alright to not be held to the same standards.

The songs were supposed to be rock, but it's not heavy metal like LOVEBITES. It's closer to mainstream J-rock, which I was surprised because Momoka was all about not jumping on trends... when the music she makes sound pretty mainstream? They're not bad songs in any case. 7/10

Now for my grievances:

I cringed through half of this show, gritted my teeth, and managed to get through it. All due to our protagonist Nina. Are her actions cringe because I think she is or is she cringe because her actions are? I don't even know at this point.

Nina is a socially inept girl that basically repels with society. Oil and water. I know it's partly due to her trauma, but I die three times each episode. She comes in with not just a few fatal flaws, but an armful that suffocates unassuming watchers. She doesn't understand how to interact with people, always going on the offensive and becoming aggressive at the smallest thing. She makes lighthearted moments too serious, always willing to dive deep or pry about pasts when it obviously makes the other person uncomfortable. She's selfish even as she does what she believes are helpful deeds, and fails to put herself in other's shoes, always working on her own agenda. She's rash and immature and jumps into things she doesn't understand. She's narcissistic in the way that she accuses others of the things she herself commits. She runs away at the slightest pressure and fails to communicate properly. I have more pages I've written ranting on her as a person, but it's already too much. She does learn and get some character development by the end, although I will tell you, there's a painful stretch in the middle. She's very fortunate to have friends that deal with her and try to help her understand these things about human relationships. I think it can be charming, although not for me. The shift of focus away from her was such a breath of relief. She works well as an annoying side character. I still rooted for her even as it was painful... the second hand embarrassment was enough to knock me out. If they were aiming for a flawed character, they sure did succeed.

Another gripe I have with her is her long, life update speeches before each concert. The audience didn't pay for that. They're here for music, for entertainment. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Lead it into some music. I think they should start selling that as a quirk of the band with how often Nina does it. She and Momoka also should've gone viral with how often they argued in public. If not viral at least a local tourist attraction.

Complaints aside, Nina can be pretty badass sometimes too, so it's not all bad. I do love the supporting characters too. They feel very dynamic fleshed out.

I did enjoy the conflicts in the group and the realistic ideals from Momoka (or basically the rest of the group compared to Nina). The success they achieved wasn't anything big but I found that realistic.

The season ended with some loose ends, so I don't mind watching more of GBC, although I would not put myself through season 1 again. It's like sandwich. Started out well, sludged through some, and ended with a decent (though small) boom.

Also, I felt a bit yuri baited halfway through, especially with the way things were worded, but I forgave it because there was very little buildup.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Nov 7, 2024

Tacsk0

Not Recommended

Funny

I spoiler-free don't recommend watching Girls Band Cry (GBC), for two main reasons:

1. It's the kind of story you'll either hate (because of the 3D-CGI animation or how unreasonably unsufferable the MC is or any misc. reason) or you'll fall for the experience right away and become addicted. If you'd hate it, why watch it? If you become addicted, you'll waste your life by re-re-watching it and searching for or creating fanart and buying merch - in stark contrast to what the series' theme song says!

2., Girls Band Cry is like the cursed apple tree standing in the middle of the Garden of Eden. Eat ... from it, says the snake and your eyes will open, suddenly seeing the whole television anime industry is naked... 99% of seasonal produce are always poorly drawn partial animation at a mere 7-13 fps and giving "hand-made 2D" look a bad name. For bonus, there are uninspired and uninteresting plotlines and pro seiyuu who cater to assumed "high-pitched loli maid" expectations of the otaku, rather than expressing anything meaningful.

GBC entered such a market, shining with 30fps of often motion-captured but always expressive and continously fluid 3D-CGI animation. (Nota bene: as much as possible within sub-Hollywood budget allocated to a freely broadcast original TV show lacking LN / manga source support.) Yet script-writing and episode directing are stellar for both comedy and drama, music hits are memorable, non-music hits also... Main characters have personality, strong presence and very real emotion, even though the show uses no seiyuu, per se. All five members of Togenashi Togeari are voiced by teenage rock musician girls, whom Studio Toei and Universal Japan label recruited to form a real-life band and gave them a crash course in voice acting for anime - based on the reasoning talented musicians have good ears so they'll quickly get the hang of it. The producer was right: Nina's and Momoka's VAs are super talented, even star-crossed and Subaru sounds refreshingly realistic, they are easily par for their beautiful visuals. You've found your angels, even if they are fallen ones with just cardboard wings...

After you've witnessed all those miracles, you get expelled from Paradise: post-GBC the japanese animation industry still continues to roll out the same garbage as before, this past summer, this autumn, coming winter season. With your newly opened eyes it becomes gruelling labour to watch the poorly drawn partial animation, the mockery of hand-made 2D style and digest the soulless and all-around juvenile and/or cynical plotlines, while listening to seiyuu who try to sound like chipmunks. You may even give up on anime or at least be unable to (re)watch anything you haven't seen and accepted pre-GBC!

Is it worth discarding your whole anime baggage for the sake of a singular show projected from Paradise? It's not a trivial decision, but a surprisingly large number of japanese otaku voted YES enthusiastically (and many foreign fans as well, even though GBC wasn't legally available for them until August and not conveniently available until Nov 2024. Fansubs ranged from evil-memed MTL to highly controversial regarding a crucial scene). More than half a year later GBC disc sales are still crazy high and TogeToge live shows are 25x overbooked. Even the famous BanGDream / MyGO franchise went to GBC for a collab, which helped them through difficulties of delayed game development. Maybe, maybe the industry will see the light and begin to change - but in the meanwhile you'd lose 3 to 5 years of anime enjoyment. Decide for yourself whether it's worth it!?

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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	Can this anime become the #1 3DCG anime? ( 1 2 ) shigureftlux - Jun 14, 2024	52 replies	by Tacsk0 »» Yesterday, 1:16 AM
	Crunchyroll streaming Announced!!!! dragon-mage - Oct 24, 2024	12 replies	by Tacsk0 »» Feb 15, 2:42 PM
	Compilation Movie announced AkeZZZ - Sep 13, 2024	10 replies	by Tacsk0 »» Feb 15, 1:09 PM
	Poll: Girls Band Cry Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) KANLen09 - Apr 5, 2024	166 replies	by Tacsk0 »» Feb 9, 2:45 AM
	Expelled from Girls Band Cry? Tacsk0 - Nov 22, 2024	5 replies	by Tacsk0 »» Feb 7, 12:20 PM