Girls Band Cry Episode 12 Discussion

I don’t think people aren’t giving this masterpiece a chance on purpose, it’s just ridiculously hard to get to see it outside of Japan due to the lack of licensing. My usual 🏴‍☠️ site only has it in French subs this week and several more only have raw. It’s hard work!
I only hope it comes out subbed on Blu-ray in Europe eventually, but that’s unlikely too…

Been loving this series, but this week is likely one of the show's weakest episodes so far.

The slow growth of TT's prowess taking on challenges one-by-one, personal and musical, is something previous episodes do amazingly. However, a lot just happens in this episode without the build-up and explanation to where it feels very rushed. All of a sudden they've joined the agency after the performance, then Diamond Dust challenges them (with the audiences never seeing that band and their motives. We're just "told" ideas by the other TT members for why) requiring big decisions, Momoka has a short character moment, and all of a sudden they've released a track and it bombed. Too many band challenges happen for me to digest one-by-one and other past ideas (Rupa's backstory, Hina's and Nina's Relationship, The Budokan) have been rather skimmed over.

Bridge episodes are expected to be the "weak" ones as they're necessary (they set up big developments with required process time) but it feels like they're trying to set up a big climatic showdown finale without enough episodes to keep the main show's thesis. Reminds me of my worries with YoruKura's current final arc.

A bit worried, but I hope they can at least end it with a good bang.

"Just give us the link to your new song girls and I will boost the view of it" was what I thought, because, seriously, the instrumental part of it that they had showed us was very cathcy. It would have been a creative marketing idea if they had put it on on youtube after the airing of the episode and and let us watch it and show "them" how many fans they really have.

@Kuso_AR If I remember correctly, they were already in discussions with the agency where they'd be signed if they could pull a significant audience at last episode's festival (which they were able to do), so I don't think this signing comes as much of a surprise.

I might be a little delulu here, but if you consider this episode in the context that a second season is guaranteed, it makes a lot more sense as to why many of the existing band challenges were left unaddressed this episode, and why Diamond Dust remains largely a mystery. Which makes me believe that this episode was made with the intent of a 2nd season being planned, so next episode will likely only scratch the surface of their rivalry. Admittedly this is very optimistic thinking, but taking this perspective made me see this episode in a different light.

@Oioioioi1234 The writer of the show implied in a tweet that, if the merch and all that stuff sells well, it would be possible to have another season. I think the story is written in a way that it allows a second season (there are so many points that will not be addressed in a single last episode) and the band has setted a long term goal, and we barely know Diamond Dust girls and Tomo & Rupa backstories. I want to believe that we will get a second season, but it deppends on the success the show has on making return of the invest they put in.
Praying to the God of rock to get a great finale, more TogeToge music, and a confirmation of more GBC seasons

I love how real this show feels. The band had a head start with a seasoned indie musician, but all the numbers are believable (painfully, in this episode, with Nina realizing that just because you give it your all doesn't mean you'll be guaranteed success). They're still small-time musicians trying to make their way in the industry, trying to get noticed. Nina even drops out of school in order to pursue being a full-time musician, and everyone except Subaru is working at this full-time.

It's not like some other anime where they suddenly get 100k views, then 1 million views, easily achieving 100k followers, with two of their members still going to school full-time... God, what a disappointment that anime turned out to be.

Anyway, I'm super curious how the next episode plays out. The best and most realistic outcome IMO is that Nina faces the hard truth that passion is not all you need to succeed, and that most people in this industry are just as passionate as she is. TogeToge loses against Diamond Dust, and there will be some girls in a band that cry, but they end on a hopeful note and continue working toward their goals.

I hope they don't go the route of "song goes viral for random reason, they gain tens of thousands of new fans in 3 weeks and win". At the very least, have it be something that was properly set up, like all the characters they've met so far that have influence helping them to win (Mine, Subaru's grandmother, the sound engineer, the venue owner). I swear, if this goes the Kurage route... it'd be the most disappointing ending to an amazing show in a long time.

@nicosb2810 What I would really love to see adressed in a second season is the alcohol abuse of Rupa and Momoka-san (in Rupa's case I really see that as her way of struggling with her grief and the loss of her family). I know perfectly well it is for laughs because drunk cute girls are usually considered... cute, but I would be a sucker for an anime that could show and deal with this as serious problem in a meaningful way. But since "idols" can't be shown as alcoholists I doubt we will get that covered in a way I imagine it.

@nicosb2810 What I would really love to see adressed in a second season is the alcohol abuse of Rupa and Momoka-san (in Rupa's case I really see that as her way of struggling with her grief and the loss of her family). I know perfectly well it is for laughs because drunk cute girls are usually considered... cute, but I would be a sucker for an anime that could show and deal with this as serious problem in a meaningful way. But since "idols" can't be shown as alcoholists I doubt we will get that covered in a way I imagine it.

@Ishitateso The main problem with this is that their level of drinking is normal in Japan. It doesn't matter if you drink every night and pass out on the streets - as long as you're still a functioning member of society, you're all good.

Unless you mean a story continuation where they actually do become alcoholics, and it affects the performance of the band. That would be cool. I don't think they're considered "idols", so I think they could pull it off. Hell, two of the main characters are high school dropouts, I think tackling alcoholism is fair game.

How long had the song been out when Nina checked the view count? Kinda feels like she's "only 103 views in 1 minute? You fell off"ing herself.

I'm not sure if there's time to wrap up satisfactorily with the big concert in a single episode. I guess we'll find out.

I really wonder why this wasn't picked up by the likes of Crunchyroll for an international release. Given smaller regional streaming services got it, perhaps the licensing cost was too high due to CR's reach for them to see the value in it. 🤔

Whatever the reasoning, it's a shame since it's definitely my favourite of the handful of shows I've been watching this season.