D4DJ First Mix

Having lived abroad in Africa for most of her life, Rinku Aimoto is now returning to Japan to attend Yoba Academy, a school where DJ units—groups made up of DJs, vocalists, and dancers—are extremely popular. There, she meets Maho Akashi, an aspiring DJ who teaches Rinku the basics of DJing. The girls attend a performance by Yoba's famous DJ unit Peaky P-key, and struck by inspiration, they decide to form a unit of their own.

Rinku and Maho soon recruit Muni Oonaruto, a talented artist and Rinku's childhood friend, as well as Rei Togetsu, a shy and caring pianist. Newly named Happy Around, the group aims to use the budding friendships and combined talents of its members to become one of the top DJ units in the country.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

The D4DJ franchise released a mobile rhythm game, titled D4DJ Groovy Mix for iOS and Android, which was developed by Donuts and published by Bushiroad. The Japanese version was released in October 2020, with the English language version of the game releasing in May 2021.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Other:	D4DJ Petit Mix
Side story:	D4DJ Double Mix
Character:	A Lot of Life, Happy Music♪, Wish You Luck
Sequel:	D4DJ All Mix

Satou, Hinata
Japanese

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Staff

Matsuura, Hiroaki

Producer

Mizushima, Seiji

Director

Nagasaki, Yukio

Sound Director

Umetsu, Tomomi

Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"Guru Guru DJ TURN!! (ぐるぐる DJ TURN!!)" by Happy Arround!

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Ending Theme

"WOW WAR TONIGHT ~Toki ni wa Okoseyo Movement (WOW WAR TONIGHT ～時には起こせよムーヴメント～)" by Shano Himegami (Raychell) and Airi Amano (Nana Mizuki)

Reviews

Jan 29, 2021

dlxuniuniu

Recommended

Do you like good music and cute girls? Do you love the bands from “BanG Dream!”? If so, then D4DJ is the perfect anime for you!
Bushiroad is a very well-known name in the mobile gaming industry, the team brought us "Love Live!", "BanG Dream!" or also "Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight". "D4DJ" is their new project which includes different DJ groups who want to be in the big spotlight one day as well.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “DJ”?
I always associate this term with people like "David Guetta", "Alan Walker" or "Avicii" (R.I.P, you were a legend). ... Everyone knows and love them. With their music, they not only changed the music world, but also made our everyday lives happier.

Our little DJ anime focuses on the everyday life of the unit “Happy Around!”, the central unit for the D4DJ franchise. Rinku, our always happy girl, is the one who started the band. The name for "Happy Around!" also came from her habit of yelling the phrase while joyfully spinning around. She is always cheerful, optimistic and never gives up. After her first encounter with Maho, she became interested in the whole DJ project.
Deeply moved by a DJ performance she had seen in her past, Maho became interested in DJ activities herself. She is the DJ in the unit and also doing the track-mixing. Although not very enthusiastic about the whole thing in the beginning, Rinku convinced her in the end to form a unit with her. The skills of "DJ Mash" have become even better as a result.
The third girl in the unit is Muni, she has been with friends with Rinku since childhood and was really happy to reunite with her in high school after Rinku's family frequently moved around the world. Muni is responsible for the VJing in the unit. She is very close to the fourth and last member of the unit: Rei.
Rei was born into a wealthy family and is very talented in many things, of which playing the piano makes her most happy. Before meeting Rinku, she lived the life her parents had prepared for her, but didn't have the courage to make a change. Rei is very grateful for her chance encounter with Rinku, who instilled more confidence in her.
From starting the unit with Rinku's commitment to their daily training sessions and even participating in the competition at the end of the day, we experience all of these beautiful moments. All the girl get along with each other, even not being in the same unit. They just have fun together. It's a classic, pleasant slice-of-life anime with nice music.

In this show we experience how wonderful DJ music can be. We don't just hear the music from "Happy Around!" , but also from the other units like "Peaky P-key" or "Photo Maiden". Each unit has a different direction in terms of the songs and their appearance. The OP already gives you a heavy DJ vibe while the ED is just beautiful listen to, it's relaxed and exciting at the same time.

Why did I mention “BanG Dream!” in the beginning? Not only because of the same producer and studio, but also the art style is very similar to them. Even some of the voice actors from “BanG Dream” are a part of this DJ project as well. The 3D CGI is very well presented as well although I feel a little bit sad for the background characters since the difference can be spot directly. But you definitely can feel the “BanG Dream!” vibe in this anime directly. The characters and musical directions are very similar. It's just fun to watch and listen to our girls playing their music.

Besides the good music and the cute girls, I was also able to learn something about DJing. Never read or experienced anything about that before, some basics about it is also explained to us in this anime. As a big “BanG Dream” fan I was already pretty hyped after seeing the trailer, it reminded me right away. If you loved that one, you will like this one for sure!
In the end, I really hope we will get a second season. We all want to learn more about this DJ project and the other units as well!

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Jan 29, 2021

Britannian13

Recommended

Today I'll be giving my thoughts on Bushiroad's newest media project after BanG Dream!, D4DJ First Mix. This show is really great, and I'll get into why it's so great in this review. Let's get into specifics.

Story: 6
Since MyAnimeList hasn't really done a proper synopsis of this show, I'll do it myself. The show follows a high school girl named Rinku, who has just recently moved back to Japan after living in Africa for years. The high school she attends, in a deviation from the standard music-centric anime, is big on DJs rather than idols. Rinku becomes enamored with DJing, meeting an unpopular DJ at ... her school named Maho, who begins to teach Rinku about DJing. Rinku and Maho eventually get together with 2 other girls at their high school, Muni and Rei, to form the idol group known as Happy Around!. The show follows the group of girls as they try to rise up the ranks of the school, along with their interactions with other school DJ groups Peaky P-Key and Photon Maiden.

The story is pretty standard as far as music-centric shows go, as it doesn't too anything exceptional. However, what it does is still quite solid. It revolves around Rinku and the gang climbing up the ranks of DJ groups in their high school. It is a pretty straightforward plot, but it still manages to be engaging through the music and character interactions. It's pretty run-of-the-mill in terms of the plot, but there are some drama elements sprinkled in. These drama elements are pretty good and add some more flavor to the plot. The story manages to back in plot, character development, and music in each episode without feeling off in the slightest. The pacing is good, however, for some reason, the first few episodes would sometimes have moments of silence or lingering on the same shot for too long, which was pretty jarring. Luckily, the studio behind this show, SANZIGEN, seemed to have realized this early on, as that is really only in the first few episodes. The concept of a DJ anime intrigued me into watching it and it most certainly delivers on that interesting premise. The show gives actually good insight on DJing. I learned things about it that I never knew. I bet this show will get some viewers interested in DJing.

Art: 9
I know what you all are thinking: "A CG anime having great animation? What is this guy on?" I'll admit, I too was originally concerned by the fact that this show is 3DCG animated, but all my doubts were put to rest by the very first episode. The CG is really great, probably the best I've ever seen in an anime. The characters move very fluidly, not looking janky at all, unlike many other 3DCG anime. The characters' faces are super expressive, perfectly displaying a wide range of emotions. The CG is especially impressive during the music sequences, as the animators go all out in making the dancing look authentic, the lip movement match with the lyrics, and the lighting look very visually appealing. The only gripe I have with the animation is the very little instances of traditional animation. They contrast quite a lot with the CG characters.

Sound: 10
Now this is probably the most appealing aspect of this show. To be blunt, this show has some of the freshest and sickest beats I've ever heard in an anime. Unlike idol music, which often sounds somewhat rinse-and-repeat, every DJ group's music is uniquely crafted to their image. All the group's music is easily distinguishable from each other due to their defined styles. This also allows for viewers to more easily pick favorites, but honestly, all the music is so good that I can't decide what my favorite group is. All of the music is very catchy and just a great listen. I personally listen to music from this show very often because it's so good. Even the background music is good, having the same techno cues that the main songs do. As for the voice acting, it is also of high quality. All of the voices have a unique sound to them and are very expressive. As for the opening and ending songs, they are very good. The opening performed by Happy Around! themselves, Guru Guru DJ TURN!!, is a very catchy and upbeat tune. The same goes for the ending song by Airi Amano (Nana Mizuki) and Shano Himegami (Raychell), titled, and this is a long one, WOW WAR TONIGHT ~ Toko ni wa Okoseyo Movement. I found myself never skipping these great songs.

Character: 8
The character development in this show is also quite good. All 4 of the main characters' personality and emotions are well explored. You really get a sense of how these characters feel and you begin to care about them. This show also includes 8 side characters, 4 from Peaky P-Key and 4 from Photon Maiden. While they obviously receive less development from the main cast, some of them are still well developed. Kyoko and Shinobu of Peaky P-Key and Saki of Photon Maiden have especially good characterization out of the 8 side characters. All the characters are filled with expressiveness, making their interactions with each other a blast to watch.

Enjoyment: 10
This is some of the most fun I've had watching an anime in 2020 (and a bit of 2021). I often found myself with a smile on my face while watching it. I looked forward to each and every song and character interaction every week. Watching it was a fantastic part of each Friday it aired.

Overall: 9
Even with a few small gripes, D4DJ First Mix manages to be an entertaining ride, jam-packed with great visuals, good characterization, and absolutely sublime music. Giving the music genre a fresh DJ twist, it keeps you entertained throughout the entirely of its 13-episode season. I highly recommend anyone to watch this show. This show is probably the most accessible one I've watched, as it's on a ton of different services. For North Americans such as myself, it's available on Crunchyroll, Funimation, HiDive, Anime Network, and even YouTube for viewers worldwide.

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Mar 1, 2021

TheCoolCore

Not Recommended

Preliminary (8/13 eps)

I usually tend to not write reviews, because I find it a waste of time. Time that's finite in this life, so I'd rather waste it doing something else. Usually, I find one or two reviews that reflect or are close to my opinion on a series, so I up-vote it and move on. But with this series, there is not a single review below a 7 seriously mates...

The series is over, but I'll try my best not to spoil it too hard, I still advise you to watch it first. Henceforth you're reading at your own peril. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

I'm going to ... start with the visual aspect first. Typical SANZIGEN it's 3D, which I have mixed fillings about (the 3D that is). Usually, the visual quality isn't something I care for. I'm of the belief that a good premise, well written characters, or a strong story direction are more important than visual quality. Of course, there are times that the visuals are a part of the viewing experience and in those cases, it should be taken into consideration. The backgrounds are pretty drab, with heavy digital compositing, but this is a SoL so drab comes with the territory nowadays. The character designs I'm not a fan of, they feel robotic almost mannequinlike, with their plastic movement when dancing. That causes me to cringe pretty hard at times. Might I mention the screen shake during performances too?

Okay let's talk about the sound, as this is a music-based series, this is an important aspect. Let's start with the BGM (outside of performances), nothing remarkable, typical for SoL 'elevator music'. On to the voice talent (VA, Seiyuu whatever you want to call them), VAs outside of the music performances are okay, they fit the characters fine, though it's important to note that I don't care about VAs at all. I accept that baseline voice acting is at least at a 6/10 almost always and is notable only when the character is synonymous with the voice performance. I talked a lot about other stuff but you are probably wondering how are the musical performances. Well, that all depends on your taste and preferences in music. At the time of writing, I've seen a bit over half of the series, the songs so far consist of some heavy auto-tune, electro-dance, techno, and dubstep. I don't like any sort of club style music, meaning I didn't really enjoy the musical performances. Fun fact Maho Akashi's VA Karin Kagami plays in the dub as well... for a jap it's okay I guess, though if I were to judge her in terms of dub performance it's quite terrible.

I'll discuss the story and characters together because there really isn't much to talk about. There isn't any story here, it just has a basic setting, and that is fine in a SoL series such as this. But in that case, one would be led to believe that the characters are good. What do I mean by good you may ask? Well written, well-realized, have fun personalities, have chemistry. Any of this in some sort of combo is what I would like to see, after all, SoL lives and dies by its characters. The characters here surmount to nothing but a paper-thin sack of tropes. They lack backstories, personalities, quirks... We have loud and hyper, cool and mature, shy and narcissistic, rich and stoic. That's all, feels like they took quite a bit of inspiration from K-On. There is very little drama, no conflict, no challenges to be overcome. Everything is always hunky-dory and smooth, by the end of an episode.

Hopefully, by now I've justified my opinion to you, and maybe you might see my side of things. My intentions are only to tell others of a similar mindset to not waste their time here. This is an unoriginal anime, with uninteresting cardboard cutouts, stiff 3D dancing, and bad music. Though I'll admit I'm biased. I love SoL quite a bit and this series fell off a cliff for me. The pace is quite fast which is counterintuitive of SoL. And with that I leave you with a; thank you. Cheers!

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'D4DJ' TV Anime Gets Second Season for Winter 2023

The official website of the D4DJ franchise announced on Friday that the television anime series will receive a second season titled D4DJ: All Mix. All six units wil...read more

Apr 8, 2022 9:10 AM by DatRandomDude | Discuss (18 comments)

'D4DJ: First Mix' Gets Anime Special in Summer 2022

The Merm4id 3rd Live S.T.O.P.ING concert announced a special episode for the D4DJ: First Mix anime series on Sunday. Titled D4DJ: Double Mix, the special will air i...read more

Mar 13, 2022 9:55 PM by DatRandomDude | Discuss (3 comments)

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Poll: D4DJ: First Mix Episode 12 Discussion yvsei - Jan 22, 2021	47 replies	by Foreall908 »» Jan 10, 11:49 PM
The dub NG_Chloe - Jan 23, 2021	5 replies	by Foreall908 »» Dec 5, 2023 10:45 AM
Poll: favorite member of Happy Around so far NG_Chloe - Dec 5, 2020	12 replies	by Foreall908 »» Dec 5, 2023 10:43 AM
Poll: D4DJ: First Mix Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) NeoAnkara - Oct 22, 2020	80 replies	by davidralph »» Nov 28, 2023 12:57 PM
Poll: D4DJ: First Mix Episode 10 Discussion Ellenwitch - Jan 8, 2021	40 replies	by 28012001 »» Sep 7, 2023 2:57 AM

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