Argonavis from BanG Dream!

First things first: I really don't know anything about bandori. Like, sure, it's big music franchise, but apart from that - literally nothing at all. Whatever could be gathered from any other source that exists out there... great, probably. For me though, there's only this anime.

It's unfortunate that if I have to sum it up in one word, that word is "unfortunate". I don't mind uncommon methods, like the CG we had here for pretty much the whole series: personally I'm used to it, and indeed considering the genre it just fits. Granted, at times it could have been better, there were moments where it ... felt awkward, but overall it was perfectly fine. The designs were also great: settings as well as the characters, and even the smaller details. The music, the songs are obviously great, with the energy and emotions one would expect, given what the franchise is. But great music and easy-on-the-eyes characters can only carry a series so far...

And that's where the negatives come in. The characters sure look great, but I struggled to discover much (if anything at all) in most of them beyond that. They just feel more like empty husks that have some basic "programming" to act out, a generic personality and/or issue or problem to move them forward, but it just doesn't feel organic. They aren't "bad" per se - if anything, they simply lack the complexity to be. I couldn't really sense many or strong connections - between them or between myself and any one of them. Sadly, the story is the same: weak, lukewarm, somewhat haphazard, a bit of a hodgepodge that doesn't really know which way to go, and eventually doesn't really go anywhere. A few huge coincidences change the flow, maybe the direction, but for the most part, that's just it: going with the flow. I'm usually one of those people who are really emotionally affected by the story they watch unfold, who can literally laugh and cry together with the characters and worry themselves to death over them. Here I could barely be bothered enough to care. Songs popping up out of nowhere that we never even hear mentioned being worked on, and that's just not the way to make anything believable - yet here it happens more often than not. And while those songs themselves aren't bad in any sense of he word, not seeing them being "born" makes them, makes the whole "story" hard to connect to. Then again, this and the coincidences aren't the only two things that can jolt you out of your suspension of disbelief: there are several more cartwheels and backflips in logic that honestly could have been handled better with little (if any) more effort.

You might as well go straight for Argonavis's or Gyroaxia's music on whatever music platform you prefer, that's most of the value here. The characters and the story are just too weak to be the source of much enjoyment; and while the visuals aren't bad, they aren't anything to write home about either. Not a glimpse of fanservice in sight anywhere, so you can't even look forward to that. It's just unfortunate, because as strong as the music is, this series could have been much better with a little more effort in writing and directing.

I'm anticipating the project since 2018. But when the anime started airing, and as the story progress to the end of the show, I just stood there watching and say "Meh, could be better".

Story: 5/10
Pacing issue. Soap-opera conflict that shouldn't happen because Bushiroad advertise this as more mature bandori (i.e. the conflict is more deep than the girl band). I honestly, didn't think so. It's just bland and feel too rushed. Probably because this feels more like an advertisement towards the game rather than actual trying to make people feel good about it. Let's just pray the game storyline could save this anime ... storyline.

Art: 7/10
After Bandori 2nd season, Bushiroad always use 3D for their anime. And I'd say, this anime so far have the best graphic among most of the bandori franchise. Character facial expression is also good, very expressive. The background is also drawn beautifully. Guess Bushiroad gave this anime a big budget for its graphic. The only downside is that some of the NPC doesn't look 'right'. But then again, they're NPC; not too important.

Sound: 7/10
Each episode had its own respective song and the song correspond to the events in the anime. So, each story and conflict has its own song as an 'answer' to their problems. It's nice and fun to expect different song every week. Also, I like the feel of the concert in this anime. Feels very real.

Character: 6/10
Generic anime personality. There's some character development, but honestly nothing that significant. The game might make these characters shine more than the anime. I hope.

Enjoyment: 6/10
Like I'd said about the story, some pacing issues. It feels too rush and sometimes in a certain scene it feels very boring. Nothing to engage viewer's emotions. The music, however save most of my attention span as it's fun to hear.

Overall: 6/10
Just like the other bandori anime, I'd say the game do the character more justice than anime format. Mainly because of story issues. Would I recommend this anime to people outside of the fanbase? No. With anime format like this (as a promotional material) you need to play the game to understand the whole story and franchise.