BanG Dream! Movie: Episode of Roselia - I: Yakusoku

Let's get this straight out of the way: Yes this is essentially a recap of the first 2 Roselia Band stories from the game, with a mix of some other events etc. (it is missing many, many details from previously presented story in the game)

If you come into this movie expecting a deep story line, insane character development, etc., you will not find it here. What you will find though is a heartwarming celebration of everything that Roselia and its members stand for. As someone who plays the game and follows the story for 3+ years now, this movie served as a reminder I guess, ... a reminder of all the amazing music and character that this band was build upon. I would not recommend it as much to people who haven't seen the stories in the game, I can see it feeling very rushed and shallow, as the pacing is a bit weird. But, for everyone else who loves this band, this is a nostalgia trip that has some of the most memorable scenes of the early Roselia days, and, even though it tries to pack a bit too much for a 1 hour movie, it still manages to capture the most important aspects of each character, their motivation, goals, personality etc. All in all a must for Roselia fans - That being said, I do not wish to discourage new fans from watching this movie; it might serve as a good starting point in the series if you don't mind missing some details. Needless to say, all the music in movie is amazing, though I would hope they could showcase a couple more songs (there is always the Film Live if you are looking to just listen to more Bang Dream music).

One final note, specially towards long time fans of the anime, is that they really improved the visuals & animations of the 3D models - it feels like they have finally found a style that works and is unique and recognizable for the series.

I'm writing this review as someone who is has watched more of the anime than the visual novels.

Even after hearing fan's disappointment on the pacing and crunching of the story, it all made sense. Each dilemma of each character was apt to the looming dilemma to Roselia as a band. Though at the same time, I do empathize that "all finished in 5 seconds" kind of thing that was happening for each character, especially for Sayo, or so I heard that she was a well-written character, for I have read the story of how Yukina was only using Roselia as mere contest participants, and yes, ... I do agree with the lackluster of time. My acknowledgements may sound bias in a way most people see. Maybe if I had read the entire Roselia stories, I may have placed this at a 6, or if I at least read one of the required VNs, then I would be able to perceive how incomparable they are to the movie. but yet again, I still commend for the writing to walk on thin ice and yet reach the end at an elegant time. It managed to create its own set of rules on its own from a newer base, and it redeemed itself for a brazen move. This was still the best kind of story that the anime versions offers for the audience-type. In fact, I have enjoyed this more than any of the conflicts from Season 1-3.

While I'm at this point of writing the review, as I may never write a review on a Bandori show again, the dialogue generally needs a bit more diversity. It's funny because when some of the characters in the show compassion, sincerity, or open to one another, it feels like I'm reading an essay where the author reads to oneself. Nevertheless, I totally see this being improved in the movie.

If Sayo is an incredibly written character as many says she is once I read it, then I might give it an 11/10.

It was difficult to temper my expectations before I watched this movie. Having played the game for 2½ years before putting it away for good early this year, I was really looking forward to reliving Roselia's story in animation. And as much as it pains me to admit...

It delivered on some aspects, while falling short of certain fundamental expectations. It could have been so much better, but ultimately, it was barely satisfactory.

This movie is largely targeted towards the people who had played the game, and had already read Roselia's band stories, plus certain event stories for the Roselia members (especially for Yukina and Sayo). It ... assumes that you already know what happened, and it therefore better serves as a recap for the audience. Viewers who have no prior knowledge of the franchise will almost definitely emerge disorientated from its wildly accelerated pacing. To put things into perspective, Season 1 of BanG Dream had 13 episodes and was equivalent to 27 in-game chapters. This movie attempted to cram 35 chapters (not including important event chapters) in 77 minutes. Just imagine how much material had to be cut in order to achieve that, which included core interactions that would have been integral to further the cast's characterization and Roselia as a whole. I was thoroughly disappointed at how Sayo was portrayed especially. First-timers would be bewildered at her sudden transformation in personality, with a mere few still shots to "explain" her growth and what she went through. More attention should have been directed her way to flesh her out and smoothen her transition, much like how Yukina and Lisa was handled throughout the movie. It was nice to see cameos of some of the girls from the other bands though, and some added lines were included in the movie that weren't in the game, albeit for the purpose of fluff.

If you'd watched Seasons 2/3 of BanG Dream! or the Film Live, then you'll know what to expect. The art for this movie is similar in that it's fully CG. Lighting and camera angles were mostly on point especially during Roselia's performances, which did well at striving to reproduce the atmosphere of an actual live. A minor gripe would be that the movement of the characters can be stiff, almost to the point of being robotic at times, and that's when you'd notice the CG doing its thing. Nothing much else to comment on this; I got used to the CG fairly quickly and it did not ruin the viewing experience. Not the best, but not immersion-breaking either.

Sound would be the department that deserved the most praise. One thing that was lacking in Seasons 2/3 that was present in Season 1 was how the singing and performances in Season 1 were raw and unadulterated, while the later seasons were just filled with studio tracks, which lacked the authenticity and emotion that was required to reach the audience. This movie falls somewhere in between the two extremes, but it was moving to listen to the raw power from Minato Yukina's singing, pulsating through the speakers in the theatre. Awesome stuff. Also, two new songs in the movie which were bangers, always something to celebrate about.

I truly wanted to enjoy this movie to the fullest. I really did. But the manner in which the story and characters were handled prevented that reality from materializing. If anything, I'd expect the sequel movie to run in a similar fashion as this: one that sacrifices content to jam in as much of the overarching plot within a short period of time, limiting its true potential as being an anime of the music genre accompanied with a fantastic narrative... but I can only pray that there will be improvements made, and I'll look forward to watching the sequel regardless, as a fan of the series.