Anime Reviews (2010-2019): BanG Dream! FILM LIVE (2019)

If you want a story and dialogue, then you would best stay with the video game, but if you want to watch the ultimate concert featuring all five bands perform, then “BanG Dream! FILM LIVE” is worth checking out!

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TITLE: BanG Dream! FILM LIVE

FILM DATE DATE: 2019

DURATION: 73 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, DTS-HD Master Audio: Japanese 5.1, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Sentai Filmworks

RATED: TV 14

Release Date: January 12, 2021

Original Work: BUSHIROAD Inc.

Directed by Umezu Tomomi

Sxript by Nakamura Ko

Original Character Design: Hitowa, Craft Egg Inc.

Animation Character Design: Kazuyuki Ueta

Original Costume Design: Kimiko Onai, Craft Egg Inc.

Original Story: Kou Nakamura

Music: Elements Garden

Anime Production: SANZIGEN Animation Studio

It’s here! The big concert! Kasumi Toyama, the girl who followed the trail of golden stars and heard the call of the Star Beat, and her friends/bandmates Saya, Tae, Rimi and Arisa, are now poised on the edge of stardom themselves as they prepare for a massive outdoor concert! It’s a huge venue to fill, but fortunately Poppin’Party won’t be the only band taking the stage during this major musical event. It’s a non-stop wall of J-Pop fun as Afterglow, Pastel Palettes, Roselia, and Hello, Happy World! all join the ladies of Poppin’Party, and while they’re all still competing against each other, the real winners are the lucky members of the audience! So, what are you waiting for? Your backstage pass is waiting at the hottest show in town!

It was way back in 2015 when Bushiroad unveiled “BanG Dream!” (Bandori) with a manga by Nakamura Ko. And would be serialized in “Monthly Bushiroad” and then into a light novel.

It wasn’t until 2017 where the franchise would become popular with the mobile rhythm game “BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!” developed by Craft Egg and an anime series which ran from January 2017 through April 2020 with 39 episodes and an OVA.

The main story revolves around protagonist Toyama Kasumi, she is a student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School and tries out for numerous clubs to rediscover the “Star Beat”, a sparkling feel she experience one day while looking up at the stars at night as a child.

While watching the performance of the group Glitter*Green, she then recruits her classmates Yamabuki Saya, HAnazono Tae and Ushigome Rimi. Through various challenges, the girls would form a band known as “Poppin’Party” and would eventually befriend four all girl-bands at the high school: Roselia (who wants to become the perfect band), Afterglow (five childhood friends who remain friends thanks to music), Pastel*Palettes (an idol group who plays their own instruments) and Hello, Happy World! (a band that wants to spread happiness).

In 2019, Sanzigen would produce a film titled “BanG Dream! FILM LIVE” featuring a concert with the original five bands with a story by Nakamura Ko and directed by Umezu Tomomi.

So popular, the film would earn Y300 million at the box office and a second film is set to be released in 2021. Also, as a rarity, two singles have debuted at #1 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart.

And now “BanG Dream! FILM LIVE” is available on Blu-ray in the US courtesy of Sentai Filmworks.

For those who are fans of the manga, anime or video game, “BanG Dream! FILM LIVE” is for fans who absolutely love the game and the music.

It’s pretty much a straight up concert as the audience cheers and you watch towards the stage as the bands perform for 73 minutes. The animation is very good, the music is great. The visuals look great in HD on Blu-ray, as with the lossless soundtrack, as the audience cheers are quite immersive.

There are brief MC portions but for the most part, it’s a straight up animated concert performance featuring the five bands: Poppin’Party, Roselia, Afterglow, Pastel*Palettes and Hello, Happy World!

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