We’ve seen anime bands before in shows like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-On!, and Angel Beats. Created in 2015, BanG Dream! brings a fresh take on the music genre with bands focusing on different genres of music. Releasing multiple music CDs, concerts, and an anime series, BanG Dream! has begun to follow the same route as other franchises like THE iDOLM@STER, Love Live, and Revue Starlight, gaining some well-deserved popularity along the way.
Poppin’Party was the first band introduced into the franchise and would be the only band to be part of BanG Dream! for the first two years. With their upbeat and lively music, Poppin’Party’s name represents their style of music which is meant to ‘pop’ out and have fun! Kasumi Toyama, the band’s leader and one of the guitarists, formed the band to find a heart-pounding sound that resonates with her upbeat personality. Alongside Kasumi are her friends Tae Hanazono, lead guitarist; Rimi Ushigome, bassist; Arisa Ichigaya, keyboardist; and Saya Yamabuki, drummer; as they go out to play “popping” music for fans to enjoy as much as they do.
Following Poppin’Party two years later, four new bands were created with the release of the mobile rhythm game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party. Filled with original music as well as cover songs from popular anime like Attack on Titan, Sailor Moon, Naruto, and even songs from VOCALOID are featured in the game! The new bands, Afterglow, Pastel✽Palettes, Hello Happy World, and Roselia, all feature different genres of music and provide a fantastic variety of songs together with Poppin’Party.
Named after the effect on the sky following a sunset, Afterglow is led by bassist Himari Uehara and her close childhood friends Ran Mitake, lead singer and guitarist; Moca Aoba, second guitarist; Tomoe Udagawa, drummer; and Tsugumi Hazawa, keyboardist. A band that rarely argues with each other and although they’re still new, their ability to perform confidently and powerfully has helped Afterglow gain popularity.
An idol-themed band looking to redefine “idols” with their originality, Pastel✽Palettes was off to a rough start when they were initially caught not playing their instruments but have turned things around since. Formed by a talent agency the band consists of Aya Maruyama, vocalist, and idol fan; Hina Hikawa, guitarist and musical prodigy; Chisato Shirasagi, bassist and a famous child actor; Maya Yamato, drummer and a musician from the talent agency; and Eve Wakamiya, keyboardist and a model from the agency too!
Following the crazy antics of their extremely wealthy vocalist, Kokoro Tsurumaki, Hello Happy World is all about making the entire world smile with their music and personalities. Tagging along for the ride are guitarist and popular member of the drama club, Kaoru Seta; drummer and a clumsy girl who tries to keep the band shenanigans low, Kanon Matsubara; extremely expressive almost to the point that it’s infectious and also the band’s bassist, Hagumi Kitazawa; and a giant pink bear who happens to be the Band’s DJ, Michelle! Unbeknownst to most of the band except for Kanon, Michelle is really the band’s friend and composer, Misaki Okusawa.
Finally, is the group who is the most talented and recognized within the series: Roselia. Lead by vocalist Yukina Minato; the band performs at such a high level that it has been noticed by the music industry. Yukina accompanied by Sayo Hikawa, guitarist; Lisa Imai, bassist; Ako Udagawa, drummer; and Rinko Shirokane, keyboardist. Roselia’s heart-pounding music and their skills serve as a benchmark for bands like Poppin’Party to hopefully reach.
If you took a look at the videos, you might have noticed something different about Roselia’s and Poppin’Party’s. Did you know that the voice actresses for the members of both those bands play their characters’ respective instruments? Both bands have held live concerts in the past and have plans to do more in the future! What do the other bands do for live performances? A support band plays the instruments for the others and have received enough recognition to earn a spot among the other five bands!
Originally called The Third, RAISE A SUILEN became the official name of the band that briefly appears in the second season of BanG Dream! RAISE A SUILEN is led by 14-year old producer and DJ, Chiyu Tamade with bandmates Rei Wakana, vocalist and bassist; Masuki Sato, drummer; Reona Nyubara, keyboardist; and Rokka Asahi, guitarist. Their breakout performances in the anime, as well as their first live performance, were a hit with fans and the band’s popularity exploded from then on.
BanG Dream’s popularity has grown quite a lot since it was created four years ago with loads of music CDs, badges and keychains, and even Kasumi’s guitar becoming available for the public! ZenPlus has been keeping track of everything and have Kokoro and Kasumi nendroids, music scores for the bands, and if you have enough money you could even get Rokka’s incredibly unique electric guitar for an astounding 537,000 yen! You can find just about any BanG Dream product at ZenPlus, so why not take a look now!
We hope you enjoyed reading about all the different BanG Dream bands. Which one do you like the best? Let us know on our social networks below.
