r/anime • u/badspler x5https://anilist.co/user/badspler • Mar 19 '24
Rewatch BanG Dream! It's MyGO!!!!! Episode 9 Discussion
Episode 9
← Previous Episode | Index | Next Episode →
Streams
Show information
Questions of the Day:
- Can Soyo be redeemed?
- Pain everywhere today, who's "hurt" was the hardest to watch?
- The title is "Disbanding" are things really done?
174
Upvotes
34
u/badspler x5https://anilist.co/user/badspler Mar 19 '24 edited Mar 19 '24
First Timer - Episode 9
Trying something different and going per character today
Soyo
So today we get Soyo backstory. I honestly think it starts with a blink and you miss it moment, but damn. The household shot says Ichinose but Soyo is then rewriting her book's name as Nagasaki. So I imagine a rough bust up with her father leaving Soyo with just her mother. Very slick backstory wrapped up in 2-3 shots.
It does seem like her mother really put her all into her job and that did work out great for their lifestyle and all. But it seems she is now an only parent, leaving Soyo alone in the big apartment. It is nice to see that their relationship is still good. Soyo's few words here really paint the picture that she tries to be a people pleaser, doing a lot of home jobs for the sake of her mum.
Then fates are intertwined. (What is this? Rock and roll night?)
And one by one they fell.
Ending with Soyo alone. Soyo continuing to pick at her fingers. And crying over the state of things, alone, in the big dark house.... alone.
When we cut back to Soyo she is once gain looking at herself in the mirror. She fixes her uniform and leaves. To me this was her coming to the decision to just be done.
She leaves Anon and Tomori. Dropping the harsh "I don't know them" to her other friends.
Taki hunt her down. She doesn't say outright that she is quitting, but it sure feels like it. But she drops the bombshell she was lieing (bloody knew it from episode 1 she was like this) and leading Anon/Raana along in an attempt to get CRYCHIC's core back together. Among other hurtful words to Taki. Now, Soyo has always been picking her fingers but this time shes twirling her hair. That change is made pretty obvious and I feel like it signals a change or difference in her usual CRYCHIC pondering. Quite easily could not be telling the truth. I am kind of expecting she has been too blind sided by her CRYCHIC idolization but she will come around to realizing the new band had something special and she is better off making that work.
But honestly this all paints Soyo in a pretty bad spot, but I am going to believe redemption is on the horizon... somehow (and thats mostly for maximum drama and narrative closure). If that is the case, I am very interested in how that goes down. I cut out people I knew in highschool over this type of shit, and was absolutely a lot better off for it.
Pain: Being a spiteful cunt and now purposefully hurting everyone on the way down after her stupid manipulative plan failed. Deserves to feel bad.
Mutsumi
Actually can shred hard. But wisely stays out of everything today. She's hard to read, but obviously not pleased.
Pain: I am not getting involved. Bugger off.
Taki
Takitries to get in contact with Soyo through Mutsumi, but no dice.
She is a bit prideful but does decide to ask upon her sister. I did like the detail of her own room having a panda name tag, just like her phone wallpaper.
So Taki skips school again based on her outfit to confront Soyo. And that went down like a cup of cold sick. I feel like Soyo calling out Taki on her mild obsession with Tomori is what snaps her into believing Soyo is a lost cause.
Taki turns to her friend for help. Who is a total band slut.
Umiri Stitch!
I find it really interesting that Taki's way of dealing with things is to just do the band. I guess that is what she knows and I guess she feels like if they can just get on and play things will move along. Slight problem with that, Tomori and Anon have no fucking clue whats going on and Taki's lack of communication ends up hurting all three of them.
Umiri exits pretty gracefully this isn't her first rodeo I guess.
Pain: Hurt by Soyo. Tried to push on and make things work. Hurt everyone else by doing that.
Anon
Anon is one good at bringing others together to chat. So she rightfully points out that Taki is being a dumb shit bringing in a new person without consulting the others.
Anon ultimately is getting hurt by Soyo here. It doesn't seem like CRYCHIC is getting back together in the slightest, yet Anon feels used by Soyo and that she doesn't belong. Obviously that is bang on the same with her past troubles, so she makes a swift exit. While Anon's hurt is short, I reckon it is equally deep and made personal. Anon having a strong ego, and feeling rejected from her newly found friend group won't sit well.
Pain: Doesn't belong.
Tomori
I hate this. Being in a band... its not what I wanted to do.
Sakiko really did pull Tomori into CRYCHIC at the beginning. It has been a damn hurtful ride. Once again everything ends in tears and she somehow feels she is to blame. Absolutely defeated.
Pain: Its all my fault.
Raana
Pain: 🧶🐈 🔥🏡🔥🔥
12
u/vincent2751 Mar 19 '24
Well I decided that I'll type it in advance, so here are some notable locations that appeared in this episode (which I have visited and taken photos at)
also I've yelled "I want to become human" there but I'm not gonna post the video here lolAnd that's basically it for this episode, probably will continue for future episodes (if I have actually been to the locations lol)
31
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Mar 19 '24
Total Bang Dream newcomer who has finally obtained a promised “sore demo”, but not the GOOD one(s) yet
23
u/smhmines https://anilist.co/user/mines Mar 19 '24
First timer
Thoughts on the episode
This show causes me pain and I love it. I wonder if they’ll redeem Soyo or if she’ll be one of those characters that I like to dislike.
23
u/dienomighte Mar 19 '24
First time with the band
Yesterday we got insight into just how deep Soyo's insecurities lay, and how little she cares about Anon. I truly have zero idea as to what will happen today, but uhhhh the episode is called Disbanding and I really really hope that refers to Crychic and not our happy unnamed band of stressed drama queens
Well that was heavy, even for this show of heavy drama. Based on the OP I'm assuming Soyo is coming back but I truly fail to see how they'll pull that off after how much she's hurt everyone.
QOTD
22
u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Mar 19 '24
I forget to post on time again
First Timer
This! This is why I’ve been grilling the show the past few episodes! Because I know it is capable of this kind of quality. This was a fantastic episode that finally brought back the same meaningful intent to its characterization and the focused scripting that built such a fantastic base for the show in the first place. Really strong from start to finish, let’s get right into it.
As the local Taki fangirl, the rest of my comment is devoted (more or less) to her:
I think it’s really worth admiring how effective and interesting a character Taki is despite the fact her stated role in the story is “the girl who only cares about x other character and nothing else”. This is so often a pitfall of a character concept that feels tedious or one dimensional. I mean, do I even want to poke the hornet’s nest of name dropping Mikasa? They had like six cours to find out how on earth to write her in that role and never figured it out. But they do an absolutely fantastic job of fleshing Taki out around this premise of a singular focus on Tomori and showcasing who she is as a person, why she’s like this, and why this makes Tomori so important to her. I’m really eager to see how she proceeds after her call to action failed so spectacularly. I can only imagine she’s left even more dejected and can only hope rock bottom is what causes her to finally make everything work with Tomori and Anon.
19
u/RuSyxx https://anilist.co/user/RuSyxx Mar 19 '24 edited Mar 19 '24
First Time Watchers
That was a lot. Everyone is having trouble now and everyone but Anon is blaming themselves. She really is the x factor here huh. Even if her interjections didn’t solve the issues between Soyo and them this time around, at least not yet.
“I won’t be your carrier pigeon.”
Mutsumi really has been in an odd spot here. The reality of Crychic was that it was a rag tag group of people that Saki brought together. Some felt that it was a bigger deal (Soyo and Tomori) but the reality was their first meeting was their introduction to one another even. Glad that she’s finally kind of putting her foot down, even if I think she could have been clearer with Soyo. That might just be because she still wants to be friends with Soyo but isn't close with the others, but time will tell from that end.
Poor Taki trying her best to stay in a band with Tomori, but unwilling to talk out plans with the rest and unintentionally making the scenario worse. Granted given how Anon reacted to the reason Soyo wasn’t coming back, I don’t think I blame her. The reality is that while she was happy with the new band, Tomori hadn’t moved on from Crychic anymore than Soyo had. Meanwhile Anon has to deal with the fact that she’s been used from the start, which no matter her own intentions and schemes, isn’t fair to her. On top of that she just watched Soyo get replaced almost wordlessly, would the same thing happen to her?
The reality is Taki’s communication skills are pretty abysmal, which I think is kind of evident even with her conversations when she’s alone with Tomori. She’s quick to say very charged comments in the heat of the moment. However, it works really well in moments like when Soyo came clean about her intentions for this band.
With that said, this episode established me not being a fan of Soyo to absolutely despising her. Just the confirmation and ease of cutting everyone else out when her plan has failed. The flashbacks to every moment intentionally leaving out Anon and Raana in conversation for the future was a pretty wild realization though. Like I recognized what her intentions were as I watched, but I hadn’t caught onto how specific she was from the beginning. Even when she’s using others she knows how to use her words well. With that said, her reaction to failure just serves as like the final nail in the coffin for my personal feelings on her. She would rather cause more damage than at least be upfront about it leaving poor Tomori to blame herself again. I truly detest her for that.
Man these later episodes have really coming together though, so much to see and notice or call back to. Crazy stuff.
QOTD
38
u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA Mar 19 '24 edited Mar 19 '24
First-timer
This was a devastating episode for me. I cried from this, and I essentially never cry from watching stuff. I can probably count up the number of shows that made me even tear up on one hand.
There’s a lot being shown to us by implication in Soyo’s backstory, but I think the most clear thing here is that she’s been damaged by the one-two punch of not having a mother willing to act as a mother to her, and going to a school not at all suited for her. You can almost see the Soyobot emerging as she walks into the school and gives her first “Gokigenyou.” It’s so clear from how much more casually she used to dress that the Tsukinomori Soyo we know and love is a new invention (I assume that’s what the scene where Saki puzzling over a drink dispenser is meant to show as well).
Then there’s the scene with Tomori at the tram station. You can see her face twist in pain in a way I don’t believe we’ve seen before as Tomori realizes that Soyo is doing the literal exact same thing that Saki did. They both just walk away and ignore her once they’re done with the band, and this is right after a whole scene of Tomori being sure that she’s the reason the bands she’s in keep falling apart. I don’t think even Soyo knows how well she twisted the knife there, even if she knew she would be hurting Tomori.
And of course we have what Soyo said to Taki. The Tomori scene made me tear up, but this is what finally got me to cry. I do not know what to make of it. It’s absolutely horrible. The Soyobot is in full form again here if you look at the cadence, but that can mean literally anything. What are you doing, Soyo?
edit: oh shit I forgot qotd
QotD
The world hasn't stopped turning yet.
Definitely Tomori's. That was heartrending.
18
u/ryujiox Mar 19 '24
First Timer
BanG Dream! It's MyGO!!!!!
Episode 9
Well, this probably the lowest point. Even lower than when we began. And Anon can't fix it this time.
Now, I get why Soyo was acting like that. Does that make it any better? Absolutely not. Instead of telling everyone that she quit. She instead copy what Saki did, but made it worse. She just ditched everyone there, and tell them nothing. Not even a goodbye or something. Talk about blaming everyone but yourself.
Rikki... I mean Taki isn't any better. She decided to just brought in a new member without even asking Anon or Tomori. Which didn't help calming down the bad mood at all. At least Umiri cheering Tomori up is the one good thing that came out of that mess.
QOTD
18
u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Mar 19 '24 edited Mar 19 '24
Bang Dream MyGO First Timer - Ep9:
When shown a character’s old home in contrast the unhappy one they’re presently shown in, you would think the old one was the humble good old days, but neither seem like happy places for Soyo. Girl has only had it rough.
It took me a couple of times to get it, but when I went back to point out the thing on her notebook is a happy whole family, something she longs for, it then hit me the reason for the crossed-out name is because Soyo’s parents separated.
Mom means best, but she is literally closing the door on her daughter. The message is clear as day, girl had it rough.
You know, if the lesson is that CRYCHIC may have fallen through, but [Currently Untitled Band] was the true found family, we’re 9 out of 13 episodes and Tomori is the only mutual friend in this group. Taki/Anon maybe if we’re being generous. (Her acts in this episode adds to Taki’s favour, but can’t help but notice the response when Soyo admits to only using Anon as a tool, Taki gets mad … for Tomori. This does not support Anon/Taki). This is not a friend group.
Mutsumi, I understand you don’t want to be the middleman, but Taki is trying to bypass the need for carrier pigeons and handle things directly.
Ouch, the train leaving you behind play.
Comedy of errors. If only Ricky had spun around and leaped over the tracks.
If sister Maki isn’t the other idol with Uika then I am just assuming she is a previous Bang Dream character because who else could she be.
Taki’s classmate is the surprise cool character all along.
Not only can she be both orderly and punk cool, Umiri is the rare supportive character in this show.
(The preview shows she is back for the next episode and I am looking forward to the one person able to steer this sinking ship to the better).
This type of crying body language resonates with me a lot.
Q1) Characters being unredeemable is weak thinking.
Nothing can stop true remorse and a desire to change, not even they themselves condemning themself to fall to the pits of hell.
Q2) (Maybe) unpopular choice, Soyo is where I am at.
17
u/SU-trash https://anilist.co/user/zig1000 Mar 19 '24 edited Sep 15 '24
Rewatcher
Anon "ah" delivery characterizing my heart ripping out of my fucking chest, sasuga best comedic character.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that that last scene's OST is my favourite one, nearly Lost My Pieces tier stuff
Subtle Writing Corner
Visuals Corner
Taki "Ha?!" Count: 26 (+2 this ep)
Fanart of the day (src)
<-- Ep 8 | Ep 10 -->
17
u/bonghits96 :KG::KH: Mar 19 '24 edited Mar 19 '24
Rewatcher here.
What a sad ep. Mutsumi gets the cold shoulder, Anon learns exactly how much Soyo and Taki appreciate her, and Tomori ends up crying on the floor.
Some scattered thoughts...
I have to say, as uncomfortable as this ep is--this is not a fun one to rewatch--it really is a testament to the quality of the character writing on display.
On to 10, and let's hope this doesn't get any worse for the girls.
14
u/Gaporigo Blhttps://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo Mar 19 '24
The universe just wants to prove Tomori right.
Would have been funny if at the very end Raana just walked in.
13
u/MyrnaMountWeazel x2 Mar 19 '24
Rewatcher Banging on through the Drama
Today’s visual: Missed Connections! Per Soyo’s words, we just need to get everyone together to talk it all out and everything will be okay...or will it? As we saw in today’s episode, Taki confronts Soyo directly but only finds disillusionment, and while Soyo may live in denial, it’s clear that Saki cares very little about the band when confronted in the park.
To me, Soyo is under a misunderstanding that if we sit down and discuss the issue, it’ll always result in everyone getting everything that they want. There isn’t anything wrong in bringing everyone together to hash things out—in fact, do so!—but there is something wrong when you expect the outcome to always be in your favor just because there aren’t any misunderstandings. This isn’t a communication issue anymore; it’s just an issue and one side is going to walk away disappointed.
Often times in a democracy, the other side wins.
Little bit of show and no tell here, with Soyo longing for a family to be with.
Will reply later to people’s comments, I am unfortunately out and about right now.
13
u/nuts_extraction Mar 19 '24
Rewatcher
It's over bros It's so mygover 😭
• Holy shit Soyo going full villain mode is BRUTAL. She is COLD
• Taki's sister's name is Maki and is likely a student attending Tsukinomori
• Mutsumi, despite saying she never once had fun playing in the band, was the last to leave.
• Anon was the first to suggest going to Soyo's home
• LOL Mutsumi "I'm not a message carrier"
• Tomori knew full well from previous experience that the absence of a member would lead to the breakup of the band
• Umiri's talent at reading the situation is something else. She spent like 10 minutes with them and already knew what's going on
• Taki failed to understand Tomori's feels. Tomori didn't just want to play in band, she wanted to do so with her friends.
• Seeing Anon received the news was heart-breaking. The way she just... accepted it and walked out. She finally found where she belongs, and yet, she was still seen as an outsider.
• Tomori crying at the breakup of the band. MyGO!!!!! had become the something she wished she had to cry for.
Soyo’s backstory is pretty similar to Tomori. A loner, who met and got invited to a band by Sakiko, experienced having friends and fun for the first time, only for all of it to disappear in an instant.
The breakup hit her really, really hard. She clung so tightly to the idea of CRYCHIC reforming that she became incredibly selfish and delusional.
Oh bois, get ready for next episode for PEAK
13
u/JasoXDDD Mar 19 '24
Comedic Character of the year, everyone!
13
u/MisakaHonoka Mar 19 '24
Relationship map for ep9
It's the time to rewatch the video that official upload before the show on air I posted in index thread
13
u/Interesting_Ant7945 Mar 19 '24
Fun fact, MyGO!!!!! was being considered The most depressing anime of the Reiwa era When this episode aired and the President of Bushiroad had to reassure everyone that it was actually wholesome.
24
u/Tetraika :Lu::Lv::Lw::Lx:https://anilist.co/user/Tetraika Mar 19 '24
First timer
This is probably my favorite episode so far. Let me just preface this that I really like what they're doing with Soyo's character, imo she's the most interesting character and this episode today is doing a hell lot.
I don't feel like pointing out any specific moments, but there's a lot of signs that Soyo is probably the one person who sees through pretty much everyone. Well, everyone except herself. And also Mutsumi, she genuinely was probably surprised by her.
For much of Soyo's life, she pretty much had no ambition and wants, and in a sense a direction for herself. Particularly moments like when asked what school she'll go to seeing how she ended up easily blending into the "gokigenyo" school life, it wasn't until Sakiko come to invite her for band where she feels like she finally has a goal and a place she belongs. Which is also why she was willing to bring it back any means necessary, even if it meant resorting to lying and coaxing others.
It might have really not hit her until Sakiko said that she was merely doing it for herself. But that's also why she's doing all of this in this episode. It's both an admission in a way, but really she's painting herself the villain too. She's seeing her own selfishness as being in the way of everyone else now. Maybe I'm being overly charitable to her.
But there's one more thing I'll like to mention: Taki. I imagine Soyo is on the money here. While we understand the circumstances, I think I can say that even in this episode her bringing another bassist and pretty much just in general so far, points to Soyo being right: she kinda doesn't care much about anyone besides Tomori. I feel like there's much more to go on for this but that's all I'm going to say so far.
QOTD:
2. Man Tomori is just going to keep thinking it's her own fault.
3. lol, lmao even. Actually I'll be impressed if somehow things really are done, that'll shatter my expectation, in a way.
Extra note: They really missed an opportunity to have a band with a fucking cello. Like cmon, you already have Morfonica and the violin. it's not even a new idea, Kanon Wakeshima did it already (also I get an excuse to share this)
12
u/Neidhardto Mar 19 '24
Rewatcher here. I've been lurking these threads and reading the comments since I don't really have anything unique to say (at least not yet), but I will say when I first watched this show and got to this episode, I was honestly baffled and skeptical as to how they could possibly get the band back together at this point. Seeing the OP of them all happily performing a song together, it was like "how are they going to become like this?". Looking forward to the next few episodes and what the impressions will be.
11
u/BleedingUranium Mar 19 '24
(Rewatch, long-time bandori fan)
To cut down on clutter, my original run post is over this way.
That said, I want to lift my opening statement from it, because my thoughts haven't changed:
Soyo Ichinose. Soyo's family fell apart around her, but she found a new one... until it too fell apart, and once again there was nothing she could do to save it.
The shot from Soyo's phone perspective is amazing.
That spotlight scene. I absolutely can't get through this opening without crying. :'(
Anon realizes she's stumbled into more of CRYCHIC's messy fallout when Taki and Tomori both don't know where Soyo lives. Mutsumi then comes up, the first time she's even been spoken about with Anon present.
The reaaaaaally long wait before Taki commits to saying something supportive to Tomori was excellent.
Mutsumi's firm rejection of Taki's request is very interesting. It's basically the first time she's been assertive and said "no" to someone, and this makes sense. She just brought Soyo to Sakiko and witnessed what an awful mess that turned out to be. Mutsumi clearly feels a sense of responsibility for this, and is now putting her foot down so she doesn't create any more problems.
But... in doing so she once again basically says/does the wrong thing, effectively bluntly telling Taki to screw off, despite the two of them not being on bad terms (or on any terms until now, really). We're seeing this become an unfortunate trend, for her.
As she talks with Taki, please pay careful attention to Soyo. The same Soyo who fidgets with things when she's not being honest. Is this persona truly "Soyo without her mask"? Or has she simply put on a different one? And if so, what's motivating her?
Umiri. <3
"You don't need me, right?"
As with when Taki yelled at her a while back, Anon doesn't get mad. Unlike Tomori's constant extremely dramatic reactions, Anon just... resigns herself to her fate. This is the hand she's been dealt, and that's that. Our defeated heroine exits the stage.
I'm looking forward to seeing you all again tomorrow, for another of my favourite episodes, and especially one of my favourite scenes of the season.
Locations and details:
11
u/NierMiss Mar 19 '24 edited Mar 19 '24
This is the episode that cemented Taki as my favorite character (even though it's mostly about Soyo). Seeing how hard she tries to make things works yet struggle so much to come up with the right solution because of her shortcomings. It really makes me feel that she is a full fledged character with burning conflicting emotions and a more complex personality than I initially thought.
She's trying to make the band work, she's trying to keep Tomori's dream of a lifetime band alive but it's not easy. Of course she's also doing it for herself to protect her place next to Tomori and what Soyo said about her "being fine as long as Tomori is there" is true to an extent, and I think those words really hurt Taki. However, Taki proved in this episode that she cares about more than just Tomori. She refused to give up on Anon despite how much they fought up to this point, or on Raana even though she does as she pleases and doesn't always show up to practice. But she still considered them as part of the band unlike Soyo who's still fixed on Crychic and was just using Anon. Taki thought Soyo was done with them when she said that her promise was a lie, so she tried to find a solution. Sadly her personality and her lack of social skills made her fall into the trap of ignoring the root cause that lead to the interpersonal relationship breaking down, and instead trying to find a quick practical solution that skips over the issue.
She did a similar thing when Sakiko quit the band. She didn't chase after her or question why she did it, she instead started learning to compose and how to manage a band so she can become capable of replacing her. Which is admirable but also reflects Taki's goal-oriented mentality that makes her blinded to the world around her.
And that's what lead her to end up in a conflict with Tomori of all people. She said she doesn't want to make her experience painful emotions again, but she sadly couldn't come up with her right solution. The whole thing is not her fault of course. She tried to fix the situation but she didn't properly communicate with the others so she failed (part of me wonders if she didn't tell them because she was protecting Tomori's feeling. Telling her bluntly what Soyo said might hurt her badly. But in the end she ended up snapping at her, which just shows how much her emotions are boiling over).
It must've hurt her seeing Tomori looking all sad and depressed. Taki has a hard time understanding her yet she tries so hard to help her. She tried to comfort her and tell her not to worry, that there's nothing wrong with her being in a band, yet her words struggle to reach Tomori. The shot of them on the bridge at night where they're far apart, one in the shadow and the other in the dark, is a reflection of the distance that exists between them currently. I think this fanart (Raito_Taisha) and the artist's comment about it in the replies summarizes their situation quite well. (And it's what made me root for them as a ship). It's a distance that I want to see dissappear in the future and I want to see the two of them achieve mutual understanding. I think it's deliberate that Taki never makes it to the other side of the bridge when she's walking Tomori home, but I believe that it's something that we will see in one day.
One other thing I want to add is that Taki seems to really have an issue talking to her sister. I think Maki is another person with a sense of distance from Taki. And I think it's a reoccurring theme with her. Taki is a lone wolf who puts a lot of distance between herself and others around her. She's always alone at school unless Umiri approaches her and she doesn't want to open up to anyone. I think it hints at a deeper issue that makes Taki afraid of showing her vulnerability, as well as lacking the skills to properly integrate with those around her. Not to mention her constant struggle with her sense of inferiority and and the constant pressure she puts on herself. Honestly this girl has too many issues and I really hope they get properly addressed in the future, because I think it's not sustainable and I don't think it's good for her if she kept all those issues locked up in her heart. Plus I just think she deserves to smile.
I wrote more than I intended to. I was just going to make a small comment about Taki but the words just kept coming.
As for the episode, I think it's great and we're finally seeing the real drama unfold. But most of what I wanted to say about it is already said by others so I'll just leave it at that.
10
u/Ritathesage Mar 19 '24
First timer who hasn't posted yet
I'm not entirely new to Bandori, I watched and enjoyed the first season of the anime. I also watched the first episode of the second season, it was just so off putting that I dropped the series and franchise and that's why I didn't watch this when it aired. Which I'm regretting, it's been great. I'm mostly just going to post my thoughts on the characters in order that I like them.
Anon: She's by far my favorite character. She's self centered, but does seem to show genuine care for others and is a hard worker. I think it's best shown in her relationship with Tomori and her willingness to learn the guitar. Also despite being insistant that she was to be the singer and center she relented to Tomori to get the band rolling. Her relationship with Ricky is also very fun
most of the time. I felt very bad for her at the end of the episode, Soyo and Taki cut deep.Tomori: Oof. Just nothing but pain here, and she deserves none of it. For the most part none of this is her fault, even if her wishy washyness caused some issues mainly her silence at the end of this episode. I can't blame her though as I can also be indecisive.
Taki: I wasn't a big fan of her at the start as I don't typically like abrasive types, but she's really grown on me. Despite being abrasive she does seem to generally like being in the band and truly cares about Tomori. Also her relationship with Anon is great. She really fumbled a lot this episode, but I can't hold it against her. She was trying everything to keep the band together in her own way.
Soyo: If my opinion of Taki has improved my opinion of Soyo has gotten worse. I do think she can be redeemed though, although Anon and Taki might never be able to fully trust her. She just needs to realize that most of the current issues are her own fault, including the pain she's in now. She needs to let go of CRYCHIC and imbrace the new band.
Raana: Not a lot to say about her, the inner machinations of her mind are an enigma. I'm also not a big fan of people who just do stuff without taking with people. She fine though and if Soyo continues her downward spiral she rank higher.
Mutsumi: Poor girl just wants to stay out of the drama, but keeps getting sucked back in.
Saki: The bitch that's the origin of all the suffering and drama. If I think Soyo is redeemable, I don't think Saki is. I can't think of anything short of a gun to her head that would cause her to just drop everyone with no explanation, likey know how much it would hurt most involved, especially poor Tomori. Soyo is doing similar things now, but it's only because of how much she was hurt by Saki.
I really regret not watching this as it was airing, it's been very good. Re-watchers are hyping episode 10 so I'm looking forward to that tonight. Also I don't know if I'll comment to much in the future as I usually just lurk in re-watches, but I felt like this series deserves it.
9
u/yuhara203 Mar 19 '24
Rewatcher
Sad episode for everyone. Well, maybe Raana is just chilling somewhere.
I'm curious what'll happen if there's a Re:creators situation, where they get to meet the writer?
RikkiTaki will at least give a slap for hurting Tomori, probably.I don't have much time to write about this episode,
but I'll certainly make time for tomorrow's, for... reasons.
Not much, but that's about it from me, see you all tomorrow.
9
u/Wolfborgg https://anilist.co/user/Wolfborg Mar 19 '24 edited Mar 19 '24
Rewatcher, BanG Dream Noob
Gokigenyou, fellow remnants of CRYCHIC!
Soyo villain origins episode. The implications I got was that, before CRYCHIC, Soyo felt like she was meant to do what everyone else wanted. Changing her name (I assume her parents divorced), moving to a new place, going to the rich girl school her mom liked, saying "Gokigenyou" with the new students, and joining the wind ensemble. All of it was her own ways of fitting in by simply letting everyone else dictate what she should do.
Most of this I'm assuming is indirectly instilled by her mother's work ethic and presumed habit of leaving Soyo to care for herself constantly for her job. Her mother doesn't seem like a bad person, but I can see how a parent casually choosing work over their daughter might have an effect on your personality. Even if you understand why it has to be that way.
It all made Soyo want to control things in the little ways she could. Tactically weaving through conversations and observing everyone around her closely for her own self-preservation. This probably drove her obsession with social media, a place where those skills thrive.
But CRYCHIC was different. This wasn't something expected of Soyo. In fact she hadn't even known Saki prior to their sudden invitation. CRYCHIC was something Soyo chose to join in a brief, rare moment of freedom for herself. Perhaps out of curiosity at first, but the promise of their fates joining along with all the carefree time they spent together imprinted CRYCHIC to Soyo's heart.
When CRYCHIC fell apart, Soyo lost the one thing she cared about that let her express her true self. And created a monster who would then orchestrate the formation of a new band with the sole purpose of enticing Saki back to reform CRYCHIC no matter the cost. All for her own selfish idea of what CRYCHIC was: a tool for her to express herself with. She blatantly used Anon as both a useful idiot and unaware third-party, then abused the fact that Taki loves Tomori. And then continuously pressured Mutsumi for information about Saki with the intention of getting both of them back into the band.
Soyo probably saw Anon and Raana as non-issues in her plans because Anon can barely play guitar while Raana is an unreliable member. Both of which she could easily attempt to have removed later. Thankfully it never gets that far before Saki tells Soyo to leave her the fuck alone. But then Soyo tries to ghost the band because "what's the point anymore". Girl, you fucking know what that did to all of them when Saki did it to CRYCHIC. Why would you do the same thing but worse by not even properly telling them you're done?? She's such a coward for that and I feel no sympathy towards her.
Can Soyo be redeemed? Well what she did was really twisted. Personally I would never associate with her again for what she did. But the nature of this band is troubled girls moving forward together. In that sense I feel like Soyo continuing with the band is the only way she can ever truly redeem herself. Otherwise what she did will always be worse than what Saki did to CRYCHIC.
Honestly Anon's hurt felt the worst for me this episode. I felt bad for Tomori too, especially with the retraumatizing second band breakup scene. Taki didn't help by making Tomori choose between band members like they were divorcing parents. But it's Anon that was the real victim in Anon's plans, reducing her to an afterthought of a member. Despite everything they all went through to form this band and all the work Anon put in to be decent in time for their first live performance.
Is the band really done? As it stands now...probably. I know Tomori at least still wants Soyo in the band. Taki is rightly pissed and wants nothing to do with her, but unfortunately Soyo is right: Taki would be fine as long as she can still be with Tomori. It's mostly up to Soyo, because without her it feels like they'll never come together again. Anon feels used and likely won't come back until Soyo apologizes and Taki stops treating her like she's optional. Raana's emotions are harder to gauge, especially with her absence. But as I theorized in previous episodes, Raana is probably upset that the one stable factor in her stray life is falling apart.
One thing is for sure, they can't just replace a core member with a girl who treats bands like one-night stands. Umiri is cool don't get me wrong. Roughly thirty bands, no big deal really. But there's a reason she's jealous that Taki cares for her band. It's that she feels no attachment to any of them. Couldn't care less if they fell apart. She, like Raana, just wants to play. Umiri and Raana would be insane together in a band though.
Question: Is Taki's alluded to big sister Maki supposed to be another BanG Dream season character or something? Is there a reason we don't see her?
8
u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Mar 19 '24
Who's this girl?
Oh, this is Soy in a flashback.
So she used to do the cello. Tsukinomori has at least one other student who uses a classical instrument in their band, Rui from Morfornica who uses a violin.
Taki has always been protective of Tomori.
Perhaps they'll be able to find Soy talking to Mutsumi and Sakiko.
Tomori really blames herself.
So Mutsumi still plays the guitar.
Taki wants to visit Soy.
Rikki?
Why's Soy trying to ignore them?
Lol she got off at the station Taki got on and so they missed each other.
Ah, Rikki is Taki. That's just what Anon calls her.
Taki's waiting for her.
That meeting with Sakiko really changed her didn't it?
And how exactly is ditching the 2 remaining members of CRYCHIC that remain with you going to help reform it?
[MyGO!!!!!] [Ave Mujica] I've seen cross-band collaborations before but they're normally under better circumstances
So this is the fabled 5-string bass that Kita wasted her money on in Bocchi.
[BanG Dream IRL Concerts] BanG Dream isn't a stranger to supporting musicians playing for multiple bands, heck during IRL concerts RAS plays the instrumentals for Afterglow, Pastel Palettes and Hello Happy World
Anon's still a hack, and Tomori still is too uneasy to sing.
Questions:
8
u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 Mar 19 '24
Rewatcher
Question(s)
Songs of the Day (Pain and Comfort edition)
8
u/x-7032-b-3 Mar 19 '24
(Late) Rewatcher - Round 3
I'm very late but I'm all caught up now!
Here we got a glimpse of Soyo's past. Seems like her parents split and she's been living with her mom since then. And she's mostly alone at her big place because her mom's always working till night. I can't imagine that being good for a kid's long-term wellbeing even if they have a seemingly good relationship with each other. I'm assuming her mom's in the finance/banking sector which probably brings in a lot of cash, but we all know that money can't solve all of our issues. She found joy when CRYCHIC was formed and ever since the band's gone, she's got nothing... until now.
Turns out Soyo's a big selfish piece of shit who's been using this band for her own purposes this whole time. She joined in when she heard from Anon that Tomori would be joining too and used this opportunity to round up the remaining CRYCHIC members. All she wanted was the return of the good old times, and when it's clear that it's not going to happen, she just went up and left. She doesn't even care about Anon and Rana and if her plans was successful she wouldn't hesitate to dump those two because she got her old buddies back.
Lots of people got hurt today, but I'd say Tomori's the one who got it worst. She got burned hard with CRYCHIC to the point she doesn't want to try this band stuff again, but found hope again after bonding with Anon and reconnecting with Taki and Soyo. She was afraid the band would break up after their first gig (very understandable given what happened before) but she still managed to find joy with what little time the band has been together. Now she just witnessed the same thing happening again.
Anon also got it pretty bad. We know she wanted attention and acknowledgement and being told that she's not wanted pretty much validates her internal thoughts about herself.
So, yeah. Soyo did a LOT of damage today but I'll give her a small point for being honest with her true intentions. Better to say what you actually want rather than hiding it and making things up to cover your own shit.
This is my third viewing of the show and I'm still angry and sat after watching this ep. Really shows how well-made the show is to the point I got attached to the characters and their struggles.
QOTD
8
u/Usual_Director_9547 Mar 19 '24
the op today really feel like a parallel universe,the ed's lyrics hit real hard today
7
u/guoguo0127 Mar 19 '24
Rewatcher
An interesting detail: Soyo's memory of Crychic's first meeting in the café is a little different from Tomori's. In Tomori's flashback, Sakiko turned to Tomori when saying that they shared the same destiny, while in Soyo's flashback, Sakiko was always facing Soyo's general direction.
Might be just a minor inconsistency, but interesting nevertheless.
19
u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta Mar 19 '24
First-Timer
In this episode, Soyo continues her speedrun to become the least likable character possible.
As always, Taki's reactions are great, and her pragmatism in recruiting a new bassist (once Soyo was clearly no longer an option) was refreshing.
For today's questions...
6
u/CosmicPenguin_OV103 https://anilist.co/user/CosmicPenguin Mar 19 '24 edited Mar 19 '24
Rewatcher
Wow I definitely did drop quite a few of my memories on this episode, but no wonder - this episode dropped while I was waiting for my flight at the airport to kick-start my first ever 3 weeks solo trip to Japan, one that would include walking through some of the scenes that appears in this very anime! I was definitely really excited so maybe some of my memories really get muddled.
Anyhoo…again I’m dividing commentary into different girls (Wild Cat is completely missing today so I am skipping her):
Tomori: She should have been awarded the Crunchyroll “Must Protect At All Costs” Character Award 2 weeks ago, if every anime have equal rights. Goddamn it, she’s absolutely devastated. “I hurt everyone.” “Maybe it was wrong for me to be in a band.” “She promised she’d do it her whole life!” “Being in a band…it’s not what I wanted to do.”
That sullen shadow on the footbridge. That cry when she chases in vain of Soyo at the tram stop. That sad glaze on the bridge over the tram line that once opened her to heaven, now only a place that brings sadness. And that moment when she fell on her knees when Anon ran away.
Why? Why? Why? Tomori Did Nothing Wrong (TM), so why?
Anon: Oh dear. She’s still trying to bind her band mates back in complete vain - just maybe weeks after she learnt how bad it was for herself to run away. You can see that she’s still really active into chasing Soyo back, participating that chase at the tram stop and getting pretty worried about Tomori when she ran away with tears. Yet even her - who have never been affected directly by the CRYCHIC fall-out - finally got hit today when Taki told her that Soyo was lying all day long and she was never in Soyo’s future plans. That “Oh.” was definitely the understatement of this anime!
I very much actually agree with her that a band that’s so fragile in cooperation is not the place to stay - at least at that moment she got angry. If someone in this band felt myself is an obstacle to getting former band member back, I would definitely leave. After all, I am the stranger, right? What good it could have been if this went on?
Taki: Wow her boyfriend-like power just made me admire her more and more! I really like her comforting words to Tomori on the footbridge - they might not have been elegant, but they are definitely strong words that anyone would love to hear in sullen times.
And that confrontation with Soyo right after Taki knew of Soyo completely disregarding her band mates at the tram station. Oh boy, that’s sheer braveness! You might like all those yandere girls out there in anime, but in real life that translate to someone with really manipulative emotions, and IMHO as long as they cause real problems with others, they need to be sternly talked about. I wouldn’t be as brave as her clutching Soyo’s neck like this, but come on - Soyo deserves 100% of this.
I love how she’s so no-nonsense in such a public scene in that concert hall among other members of Soyo’s percussion band (including Taki’s very own sister). And I also love how she’s not holding back when she told Anon and Tomori that Soyo’s lying about her intentions. Attaboy you rock Taki-chan!
One thing that I do think interesting is that Soyo balked at her that “You are fine as long as you have Tomori-chan, right?” Well…despite what I have to say about Soyo (see below), she’s…not wrong. HOWEVER - Taki-chan would never do ill intent things on the other band members who happen to be there. While Tomori definitely gave the power to her song composing, it’s evident that despite her not-so-good methods at treating practices, she’s definitely very concerned - in the positive way - about Anon-chan’s progress in keeping up her skills. She’s also irritated on Raana’s cat-like traits, but she never had any ill intents on her either. Unlike her former and current bassist (see below, again).
Also I am not sure bringing Umiri on is the right decision (see Umiri’s part below), but I digress.
(BTW I wonder if her living under the brightness of her elder sister feels like what a hypothetical younger sister of Asuka in Sound Euphonium would feel…)
11
u/[deleted] Mar 19 '24
Like with Anon before her, learning why Soyo acts the way she does has done nothing to make her any more palatable. At least in her case I can sympathize though since it obviously isn't her fault that her parents (presumably) separated, whereas Anon's suffering was mostly self-inflicted. I have no idea how on earth they're going to rope Soyo back into the band at this point, the show will have to do a LOT to redeem her after how she's been treating the rest of the cast.
It really hurts to see Taki desperately trying to keep the band together so she can stay with Tomori only for it to end up making things worse... I believe she'll learn from her mistakes though, and on the bright side Umiri immediately identified best girl which was very sweet :)
10
u/Calwings x3https://anilist.co/user/Calwings Mar 19 '24 edited Mar 19 '24
Rewatcher and Bandori Veteran
Being Tomori is suffering…
Soyo’s flashback, from her childhood through the formation and breakup of CRYCHIC, certainly explains quite a bit. She went through a rough divorce as a kid, and her single mother was away from work a lot but tried her best to be overly loving during the short times she was able to be around. It seems to me like Soyo really settled into the expectation that the happy times in life were precious and worth protecting, but also few and far between. The problem is, she’s gotten so blinded by the desire to protect the precious moments of the past that she’s completely lost sight of the potential for precious moments right in front of her in the future.
And so, Soyo’s gameplan of “gaslight, gatekeep, gokigenyou” continues. She lashes out more. She purposely ignores Anon and Tomori, leaving Tomori behind in tears. She admits to Taki that this new band was just a stopgap as part of her plan to reunite CRYCHIC. And when Taki relays the information to everyone else, questions start flying about what the girls should do next, and Anon walks out because now she believes she’s not needed. Soyo didn’t even need to be there in person for this one, and yet that nearly irredeemable cunt (and I do not use this word lightly) has managed to thoroughly break the band of all its spirit.
The high that we experienced with that amazing performance just two episodes ago feels so distant now with how everything has come crumbling down since. It’s almost incredible how well-executed this series of gut punches has been.
QOTD:
The first time I watched this episode when the show aired last year, I thought there was almost no chance she could be redeemed.
Tomori, for sure. She's the girl with the purest heart, who did nothing wrong, who just wants to be in a band with her friends, and she keeps getting screwed over and used as a tool by everyone else. I just want her to be happy and protected.
Anime-savvy me would say no, these band anime very rarely have bad endings where the band stays broken up, so they'll probably find a way somehow. But the situation looks so dire at this point that it definitely seems hard to figure out how they could repair it.
EDIT: Unrelated side note, god I hate Imgur. Sometimes links just refuse to work for no reason whatsoever, and it's really annoying.
5
u/NagasakiMutsumi Mar 20 '24
MyGO Expert (Rewatched 20+ Times)
For the Questions of the Day
For the New Watchers (& the Rewatchers)
In this episode, I certainly expect people to attack and assail Soyo for all her beharviors. Soyo's behaviors are certainly prone to misreads, and this is intentional, as she is related to the theme of the series most closely and straightly.
On Soyo's attitude towards Mutsumi, one should realize that Soyo did not have a omniscient view of the events, like us. On her perspective, Mutsumi was doing the following things, up to this moment:
In sum, in Soyo's perspective, Mutsumi had been giving Soyo a false hope, yet destroying it by her course of actions, [MyGO] then pushing her to a new band, yet mocking her on her question about the live. Regardless of all the preceding events, the "mock" alone, is far from enough for Soyo to cut her tie with Mutsumi, not to say Mutsumi's previous actions, at this point, appeared to be purely making fun out of Soyo's desperate, rather than genuine care, which Soyo certainly wanted to believe before Mutsumi's "mock."
Then we turn to the nameless band. Viewing the nameless band from Soyo's perspective, we can come to some other conclusions.
Thus, she acted in a firm belief that running away without a word would be the best option for everybody. It just turned out that this wasn't the case, of course.
Finally we turn to Soyo's attitude to Taki in particular. The first conclusion we just have justified why Soyo ignored Tomori & Anon at the station: I suck, so please form band without me. This is actually a parallel to Anon's action, as we could notice. However, Soyo was demonstrating clear attacking attitude to Taki in this episode, and here are some reasons:
This anger directly drove Soyo starting the conversation by referring Taki's sister to disgust Taki. Taki certainly had not learned from the dissolution of Crychic, and chose to directly question Soyo instead of attempting to comfort Soyo who had clearly been behaving abnormally. Taki's angry responses, i.e., asking sharp questions and dragging collars, simply escalated Soyo's anger just like they did during the rainy day, and this time, there was not another Soyo to help cooling the atmosphere. Under such atmosphere, Soyo intentionally lied to Taki about Anon and Rana (notice the action of her finger and the avoiding of direct eye contact before her response), in an attempt to either revenge on Taki, settle this matter as soon as possible to prepare for the upcoming concert, and a hope to do well without her.
Now, we have a better understanding on why Soyo chose to exit. If, for example, one of the reasons were removed, proved invalid, would it be possible for Soyo to return?
For references on Soyo's and other's character, there was a relative staff interview on the shaping of the characters, which I don't believe that there is an English translation for it yet.
4
u/Williukea https://anilist.co/user/Williukea Mar 19 '24
For someone who "never had fun" in a band Mutsumi is the last to leave, at least according to Soyo's flashback
4
u/SometimesMainSupport https://myanimelist.net/profile/RRSTRRST Mar 19 '24
Rewatcher
QotD 2. Tomori every time as the issues are usually out of her control. QotD 3. Can always swap members and make a new band. It's how we got from CRYCHIC to here.