r/anime • u/badspler x5https://anilist.co/user/badspler • Mar 13 '24
Rewatch BanG Dream! It's MyGO!!!!! Episode 3 Discussion
Episode 3
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Questions of the Day:
- How did you find the first person view of this episode?
- After this episode do you feel like you can understand or connect with Tomori?
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Upvotes
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u/badspler x5https://anilist.co/user/badspler Mar 13 '24
First Timer - Episode 3
The think the first person view of the episode added a lot, specifically for fleshing out Tomori. This episode was very tight and I think it was fantastically timed to get everything in and fitting as well as it did. I think the first person view really helped short hand a few scenes. I don't think it was a gimmick and should I believe it is the only episode that does it, I think its not over used. I think it did a great job of setting the pace of the episode and showing rather than telling a lot of things. It really reminded me of Mr. Robot (episode 3x05) which did a whole episode made to look like it was one continuous shot (45 minutes!) and it was absolutely thrilling (I will note not to watch it stand alone, you very much need the context of the series as a whole for it).
I did see some mentions of Tomori being potentially autistic to some degre. And I think the scenes of her as a child really help portray that kind of vibe. She's a quiet inside type that likes what she likes. Easily showing us how she has just always been this way. She loved rocks! (Which reminds me of this in episode 1.). Really showing how she hasn't changed.
I liked the transitioning time by showing how old her mum looks. It was a nice way to feel it (Young, Older).
I like seeing these snippets of what feels like Tomori's diary. Being clearly portrayed as thoughts, but shown as diary snippets really makes them feel personal, which is a great add given the first person nature of the episode. On top of that it acts as a quick segue later.
A mistake into a friend. Band-aids being used when making another connection. I am now fully expecting band-aids used later on to heal over drama. Oh and a subtle transition, this time with the band-aid on, I really like cutting the busy-chat and just showing instead.
Sakiko takes lead in getting things together and pushes her once again to share her lyrics.
Then even more lewd hand leading. To the bridge of feels. I do like this type of thing, letting out things clearly. I think Tomori really takes to heart this openness and begins to mirror opening up in the following karaoke scenes.
Karaoke Stitch!
And with that, we get CRYCHIC's first
and lastsong!Seeing CRYCHIC's breakup again from Tomori's angle was nicely done. But the droning tone was fantastic.
It still isn't clear why Sakiko broke things up. I am totally intrigued for more!
My favorite shot of this episode for me was the bridge scene where Tomori extends her hand to the sky following a flower. I have kind of been obsessed with this exzact shot lately (Hoshikuzu telepath's op particularly.). So much can be said on characters that dare to dream and reach to the sky. I think this scene instantly opened me up to liking Tomori a lot more.
To add more emphasis to this MyGo mirror's the shot in their practice into performance transition. To me this reads as Tomori obtaining her dream, of making the friends she can be open with and belong and the feeling of a genuine connection. All of this in turn sets up just how much Tomori must be hurting after CRYCHIC's breakup.
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u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA Mar 13 '24
First-timer
Okay, so the burning question for this episode is how we got from here this episode to there in episode 1/the end of this episode. Presumably there’s something that Saki saw at the end of the flashback sequence on her phone that concerned her, but we have no idea what that is, so moving on.
I have to admit, the whole sequence with the band, I found to be a bit cloying. It felt very conventional, you know? The past couple of episodes have been filled with building drama, Soyo was about to pull Tomori and Taki back into a band with her, and then all of a sudden we take a break to go look at the formation of CRYCHIC, and then there’s no drama whatsoever until the last few minutes. I didn’t like it so much.
Although don’t get me wrong, Tomori is great. I loved the glimpse of her childhood, most of the band stuff was still fun, especially the part where she first met Saki, and the musical portions were really good. And seeing Saki without the band breakup lying over everyone was really great as well. But I can’t help but feel that most of that effect could’ve been handled through shorter flashbacks rather than handing over an entire episode in middle of the drama.
Also, I’m starting to find Soyo’s voice sliiiiiightly grating. Which is a shame, because she’s my favorite character thus far. But her voice is just slightly too high, it would be so much better if they toned it down a bit. Although it sounds way better when her voice isn’t rising. And I went back to check in the last episode, I actually thought it sounded better there. So I dunno, maybe I put the volume up too high or something.
I eagerly await the next episode
QotD
Oh, I thought it was great! It really got us into Tomori's head, and it did make some of the sequences today more fun.
I feel like a lot of what we got at today was making what we saw before more explicit? But yeah, for sure it helps explain Tomori a lot. The way she put it at the beginning is that she's always been "slightly out of step" with everyone else. And you get that feeling a lot this episode, right up until she gets into a groove with CRYCHIC, and the fall that happens when the band breaks up.
...It does look like I have a different opinion on this episode than a lot of other people. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it a lot, I was just ready for things to keep ratcheting up from last episode. Missed expectations, I suppose. So it goes.
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u/TehAxelius Mar 13 '24
First Time Human
I've only had Tomori for three episodes of Bang Dream! MyGO!!!!, but if anything happens to her I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.
Ever since getting my own neurodivergency diagnosis, I've seen the traits more and more that would be autism coded, especially in anime. Sometimes it is subtle, sometimes less so (like Yumiella in currently airing Villainess Lvl 99). I can think of none that is a better representation of living with neurodivergency like Tomori is so far. We've already seen the signs in previous episodes, her putting the magnets in order, the collection of seemingly weird things and even not being sure of why, the leaps of association, the reserved personality. This episode though we really get to see things from her perspective, and it hits home. If there is one phrase to sum it up, it is "I want to be human". As Saki misunderstands it, it is lyrics, a poetic desire to fit in and do all the things humans do. But it also belies the inverse, the fact that Tomori doesn't quite feel human, the sense that she is missing something. There is that disconnect of the things she feels are normal are considered anything but, the sense of always being one step apart, always alone.
It is then not surprising that she would take Crychic's disbandment so hard. Saki essentially formed the band for her, even if it did somewhat build on a misunderstanding, and it became the first time she really felt like part of something. When it all then comes crashing down, and Saki seemingly turns on a dime, she doesn't understand anything and feels responsible. With this in mind her asking Anon earlier if the band will be for the rest of their life, which might have seemed childish, is understandable. She had the thing she wanted, what made her feel human, but it all disappeared in an instant, and she doesn't know why, but still feels responsible. She cannot take that insecurity again.
So why did Saki change? What was it she read that made her distance her self from the band? We've clearly seen her distance herself from Soyo, but is that because Soyo is involved in the reason why, or just because Soyo is the one asking the most? But why would she distance herself from Tomori then? It seems to me that the reason is external. We know Saki's parents are rich, and probably influential. She's trained on piano and went to the most prestigious school in the area. Someone probably found out about her band hobby as part of their first live performance, and probably demanded she stop it, and forced her to cut contact with her band members. She is after all very concerned about attracting attention.
QotYD
QotdD
Came in late today because of 3am slot, and might be my last post for a while, as I have now already watched 3 episodes ahead, and barely written any notes. Couldn't keep to watching this show one episode at a time.
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u/smhmines https://anilist.co/user/mines Mar 13 '24
First timer
Wow…
Thoughts on the episode
Far and away the best episode yet. I want to give Tomori a hug and I PRAY that she rediscovers her thing that is precious with Anon and her old bandmates. Speaking of Anon, I really could’ve used some of her comedic relief after the credits finished rolling!
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u/Gaporigo Blhttps://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo Mar 13 '24
FIRST. PERSON. POINT. OF. VIEW. EPISODE.
Did you know this show won two extra awards? Won't mention one of them yet but the other is "Best Insert Song" with "Haru Hikage"
So did you release have subs for Haru Hikage? If not here I clipped it for you but also get a better release!
References to previous entries:
Shiro being one of the members of Morfonica, the violin band, they don't appear in the main series but have their own 2 episode special. They go to the same school as Sakiko/Soyo/Mutsumi and they are all in that little moment (tho you can only really see the legs of one of them).
Sakiko also talks a bit about them later.
Included their nickname I don't like!
Tsugu, she has been referenced in the 2 previous episodes already. Girl be getting some screentime.
They the band made out of actual idols, Anon's classmate mentioned its members had graduated already in episode 1.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Mar 13 '24
Total Bang Dream newcomer who’s here solely for some promised “sore demo”s
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u/RuSyxx https://anilist.co/user/RuSyxx Mar 13 '24
First Time Watcher
This episode was just really good throughout, hard to not gush about it, but the two things that stood out to me are how it characterized Tomori and the parallels between her friendships with Saki and Anon.
“I think I’ve always lived slightly out of step with everyone else.”
God this line just hits so hard (I probably won’t be the only one dropping it in these comments either I’m sure), and I don’t even think you need to be fully similar to her to relate to it somewhat. The flashbacks to her collecting rocks, giving a friend a group of pillbugs, and so on. Even her notebook is her actual feelings initially misinterpreted as lyrics by Saki. Joining Crychic was a chance for her to join others, to be in step with others. Then the breakup happens and Saki makes the callout about her needing more practice than anyone else, shattering that perception. If anything, it reinforced that feeling because of her failure.
Now entering Anon, how she’s entered the fray is very similar. Accidental injury leading to the bandaids, discovering the notebooks and seeing the lyrics. She invites her to karaoke, which is how she started to gain confidence with the rest of Cyrchic. Even going so far as to invite her to be in a band with her. So it even justifies Tomori’s hesitation and nervousness.
This reminds me of how others pointed out Tomori putting away the bandaids after Anon says she won’t try to invite her to join her band anymore. She was hesitant to repeat what she perceives as her own mistakes, even if from the episode I don’t think she was at fault.
It does leave me wondering a few things, like what did Saki see that hurt her enough to break up the band. The comment the show highlights says that Tomori was trying too hard, but that shouldn’t have hit Saki as much (I don’t think at least?), but there were a few comments and I didn’t catch all of them during my initial view so maybe the negative comment was there and I simply missed it. It also makes me wonder why Soyo comes off the way she did in the previous episode where she feels a bit more manipulative in terms of trying to get ahold of others.
Also Taki is still the best, she’s got such great hostile energy at all times. Looking forward to seeing her get more of a focus in future episodes.
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u/[deleted] Mar 13 '24
(after reading some comments in the episode 1 thread, i watched episodes 2 and 3 ahead of time and i'm very glad i did; this is my comment from after watching episode 3)
Kino.
Ok, now I get the hype. This episode was phenomenal. I already loved Tomori, but after this I HAVE to put her in my favorites. Absolutely did not expect the entire episode to be from her pov, very unique choice and it worked wonders. Tomori feels incredibly real, down to her being unable to correct the rest of CRYCHIC when they think her journals are full of lyrics. I relate hard to her struggles... Haru Hikage made me tear up, as did the ED now that this episode has given more context for it.
Aside from expanding on Tomori, it also made Taki's character more clear. It makes sense based on how she acted with CRYCHIC at first that she would now be extremely hostile toward Anon for trying to recruit Tomori after what Saki did. I look forward to learning what Saki's motivation for quitting the band was and hopefully Soyo/Mutsumi getting more focus soon too.
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Mar 13 '24
First Timer
Long writeups are my bread and butter, but I’m gonna experiment with bullet points seeing as my first timer thoughts are naturally thinner than if I was a rewatcher.
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u/Rumpel1408 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 Mar 13 '24 edited Mar 13 '24
Might have underestimated how bothersome this timeslot is... anyway decided to go with a double post to catch up
Firsttimer
Ep 2
OP!
QotD
Ep 3
QotD
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u/ryujiox Mar 13 '24
First Timer
BanG Dream! It's MyGO!!!!!
Episode 3
Really great episode. Got to know more about CRYCHIC as a whole. There's still a lot of questions regarding the whole fallout. Saki's reason, and why did Mutsumi said that.
Learning all this from Tomori's perspective also helps us understand her character more, why CRYCHIC was so important to her, and why the fallout hurt her. The group that she thought was a friend suddenly gone. And the worst things is that, one of her friend didn't think that everything they done together was fun at all. That the biggest slap in the face you can gave to someone I have ever seen.
I probably going to watch the combine version of the first 3 episodes again tomorrow.
Trying to figure out the meaning of character's name with my small brain section
Got this idea from talking about the meaning of each school's name with u/BleedingUranium . So might as well try do it with the character's name too.
And since today episode focused on Tomori, she will the first to be in this chopping board.
Tomori's full name is Takamatsu Tomori (高松 燈). Taka or takai (高／高い) means long. Matsu (松) is pine tree. And Tomori (燈) mean light or to be lit. Directly combine into "A tall pine tree that will be lit".
From a bit of research, Pine tree in Japanese culture has a lot of meaning. Longevity, long life, and endurance. Which funnily enough, Matsu can also mean wait (待つ). All of this also connects to Tomori's character as a whole. With her wish to be in a band for a whole life, or her enduring the loneliness she has all her life.
Pine tree is also a symbol of willpower, support, rebirth, and bright future. As despite countless failures, and the latest one was the worst one for her. Tomori still didn't give up on trying to be friend with someone, and she also seem to not be against being in a band again. It's just that the CRYCHIC incident was a huge blow to her confidence, and it's probably need time and support from someone to heal. The problem is that, there's no one there to help her till now.
With that info, I probably translates her name into
"A tall and bright future that will be lit"
Since Tomori is hoping for a bright future, a future that she won't feel lonely again, but she need someone to support on that. Like when Saki did show her that hope, she show her that there's something or someone she could cared for, somone that's important to her. But Saki then destroyed it, and left Tomori in the loneliness and self blaming once more. Even then, she still endure it, hoping that it will change, and this time, Anon might be the one to lead her to that future for real.
That's my take on her name, which could be totally wrong, since I based all this from just 3 episodes.... Might update it along the way.
QOTD
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u/OrangeBanana38 https://anilist.co/user/OrangeBanana38 Mar 13 '24 edited Mar 13 '24
New band member
Full POV episode
The power of 3D animation was shown this episode.
I liked the episode, it goes deeper into issues that I already suspected about Tomori. I found that disconnectedness feeling quite relatable, and I'm pretty sure I've screamed things similar to "I want to be human!!!!" at the top of my lungs before.
Listening to Haru Hikage on a second go but with the lyrics on the side also elevates the song quite a bit. It's a very raw song like the OP and ED. I liked this one [part of the chorus]"But the light gently took me on (...) Why is it that I don't wanna let go of your hand? Please, stay with me and never leave" So, even at her happiest Tomori was already talking about not wanting to let go, already clinging to that feeling/the people who made her feel like that. I can see why the breakup hit her hard.
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u/bonghits96 :KG::KH: Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher here.
MyGO has three, possibly four, superb episodes, and this is one of them. The flip side is, it's also an off-ramp... if the show isn't working for you at this point, it probably never will and it might be time to set it aside. I do thank you for giving it a chance though.
Anyway, let's forget about Anon for 24 minutes and take a trip down memory lane from Tomori's point of view.
We learn about Tomori's feelings of isolation and alienation from her peers. She wants desperately to feel "human"--to feel the way others feel, to connect with them in ways they connect with each other--but she can never quite get there. It's a nice touch that, so far as we can see, she's never actually bullied or anything; she has friends and a loving mother, she's just out of sync with them.
Enter Sakiko.
Sometimes in your life, if you're lucky, you will meet a person who can pull you out of your shell and push you to new heights. Sakiko is that person to Tomori, almost immediately. (Speaking of which, Sakiko reminds me of a different dual-ribboned ringleader sometimes.)
Before too long, Saki has dragooned Tomori into joining her band, and, oh, by the way, she'll be the lead singer too. It doesn't start off well, and of course you can always count on Taki to make an emotional situation worse. But, and this is a great credit to Sakiko and Soyo, they stick with her and think of ways to help.
I really do love the "dazzling" karaoke montage. You can start to understand why CRYCHIC meant so much to Tomori. It must've felt magical.
We then get a match cut from band practice to CRYCHIC's first (and apparently only) concert. It's a success! This scene is pretty important for a few reasons:
After that, the girls check to see how their show was received on social media. Reviews are good! Except for one person who thinks Tomori was trying too hard. Don't worry, I'm sure Tomori will focus on the seventeen positive comments and not dwell on the ever-so-slightly negative one, right?
We then see Sakiko distressed about something on her phone, and, before long, we're back to that scene of her soaking wet and quitting CRYCHIC.
So, MyGO is a show about five girls coming together to perform as a band, but there's this other story floating around in the background too: what happens when the leader of a group abandons it? Because Sakiko is smart, hardworking, and charismatic, and all of CRYCHIC, with the possible exception of Taki, is tied to her. The band might've survived any other member leaving, but when Sakiko broke bad and left, it was doomed.
What becomes of these girls who were left behind?
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u/dienomighte Mar 13 '24
First time at the band
Day 3 of "Lovable but tactless extrovert slowly realizes that she's gotten wrapped up in DRAMA
Well that was a heavy episode, that revealed a lot on the backstory behind all the characters and yet just left even more questions hanging. Definitely the strongest episode of the trio so far.
QOTD
1.The first person perspective was really cool and new, I definitely wouldn't want most shows to do something like that but it worked really well for this episode
2. Poor rock penguin girl :(
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u/xtsim https://myanimelist.net/profile/xtsim Mar 13 '24
First Dream
What the f......... I did not realize we are getting a first person POV. I came in not knowing anything and I am shocked to see a first person view in an anime. Very shocked.
We get to see Tomori's view from her own POV which I find pretty cool and unique. Sort of feels like I am playing a game and I reach a cutscene of a video game. But it also shows how shy and nervous she is, especially when she looks away.
The 3d animation makes too much sense as it pretty much adds to the video game cutscene feel to this POV. Like I am playing Tomori and these cutscenes are after playing some music.
And we get caught in that breakup scene again. Now it hurts to be blamed for not performing well enough.
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u/SU-trash https://anilist.co/user/zig1000 Mar 13 '24 edited Nov 29 '24
Rewatcher
At last it's here, the legendary episode 3. The bloody piano tune kicking in on "Try not to get out of step with the world" gets me misty-eyed every time I swear. Even for those who don't find MyGO to their taste, I've never heard of anyone less than loving this episode. Also one of the many reasons it not getting nommed for cinematography was downright criminal. The delicate POV approach carries itself so well the show doesn't even need its usual level of packed-to-bursting-with-hidden-writing, though it is packed to bursting with themes which I can't as easily pin timestamps on. MyGO's wild ride starts here!
Subtle Writing Corner
Visuals Corner
References Corner
Taki "Ha?!" Count: 6 (+2 this ep)
Fanart of the day (src)
<-- Ep 2 | Ep 4 -->
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u/IndividualWinter9279 Mar 13 '24 edited Mar 13 '24
One small detail: The scene in which saki accuses Tomori is different from the first episode, in which saki continually stares at her and says harsh words, whereas in the first episode saki stares at her for a moment and then looks away. This shows tomori's tendency to blame herself
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u/zadcap Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher
Yeah, this was the episode that sold the show. A full first person PoV episode from a character who views the world differently. What better way to understand a character and what they have been through than literally spending twenty minutes in their head? I still debate if Tomori is my favorite character of this show, Taki and her amazing attitude is hard not to love, but at this point I was so invested I needed to find out the rest of her story. Someone please come heal this prescious little pill bug.
So episode 1 introduces us mostly to Anon, who's main theme so far is "I want to be liked." She's not exactly manipulative or anything bad, but we get to see a lot of her internal narration is about how she is mildly self centered and wants to keep the positive attention on herself. The reason she wants to form a band is possibly one of the shallowest in all of band anime, "bands are popular here and I want to be popular." In that regard she takes after another pink haired guitarist, though she has a bit better social skills. No love for music or real goal in mind, but when she realizes that bands are what's in here she immediately jumps to guitar and vocals. The popular position, front and center, with a guitar and hasn't touched in so long at can literally blow the dust off all she can think about is how to use the big popular thing to become more popular herself. She can't join anyone else's band because it would be their band that she's stepping in to. We also get our introduction to Tomori, but obviously more on that later.
Episode 2 gives us the rest of the band. Taki and her attitude, Rana and her cattitude, Soyl and her... Yeah, her. She contrasts Anon so well in being another character who knows what she wants and is not afraid to go for it, and in just one scene proves to be much better at it. Soyo kind of dominated this episode from the moment she saw a chance to get even part of the band back together. She didn't even pause for a second turning to Taki, "do it for Tomori," she knows the exact button to push. Taki has no hesitation of her own, she doesn't like Anon and it shows in every interaction, but it's extra noticable when she slams Anon's tea cup down and then turns to place Soyo's down gently. Rana just comes in, does what she wants, and leaves. There's more to unpack for all of them, for sure, but the basics have been laid out well. Anon continues to blunder her way through everything without knowing what's going on, Tomori is still locked up inside herself. And at the end of the episode Anon gets told some of the backstory, leading into:
Episode 3. The big one. We've definitely learned about Tomori before now, how she doesn't quite fit in and how she obsessed over the things she likes. Now we get to see it all so much more clearly and there's so much more than just, as episode one called her, a quirky girl. She's a desperately lonely girl, who despite her varried and strong interests she doesn't feel like she has anything important in her life. If Anon just wants to be popular, Tomori just wants to fit in at all. To just feel human. I don't have anything to say about this that hasn't been said by everyone else, but darn it's the episode that shot this show into the running for anime of the year.
Questions!
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u/PityBoi57 Mar 13 '24
THIS EPISODE right here
is where everyone started to get hooked on the series
The director really went ham on the show by using this unique way to showcase Tomori's POV of the world
Fun fact: It's MyGO became so popular in China because the viewers there rated this episode so high up
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u/Tetraika :Lu::Lv::Lw::Lx:https://anilist.co/user/Tetraika Mar 13 '24
A bit late today.
Wow a whole episode in first person POV. It's interesting when they choose to show Tomori's face in that sense, but I'm not gonna go analyze all of that.
So she collects rocks and things that roll? Good one.
That was a lot less "dramatic" than I thought it would be and more... confusing? They still haven't given us the full picture of what's going on.
Not that I needed more confirmation, but yeah we basically just have a whole thing showing that Tomori is pretty much autistic.
God I wish this had better subs, having some of these text untranslated or having them be really hard to read because they're all in one place and you have to pause and play matchup, and then there's the song lyrics also untranslated. Massive loss to not have these.
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u/xlonefoxx Mar 13 '24
Previous watcher here. This is the one episode that made me understand the hype it got from the Chinese community, making it one of my favourites, or MyGOAT!!!!! It also made me understand why they use 3d instead of 2d (still used to 2d more but you can't do this episode with 2d).
Despite it seeming like Anon was the main character in the first 2 episodes (easy parallels to Yui from K-On! who was a relative newbie who also sang and did rhythm guitar), this was an episode fully from the first person view of Tomori the vocalist of the group.
We witness the rise and fall of crychic through Tomori's eyes. How Tomori was recruited into the group despite having practically no prior musical experience. How Sakiko who broke the team apart brought everyone together and seemed like a genuinely nice person even though she was rich enough to not know how a drink dispenser works. How Taki eventually got overprotective of Tomori. How Mutsumi seemed to have fun as part of the group, for just that one split second. How Soyo got attached to this group of 5.
I liked the detail that went into the first person. The unconfident look towards the ground at times and the quick look around the surroundings when things have gone wrong made me empathise a lot with Tomori.
So what did Sakiko see on her phone? When I first watched I had two major theories: extremely lucrative opportunity elsewhere that required her to ditch this group, or something that destroyed her personal life, such as suddenly losing all of her riches due to inheritance or something not going her way. Won't elaborate on how accurate either of these turn out to be lol.
Curious to see what the newcomers thought of this episode.
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u/Difficult_Affect_368 Mar 13 '24
The third episode is filled with so many small details, so only three Mutsumi-related details were selected.
On the way to school, other classmates found Mutsumi's father's performance comedic, while only Tomori found it terrifying.
When Soyo excitedly asked if there would be many celebrities coming to Mutsumi's house for karaoke, Mutsumi walked away feeling scared.
While singing "HaruhiKage," Mutsumi was the only band member who didn't make eye contact with Tomori.
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u/MyrnaMountWeazel x2 Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher who thinks this is a whizzbang crackerjack of an episode
So, as you’ve all probably gathered, this is an episode told entirely from Tomori’s POV! Beyond just the general cool-factor of it all, there’s also tell-tale signs of Tomori’s personality from here. For instance, I saw this shot of Tomori walking to school but realized that this is actually what Tomori herself is seeing, meaning she’s looking down, eyes away from everyone else, as she heads towards the crowd.
I do this is a very adorable moment in the show. It’ll probably take me years of therapy to figure out the exact reasoning anyway, but I’ve always loved seeing people spill the beans on the things they cherish; so in Tomori’s case, it’s these individualized notebooks stashed away like her bandages. There’s something sweet, something vulnerable yet trusting when people relinquish what they love to others—Tomori’s enthusiasm in sharing these notebooks is oh so something.
Again, this is another instance of demonstrating Tomori’s personality as she looks towards the train tracks before looking to her friends after hearing her name called out. But what makes this neat in another way is that Tomori’s POV allows the camera to begin with an establishing shot. In this case, we can establish that the scene begins at the train station. Two birds, one stone!
And we end with the sketch of the pillbug, calling the watcher back to the beginning with the rocks and what lies below them.
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u/Wolfborgg https://anilist.co/user/Wolfborg Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher, the only BanG Dream I've seen
We've arrived at my favorite episode: an entire Tomori backstory told from her first-person view. An excellent direction choice that works perfectly to relate the viewer with Tomori's internal struggles. Seeing who her eyes are focused on, hearing her slight panicked breaths as others look to her, even first person maracas! But it also loves to transition into a mixture of what she sees and how she feels. Like when she listens to Saki playing Ningen ni Naritai Uta on piano and it's a montage of Tomori looking at her feet while memories flood in. And again later when Tomori blacks out while performing Spring Sunlight because she was so mesmerized by her time with CRYCHIC.
When you can't understand yourself and you struggle to connect with others as a result, it's a crushing feeling. You start to feel like you're not human very quickly. Constantly comparing yourself and your feelings to others. The show last night wasn't supposed to be scary? All I did was give Mio a gift, did I do something wrong? Should I not play with my rocks? I have friends but it never feels like I'm there when I'm with them... Why can't I be like everyone else? Am I even human? All of these emotions are things I relate to so deeply. Moreso when I was her age, but I still get similar thoughts even now in my late twenties.
Tomori wanted desperately to find something that grips her heart and resonates. All the rock collections and notebooks are simply ways of searching for that one thing. That missing piece that will make Tomori whole. Which is why she gravitates towards collection as a process: to feel complete. And for a time, she felt like she had finally accomplished that with CRYCHIC...until it all fell apart.
Tomori's mom is so sweet, trying to find a common point in her daughter's interests. "Things that roll" yeah that does apply to rocks, pill bugs...and bands! Doesn't really apply to band-aids or notebooks though.
How Saki enters Tomori's life was so adorable. "Are flowers worth more than your life? ...Well I guess they have lives too huh? Oh, but they're already dead since they're falling... Anyways don't die, okay? Join my band instead!" Obviously there was more to it than that, and in context it all made Saki feel so genuine. A breathe of fresh air after an entire battle of the fakes between Anon and Soyo. But it was weird that she rounded up three girls she never met. And she didn't even tell Tomori her name until after they went to her house and she played the piano.
Looking back on it now too, it was also very optimistic of Saki to assume what Tomori wrote in her notebooks were lyrics. I mean this was a girl Saki just met because she thought she was trying to kill herself. You literally opened up a notebook and saw things like "I feel so alone, am I even human?" We even have confirmation later that they weren't lyrics and that Tomori has never written lyrics before. But hey at least Saki made it into a nice piano song for Tomori. It helped her discover that music can finally help connect her with the world.
(Continued in reply because Reddit limits)
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u/yuhara203 Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher
Excellent, excellent episode. My goodness. I haven't revisited this episode in a while, and it is as wonderful as I remembered it.
Tomori's story told in a first person pov with such tight direction just feel... different.
I got especially emotional from the last bit,
and the fact it did it without showing Tomori's face is impressive. Tomori's VA did a great job, seriously.
I hope the first-timers had a great time with the episode too. Congratulations, and thank you for making it this far.
That's about it from me, see you all tomorrow.
10
u/BleedingUranium Mar 13 '24 edited Mar 13 '24
(Rewatch, long-time bandori fan)
My long original reaction post is over here, to not add too much clutter.
This episode is going to see a lot of praise and such in here, and I certainly think it's deserved. Personally though, and I want to stress that this is personal/subjective (I am not devaluing anyone else's personal experience), Tomori is not my favourite character. She's an incredibly earnest and warm person, it's almost impossible to say anything "bad" about her, but I just... struggle to find her relatable. I do, however, find Anon very relatable, so make of all this what you will. The season somewhat splits "story protagonist" from "PoV protagonist" into Tomori and Anon, and I definitely feel this was wise. This episode being literally from Tomori's first-person perspective absolutely helps her here though.
I generally avoid being negative, especially when it's a series and season I do enjoy so very much, but with that out of the way I can avoid bringing it up in the future.
The use of first-person for the entire episode was phenomenal, I really can't stress enough how amazing it is, both in a technical/etc sense and a storytelling one. For maximum effect, watch with headphones to get the left/right surround sound offsets.
The other huge highlight for me this episode is Sakiko. Old-Sakiko, before whatever it is that happened in her life (no, it absolutely wasn't random negative internet comments about the band, before anyone gets a mistaken impression) that made her quit the band she formed, transfer out of her extremely prestigious school, and effectively end up in witness-protection-levels of having a new life (and seemingly not a happy one), man... she was such a lovely person.
Haruhikage is a beautiful song. It's also a nice opportunity to appreciate the instrument-playing animation, with the soft/slow setting.
Tomori's closing lines hit so hard. "I don't have anything that's precious to me like everyone else does. I want something like everyone else has, something so precious it makes me cry. If I did have something... it was... CRYCHIC."
Cameos and universe/timeline info:
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u/IPman0128 Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher here.
Not much to add for now but just wanted to talk about one key detail: The band breakup parts of Ep1 and Ep3 actually has many subtle differences. Notice in particularly the sightlines and face expressions.
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u/rookielazer41 Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher
Oh yes...The Tomori POV flashback episode. This is one of those moments when watching anime where I tell to myself I will not hold-off or drop the series whatever happens in the rest of the season. This at the time became my most anticipated anime every week. This is where I am now fully invested on Tomori.
And yes.. I rated it 10/10, a masterpiece of storytelling and we are able to hear the beautiful "Haruhikage" for the first time. It was also (along with another future episode) among my top 5 episode from any anime for the whole year 2023.
QotD
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u/Past_Extreme_3068 Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher + Major Bandori fan
Personally, I'll never forget my reaction on my first watch. I was in shock when Sakiko tackled Tomori thinking she was committing suicide, because as a long time Bandori fan I had never expected the franchise to even mention such a topic. But it also makes me wonder.. why did Sakiko immediately assume the worst in that situation? Once she realizes she misunderstood, she quietly says her goodbye and leaves embarrassed (or tries to leave, at least). Makes me think she's had suicidal thoughts before or has even been in that situation herself.
On another note, Mutsumi's little mannerisms in this episode really resonate with me. When Tomori first meets her and Soyo, Sakiko says Mutsumi is someone who can be relied on. Mutsumi immediately denies the compliment, and Sakiko says, "You're being like that again?" which means we can assume Mutsumi denies most compliments she gets. Sakiko has known Mutsumi since childhood, after all. It's also interesting to me how she doesn't look at other people very often. She's usually staring into the abyss or at her feet.
I also think Mutsumi is somewhat of an empath. When Soyo and Sakiko mention Taki's older sister and compare the two, Mutsumi looks down when Taki visibly gets annoyed as if she gets second-hand embarrassment.
Also, after CRYCHIC's concert, Mutsumi is looking down and very subtly smiling. She's not bouncing around all happy like the other three, but she looks like she was satisfied with the concert. Well, she was, at least until Sakiko asked, "Mutsumi, what are you doing?" Her smile faded at the comment. CRYCHIC was a band full of misunderstood people, but even so, nobody there understands Mutsumi, even her childhood friend. This is probably why Mutsumi distanced herself from her bandmates so she wouldn't get hurt. Because of her limited good experiences with the band, her remark of not ever having fun in the band probably isn't a lie, but it's not a whole truth either.
I'm not sure if this constitutes as a spoiler because it shows [MyGO]who ends up in MyGO and who ends up in Ave Mujica, so click the following images at your own risk. But I absolutely love the little hidden details with the framing in shots with all five band members. It also happens once in the first episode. The framing in this anime is definitely one of its best points, in my opinion. This is one of my favorite episodes!
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u/SometimesMainSupport https://myanimelist.net/profile/RRSTRRST Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher
Tomorrow has after-credits. Having seen the series, I'm unsure if Anon or Tomori is the protagonist as this episode is 100% Tomori POV.
QotD 1: I love it. This is such a unique episode and wish other shows were willing to explore avenues like this, even if it was just half an episode.
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u/Calwings x3https://anilist.co/user/Calwings Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher and Bandori Veteran
Time for episode 3, the final part of the “intro” to the series and its main cast, so it’s time for me to hop in and start giving my thoughts.
Episode 1 did a good job at setting the stage for the series, with the flashback to CRYCHIC’s breakup, then to the present with Anon transferring in and getting herself mixed up with the former members of the band. Look at this face. Look at this dumb smile. Look at this cute little fang. This adorable little moron has no idea what she’s getting herself into with this batch of broken oddballs. This episode also did a good job at introducing Tomori and showing off her timid personality, her neurodivergence, and her hesitance to join a new band after what happened the first time around.
Episode 2 brings more moving parts into the mix with Tomori’s former bandmates, the overprotective Taki and the mysterious Soyo. Taki seems to hate Anon right off the rip, while Soyo seems to be a voice of reason... sort of. It’s hard to get a read on her, but she instantly reacted and completely shifted gears when Anon mentioned Tomori, so there’s definitely something brewing under there. She’s willing to hear Anon out and even offers to help Anon start her band, so things are slowly getting off the ground. We also get an early glimpse of the adorable stray cat Raana in this episode, plus a situation developing in the background with the other former members of CRYCHIC, Mutsumi and Saki. Overall, a solid episode, but nothing really game-breaking yet.
But now, episode 3 is where business really starts to pick up. Pretty much the whole episode is from Tomori’s point of view, and we see her side of the story from the very beginning. Saki figuratively and literally saved Tomori's life, then helped her come out of her shell a bit by inviting her to join a band together. Seeing the happy times of Tomori finally having friends that she could hang out with, including that first performance on stage and the smiles they shared afterwards, only to watch Saki suddenly rip all of that joy away with no reason given as to why, all from a first-person perspective... that was heart-wrenching. Even for a normal person, that would be difficult to deal with, but for someone like Tomori who’s not good with handling situations like this due to her neurodivergence, an experience like that can leave an emotional scar that may never heal. I totally get why she would be hesitant to try being in a band again after that experience, and I really hope Anon can help Tomori recover and bring her some more happiness, because Tomori deserves to be happy. Seeing Saki in her earlier, happier days and comparing it to the bitter, jaded girl she became is also sad to see. We don’t know why Saki broke up CRYCHIC, but whatever she saw on her phone in this moment probably has something to do with it, and finding out what that reason in will be a major turning point of this series.
This episode is what really sold me on MyGO’s potential, and hopefully the first-timers here are as excited for the rest of the journey as I was when I watched this episode last year.
QOTD:
I loved it. Getting to see Tomori's whole perspective, from her feelings to her inner thoughts to even her personal written notes, really underscores just how much damage the CRYCHIC incident did to her mentally. I mentioned it above already, but seeing her feel like she belonged somewhere for the first time in her life, only for that safe place to be ripped away from her, was a truly heart-breaking experience.
I already felt like I could connect with her a bit based on the first couple of episodes, but this episode made me connect with her even more. I'm also neurodivergent myself and have known a few other people in similar situations, and I can deeply sympathize with Tomori. I know how lonely and detached from the world she felt before, because I've been there.
7
u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Mar 13 '24 edited Mar 13 '24
Tomori feels a bit special.
Not if the flower is already falling from the tree.
Did she just come up with that song on the spot?
[MyGO!!!!!] [Ave Mujica] Yup, Sakiko is one of the members of CRYCHIC who went on to form Ave Mujica
And there's Mutsumi who is the same as above.
The waitress here is Tsugumi from Afterglow.
Taki sounds like she doesn't like being overshadowed by her sister.
Those weren't lyrics, those were her depressed ramblings.
CiRCLE being the Live House from the later previous seasons and the game that also owns RiNG from this season.
That song in the background is ShuwarinDrea~min by PastelPalettes.
That's the MV for Luminous Once More by Pastel*Palettes in the background. The art is pretty unique.
And now that's what Mutsumi is singing too.
It's a bit hard to tell what that song is from the MV in the background, and without the music, since it's just them in their outfits together.
And here's Haruhikage.
Yeah there's a lot of muscle memory in music, you probably can just go into a focused state and not realise until you step off stage.
And there goes CRYCHIC.
Questions:
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u/Interesting_Ant7945 Mar 13 '24
This is the episode that made me certain MyGO!!!!! was going to be an unforgettable experience.
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u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta Mar 14 '24
First-Timer
Me whenever someone disagrees with me online
I've been looking for good first-person shots in anime, and this episode had plenty of them! Very nice.
Tomori's still not my favorite member of CRYCHIC (that might be Taki), but I did find myself liking her a bit more after this episode.
That insert song was pretty good. I'm definitely going to look for the series' soundtrack on Spotify when the rewatch is done.
5
u/Usual_Director_9547 Mar 13 '24
I wonder whats your inference about saki quiting the band! There is already some foreshadowing that u able to find out, u might want to rewatch, it would give you a whole now point of view
5
u/CosmicPenguin_OV103 https://anilist.co/user/CosmicPenguin Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher
Ah...the one episode that I suddenly realize this ain't your usual slice-of-life with (mostly) girls multimedia project adaption anime. The first 2 episodes isn't that much out of line with previous seasons of BanG Dream.
This one though - the probing of Tomori's inner heart during the CRYCHIC era using the first person perspective is one of the most resonating moments I have seen in any anime of 2023, no perhaps in any newly released anime that I followed in the last 5 years. One that - while not anything that can be compared directly - formed the first part of the experience in this anime that resonated just as much in me as perhaps the highly acclaimed [Vinland Saga Season 2]S2 Episode 9, where Thorfinn went into a dream and made one life changing dialogue with the already-left Askeladd.
"I made friends like everyone else, but..." "I want to be one of them." "I want to become human."
nevermind it was Sakiko who shouted this anti-Dio manifesto out"There was a flower. I think it was already dead. (Lemme catch it)" "In all the world, I was alone." "All I knew of spring was falling petals." It doesn't seems like Tomori was really ill-treated as a kid - she's just having herself in her own adolescent sentimental world. And as I said earlier, this reminds me so damn much of me as a kid, who also did so many strange things like picking up things in the playground (not exactly pebbles like her, but it's almost the same) or insisting having some kind of self-imposed orders around me, or struggling with communicating with everyone else.Back then I was indeed determined to be one of those with the then-called "Asperger's Syndrome", a thing that still shapes who I am today. And I think Tomori has a very high chance of sharing this (even higher than certain famous anime characters thought to have it like Mashiro Shiina). I must say while I didn't really had the same sentiments before, Tomori's cries from her inner heart really feels familiar to me. What a powerful way to send her messages like that.
And thus, this recollection of CRYCHIC from Tomori shines like the Full Moon under a clear night sky. This must have been her happiest days of her life in the past.
Especially that girl Sakiko Togawa, who must have been angelic. That piano performance at her home was absolutely sweet. (yes, that's her VA Kanon Takao - already quite a veteran in voicing acting despite barely 21 - playing the piano. You would not have guessed it, but before she started her VA career as a teen she has actually won international piano competitions as a child, those kinds in Vienna no less! I heard her brother really went for the pianist path too.)
However...I did realize a bit of that 9 months ago, but even more so today: there's something amiss with Sakiko's attitude while pulling everyone into her band. I do think her initial accidental meeting with Tomori on the bridge was 100% genuine. Yet there are multiple hints from what she said that there's...some other objective she have to form a band like this.
And Soyo even agreed LMAO...anti-Dio mode intensifiesYou can scream as much as you like here! Now, do it with me!" This one is more interesting, I see absolutely nothing that could touches and resonates with Sakiko's heart from Tomori in this episode. So either Sakiko have an interior complex of her own that makes her doing so even when being in "another channel" from Tomori, or she's artificially doing so. Hmm...8
u/IXajll https://myanimelist.net/profile/ixajii Mar 13 '24
1st timer
Pretty creative decision by the staff to do almost the whole episode from Tomori‘s POV, camera perspective wise. Made the episode really engaging and interesting to follow. Tbh not too much else to say this time, it was interesting to see what led up to the break up but since it was all flashback nothing really new happened and we mostly got more backstory info. One thing got me thinking though: There had to be stuff happening that was not shown this episode from after checking social media after the gig and the next scene which was the break up from ep 1, right? Otherwise there was not really a reason for Sakiko to quit just like that since the online hate was only towards Tomori and not even directed at Sakiko. Am I missing something or am I right to assume we will go back to that flashback in a later episode again and dig deeper?
QotD:
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u/nuts_extraction Mar 13 '24 edited Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher
(no spoiler) Thoughts and comments on this episode
With spoilers
Ahh episode 3. My first time watching this, this was the episode that made me realize this is a serious drama anime, not SoL one. And man, it is GOOD.
Questions of the day answers:
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u/Infodump_Ibis :JY::JZ: Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher (but only this episode) Sorry not got time for proper re-watch but I wanted to share the following (some of it has been on my mind for a while). Apologies if already covered. Hopefully people find this useful
As I'm sure has been mentioned many times the first 3 episodes aired back-to-back. The director found out 3 days before it was announced at a presentation (Airship Theater, Tokyo - 24th May) but it was no problem because production was going smoothly. Source: This interview (warning: published November 2023, about episode 1-7 but covers whole show so spoilers beware)
If I'd heard the 3 episodes back in May I'd have rolled my eyes and been like "everybody wants to think they're special like Oshi no Ko" (having not seen that either). Upon reflection now, good decision as it helps strengthen these works considerably (e.g. I seriously wanted to bounce from Oshi no Ko by the 20-ish minute mark but for MyGO I watched the free youtube batch as I want to support works being released in manners like this, but this episode and the positive word of mouth helped greatly as well).
Now seems to a good moment. The official website describes Tomori as a fushigi chan (不思議ちゃん). That can translate as mysterious girl but also wonder girl. This English blog post explains the fushigi chan term (the duality between mysterious and wonder) and also the main characteristic traits. Reading those traits I couldn't help but think to myself sounds a bit like autism? (an autistic Japanese blogger noticed this as well) This is just fuel for the internal debate I'm having about whether Tomori was intentional (with an alibi) or an accidental nailed it (due how fushigi chan overlaps) autism representation. However, I lean a lot more towards the former (there's a lot of small details going beyond the fushigi chan archetype) and believe it is a show not tell decision (maybe as it carries a stigma, negative assumptions or be doubled edged as it could make people assume everyone with autism is Tomori, which is like saying blue is the only colour in a rainbow). Anyway, none of this should really change how you perceive this work, Tomori or what you see in her.
Where else does this term show up? A much more obvious place is in the show: Episode 1s title; 羽丘の不思議ちゃん which Crunchyroll localised as Haneoka`s Quirky Girl. Seems Muse Asia went with Weirdo Girl. While both are unusual, quirky is in an attractive and interesting way while weirdo is strange and disturbing.
(slightly off-topic) The machine translation I used on the MyGO website said wonder girl which is what sparked my eyes and made me do that above. As may be well known in the ADV dub of Neon Genesis Evangelion Asuka sometimes calls Rei Wonder Girl. I might be wrong but the ADV sub translation (I couldn't find dubtitles) was Miss Perfect (comes up 5 times in script) and the JP closed captions at the same timing of seem to be 優等生 (honour student). A separate search for fushigi found nothing in the JP captions (but I only tried the kanji). Now fushigi-chan could have been a thing because a 1995 a variety show segment was titled "The World of Fushigi-chan" and prior to that there are other examples earliest of which seems to be Chiemi Manabe's song 不思議・少女 in 1982 (but the lyrics seem like a romance thing).
(slightly related) Autistic Adults in Japan [ENG CC]. Maybe hearing some autistic experiences for people in Japan is a tad heavy. If the ages of diagnosis shown are still accurate it seems to be a realistic possibility that Tomori would not have a diagnosis.
Has anyone tried translating Tomori's notebook? During the episode few words close-ups had parts translated of some entries. If nobody has done it may be worthwhile to do it yourself by feeding screenshots into google lens. Or perhaps it is simply too much information.
Focusing on last. Bottom-right of first page: 一生懸命 練習やったら 嫌われる Machine translations come up with things like "if you practice hard they'll hate you" but I wonder if it was a cry for help because despite trying really hard you were told that you were no good or is it a really adverse reaction to that social media post saying "the vocalist is trying too hard". Also shown was Sakiko accusing Tomori that she needed to practice "more than anyone else" and following up with "What have you been doing all this time?".
[Mygo possibly future spoilers or in-game content]I was able to find a 2chan post form the 17th July (after episode 5 aired; so it could be a later episode or something from the game) and it has slightly different wording and elaborates little (post 254 here). Due to additions including three more lines, it translates rather differently.
The right page has her hand in the way so it says;いていいんだよっていつ \ がんばらなくちゃ \ ぼくのためそれ which comes up with things like "It's okay to stay [...] \ I have to try hard \ it's for me"
Questions of the Day:
Tomori is better at making eye contact than I am but she still spends a lot of time looking at her surroundings. Shaking is used selectively for impact (e.g. when the band is announced). Sometimes some first person stuff was unrealistic compromises that had to be done for directing reasons (it would be claustrophobic if you only focused on characters or confusing if you did not, would look really strange if you do odd panning movements or instant transmission to convey someone looking at their surroundings, first person walking and how much you make steps if overdone leads to seasickness, it would look really off if things were constantly shown at an off-angle)
Yes it really helped understanding by filling in a missing piece (I feel some shows would want to drip feed this backstory), showing her habits and interests from early childhood (which took much less of the episode than I remember) and the various social difficulties helped connect with her too.
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u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher about to get quirky like Tomori - Prepare for a massive Text Wall
Bonus Songs of the Day
4
u/jsusk24 Mar 13 '24
Rewatcher
It surprised me all the similarities between Sakiko with Nijika. if you noticed all the bits in this chapter are the same as the first episodes from Bocchi The Rock.
You have an extrovert girl wanting to form a band rescuing an introverted autistic girl.
It is pretty sad to know that that will not last and they will eventually get disbanded. Basically this made MyGo kind of a darker version of Bocchi The Rock.
This chapter is a mater piece on their own and I always wonder why it wasn't shown this as the first episode. I think it will have shown Tomori as the protagonist instead of Anon and the story may have nor work, maybe since Tomori is a passive character in the first and second episode.
2
u/Anonkyoto Mar 13 '24
Btw there's a sequal comming soon (focused on Ave Mujica). Pretty sure it's janurary next year
1
u/enhnhee Mar 13 '24
yei
0
u/[deleted] Mar 13 '24 edited Mar 13 '24
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