EPISODE 6
Finally! After more than a freaking month, Bang Dream is finally back! I’ve been dying for this showdown and it was a pain to have to wait for so long. I have to say, I’m not a fan of the messed up schedule at all. This weird schedule kills the momentum of the show, and it doesn’t help that there’s going to be another long gap just for the last two episodes of the show. For people still not aware, episodes 6 and 7 came out with Pastel Palettes’ single. The rest will go:
- Episodes 8 and 9 comes out March 10th along with Afterglow’s single
- Episodes 10 and 11 comes out March 17th with Hello, Happy World’s single
- After those, we get a three week break and the last two episodes won’t come out until April 7th
That…is very frustrating. I wish the anime had a more normal schedule or that it had actually come out during the Fall season last year and not the movie just so the momentum wouldn’t be affected, but here we are. Huge things are happening in the game, so the fans still have sustenance but this season of the anime has been great so that’s why I’m a little annoyed.
Anyway, the episode! I still can’t stand Chu2 and she hasn’t exactly made herself any better after this episode. Some members of Roselia and RAS are a little unsure about this showdown and I’m glad that some of them are voicing their concerns, namely Sayo. Sayo’s kind of been put into this position before in the game with Yukina’s recklessness and not seeing eye to eye with her with her decisions. From the start she was never really on board with the whole showdown with RAS but with everyone agreeing to it, there wasn’t a choice. But with the plan of making two setlists based on whether they’d perform first or last, along with them still practicing for their main goal: Future World Fes, specifically “Over the Future”. All of this is just on top of the Bang Dream competition, so Roselia has so much on their plate already and Sayo calls out Yukina on it. Even Lisa isn’t quite sure about this whole thing, but sides with Yukina because she seems to determined to do this. I love Lisa, she’s one of my favorites but her one character flaw is that she’s too soft with Yukina, and Sayo sort of taking the lead for a bit reminds me of the Neo-Aspect event in the game. So she…well, actually Hina, takes matters into her own hands and the twins pay a visit to Chu2 after Sayo tells Hina the situation.
The meeting is pretty simple, Sayo telling Chu2 that the competition is pointless and stupid and that it doesn’t necessarily prove which band is better, but of course Chu2 doesn’t agree. This whole thing started because Yukina declined Chu2’s offer of taking her on as their producer, which offended her and made her think that her talents were shot down and now she wants to show off. Basically…a brat. She’s acting like a child, and that’s because she is a child. I am interested in what she whispered to herself at the very end, but I don’t know if that’ll be enough to change my mind about her. Well, maybe. So because she acted like such a gremlin, Sayo changed her mind and is totally ready to give it her all.
There were some talk between the RAS members, namely with Masking, Layer, and Rokka. Layer voiced that even she thought that things were getting a little out of control, but I think she sort of had the same mindset as Layer as taking this opportunity and really pushing herself to see what kind of heights she and the band can reach. They’re still a growing band and this is her time to really shine, so she took this moment to prove herself and she ended up having her best performance yet. Masking thinks the same, but Rokka mainly wants to do her best and hope for the band to really come together. And the huddle before their performance was interesting. Chu2 declined and set herself apart while the rest of the band came together to huddle and do a little cheer. For the most part, Rokka has what she wants but Chu2 deliberately separates herself from them. The girls are totally into it and they’re very close, but I always felt like Chu2 never was except for being close with Pareo. Speaking of, I hope we get a look into their relationship sometime.
We didn’t get to see Roselia perform sadly, but we got to see RAS and it was really cool. I especially loved the colors this time and how energetic it was. In the end, RAS defeats Roselia but it wasn’t like it was a huge victory since the votes were really close. I don’t think the drama between RAS and Roselia will end here though. Yukina had no reaction whatsoever, so I’d love to see her feelings toward this.
Also, HOW does Pareo change her hair?! It can’t be dyed, because she changed her hair real quick to match with Hina’s (and her Pasupare fangirling was adorable). Does Pareo just have like a stash of wigs of various colors in her room or something? This is such a huge mystery, I NEED TO KNOW.
EPISODE 7
We get a very Roselia-centered episode, with the aftermath of their defeat against RAS at the concert. Sayo is the most affected by the loss and in turn overexerts herself with her practice, where she ends up getting a fever and passing out. Lots of revelations this episode for certain characters, and we got to look into how Chu2 recruited Layer into RAS.
Also, one thing I want to say first is how awesome Arisa is. Really, if it weren’t for her I don’t know how well Popipa would be doing. The girls are too complacent and our lovable tsundere queen is the only one to really pay attention and think up a solution for the band. I know the reason why they want to perform at Galaxy, but seeing how small the venue is compared to Galaxy and Dub, the numbers really are against them. Let’s see how they’ll do in the future.
There were lots of great interactions this episode between the bands, my favorite being between Lisa and Layer, though Masking seamlessly joining the first-year trio was also great. It’s great seeing them get along, and Masking calling Ako cute again gives me a good laugh. Also, my favorite thing about Ako getting into chuuni mode is that the lights dim and there’s a light glow around her, I love it. Anyway, Lisa and Layer end up bumping into each other at the music store when they both reach out to buy the same bass strings. They sit down to have a chat and they compliment each other on their performances, but Layer is especially grateful to Roselia for sharing the same stage as them. It really was able to push not just her, but the whole band, to go above and beyond and really let loose. Layer is especially grateful since this is something that she’s always wanted to do. She recounts the time Chu2 recruited her randomly as she finished a session with a band she was a temp with. Chu2 was very adamant in recruiting her, saying she’s the only one with her vocals to sing her songs. Someone was able to see her full potential and this was a step in forming RAS. Just like Masking, and Rokka, and probably Pareo as well, Chu2 helped Layer achieve something she’s always wanted, seizing this opportunity for herself. They really have become a pretty amazing band in such a short time, and that is pretty impressive. If only Chu2 were more likeable… Anyway, I thought it was nice that these two shared this moment together. They’re similar in some ways, such as learning to play the bass to form a band with their childhood friend, and also their personalities. The concert wasn’t just a learning experience for Layer, but it was a good experience for Roselia, even if it did cause some strife for a member.
After seeing the sticker board from the concert by Afterglow, the girls of Roselia really saw how strong and supportive their fanbase really is. But this only doubled down on Sayo’s guilt for their performance. Overexerting herself caused for her to fall ill and lose some practice time, as well as worrying the girls of Roselia. They all decide to visit and it’s adorable as usual, but Yukina shares some words with Sayo. The joint concert to her was a good opportunity for Roselia to learn from, even though they lost. They were able to get a good promotional push thanks to Chu2, but this joint concert led them to branch out and learn from different bands. RAS, who does things differently from them, who act differently, with differing personalities and mindsets. Using this experience and learning from it would just add to Roselia’s growth and make them even stronger, even if there was a loss. Yukina also took this moment to appreciate the fans at “Over the Future”, since they’re also a big part of Roselia as well. There were some tiny lows, but this whole concert was a pretty good opportunity for both bands, and for some band members in particular. It was able to make them grow and look at things a little differently so things ended up better than expected.
That wraps things up with RAS vs. Roselia, which was pretty entertaining. Lisa and Sayo are a couple of my favorites so it was nice seeing them get lots of significant screentime, and seeing Sayo smile always makes my heart scream. Next episode looks like a silly episode – the hot springs episode. It looks like Pastel Palettes and Hello Happy will join in, because we’ve hardly seen them at all (except for Hina). It’ll be a nice fanservice episode for sure, but it’ll be exciting to get back to the Bang Dream competition soon, and how Popipa will boost their numbers.
