Issuu

A BEGGINERâ€™S GUIDE TO

INTRO BanG Dream! (or Bandori! for short) is a Japanese multimedia project developed by Bushiroad. BanG Dream! has released music CD's, anime music videos, live concert videos, manga adaptions, games, card games and an anime series. Bushiroad launched the project in January 2015. Poppin'Party was formed in February 2015. With the creation of the mobile game, four other bands were created namely Afterglow, Pastel*Palettes, Roselia, and Hello, Happy World!. An all-girl band project, THE THIRD, was announced in January of 2018 and is not a part of the anime or mobile game. An all-male band project, Argonavis, was announced in May of 2018. This project exists in a separate universe, and was announced to not going to have any interaction with the Girls Band Party universe.

INFOGRAPHIC Get to know a little about the history of mobile games!

THE GAME

The mobile rhythm game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party is developed by Craft Egg and published by Bushiroad’s Bushimo for Android and iOS platforms. It was ﬁrst released in Japan on March 16, 2017 while the global version was released on April 4, 2018. The setting of the game mainly conforms to the world view of

BanG Dream! after the ﬁrst season of the TV series. In addition to the main band Poppin’ Party, new original, playable bands—Afterglow, Pastel*Palettes, Roselia, and Hello, Happy World!—are added. The main story of the game puts players in the role of a self-named worker at the

CiRCLE live house, who aids Poppin’ Party in recruiting girl bands for an event. The game also features multiple original stories for the individual bands, most of which explore the backstories of the bands and their members. The game has the main characters voiced and the sprites have 2.5D movement using the Live2D technology.

meet the band! The game’s goal is simple: clear songs and make high scores! Unlock more songs with music drops, obtained by clearing stories. You do this with collecting girls from 5 different bands, leveling them and training them with jewels from live shows to unlock their full potential! Score depends on a multitude of things, such as band equipment and food just to name a few. Form teams of bands collected with stars, and save up for rare gachas of your favorite members. You can also partake in several events to collect exclusive cards, stickers, and other rewards. Be sure to take note of the band composition, attribute of your cards (Powerful, Happy, Cool and Pure), and your displayed collectibles!

THE GAME gameplay BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! is a free to play rhythm game which features two modes, Story mode and Live mode, and the members of the ﬁve main bands: Poppin’Party, Roselia, Afterglow, Pastel*Palettes, and Hello, Happy World!. lives There are two types of Live modes for players to choose from: Free Live and Multi Live. There are a total of seven note types: Simply tapping the icon, tapping and holding down the icon, flicking a note in any direction, tapping two icons simultaneously, tapping and sliding a certain direction, and tapping a golden note which will activate one of your

member’s skill. The players are tasked to tap circles properly according to the rhythm and type of note in order to receive score. When you miss a lot of them, the game will fail, and you will not receive rewards. Depending on the player’s results, they will be able to receive rewards like practice tickets or gems to use for training and reading cards.

free live — In Free Live, players are free to choose to play songs from the current discography without the limit of an in-game regenerating energy system, although the game does have in-game regenerating boosts. multi live — In Multi Live, players are put in teams with other randomly chosen players in real time where they play a Live together for the highest possible score. Instead of only getting your score, the total of all scores are put together. To join a Multi Live, you can either create your own or enter someone else’s room. There are four options for rooms: Anyone, Regular, Veteran and Master. Regular requires a minimum of 70,000 Band Power. Veteran requires a minimum of 120,000 Band Power. Master requires a minimum of 180,000 Band Power.

THE BANDS

Poppin’Party, abbreviated to PoPiPa, is an all-girl band in the BanG Dream! franchise. The group consists of ﬁve members, namely Toyama Kasumi on guitar and vocals, Hanazono Tae on lead guitar, Ushigome Rimi on bass, Yamabuki Saaya on drums and Ichigaya Arisa on keyboard and tambourine. They debuted with the song Yes! BanG Dream!. A girl band always searching for that sparkling, heart-pounding beat, based on Kasumi’s (Gt. & Vo.) childhood observation of the stars shining in the night sky. The other four members are music-lover Tae (Gt.), shy but conﬁdent girl Rimi (Ba.), kind and family-oriented Saaya (Dr.), and constant contrarian Arisa (Key.). They have band practice in Arisa’s basement, and what they lack in skill and experience, they more than make up for in gusto.

THE BANDS Toyama Kasumi Toyama Kasumi is the main protagonist of the BanG Dream! franchise. She is a ﬁrst-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School and is the vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Poppin’Party. Cheerful and always in high spirits, Kasumi

is a playful, active positive girl that always ﬁnds something to be excited about. She loves to tease Ichigaya Arisa, but given her kind personality, it’s hard to tell if she is deliberately trying to provoke her or if she’s oblivious.

Ushigome Rimi Ushigome Rimi is a ﬁrst-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School and is the bassist of Poppin’Party. The other band members call her Rimi-rin. Rimi is a shy and reserved girl who admires

Hanazono Tae Hanazono Tae is a ﬁrst-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School and the lead guitarist of Poppin’Party. The other members call her O-Tae.

A natural airhead who lives at her own pace, Tae sometimes surprises the people around her with her unexpected moves and she really loves rabbits.

her older sister and often gushes over her. She is cute and sweet-natured, and often blushes when flustered, but at times can be very determined and strong as well. A fan of Seta Kaoru.

THE BANDS Yamabuki Saaya Yamabuki Saaya is a ﬁrstyear student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School and is the drummer of Poppin’Party. She became good friends with Kasumi during the high school entrance ceremony, and since then they often eat lunch together.

A kind, hardworking person who cares deeply about her friends, Saaya often lends an ear to Kasumi and Rimi. She is generally level-headed and easygoing, and is like an ‘older sister’ to the other girls, always willing to help them out in hard times.

Ichigaya Arisa Ichigaya Arisa is a ﬁrst-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School and the keyboardist of Poppin’Party. Arisa is an introvert whose hobbies include tending for bonsai plants and internet surﬁng. Even though she’s basically a shut-in and admits being lazy by nature, she still manages to achieve excellent results in school. She is quite moody and

grumpy, and because of her sharp tongue, often gets into arguments with others (especially Kasumi). Usually, however, this is because she is unable to be honest with herself. It was shown that in the past that Arisa was a lonely type. Due to her grounded personality, the other members of the band often tease her on friendly terms, though it doesn’t stop her from getting frustrated.

THE BANDS

Afterglow is an all-girl band in the BanG Dream! franchise. The group consists of ﬁve members, namely Mitake Ran on guitar and vocals, Aoba Moca on guitar, Uehara Himari on bass, Udagawa Tomoe on drums, and Hazawa Tsugumi on keyboard. They debuted with the song That Is How I Roll!. A girl band made up of 5 childhood friends. When Ran (Vo.) moved to a different class, the girls made a band so they could still see each other. Now in high school, they love playing in their band, practicing after school and playing live shows. They get along famously and almost never ﬁght. Though they’re still fairly inexperienced, they gained popularity for their powerful performances and strong vocals.

THE BANDS Mitake Ran Mitake Ran is a ﬁrst-year student at Haneoka Girls’ High School and a member of Afterglow. She considers Minato Yukina somewhat of a rival. Ran has an aloof nature, which hides her loneliness from other people. Deep down, she wishes to become closer to others, but can be socially awkward and has

a tendency to trip over her words. She can be easily flustered and is somewhat hot-blooded. She tens to keep her problems to herself and brushes off help from others, but while she may appear cold or detached, the warmer side to her is best seen in her quiet fondness towards her friends, primarily the other members of Afterglow.

Aoba Moca Aoba Moca is a ﬁrst-year student at Haneoka Girls’ High School and is a member of Afterglow. She has a sleepy demeanor and speaks with a slow, monotone voice, but is surprisingly sly at times. She is playful and often teases others to the point of hav-

ing to be told by others to stop. Being fairly conﬁdent and sure of herself, she often showcases and comments on her own charms, passing off things like having breadcrumbs on her face as “part of her cuteness”. Though while relaxed in most cases, her worries make her transparent.

THE BANDS Uehara Himari Uehara Himari is a ﬁrst-year student at Haneoka Girls’ High School and is the leader and bassist of Afterglow. Himari is cheerful, good-natured, and is the band co-

ordinator. She struggles to read the mood of a situation, which means she sometimes does things that have no effect. She’s also weak to tear-jerkers and sentimental episodes.

Udagawa Tomoe Udagawa Tomoe is a ﬁrstyear student at Haneoka Girls’ High School and is a member of Afterglow. She is the older sister of Udagawa Ako. Tomoe is a fairly relaxed person, who never says anything bad about other people or holds grudges against

Hazawa Tsugumi Hazawa Tsugumi is a ﬁrstyear student at Haneoka Girls’ High School and is a member of Afterglow. Tsugumi views herself as the most normal girl in the band. However, she is a very hardworking and optimis-

tic person who rarely gets discouraged. She is the one who also pushes the band to do and try different challenges - for example, entering the Girls Jam in Afterglow’s band story, and Tsugumi was even the one behind the girls’ idea to start a band.

them. She is idolized for her cool and mature way of handling things. Despite her punk look, she is very caring towards others and is always there to lend support or a shoulder to cry on. While she is unable to understand Ako’s behavior at times, she loves her sister and supports her.

THE BANDS

Pastel*Palettes, with a shorthand of PasuPare, is an all-girl band in the BanG Dream! franchise. The group consists of five members, namely Maruyama Aya on vocals, Hikawa Hina on guitar, Shirasagi Chisato on bass, Yamato Maya on drums and Wakamiya Eve on keyboard. They debuted with the song Shuwarin*Drea~min. An idol band formed by a talent agency. The band is made up of Aya (Vo.), who has spent huge amounts of time training for her debut; celebrity and child actor Chisato (Ba.), and modeling sensation Eve (Key.). They were later joined by Hina (Gt.), who passed the band’s auditions and then studio musician Maya (Dr.). The five of them are using this experience to bolster their very own definition of an “idol” and what is it to be one.

THE BANDS Maruyama Aya Maruyama Aya is a second-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School and is the lead singer of Pastel*Palettes. She also works part-time at the fast food store. On the outside, Aya is very cheery, high-spirited, and bubbly. She is also very nice and has always been in love with idols. She is unselﬁsh in her pursuits, helping others

Hikawa Hina Hikawa Hina is a second-year student at Haneoka Girls’ High School and is the guitarist of Pastel*Palettes. She is the younger, more brighteyed twin of Hikawa Sayo. A natural genius with an impeccable memory, Hina can acquire and master new skills very quickly, often even with just one attempt. She is very cheerful and carefree,

but her relaxed mindset also makes her unable to understand other people’s emotions. With this, Hina is also very candid, always being honest and sure of both herself and her actions. Unlike Sayo, who dislikes being a twin, Hina embraces it. She is very supportive of her sister and loves her regardless of how she treats her.

for the sake of being kind. Deep down, however, she is a sensitive girl who suffers from a complex stemming from her desire to be noticed. Adding to this, she does not wear her disguise outside because she wants to get noticed, and even looks up constantly what people think of her on the internet. She gets worked up easily and tends to cry a lot, thus her improvisation skills are poor.

THE BANDS Shirasagi Chisato Shirasagi Chisato is a second-year student and is a member of Pastel*Palettes. She is polite and very responsible. Prior to joining Pastel*Palettes, she was a child actress. Chisato is normally very polite and friendly, and gets along with others fairly well.

However, she also has a surprisingly blunt side to her personality, and can come across as cold or condescending. This personality is not always provoked, though she tends to be more blunt when she is annoyed or around Kaoru, as she does not appreciate her dramatic personality.

Yamato Maya Yamato Maya is a second-year student at Haneoka Girls’ High School and is a member of Pastel*Palettes. A tomboy who appears awkward around people, Maya isn’t very social and does not

take care of her hair and skin, and used to be a bit socially withdrawn prior to becoming a drummer. Around musical equipment, however, she becomes ecstatic and is impossible to stop when talking about her beloved hobby.

Wakamiya Eve Wakamiya Eve is a ﬁrstyear student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School and a member of Pastel*Palettes. Eve is half-Japanese, half-Finnish, hailing from Finland and ﬁnds Japanese culture exciting, often citing bushido, the code of Japanese warriors.

A bright girl who tackles everything standing in her path full throttle. She is enthusiastic and chipper, eager to learn all that she can about Japan. At times her thought process can be strange, and when going on about Bushido she comes off as humorous.

THE BANDS

Roselia is an all-girl band in the BanG Dream! franchise. The group consists of ďŹ ve members, namely Minato Yukina on vocals, Hikawa Sayo on guitar, Udagawa Ako on drums, Shirokane Rinko on keyboard, and Imai Lisa on bass. They debuted with the song BLACK SHOUT. A popular gothic J-Rock band that is recognized at a near-professional level and are catching the eye of the music industry, and scouters. A highly talented band. With their skilled performances and pro-level vocals, they are a highly praised group. Vocalist Yukina started the band with a special certain goal in mind. The other members are the like-minded Sayo (Gt.), childhood friend Lisa (Ba.), youngest and most talented Ako (Dr.), and the award-winning Rinko (Key.). They play at a well-known live house and hope someday to make it to the big time.

THE BANDS Minato Yukina Minato Yukina is a second-year student at Haneoka Girls’ High School and is the cold and ﬁerce leader of Roselia. She is next-door neighbors with Imai Lisa, who is also her childhood friend, and considers Mitake Ran somewhat of a rival. Yukina has a cold-blooded and cut-throat attitude to-

wards reaching her goals, cutting down any obstacles in her path. She expects nothing less than perfect and takes practice very seriously. Because of this, she has no qualms with chiding or insulting someone if she feels they are underperforming. She is openly dismissive and unkind to people she deems below her standards.

Hikawa Sayo Hikawa Sayo is a second-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School and a member of Roselia. She is the older, more serious twin of Hikawa Hina. A serious and fussy girl, Sayo can come off as somewhat cold in nature. She would never cut corners or

be shoddy about things; because of that, she lives her life too seriously for her own good. In comparison to her sister Hina, Sayo is fairly stiff and sharp, and is highly stubborn when trying to do what she believes is best for others. Like Yukina, she is prone to making snide or rude remarks.

THE BANDS Imai Lisa Imai Lisa is a second-year student at Haneoka Girls’ High School and is a member of Roselia. Despite her appearance, Lisa acts as the mediator in tense situations, and takes care of everyone well. It’s because

of her that Roselia is able to continue to stick together despite the contrasting members personalities and disagreements at times. Lisa is very caring in nature, and is able to notice when a friend is troubled, usually being the ﬁrst to try and help.

Udagawa Ako Udagawa Ako is a third-year student in the middle school branch of Haneoka Girls’ High School and is a member of Roselia. Ako has chuunibyou tendencies, and has illusions of

Shirokane Rinko Shirokane Rinko is a second-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School. She is very shy, and is at ﬁrst scared of the idea of performing in a live concert. Socially awkward, Rinko is

a shy and a social girl who was initially too frightened to speak in front of others, let alone perform before them. She has a tendency to stammer when speaking, and usually keeps quiet until she feels comfortable.

grandeur and magical powers. She is very cheery and noisy, and, despite only being two years younger than the other band members, is treated like the kid sister by the other characters due to her childlike personality.

THE BANDS

Hello, Happy World!, often shorthanded to HaroHapi, is an all-girls band in the BanG Dream! franchise. The group consists of ﬁve members, namely Tsurumaki Kokoro on vocals, Seta Kaoru on guitar, Kitazawa Hagumi on bass, Matsubara Kanon on drums, and Okusawa Misaki on DJ. They debuted with the song Egao no Orchestra!. A band formed on the concept of “Making the world smile.” The super optimist and crazy rich Kokoro (Vo.), the beautiful and ever-popular Kaoru (Gt.), sporty Hagumi (Ba.), the kind-hearted and girly Kanon (Dr.), and calm, cool and collected Misaki (DJ) make up this band. They often perform at pre-schools and children’s hospitals, making them popular with the youngsters.

THE BANDS Tsurumaki Kokoro Tsurumaki Kokoro is a happy-go-lucky ﬁrst-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School and is a member of Hello, Happy World! Her goal in life is to make the world smile. Her family is super rich and lives in one of the biggest houses around the area.

Seta Kaoru Seta Kaoru is a second-year student at Haneoka Girls’ High School and the guitarist of Hello, Happy World!. She is very popular with ladies, whom she dubs her “little kittens”. A flamboyant actress, Kaoru has an extravagant personality. She is rather pretentious and bombastic, having a tendency to use impressive

sounding words to the point of sounding foreign and hard to understand. She sees herself as a prince, and sees other girls as the princess while quoting Shakespeare (sometimes incorrectly). She appears highly flirtatious, and is very popular among other girls, not only for her passionate mannerisms, but because she is also surprisingly reliable.

An idealistic and charismatic young girl coming from a wealthy family, Kokoro dreams of making the entire world smile from music. She effortlessly attracts others to her due to her bright and bubbly nature, and often manages to get them swept up into her easy-going pace.

THE BANDS Kitazawa Hagumi Kitazawa Hagumi is an energetic ﬁrst-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School and is a member of Hello, Happy World!. Lively and passionate for sports, Hagumi is known for her sunny disposition

and energetic nature. She is cheery and can be a bit of a show-off, but she usually doesn’t take things too far. Despite her tomboyish personality, Hagumi has an afﬁnity for cute things and has a complex over boyish appearance.

Matsubara Kanon Matsubara Kanon is a second-year student and was the ﬁrst to be roped in by Kokoro to become a member of Hello, Happy World!. Sensible and responsible, Kanon is one of the members within Hello, Happy World!

Okusawa Misaki Okusawa Misaki is a reluctant member of Hello, Happy World!. Under the “guise” of the mascot character Michelle, she is the DJ for the band; as Misaki, she is the composer and Michelle’s “agent”. She is a ﬁrst-year student at Hana-

sakigawa Girls’ High School. Despite her gentle appearance, Misaki is known to reply sarcastically and struggle with the other girls in her band, with the exception of Kanon, who she considers the only other reasonable member.

that manages to keep the band running smoothly, although she is likely to space out and start thinking about jellyﬁsh. She is fairly shy and easily flustered, and can become a nervous wreck at the drop of a hat and start crying if she feels overwhelmed.

ENDING NOTES summing up the whole series... A total of 25 girls divided into 5 bands (Poppin’ Party, Afterglow, Pastel*Palettes, Roselia and Hello, Happy World) have each released singles and some are albums including original and cover songs. The voice actresses of Poppin’ Party and Roselia are known to play their respective characters’ instruments during their live concerts, while Afterglow, Pastel*Palettes and Hello, Happy World! are limited to providing vocals; the instruments part in their bands are ﬁlled by stand-in band, Raise A Suilen (formerly known as The Third (Kari)). BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! is a rhythm game released for iOS and Android, based on the BanG Dream! franchise. It was published by

Bushiroad and Craft Egg and was released on March 16th, 2017 for iOS and Android devices. An English version of the game was announced in September of 2017, and was released on April 4, 2018. An anime television adaptation animated by Issen and Xebec aired from January 21, 2017 to April 22, 2017 on Tokyo MX. The anime has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks. It was streamed on the Anime Network and by Crunchyroll. The anime ran for 13 episodes and was released across seven BD/DVD volumes. The opening theme of the ﬁrst season is “Tokimeki Experience!”, with the ending theme being “Sparkling Dreaming ~Sing Girls~”, both performed by Pop-

pin’Party. A second season produced by Sanzigen will premiere in January 2019, with Poppin’Party performing the ﬁrst opening theme “Kizuna Music”, and Roselia performing “BRAVE JEWEL”. A third season also by Sanzigen was also announced, which will premiere in October 2019. A manga series titled BanG Dream!: Star Beat, written by Aya Ishida, began serialization in Bushiroad’s Monthly Bushiroad in January 2015. A second manga series by Mami Kashiwabara began serialization in 2016, also in Monthly Bushiroad. A third manga series by Hakuto Shiroi also began serialization in 2016 in ASCII Media Works’s seinen manga magazine Dengeki G’s Comic.