The second season of BanG Dream!.
It's a new school year and Kasumi, Arisa, Saaya, Tae, and Rimi are thrilled to finally be second-year
students. Even more exciting than becoming upperclassmen, however, is the fun they have while
performing in their band Poppin' Party… until things get out of control when the girls publicly
announce that they're going to do their own concert before they've really studied the issue.
Suddenly they're committed to doing something that's a lot more difficult than it seemed, and the
pressure is doubled since their musical rivals in Roselia, who've also announced a live concert, are
way ahead of them in planning! But you can't stop the music, and with a little hard work and help from
other groups and some talented newcomers, Poppin' Party fever will soon be popping up all over!
(Source: Sentai Filmworks)
As my favourite series, I have to talk about the good parts, as well as the meh ones. So, of course I'd do one for s2 as well, which improves on s1 in basically every aspect~ And don't you *dare* say "Oh but it's full CGI not watching/how could it be prettier" – I *literally* could not tell it was 3D first time I watched it and honestly still can't, except in certain circumstances. And also... it's not like you could do much worse than s1's art/animation, putting aside the fact that SANZIGEN is basically one of two studios I'm aware of whose full CGI works are well-liked. This season is a *bit* choppy, looking back at it, but it really is a vast improvement on s1~ __Music:__ With Roselia *finally* doing some songs for this ~~I pretend the OVA doesn't exist~~ it's *obvious* the music quality goes up~ But it isn't even just Roselia's and Afterglow's songs that up the quality. Popipa has some far better songs this season, too – in fact two of my top three songs of theirs are from this season~ (I'll talk about this a bit later) The quantity of inserts also goes up, to an honestly incredibly high level. While s1 failed drastically at quantity and slightly at quality, s2 has *very* high quantity and generally high quality~ When it comes to insert quality/quantity, you can't have too much of either, unless it sacrifices the other too much, which, as I've stated, this doesn't~ The openings are both really great. Kizuna Music is a really catchy and brilliant song, one of Popipa's best, and BRAVE JEWEL is Roselia. Only standard for Roselia, but nonetheless Roselia~ The endings though... Jumpin' is kinda... awful. And Safe and Sound... *sigh* as much as I like Roselia, their endings are among their worst songs for me. This is a better ending of theirs, but it's just an "alright" song... Also on the inserts... PasuPare's are forgettable and Hello Happy plays perhaps the most techno song of the entire *series* in their focus episode... But meh. Minor issues. __Characters:__ I mentioned in my s1 review how there is often a problem in music anime, where there's a huge cast with little-to-no focus on 90% of them and how the small cast let s1 mostly avoid that. Now, with a cast about *six times* the size of s1, some may expect it to fall into that problem... But no. It doesn't~ Each of the four initial bands (obviously excluding Poppin'Party) gets an episode dedicated to them fairly early. So does the one lone character with lots of relevance. And the other band that shows up... they don't really need the focus as far as this season is concerned, as only two of them are truly relevant. And they, well... get the focus they deserve. Sure, the first episode is a bit sudden with introducing *everyone* and it can feel awkward, especially with how PoPiPa's members have seemingly developed some strong connections with these new characters off-screen. But it does introduce them well overall, through those aforementioned focus episodes. Also it doesn't try to make them *all* super important or waste precious time having them *all* help out somewhere when they don't need to or anything like that. I won't be going through the characters one-by-one like I usually do because that will take too long. What's important, is that the characters get the right amount of focus. The ones who don't contribute much to the plot right now have one episode in case they're needed later. Those who are highly important get the necessary amount of development alongside the drama. __Story:__ As I mentioned earlier, the first episode starts off awkwardly. And also, the focus episodes of the bands can feel kinda pointless, especially episodes 4 and 5... but I think "better to have and not need" applies here, right? It's best to develop the bands as soon as possible, in case they become relevant later and there's not enough time to properly introduce them again. But the drama itself... yeah I mentioned in my s1 review music anime often seem to take half the season for drama. This season also follows that pattern. The other band, that wasn't part of the initial five of the project, gets first referred to as a band in ep7. This stirs up the drama, as a plot thread alongside the cultural festival. Said cultural festival also being the first anniversary performance of Popipa. Episodes 9 and 11 are full of emotions and the climax of the story this season~ The drama here is simple, but very powerful. In other words, it's really good~ It... actually falls under something which I claimed to be a favoured trope of mine in music anime, though I didn't actually think of this instance when I said that. Anyway, it is definitely a plot point that gives really good drama...~ The song that was written in ep11, at the climax of the drama and emotions, is also just one of Popipa's best songs~ __Overall:__ As I said in the synopsis, this is just much funnier and more emotional. I said s1 was only a fraction of what it could have been and s2 proves why. The music quality, animation quality, the plot, the comedy... it's all so much better in this season~ While there are couple tiny bits of badly timed comedy that drag down the drama a *tiny* bit, that barely makes a difference. It still strikes the right emotions only a couple seconds later. That's also still better than a bunch completely unfunny, though perhaps better timed, jokes, right?
Season two of Bandori is a significant improvement over the first season on all fronts. Not only does season two feel like a music anime, but more importantly, the drama is much better. The studio and director change also simply made the show a much more enjoyable experience, whether with the story flowing more naturally and feeling much more coherent, better music, more expressive and fluid character animation, and more dynamic camera shots, specifically during the band performances to name a few of the improvements. The writing is the most noteworthy contributor as to why season two is a vast improvement over season one, both for the overarching story and the characters. The drama is particularly an area of note, as it was built up gradually and had consequences for the characters involved, which allowed the emotional moments to be more impactful. The comedy was also a bit better, as it did not come across as *forced* or *random* compared to the previous season. As for the characters, while PoPiPa remains the story's focus, many new characters are also introduced in season two. Although, as the story progressed, some bands and characters got more screen time than others, for the most part, everyone got a decent amount of attention. As mentioned, five other bands are part of the story for season two. Four of the bands are introduced quickly within the first episode, showcasing not only their musical styles but also their band and character dynamics. It is noteworthy that PoPiPa have established relationships with many of the new bands, despite Roselia being the only band of the four that showed up in the previous season or the OVA. Close to a year has passed since the last season, though, so new relationships being formed does make sense, but it nonetheless comes across as a bit awkward due to the vast number of new characters. Regardless, the other bands do get their own episodes to flesh them out, with PoPiPa still being a core aspect for these episodes, progressing their goal(s) further as a band too. The only exception is the Pastel Palettes episode, which is also the season's weakest episode. PoPiPa being essentially nonexistent in the episode is partially the reason, but it was also the most melodramatic episode of the season—causing the episode to ultimately feel a bit out of place. While not perfect, the addition of the other bands immensely helped make Bandori feel like a world that is *alive*. The world of Bandori doesn't revolve around PoPiPa, as the other bands and characters all have their own dreams, values, and backgrounds. As for the members of PoPiPa, they are also much more enjoyable in season two. PoPiPa having a clear goal established early on to work towards definitely helps. However, more importantly, the characters have other responsibilities that do not revolve around the band. Arisa is a student council member, Saaya continues to help at her family's bakery, Rimi has cram school, and Tae works various jobs. Giving the characters these responsibilities and having them frequently brought up throughout the season helps add a level of realism and relatability to the characters. The realistic subtly also helps set the stage for the major drama plot points later in the season, as their other responsibilities sometimes interfere with their band activities. Letting the drama gradually build up eventually leads to the highlight of season two with episode nine, as it encapsulates the best aspects of season two. Specifically, it showcases the improvement in writing and directing, with it centering around Tae wanting to join a second band. A major reason as to why this episode worked so well is the juxtaposition created between the cultural festivals in season one and season two. Because of this, it not only subverts expectations but also has actual consequences for PoPiPa and affects others involved with the cultural festival. Friends and other bands went out of their way to help out PoPiPa, some even basically humiliating themselves. The ending of the episode also perfectly captures Bandori feeling like an *alive* world, as while the members of PoPiPa are alone in the auditorium upset, the rest of the student body is outside celebrating the successful festival, which again hits home with the excellent juxtaposition of this episode. One of the biggest issues with season one was that the drama was not given time to develop and had little to no impact on the story after its resolution. So, giving the drama in season two time to build up allowed it to flow naturally and made the characters' reactions feel realistic. It also highlighted the lingering issues PoPiPa have yet to grow out of, such as Tae's difficulty expressing herself combined with her strong desire to grow as a guitarist, causing her actions to arguably come across as selfish, as well as Kasumi's lack of leadership and Saaya's reluctance to speak up. Kasumi, however, is specifically notable to point out, as she has definitely grown a lot as a character in season two. But she still very much views the world through rose-tinted glasses, as she wrongfully assumes things will work out. The fact she didn't form any plans and even ran off to get Tae instead of acting like a leader for the band highlights this perfectly. However, that is not to say it's bad writing, as it was very much in character for Kasumi, as her optimism can blind her at times. Episode nine, along with episode 11, also encapsulates Kasumi and Tae as the story's central focus for PoPiPa for season two. This created an interesting dichotomy, as their character traits are basically polar opposites. Although, it is a shame that the other members, specifically Arisa and Rimi, were a bit neglected compared to the other three members, as even Saaya had some character growth. Additionally, unlike in season one, there is also somewhat of an antagonist for season two. However, she is the least enjoyable part of the season, as she is a bit insufferable as a character. Her attitude is believable, considering she is seemingly rich, talented, and young, which makes her arrogance not surprising. Although, that does not necessarily make her any less insufferable. Despite being the catalyst of the drama in the story though, she was not necessarily the *focus* of the drama. Allowing the drama to focus on the interpersonal relationships of PoPiPa and for the characters to grow individually, such as Kasumi stepping up as a leader, Tae realizing what is important to her, and Saaya acknowledging her faults, again demonstrates the improved writing. All in all, while there are some stumbles throughout the story, season two is a vast improvement as it gives the story time to gradually build up, which also greatly benefits the characters. Likewise, the addition of 25+ characters did not hinder PoPiPa's growth as a band and, for the most part, the characters. In fact, the addition of the bands helped PoPiPa grow as a band, whether it was with HaroHapi's absurdity to show that anything is possible or Roselia to inspire them to push themselves. Not only did season two actually feel like a music anime, but the music was significantly better and had a variety of styles, thanks to the other bands. Even the OP and EDs were better musically and visually, as well as the insert songs from the various bands. Additionally, SANZIGEN, being one of the best CGI studios, helped make the characters more expressive, and the CGI animation, in general, was more fluid and led to some great sequences with creative and dynamic camera shots during the live performances.