How Good Was Classic Bandori Really? - BanG Dream! Season 1 Rewatch Reaction

Nostalgia can be a powerful but deceptive force. After watching Ave Mujica, I found myself yearning for the "good old days" of BanG Dream!, the musical idol franchise that captivated fans worldwide in 2017. But this begs the question: how good was classic Bandori really? Does the original anime that launched the phenomenon actually hold up nearly a decade later, or are my memories tinted by rose-colored glasses?

Only one way to find out: watch it back and chronicle my thoughts episode-by-episode, just like I did for MyGO and Ave Mujica. Join me as I revisit the origins of Poppin'Party and rediscover the "good old days" of BanG Dream! season 1, with fresh eyes and a decade of perspective.

Episode 1

We are quickly introduced to our stereotypical upbeat idol anime protagonist, Kasumi Toyama, who is excited for her first day of high school in stereotypical upbeat idol anime protagonist fashion. After finishing her own preparations, she runs to wake up the stereotypical upbeat idol anime protagonist's sister, Asuka. In stereotypical upbeat idol anime protagonist's sister fashion, she is definitely an underrated girl. That's starting to become a bit of a mouthful.

Asuka draws attention to Kasumi's trademark cat ear hairstyle. A little known fact that isn't ever mentioned in the anime is that this is apparently meant to be emulating a star, not a cat. The more you know.

After a brief montage of Kasumi's walk to school, she runs into one of her classmates, Saya Yamabuki, as well as a brief cameo of another important character that we'll meet later. Kasumi and Saya hit it off surprisingly well before the beginning of the entrance ceremony, featuring a speech by student council president Nanana Wanibe. Remember her for later as well. The ceremony is meant to include a speech from the new first-year student council representative, Arisa Ichigaya, but she doesn't show up. According to Saya, this is not unusual behavior for Arisa.

As classes start, Saya nearly runs into the final cameo of our main five characters. Once again, we'll properly meet her later.

A common theme of this season is Kasumi's search for the "star beat". It's mentioned in the intro, and it's mentioned again when Kasumi does her self-introduction to the class here. We'll touch on it properly in a moment, but I thought it needed to be called out here since it was so prominent.

From here, we get a montage of Kasumi's club expeditions. Over the first few days of classes, Kasumi tries out basically every club Hanasakigawa has to offer, drifting between them and never committing to any of them. You have to wonder if, in another timeline, Kasumi would have continued this drifting for her entire high school life, never really finding the thing she truly enjoys doing.

Fortunately, this is not that timeline, but more on that in a moment.

We get a brief scene of Kasumi and Asuka, with Kasumi explaining the origin of the "star beat". On a camping trip, Kasumi and Asuka snuck away from the rest of the group and found a clearing with an incredible view of the stars. What exactly the "star beat" that Kasumi felt is remains unclear, with Asuka suggesting that it was probably their own heartbeats. Whatever it was, it left a profound impact on Kasumi, and she desperately wants to experience it again. What's clear, however, is that none of Hanasakigawa's clubs have given her the sensation that she's searching for.

After an afternoon of hanging out with friends after class, Kasumi stumbles upon Yamabuki Bakery, with Saya working behind the counter. Saya provides some basic encouragement, cheering Kasumi on in her attempt to find a club.

On the way home, Kasumi misses a green light and, on a whim, decides to take a different path home. On the way, she comes across a star sticker on the ground. The knock-on effect of this one sticker is incredible when you think about it. In a way, it's responsible for events as far into the future as the events of Ave Mujica. I can't explain without spoiling things well into the future, so hold that thought for a while.

Regardless, there are more stickers where that first one came from, and Kasumi begins following the trail. Eventually, they lead her to a pawn shop. The Sentai subtitles call it "Shooting Stars", but the gacha just calls it "Ryuseido".

Kasumi wanders behind the pawn shop and into a storage shed, where she spots a case with two large star stickers on it. While peeking, she's caught by Arisa Ichigaya, who mistakes her for a burglar. Kasumi's school uniform gives her away as a Hanasakigawa student. Arisa lets slip that the case houses a guitar, and Kasumi insists on seeing it.

Inside the case is a star-shaped guitar, something that definitely catches Kasumi's interest. With the duty fulfilled, Arisa tries to take back the guitar and kick Kasumi out, suggesting that she visit a live house if she wants to play a guitar. She manages to get herself dragged into Kasumi's search for a live house, eventually bringing them to one known as "SPACE".

When Kasumi runs in and asks to play guitar, the owner of the live house, who is nameless at this point but will later be dubbed "Shifune Tsuzuki", comes out to meet them. The cast always refers to her as "Owner" even after she receives a name, so I'll do the same.

While the Owner firmly denies Kasumi's request, she does suggest they watch a performance before they go. Once the performance starts, Kasumi is enamored.

We get some foreshadowing of future events throughout the performance, but I'd like to avoid slipping into spoiler territory, so just assume that every visual you see is going to be important later.

Regardless, Kasumi has finally found the "star beat" again, and the plot is ready to kick into gear.

Episode 2

Picking up right where we left off, Arisa apparently feels something from watching the performance as well, although she's still caught off-guard by Kasumi's next request.

"Let's form a band!"

Arisa is not at all on-board, but Kasumi is oddly persistent when it comes to making friends with Arisa, waking her up in the morning and eating breakfast in her house.

At school, Kasumi dumps everything she experienced the night before onto Saya and invites her to join the band. While Saya refuses, she's happy that Kasumi seems to have found her "star beat" at last.

Kasumi tries to invite herself to eat lunch with Arisa, only to find that Arisa has left early. She runs into classmate Rimi Ushigome instead, and, despite Kasumi's overwhelming presence, Rimi becomes comfortable enough to reveal that her sister, Yuri, is in the band they watched the night before, Glitter*Green. Kasumi's overwhelming presence kicks in again, and she manages to convince Rimi to join her band as its bassist.

With Rimi joining Kasumi and Saya for lunch, we discover that the star guitar from Arisa's warehouse is called the "Random Star". This is an actual guitar that ESP Guitars has made in the past, and ESP has made a replica of Kasumi's specific guitar thanks to the success of the Bandori franchise.

Kasumi decides to visit Arisa in the evening, and Arisa reveals the trick she's devised to get Kasumi off her back: she's auctioning the Random Star, and the bid has already gotten up to 300,000 yen (about $2,000 USD for my fellow Americans). Without the guitar to keep her occupied, there's no reason for Kasumi to stick around. The perfect plan.

Of course, it doesn't work.

Kasumi continues showing up, following Arisa around, eating her food, and even helping her clean the warehouse.

Eventually, Arisa begins to warm up to Kasumi, letting the walls down. She reveals that the star stickers are hers, rewards for succeeding in her piano lessons. She would stick them on things she liked, which apparently extended to railings and light poles. Once again, without these stickers, none of the events of the Bandori franchise would be possible. These simple stickers kicked off a tidal wave of events.

In response to Arisa's story, Kasumi once again makes her request:

"Arisa, let's start a band!"

Eventually, the two of them finish their cleaning work, and Arisa gives Kasumi permission to look at the guitar one last time. However, disaster strikes. The handle of the case breaks, and the guitar drops. Kasumi is devastated, but Arisa thinks quickly, tracking down Edogawa Music and taking the guitar there for repairs.

Kasumi's passion gets through to Arisa, and she takes down the auction, offering to sell the guitar to Kasumi for 540 yen, the fee for cancelling the auction.

Once they return to the warehouse, Arisa's grandmother gives Arisa the keys, allowing Arisa to use it as her room. Arisa, in turn, offers to let Kasumi practice in the warehouse's basement in exchange for them eating lunch together. Naturally, Kasumi agrees ecstatically.

With that, the band seems to be up to three members. However, Rimi seems to be having cold feet. Getting her to be truly on-board is going to take a bit more effort.

Episode 3

Yuri Ushigome, the lead vocalist and guitarist for Glitter*Green, has a week-long senior trip, with a live performance the day immediately following. In case you couldn't tell, this will have consequences for everyone later.

Kasumi is a little too excited to show off her guitar. Unfortunately, this gets her in a bit of trouble with the student council president, although Rimi assures Kasumi that it will be fine.

Rimi also takes this moment to break the news to Kasumi: she won't be able to join the band after all.

As promised, Arisa joins Kasumi and Saya for lunch. While Arisa tries to act tough, it's clear that she and Kasumi have gotten extremely close extremely quickly. Saya happily accepts Arisa into the little friend group they've started.

At the end of the day, Kasumi gets her guitar back from the student council, with Nana warning her to keep it in a case next time. Kasumi shares her desire to play a live show, and Nana agrees to get Kasumi an application form to submit for performing at the school's culture festival.

Kasumi continues to try to push Rimi to explain her reasons for quitting the band, but Rimi breaks down. Recognizing that she seems to have pushed too far, Kasumi backs off, leaving a simple note in Rimi's bag.

"I'm sorry."

On the way home, Rimi bumps into some tourists who ask for directions. Rimi locks up, but Kasumi happens to be in the area and unhelpfully butts in with her rough English. English has never really been Aimi's strong suit.

In the aftermath, Rimi and Kasumi finally really talk. Rimi reveals her issues with self-esteem and her worries about holding the band back. Kasumi, in typical Kasumi form, accepts the answer gratefully, just happy for the opportunity to talk to Rimi again. She really is the all-loving protagonist; regardless of anything, she'll accept you for who you are, even if her methods and personality are a bit over the top.

Remember when I said that Rana's eavesdropping would have consequences later? Wait, wrong season of the anime.

A storm has hit Japan, delaying Glitter*Green's return flight. They aren't back in time for their dedicated time slot. The Owner insists on a strict schedule, but, fortunately, the other bands are happy to accommodate, shifting time slots and doing their best to extend their performances and stall for time. However, eventually, the end of the event arrives with no Glitter*Green in sight. With fans starting to file out, Kasumi takes it upon herself to stall for more time.

The "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" scene is infamous among Bandori veterans as being very painful to watch. Kasumi manages to drag Arisa onstage, but the two of them don't really have any plan other than singing the song over and over and hoping for the best.

Seeing their bravery is enough to steel Rimi's resolve, and she steps up to accompany them on the bass. If you're keeping track at home, Rimi uses a pink ESP Viper bass which, like Kasumi's Random Star, ESP has made a replica of. Still, there isn't much of a plan in place.

Fortunately, it's enough. Glitter*Green burst in at the last moment, in time to perform their set to the delight of the crowd. Before they do, however, they let Kasumi, Arisa, and Rimi have their time in the spotlight, and we get a proper cover of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" that makes the whole experience worthwhile.

With Rimi back on-board, we're back to three members. Just two more to go.

Episode 4

Armed with a shiny new guitar case, Kasumi has her sights fixed on the culture festival, much to Arisa's dismay. Rimi notes that the guitar case means Kasumi doesn't need to leave the guitar at Arisa's house during school hours. While Arisa's initial reaction is negative, she manages to cover her disappointment with her usual tsundere charm. Still, keep the initial reaction in mind for later.

As it turns out, Tae Hanazono has decided to bring her own guitar along to school today, walking in just as Kasumi is showing off her fledgling skills to some classmates. Kasumi is excited both at the idea of another music buddy and to show off her Random Star. Tae's reaction, however, is muted.

"Weirdo."

I haven't really mentioned Tae much since there hasn't been an opportunity, but she's been a bit of a regular fixture as one of the staff members at SPACE, where she works part-time. She also took a bit of a special interest in Kasumi's stall tactics in the last episode.

After Kasumi gets over her existential crisis at being called "weird", she does little to disprove the notion, using her home economics class's bag making lessons to make a bag for her guitar case. This is a truly harebrained idea. Only the airiest of airheads could come up with it.

So, naturally, Tae happens to have exactly the same idea.

Stuck together after school to finish the project, it turns out the two are on closer wavelengths than they initially thought, feeding off each other's spaciness and creating a perfect storm of chaos. Like their guitar colors, if Kasumi is the more fiery and outgoing red personality, Tae is the cooler and more laid-back blue, even if they're both equally incomprehensible.

Speaking of guitars, Tae uses a blue ESP Snapper. Once again, ESP has released a replica version of Tae's specific guitar.

Regardless, the two hit it off fairly quickly after the initial "weirdo" debate is settled. Tae naturally falls into something of a mentorship role (as scary as the idea of Tae being a mentor to anyone is), starting by training Kasumi on the basics of guitar maintenance, then moving on to chords.

Naturally, they don't get any work done on their home ec projects.

Arisa, meanwhile, despite her protests, has purchased herself a keyboard, truly committing to being part of the band. If you're curious, Arisa's canon instrument of choice is a Roland JUNO-DS 61 W.

Kasumi makes quite rapid progress with the guitar under Tae's tutelage, but makes very little progress on the home ec project. Still, she continues to share her progress and her praise for Tae with the rest of the group, excited both to have a new friend and about her successes on the guitar.

Remember when I said that Rana's eavesdropping would have consequences later? No, wait, that's still not right.

Arisa is increasingly distressed by how little time Kasumi is spending with her, and finally reaches a breaking point, viewing it as a breaking of their pact. Kasumi realizes she's messed up, and, with her home ec project finally complete, goes to make things right.

Arisa, naturally, can't really stay mad at her girlfriend for too long.

After showing off her new purchase, Arisa finds Tae in her house eating her grandmother's food. Sound familiar? I did tell you that Kasumi and Tae were on the same wavelength.

On the way home, Kasumi reveals her desire to audition to play at SPACE, but Tae abruptly shuts down the idea.

"I don't think that's possible."

Episode 5

Music is the one thing that Tae truly connects with. SPACE means a lot to her and to the bands that perform or attempt to perform there. To put things simply, Tae isn't convinced of either Kasumi's resolve or her musical skills. She offers to Kasumi an ultimatum:

"Make me tremble."

Despite ostensibly being the antagonist for this segment, Tae is quite agreeable when it comes to helping the group form their plan to do exactly that. She is particularly touched by Kasumi calling her a "friend".

Here, we get a bit of background regarding what exactly makes SPACE so special. While initially opened as a home for girls bands and to break the typical live house stereotype, an uninspired performance caused her to implement the strict audition rule, meaning no one was allowed to perform without her explicit approval.

Hearing the story and watching a show only steels Kasumi's resolve, and the plan to make Tae tremble continues, with the final showdown set to take place in Arisa's basement (much to Arisa's chagrin).

Unfortunately, Kasumi has no plan (as usual), and Kasumi and Arisa are too dysfunctional as a couple to do anything other than bicker. Fortunately for them, Rimi has a gift. As it turns out, Yuri and Rimi wrote a song together centered around Rimi's love of chocolate cornets, and Kasumi and Arisa are on-board with playing that as their performance to Tae.

Unfortunately, Kasumi can't read sheet music.

Fortunately, Tae can.

As the day of the show approaches, Yuri invites herself to watch the impromptu performance, and Saya manages to get dragged into things as well. In a bombshell, Tae decides to bring along her boyfriend.

It turns out Tae and Kasumi are, once again, on a very similar wavelength, and the other two respond well to Tae's timing in practice. It seems like our little band might be getting closer to picking up its fourth member.

At the last moment, Kasumi invites Asuka along to watch the performance. As it turns out, Yuri is also the captain of the swim team, which Asuka is a member of. With Arisa's grandmother also watching, that brings our audience to her, Saya, Yuri, Asuka, and... Tae's "boyfriend", her pet rabbit, Oddie.

Have I mentioned that Tae is a bit of an airhead?

Continuing her role as the helpful antagonist, Tae joins in playing for the show meant to make her heart pound, and we get a cute (if amateurish) performance of Choco Cornet Love. Ultimately, it works, and Tae officially joins as the fourth member.

With the culture festival rapidly approaching, there's still one final member Kasumi has left to recruit. Strap in because this is going to be a ride.

Episode 6

Episode 6 sets the tone with a flashback to one year earlier, during Saya's third year of middle school. We see a brief montage of her middle school life, her old band, CHiSPA, and her close friend, Natsuki Umino. In case you couldn't tell, this will all be relevant later.

Back in the present day, Kasumi has somehow gotten herself selected as the culture festival planning committee president. As Kasumi's handler, Saya ends up selected as the vice president. Despite Kasumi's desire to perform, they do still need to participate in class activities.

During lunch, on a whim, Tae plays a phrase that she came up with earlier that morning. In case the past two episodes haven't convinced you what a generational talent Tae is, hopefully this helps. Kasumi immediately declares that this will be the song they play at the culture festival. There's a lot to unpack in just this one phrase, but I'll save that for later. Regardless, interested in helping complete the song, Kasumi volunteers to help write lyrics. Despite the comedic nature of this scene and Arisa's responses to it, this is actually a role that Kasumi will retain into the future of the Bandori franchise.

Kasumi's class 1-A manages to settle on a the idea of a café for their culture festival activity, and, with some assistance from Saya, Kasumi's Kasumese is translated to normal human words. While everyone discusses what food the café should serve, Rimi speaks up and recommends bread from Yamabuki Bakery. It's a popular idea, and Saya agrees to pitch it to her parents.

Throughout the chaos of the various preparations for the culture festival, Arisa has been workshopping names for the budding band. Saya points out that she likes "Poppin'". I'm sure you can see where this is going.

With Saya still acting as her handler, Kasumi tries to get down to finishing the lyrics for the new song. Kasumi's attention span is, unfortunately, quite short, and the two end up taking an early break. As they discuss things, Kasumi invites Saya to sing with her at the culture festival, even if she doesn't want to be part of the band. Saya isn't ready to commit to that, but she makes the promise to sing with Kasumi "someday".

The band's name has been finalized, as well: Poppin'Party. The reveal of the name and the debut posters comes with another reveal: Kasumi has made the executive decision to include Saya's name on the posters. Saya seems to take this reveal surprisingly well, given that she wasn't ever consulted about this decision.

Remember when I said that Rana's eavesdropping would have consequences later? I swear I'll stop doing this bit eventually.

In case you haven't noticed, Natsuki has been shown multiple times throughout the earlier episodes, and Saya seems to have been trying to avoid her. However, it's really difficult to avoid someone forever when you go to the same school, and the reunion is a bit awkward. Saya firmly denies being a member of the band, claiming that Kasumi wrote her name by mistake.

We're halfway home, but there are still a lot of pieces missing in the story of Saya Yamabuki. The ride's only just begun, and we still have a ways to go.

Episode 7

Remember when I said CHiSPA would be relevant later? Unfortunately, it's later.

Back in the flashback of Saya's third year of middle school, just before CHiSPA is about to perform its debut show, Saya receives word that her mother has collapsed. With the blessing of the other members, she rushes home to check on Jun and Sana, as well as her mother.

One thing that has never changed about Bandori over the years: it starts as it means to go on.

In a moment of mood whiplash, back in the present day, there are three days until the culture festival and, as such, until Poppin'Party's debut show. While scouting the stage in the auditorium, Kasumi spots a drum set and develops a desire to recruit a drummer. The others agree that they will need to find a drummer if they want to keep doing this whole band thing.

Sometimes foreshadowing is relatively obvious.

After classes end, Kasumi and co. take a trip to Edogawa Music, where they run into Natsuki (who is, incidentally, Arisa's classmate) and Hinako Nijikki, the drummer for Glitter*Green. Hina, as it turns out, is more than a bit of an airhead, to the surprise of everyone except Rimi. Fortunately, bassist Rii Uzawa is around to help keep things in check somewhat. I didn't mention it before, but you should remember that it was revealed that Rii works at Edogawa Music all the way back in episode 2.

Kasumi tries recruiting Hina to be their drummer for the culture festival, and she agrees without hesitation. However, she walks things back a little with her next line.

"But you guys already have someone close to you who'd be way better than me!"

Hina puts Natsuki on the spot, and Natsuki reveals Saya's history as the drummer for CHiSPA, even though they never had a chance to play together. Saya never actually explained to Natsuki or the rest of CHiSPA her reasons for leaving.

Kasumi decides to probe further, visiting Saya after school the next day. Beating around the bush has never been Kasumi's strong suit, and Saya can tell immediately that Kasumi has something on her mind. Kasumi comes right out and tells Saya that she knows about CHiSPA. To her credit, rather than pushing Kasumi away, Saya invites her inside to talk further.

My first-ever exposure to the BanG Dream! franchise was a video from Spartan Media Reviews criticizing Kasumi's motivations in general and this scene in particular. Specifically, he calls out Kasumi's "determination", explaining how it seems more like "selfishness".

To be clear, Kasumi is quite selfish. The most obvious displays of this were her constant hassling of Rimi and her abandoning of Arisa after meeting Tae. Very few of her decisions are motivated by what other people want.

However, Kasumi is also quite capable of caring about others. After Arisa made the decision to sell the Random Star, Kasumi stuck around out of a desire to be a friend to Arisa. Once Rimi has explained her reasons for quitting the band, Kasumi is understanding and backs off, just happy to have Rimi as a friend. Once she realizes the hurt she's accidentally caused Arisa, she does her best to make it right. Poppin'Party didn't form "at gunpoint", as the review puts it. It formed because its members were genuinely attracted to Kasumi's shine.

The other thing the review completely misses is Saya's reasons for not wanting to be in a band. It's a bit shocking that he could possibly misinterpret it, since Saya explicitly says it in the episode.

"I don't want to be a burden on anyone else."

I've glossed over many of the flashbacks in this episode, but one very important one was Saya overhearing the other members of CHiSPA suggesting they shift their practice times to accommodate Saya's schedule. This is probably the moment Saya made the decision to ultimately quit the band. She doesn't want other people sacrificing for her sake.

Saya's reason for quitting CHiSPA has nothing to do with the need to spend more time at home; believe me, Saya is capable and motivated enough to juggle both, even to her own detriment. Rather, she simply doesn't want to ask for help from other people to share her burdens.

Kasumi isn't pushing out of selfishness; she's pushing because she's seen Saya's desire to play in a band again. Saya isn't declining out of obligation to her family; she's declining out of obligation to her friends.

"I ruined our concert. Made the others walk on eggshells around me!"
"Does that sound like fun to you?!"

"Someone will end up suffering for my sake... That's why I quit before. I can't do it... Not anymore..."

Sometimes dialogue just speaks for itself.

The other members of Poppin'Party, as it turns out, were downstairs and overheard the entire thing. They all provide encouragement in their own way as they leave. Kasumi, whether determined or selfish, leaves with a final promise.

"We'll be waiting for you!"

There was really a lot to unpack in that episode. Only hours left before the culture festival begins.

Episode 8

The morning of the festival, Saya's mother has another episode, and Saya takes her to the hospital as a precaution. This means she'll miss the culture festival.

Kasumi finds this out through Saya's father, who is delivering the bread for class 1-A's café. Using him as a messenger, Kasumi and Saya trade words of encouragement, proving that their friendship is still perfectly intact despite the falling out the night before.

A lot of this episode is dead time, featuring montages of the girls enjoying the festival activities. Pacing is something I complained a lot about in Ave Mujica, particularly when it comes to its dead episodes, but S1 manages to make it feel like things are always happening, even when it's stalling for time. Plus, it's cute to see these simple slice of life moments.

During a lull, Kasumi decides to leave Saya a voicemail updating her on the status of the festival and letting her know that she left the lyrics for the song at Saya's house for her to read. I'd like to reiterate that Kasumi's message is supportive, not pushy. She completely understands why Saya isn't able to make it to the festival, and she's accepting of Saya's decision.

While Saya is reading the lyrics, her mother comes out to give her one final push.

"You're a kind person, Saya. Kind to your mother, kind to others. But you should save some of that kindness for yourself."

This is Saya's lesson: once in a while, it's okay to be selfish.

As Saya arrives at the auditorium, she runs into CHiSPA, who have just finished their set. Natsuki has words for her old friend.

"It was fun being in a band with you, Saya."

Natsuki's not really the type to hold a grudge, especially when she knows Saya has been hurting.

CHiSPA's new drummer offers her drumsticks to Saya, and she arrives just in time to perform "STAR BEAT! ~Hoshi no Kodou~"

"Despite all the dreams I have counted, I still pretended not to hear it"
"The truth is I've always been aware of it, the faint voice within my memories, I can hear it"

Fitting lyrics for a certain someone who gave up on her dreams and is now deciding to chase them again.

I said I'd unpack that phrase that Tae played back in episode 6. The thing that should stand out to you the most is the "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" motif in it. Given how important the concept of stars is, the early beginnings for PoPiPa, and the title of the song itself, it's very fitting.

Also, whether it's intentional or not, the word "star" itself is a representation of the members of PoPiPa. Saya, Tae, Arisa, and Rimi.

With all that out of the way, Poppin'Party's true debut is complete, and the final member has been recruited. However, after the credits we're thrown a curveball: the Owner will be shutting down SPACE.

Kasumi's big dream now has a time limit, and the clock is ticking.

Episode 9

Summer uniforms really are universally better than winter ones, no matter what anime you're watching.

Hanasakigawa's dress code aside, the gang stops by Edogawa Music to get Saya a drum set to practice with. As it turns out, playing an instrument is expensive. Despite Saya's best efforts at self-control, Rii manages to upsell her to a Roland TD-11K-S.

As it turns out, they're in luck: an opening has just popped up at SPACE, with the entire staff out with the flu and a joint performance with Glitter*Green and Roselia coming up later. Reluctantly, the Owner accepts PoPiPa's help.

Remember when I said that Rana's eavesdropping would have consequences later? This is the last time, I promise.

Nana, Hanasakigawa's student council president, is Glitter*Green's keyboardist. This should have been easy to figure out, since they look completely identical, but PoPiPa doesn't realize who she is until she takes her glasses off. Tae and Rimi, naturally, were already aware of this.

Tae, going about her normal duties, notices something odd: SPACE has no performances scheduled after July 20th. We, the audience, already know why that is, but PoPiPa isn't aware yet.

Once Glitter*Green complete their sound check, we are introduced to Roselia, who will play an important role in Girls Band Party and the future seasons of the anime. For now, however, they're strictly cameos. I haven't brought attention to the various Bandori cameos that exist in S1, but if you're at all familiar with the franchise, you've probably caught most or all of them.

Roselia feels slightly out of character here. Lisa isn't so weak as to break down after a small mistake in a performance, and Yukina isn't the type to coddle, even to her childhood friend. It does make for a good establishing character moment for the Owner, but I have to wonder if this scene was written before Roselia were fully finalized as characters.

The entire experience of working at SPACE, even for a day, ignites a fire in Saya and steels Kasumi's resolve. They have a week before the next audition, and Kasumi is determined to play on this stage. A week later, they do exactly that, auditioning with "Mae e Susume!" (or "Keep On Moving!" if you prefer).

To put it mildly, the audition is a disaster.

The instruments are riddled with mistakes and the tempo is all over the place. Once they finish, the Owner pitches them a question.

"Who thinks they did well today?"

To the shock of the rest of PoPiPa, Kasumi raises her hand without hesitation. Based on the Owner's reaction, this seems to have been the correct answer. Regardless, their audition is denied, although she answers Kasumi's enthusiasm with encouragement, pushing them to keep practicing and come back again.

Tae chooses this moment to speak up about the schedule, and the Owner reveals the secret to Tae and the rest of PoPiPa: SPACE will be closing down.

Episode 10

Tae does not take the news well.

Kasumi, in contrast, is as upbeat as ever, already planning costumes for their first real gig. Kasumi's enthusiasm is infectious, and PoPiPa are more determined than ever to make sure they pass that audition before SPACE actually shutters for good.

While Kasumi wants to try again immediately, they're shot down immediately by the Owner. They do run into CHiSPA while they're there, who have come to audition themselves now that SPACE is getting ready to close down. PoPiPa watches as CHiSPA passes the audition, leaving them all wondering what exactly the difference was.

Everyone is very cryptic about what exactly it takes to pass the Owner's audition. Kasumi manages to wander her way back to space late that night, where the Owner talks with her, praising Kasumi's positive attitude. However, she can tell that Kasumi and the rest of PoPiPa don't really understand what they're missing.

"You performed the weakest."

While Kasumi continues to practice harder than ever, Arisa has a bit of a moment of disillusionment with Kasumi's high energy and all-or-nothing attitude towards everything.

"Working so hard just for some audition... It just doesn't sound like fun anymore."

Kasumi, in Kasumi fashion, manages to pull Arisa out of the hole, and Arisa recommits to doing her part to make sure they pass the audition.

With everyone more motivated than ever, PoPiPa tries to audition one more time.

Kasumi has been very off ever since that conversation with the Owner, and it's most pronounced in the lead-up to the audition. The words clearly cut deep, and it doesn't seem like Kasumi actually understands what they mean.

The moment to start the audition comes, and Kasumi is completely unable to sing.

Episode 11

After a trip to the hospital, Kasumi is prescribed vocal rest to bring her voice back. Her friends and family are supportive, but it's obvious that Kasumi is struggling. Yuri suggests that the issue could be stress, while Asuka suggests that Kasumi is in a slump.

While Kasumi gets her voice back, she's still visibly off, and she still isn't able to sing. After running away from practice, she's chased by the other members of PoPiPa, who all decide it's time for them to give a pep talk to her. The conversation mirrors what I mentioned back in episode 7. Saya, Tae, Arisa, and Rimi were all in some way drawn in by Kasumi's shine.

They also manage to figure out what they might be missing: self-awareness of their current skill level.

"If we don't know where we stand, how are we supposed to know which way to go from here?"

Kasumi's spirits are lifted, and they agree to split the singing load across the group. Given the pep talk encouraging Kasumi to keep moving forward, "Keep On Moving!" is a pretty fitting song. More on that in a moment.

Episode 12

To celebrate Kasumi getting her voice back, the group eat out at a ramen shop. As it turns out, Nana recommended this particular spot to Arisa.

With Kasumi back at full strength (and despite the distraction of final exams), PoPiPa are back to practice, refining their performance in preparation for SPACE's final audition.

On the final day before the audition, none of them really want to go home, so they instead agree to meet at Tae's house for a sleepover.

Remember Oddie? Tae is the proud parent of 20 rabbits. We also are introduced to Tae's mother, who's a bit of a space case herself. At least Tae comes by it honestly.

The time comes, and everyone is naturally quite nervous for the audition. For the final time, they attempt to play "Mae e Susume!"

"That's why no matter how difficult it is now"
"Even if nothing goes well"
"Don’t forget our experiences, 'keep on moving!'"

After the performance, Arisa breaks down, lamenting her mistakes despite all the hard work and practice tim they put in. Despite everything, Kasumi maintains her declaration:

"I gave you my best."

If you could sum up the primary theme of the entire Bandori franchise in a single sentence, I don't think you could do it any better than the Owner does here.

"Music is something people do because they love it."

After all the struggles and hardships, PoPiPa finally passes the audition, gaining the right to participate in SPACE's final live show.

Episode 13

If there's something else that hasn't changed over the course of Bandori history, it's the clean-up episode. It primarily exists to tidy up any loose ends, bring the season to a satisfying close, and, of course, showcase all the new songs you can buy and/or stream.

Still, S1 sticks the landing. The interactions between the characters are cute, and the music is solid. There isn't a lot to break down, so just sit back and enjoy the show.

It's a little bittersweet seeing this place that's been built up over the past 12 episodes coming to an end, but it's also fulfilling to see just how far PoPiPa has come over that time. Plus, we at least have two more seasons of content to look forward to.

Conclusion

So, back to the core question: is classic Bandori as good as I remember it being?

Absolutely.

It's primarily upbeat and positive, but it doesn't shy away from serious topics, and the emotional beats hit hard. As much as I praise MyGO for being a masterpiece, it represents a shift away from what makes Bandori Bandori. Bandori S1 is the perfect showcase of exactly what Bandori is supposed to be.

I can only hope that one day it finds its way again.