I was already familiar with the previous BanG Dream anime, and I was already aware that MyGO!!!!! brings a new tonal shift, but what’s important for me here is not the shift itself, but rather how well it’s going to be presented. And sure enough, the effect was immediate. The earlier seasons were mostly full of sunny weather with occasional clouds, while here it’s constantly cloudy, with some heavy rain and not a lot of sunlight in sight.

The foundation of the main cast this time is built on the emotional traumas they’ve previously experienced, and the lingering attachment to that lost past. As the story goes on, the characters desperately try to escape that attachment, but each attempt usually ends in them turning back and hitting the same wall. The new band is incredibly colorful, and each person deserves their own paragraphs of text, but I’m not here for in-depth character analysis (as tempting as it may be with this cast), so let’s just give them a quick overview.

1. Tomori, the vocalist. Ties everything together. They call her “quirky”, but we know. The most relatable one to many. Essentially speaks in song lyrics.
2. Anon, the guitarist. Here to be the center of attention (unsuccessfully), and the brain of the operation (questionable). Finds problems, and runs away from them after failing to solve them on the first try.
3. Soyo, the bassist. Always kind to everyone, except when things don’t go her way. Still hasn’t learned that in real life nothing ever goes your way. Has weaponized sweet-talking.
4. Taki, the drummer. The actual brain of the operation (unwillingly). Pretends to not care, but obviously cares the most out of everyone. Gets really mad when she sees others not care enough.
5. Raana, the cooler guitarist. The wildcard of the team. Will save the world and everyone on one day, and then do absolutely nothing on the other.

The most interesting part of this group is how badly they mesh with each other. They all have very different views and goals, and so each of them is trying to pull the metaphorical blanket to their side, not realizing that in order for this to work, all of them need to fit under that blanket somehow. And it’s a very small blanket — everyone will always be on the edge. From that, it comes as no surprise that the relationships between the characters feel like they’re one step away from falling and breaking into tiny pieces. Makes for some pretty entertaining drama, if you ask me.

Drama aside, the anime can be quite impressive visually, which is always a great achievement for a full 3DCG work. It’s nice to see when such shows use the advantages of 3D — for example, one of the backstories was done entirely from the first-person view, creating a very engaging storytelling for emotionally strong scenes. But the emotions of the characters are not afraid of 2D either, as evident by the facial animation in some close-ups, which is done very smoothly, and plays around the restrictions of 3D face rigging.

The face of the band anime itself, however, is the music, and this is where I was a bit conflicted at first. When it comes to the songs, things did not click for me immediately, but then the show revealed all of its hidden cards. There’s something about that “raw” performance that happened at the climax of the story that hit me: there they are, the screams of Tomori’s soul. Everything she’s struggling to say normally, it all comes out on the stage, and hits the intended audience like ocean waves. The magic works especially well thanks to the efforts of Hina Youmiya as Tomori. Outstanding performance.

Needless to say, with hard-hitting songs and well-built drama, MyGO!!!!! has left me very impressed. But there is a single story thread that was left in the open, that is unfortunately very critical to the foundation of this story. You see, as the show went on, slowly but steadily, it’s been brewing a new setup in the background. That setup is for the sequel story, Ave Mujica. And, in what seems to be a very bold move, the aforementioned story thread is being pushed into Ave Mujica, which means we have to experience an entire additional journey to get to the answer. It’s important to understand that such moves create very high expectations: if there was a reason to delay the answer, then it better be worth it. Well, I’ll be there to tell the tale, too. All in due time, though. Yes, all in due time. Her time will come.

…but yeah, she’s definitely a lost one.