One of the year’s most-anticipated anime releases finally arrived in North America this week. Along with it came the chance for viewers outside of Japan to catch a glimpse of an emerging reality-blurring trend in J-pop.
“Girls Band Cry” aired here this past spring. Produced by Toei Animation, the series follows five young women forming a band and navigating the Japanese rock landscape while wrestling with their own trauma and challenges. This storyline — girls form a band — is an anime staple, exemplified by high school-centric works such as “K-On!” (2009-10).
Yet “Girls Band Cry” stands apart from the rest for two reasons: For one, it utilizes 3D animation, a potentially risky choice but done well here, lending its 13 episodes a unique visual style. More importantly, it avoids the genre’s usual tropes and instead crafts an emotionally urgent story by having the protagonists navigate life after high school, allowing them to work through adult issues in the real world. As writer Jukki Hanada recently told the anime magazine Otaku Souken, “Life does not end after graduation,” and the series offers a more grounded exploration of musicians trying to make it.
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