BanG Dream!

BanG Dream! is a Japanese multi-media music franchise owned by Bushiroad.

Plot
BanG Dream! features the stories of 35 different girls, divided into seven unique girls’ bands residing in Japan: Poppin’Party (Popipa), Afterglow (Aglow/Aflow), Pastel*Palettes (Pasupare), Roselia, Hello, Happy World! (Harohapi), Morfonica (Monica), and RAISE A SUILEN (RAS).

The series mainly focuses on the story of the protagonist of the franchise, Kasumi Toyama. As a child, Kasumi heard the sound of the “Star Beat” while admiring the starry sky on a camping trip. Since then, she is been searching for the same sparkling and heart-pounding feeling she had felt on her trip. Finally a new high school student at Hanasakigawa Girls’ Academy, she comes across a star-shaped guitar in a pawn shop owned by fellow first-year student Arisa Ichigaya’s grandparents. After the two watch a performance at the live house SPACE by the band Glitter*Green, Kasumi recruits Arisa and three other schoolmates: Tae Hanazono, Rimi Ushigome and Saaya Yamabuki to form “Poppin’Party”. With her fellow bandmates, Kasumi rediscovers the exciting thrill she is been looking for.

As time progresses, the girls befriend and meet the other girls’ bands at Hanasakigawa Girls’ Academy, Haneoka Girls’ Academy and Tsukinomori Girls’ Academy, each with their own stories to tell. Afterglow is a band made up entirely of childhood friends led by bassist Himari Uehara, connected by the changing sky around them. Pastel*Palettes is a cutesy idol band formed by a talent agency, led by aspiring idol and vocalist Aya Maruyama. Roselia is a professional and devoted band led by vocalist Yukina Minato, who strive to reach even greater heights together as the perfect band. Hello, Happy World! is an eccentric and fun band led by vocalist Kokoro Tsurumaki, aiming to make the world smile through their music. RAISE A SUILEN is a top-notch and eclectic band of only the most extreme musicians, led by DJ and Producer Tamade Chiyu (CHU²). Morfonica is a budding and ever-changing band of the prestigious girls of Tsukinomori Girls’ Academy, led by drummer Tsukushi Futaba.

Characters

 * Characters are sorted by bands.

Poppin'Party=
 * Kasumi Toyama
 * Tae Hanazono
 * Rimi Ushigome
 * Saaya Yamabuki
 * Arisa Ichigaya

Afterglow=
 * Ran Mitake
 * Moca Aoba
 * Himari Uehara
 * Tomoe Udagawa
 * Tsugumi Hazawa

Pastel*Palettes=
 * Aya Maruyama
 * Hina Hikawa
 * Chisato Shirasagi
 * Maya Yamato
 * Eve Wakamiya

Roselia=
 * Yukina Minato
 * Sayo Hikawa
 * Lisa Imai
 * Ako Udagawa
 * Rinko Shirokane

Hello, Happy World!=
 * Kokoro Tsurumaki
 * Kaoru Seta
 * Hagumi Kitazawa
 * Kanon Matsubara
 * Misaki Okusawa

RAISE A SUILEN=
 * LAYER
 * LOCK
 * MASKING
 * PAREO
 * CHU²

Morfonica=
 * Mashiro Kurata
 * Touko Kirigaya
 * Nanami Hiromachi
 * Tsukushi Futaba
 * Rui Yashio

MyGO!!!!!=
 * Tomori Takamatsu
 * Anon Chihaya
 * Rana Kaname
 * Soyo Nagasaki
 * Taki Shiina

Fanon
The BanG Dream! fandom is somewhat infamous, especially within the Western rhythm mobage fandom sphere, due to the kind of fans it has attracted and how prominent shipping is in the fandom, despite the series' theme being about deep friendships and bonds created through music.

As a result of being a music-focused franchise with a cast consisting mainly of girls, it also has overlapped with the Love Live!, iDOLM@STER! and Project SEKAI fandoms as well (with the third one even being made by Craftegg's sister company, Colorful Palette).

Shipping wars, as well as arguing about the girls' sexualities and everyone's headcanons are all rather common occurrences, and with many cases leading to people getting harassed or even getting sent death threats. Some of the most prominent examples of these shipwars have been between the Sayotsugu and Sayohina shippers, Yukilisa and Sayolisa shippers, Ayahina and Ayachisa shippers, and Misakoko and Misakanon shippers.

There is also a misconception in the Western fandom that all of the girls are canonically lesbians due to a tweet made by Kidani Takaaki, the CEO of Bushiroad. However, it is completely false as the statement/Tweet was not only mistranslated by the person (@FeoUltima) who spread the claim, the Tweet made as a result of an infamous stream where he [Kidani] mentioned perverted things (that he even apologized for later) in response to peoples' questions about Lisa suddenly having a younger brother in the story (which was quickly fixed and removed), and Kidani has no creative control over the characters nor the story to begin with.

Fandom

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 * WIKIS