BanG Dream! Ave Mujica

'BanG Dream! Ave Mujica, also known as Ave Mujica - The Die is Cast -', is a Japanese anime television series created by Bushiroad and produced by Sanzigen. It is a spin-off of the main BanG Dream! anime series, serving as the direct sequel to BanG Dream! It's MyGO!!!!!. The series aired from January to March 2025. A manga adaptation written and illustrated by Pinfu Hiroyama, titled ''BanG Dream! Ave Mujica -manuscriptus-, began serialization in Bushiroad's magazine Comic Growl'' since January 2025.

A sequel to both Ave Mujica and It's MyGO!!!!! is set to premiere in January 2027. An anime film, titled ''BanG Dream! Ave Mujica prima aurora'', is set to release in Q4 2026.

Premise

The series follows the exploits of the titular band Ave Mujica, one of two bands, along with MyGO!!!!!, that were founded following the breakup of the band Crychic. Although Ave Mujica enjoys a growth in popularity after several successful concerts, leader Sakiko Togawa sternly continues to demand the members to follow her vision for the band in an attempt to completely forget her traumatic past, causing clashes within the band that spiral into each member's ulterior motives, insecurities, secrets, and traumas being brought to light.

Characters

Production

Director Kōdai Kakimoto shared in interviews that MyGO!!!!! and Ave Mujica were conceptualized at the same time and intended to be created as polar opposites to each other, which guided the production team to highlight their contrasts and Ave Mujica's formation behind the scenes during the airing of It's MyGO!!!!! while Ave Mujica was in production.[13][14] As the story was being written, and with the story of It's MyGO!!!!! wrapping up, this also led the team towards the decision to structure its thirteenth and final episode as the pilot to Ave Mujica.[13] Kakimoto further elaborated on the two anime being polar opposites, in that while It's MyGO!!!!! was a youth drama where its members express their raw emotions and perform in simple live houses, Ave Mujica in comparison is a psychological suspense story where its members conceal their emotions behind masks as they conduct operatic performances in theaters.[13][14]

Kakimoto added that in order to distinguish Ave Mujica from the franchise's existing gothic band Roselia, the production team incorporated elements inspired by circuses, freak shows, and theater. He also addressed how the series would break away from BanG Dream!'s established conventions of showcasing the trust and bond between band members as they tackle the negative yet real emotions and inner turmoil faced by each member of Ave Mujica, saying the team is "well aware that this approach may not resonate with all audiences." Despite this, they remained steadfast in portraying the characters' emotions and actions without compromise. By his own admission, the team initially thought of avoiding this contradiction by placing MyGO!!!!! and Ave Mujica in a separate brand from the franchise. As this idea was eventually abandoned, Kakimoto and the team decided to draw some boundaries between the new and old bands, leaving some connections so as not to ruin the image of the old groups and allowing the two bands to establish their own identity, while maintaining the necessary continuity.[14]

In an interview, Kanon Takao and Yuzuki Watase commented on the dubbing process, saying it was challenging due to the heavy emotional nature of the anime's scenes, but characterized their experience as positive for their development as actors. Takao noted a scene in the first episode in which Sakiko cries, which she said "took the best parts out of a very long recording of me wailing", and also commented on the experience of recording dialogue for a plot twist late in the series, the details of which were kept from her prior to the recording so as to elicit a genuine vocal reaction.[15]

According to studio president Hiroaki Matsuura, the monologue scene in episode 11 was created with the assistance of real stage actor Keina Kiriyama. The animation production team set up five cameras in the studio to record Kiriyama's physical performance. Matsuura highly praised Kiriyama's thorough understanding of the script and her outstanding acting, noting that this collaborative approach also presented a challenging production method for Sanzigen.[16]

Themes and analysis

Centering around Ave Mujica, a dysfunctional girl band, the plot of Ave Mujica is driven by character more than music. The series touches upon themes like alcoholism, abandonment, split personality, and anxiety.[17] Kakimoto said that the story of Ave Mujica incorporated psychological themes such as serial killers, dissociative identity disorder and Munchausen syndrome,[18] comparing the psychological elements to another production he had previously participated in at Sanzigen, Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Ars Nova.[19]

Takaaki Kidani, CEO and president of Bushiroad, in response to criticism of the supposed senselessness and illogicality of the characters' behavior in the 10th episode, wrote on Twitter that people always tend to search for logic in fate, but in his personal opinion the anime Ave Mujica completely denies this.[20] Christopher Farris of Anime News Network considered that duality has always been a central motif with Ave Mujica, both in how it interfaces with itself and the full tome it shares with It's MyGO!!!!!.[21]

Yota Tokuda from Real Sound described the initial conflicts in the series with the clash between Sakiko's auteurism and Nyamu's commercialism and the stress of working in the entertainment industry being conventional themes within musical fiction, citing Girls Band Cry and Trapezium as comparative examples. However, he notes how the series subverts these themes within the context of the band anime genre, such as Nyamu unmasking the band and the introduction of Mortis. Sakiko fails to reunite Crychic and return to everyday life, strongly distinguishing Ave Mujica's story both from past narratives in BanG Dream! and other music-themed anime in general.[22] Tokuda further notes that Uika Misumi's obsessive tendencies and unusually twisted nature, particularly her contemplation of violence in episode 9 (and the explicit visual depiction of her acting out this thought while not actually having it happen), allows the series to push into darker territory while respecting the commercial considerations of its genre and target demographic.[23]

Media

Reception

Prior to the series' release, Christopher Farris of Anime News Network expressed excitement for its premiere, as he imagined it would be "potentially...more unhinged" than BanG Dream! It's MyGO!!!!!, and praised the opening and ending sequences. Steve Jones anticipated the premiere as well, saying he was eager to see the "melodrama" and more potential elements.[39] Nick Creamer wrote on the Crunchyroll blog that the series "shows every intention of being even more insane" than It's MyGO!!!!!.[40]

In an ANN preview guide for the series, Farris suggested watching It's MyGO!!!!! beforehand, as he felt the narrative would be difficult to follow without prior knowledge of its predecessor. He commented that the series aimed to reframe Sakiko in a "more sympathetic light" than previously, making her a more complex character, and praised the writing by Yuniko Ayana, and called it "earned continuation" of It's MyGO!!!!!.[41] Farris reviewed the series for ANN. He praised the series writing by Ayana which "defined by smaller, subtler details that dot the stories" which later contribute to strong plotlines and character developments, while rewarding repeat viewing, noted that Sakiko's backstory is "more ambiguously complex" than it appeared at first, asserted that the series narrative focuses on satisifcation, self-care, and the "line between selflessness and self-destruction," and praised the animation by Sanzigen. In reviews of episodes 4 and 5, Farris described everyone in the Ave Mujica band as "damaged teen[s] desperately in need of therapy," said that series is "very funny" in a dark humor way, and praised series director Hiroshi Morita, but had mixed views on the subtitling by the third-party company contracted by Crunchyroll.[42][43][44]

The series was ranked as the most popular anime of the Winter 2025 anime season as the result of a poll of Dengeki Online readers during the series' broadcast in February 2025.[45] Episode 7 received polarized reactions from Chinese audiences, as its focus on Crychic and the plot twists proved divisive.[46][47] Master's student Wu Jianye, writing in the Chinese digital newspaper The Paper, gave a mixed review and criticized the series for having very few performances by the band throughout the story, overemphasizing the characters' extreme personalities and conflicts, and overall having an exaggerated tone which was considered unrealistic.[48]

Sequel

A sequel to both Ave Mujica and It's MyGO!!!!! was announced following the release of the anime's thirteenth and final episode in March 2025, with filming in northern Europe being conducted.[49] The anime is set to premiere in January 2027 on Nippon TV and its affiliates.[50]

External links