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 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!!!!!'' has been announced.

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

Ave Mujica

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:The stern keyboardist and leader of the band, who refers to her band persona as "the one who does not fear being forgotten." A first-year at Haneoka Girls' Academy and a former member of Crychic who currently lives in poverty with her disgraced father. She founded Ave Mujica following Crychic's breakup and after watching former bandmates Tomori, Soyo, and Taki perform their song with the band that would become MyGO!!!!!, and strives for the band to succeed through following her vision.
:Director Kōdai Kakimoto described Sakiko as wishing to forget her emotional pain following Crychic's dissolution, leading her to form Ave Mujica and mask her feelings with the Oblivionis persona, although he also commented that she is unable to truly forget as she continues to pursue music under her new identity despite her previous failure.
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:The soft-spoken rhythm guitarist of the band, who refers to her band persona as "the one who does not fear death." A first-year at Tsukinomori Girls' Academy and another former member of Crychic who is the daughter of nationally renowned celebrities, she has been Sakiko's closest friend since childhood and Crychic's breakup, being the only person who knows Sakiko's situation, and tries to support her vision. Partway through the series, Mutsumi is revealed to have dissociative identity disorder. Her alter, Mortis, is more social than Mutsumi. Taking on the role of Mutsumi's protector, Mortis intervenes in Ave Mujica to keep Mutsumi from suffering any further mental trauma.
:Throughout the events of the series, Mutsumi and Mortis come into conflict in their mental world before reconciling and appearing to vanish together. In an interview in ''Megami Magazine'', Kakimoto explained this development as them ceasing to exist as the core host personalities, and that by the end of the anime, their physical body is being controlled not by any particular identity, but rather by their many alternate "roles" (represented by an audience in their mental world) who are switching in and out of control as needed for any given situation. Mortis is seen smiling in their reflection at the end of the series finale, which Kakimoto stated was intended to indicate that her identity still lingered among the "roles", and also to satisfy his "parental" desire to see Mortis in some sense bow onstage with the rest of Ave Mujica at their curtain call.
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:The stoic bassist of the band, who refers to her band persona as "the one who does not fear being afraid." A first-year at Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy and a close friend of Taki, she is a session musician working for numerous bands and keeps a level of professionalism within Ave Mujica and emotional distance from the band, merely seeing Ave Mujica as one of her gigs. It is later revealed that her emotionally distant behavior originates from her first band abandoning her due to her meddling, despite Umiri believing she was helping them.
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:The kindhearted lead guitarist and vocalist of the band, who is also a member of the idol unit sumimi and refers to her band persona as "the one who does not fear sorrow." A first-year at Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy and another childhood friend of Sakiko, she expresses gratitude and admiration towards her on being invited to Ave Mujica and dedicates herself to be by Sakiko's side whenever possible. Director Kōdai Kakimoto said the intent of Uika's characterization was to portray her as someone "shackled down" and defined by her facade, as she suppresses her true emotions throughout the story.
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:The attention-seeking drummer of the band, who refers to her band persona as "the one who does not fear love." She is a popular online influencer who aims to gain fame and recognition for the band and herself by any means necessary, and she clashes with Sakiko on the direction of Ave Mujica.

MyGO!!!!!

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:The vocalist of the band. A first-year at Haneoka Girls' Academy and another former member of Crychic, she continuously attempts to reach out to Sakiko after sensing her personal struggles, despite Sakiko rejecting her advances.
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:The rhythm guitarist and leader of the band. A first-year at Haneoka Girls' Academy and a close friend of Tomori, she assists her in reaching out to Sakiko regarding her struggles.
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:The lead guitarist of the band, known for her exceptional skill at the instrument. A third-year at the middle school branch of Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy who is eccentric and often acts on her own accord. Rāna immediately recognizes Mortis and Mutsumi as two people sharing a body upon meeting them, and befriends Mortis.
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:The bassist of the band. A first-year at Tsukinomori Girls' Academy and another former member of Crychic, she continues to remember the band even with its complicated breakup and also worries for Mutsumi and Sakiko's wellbeing, despite her prior animosities towards Mutsumi and her role in Crychic's breakup.
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:The drummer of the band. A first-year at Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy and another former member of Crychic, she holds contempt towards Sakiko on her sudden departure from the band though she worries for her, and is close friends with Umiri.

Other characters

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:The vocalist and bandmate of Uika in the idol unit sumimi.
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:The father of Sakiko and son-in-law of Sadaharu, who was disowned by the Togawa family following his involvement in a fraud case.
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:The grandfather of Sakiko and leader of the Togawa Group conglomerate.
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:An acclaimed actress and the mother of Mutsumi.

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. 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''. 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.

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.

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.

According to studio president Hiroaki Matsuura, the monologue scene in episode 11 was created with the assistance of real stage actor . 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.

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. Kakimoto said that the story of ''Ave Mujica'' incorporated psychological themes such as serial killers, dissociative identity disorder and Munchausen syndrome, comparing the psychological elements to another production he had previously participated in at Sanzigen, '' Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Ars Nova''.

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. 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!!!!!''.

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. 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.

Media

Anime

Following the release of the thirteenth and final episode of ''It's MyGO!!!!!'' on September 14, 2023, an anime television series centered around Ave Mujica that serves as its direct sequel was announced. It is produced by Sanzigen and much of the team behind ''It's MyGO!!!!!'' returned for the sequel, with Kōdai Kakimoto as director, and Yuniko Ayana writing and supervising series scripts. It aired from January 2 to March 27, 2025, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme is " Killkiss", while the ending theme is "Georgette Me, Georgette You", both performed by the eponymous band. Crunchyroll licensed the series in North America, Latin American (except Brazil), Oceania, South Africa and selected European territories under the title ''Ave Mujica - The Die is Cast -''. Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.

Episodes

Manga

A manga adaptation written and illustrated by Pinfu Hiroyama, titled ''BanG Dream! Ave Mujica -manuscriptus-'', was announced on October 21, 2024. It began serialization in ''Comic Growl'' on January 10, 2025, in both Japanese and English; its chapters are collected in one volume as of February 2025.

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. Nick Creamer wrote on the Crunchyroll blog that the series "shows every intention of being even more insane" than ''It's MyGO!!!!!''.

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!!!!!''. 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 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.

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. Episode 7 received polarized reactions from Chinese audiences, as its focus on Crychic and the plot twists proved divisive.

Sequel

A sequel to both ''Ave Mujica'' and ''It's MyGO!!!!!'' was announced following the release of the anime's thirteenth and final episode on March 27, 2025, with filming in northern Europe being conducted.

Notes

References

External links

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{{Sanzigen

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Anime spin-offs
Bushiroad
Crunchyroll anime
Dissociative identity disorder in television
Drama anime and manga
Fiction about post-traumatic stress disorder
Identity theft in popular culture
Japanese computer-animated television series
Muse Communication
Music in anime and manga
Psychological thriller anime and manga
Sanzigen
Tokyo MX original programming