by “Bocchi the Rock!”, “BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!”, “Girls Band Cry,” “BanG Dream! Ave Mujica”… Anime fans will know that anime about girl bands has been a big hit in the 2020s. Furthermore, “Rock is a Lady’s Hobby” and “Futsuu no Keionbu” (there has been no announcement of an anime adaptation for this yet, but with such a hot topic, it will probably be) are likely to follow suit.
On the other hand, what is strange is there are no big hit anime about boy bands. Of course, there are works such as “From ARGONAVIS” from the “BanG Dream!” series, “Given,” which also had a movie version. The simply fascinating “Visual Prison” (especially the 9th episode of the TV series of “Given,” “Winter Story,” is my favorite). Going further, “Bakumatsu Rock” and “DYNAMIC CHORD” also had a considerable presence. However, few people would consider these to be as big a hit as the girl band animes mentioned above (sorry!).
This article aims to speculate on why this clear difference exists. Aren’t the tense developments manly? First of all, considering the content, the three hit girl band works except “Bozaro” (and even 2024’s “Sing Love Like a Whisper”) have a strong so-called “tense” development that is one of their charms. On the other hand, the hit of the past, “K-ON!” was a loose and fluffy club activity story.
It might seem weak if such a story were to be told in a boy band anime. That said, there was also “Given,” which was enjoyable even with the tenseness, and I feel that it is simply because the author strongly believes that “male bands have to be cool.”
Many people may be satisfied with bands outside of anime. A feature of the hit girl band anime mentioned at the beginning is the linkage with actual units by the cast. Of course, there are female fans at their live shows, but most are male. Next, let’s think along these lines. Some things become clear if we assume that the main target of boy band anime is women. First of all, women tend to participate in so-called 2.5-dimensional stage performances (compared to men), so even if they try to develop a real band, they tend to fight over the pie. Therefore, anime productions may avoid the same development as girl band anime.
However, there is no numerical basis for this. At this level, there is also the inference that “women (compared to men) do not pursue voice actors of the opposite sex with short careers who have enough time in their schedules to work as a real band.”
However, this is also merely a biased impression, making it difficult to speak confidently. GRANRODEO, with KISHOW, aka Kisho Taniyama, as the vocalist, meets many of the demands of female anime fans who prefer band sounds. While thinking about this, I remembered the existence of bands that are not related to anime works in the first place.
Although girl bands such as SHISHAMO, BAND-MAID, and SILENT SIREN have been active recently (female vocalists include Ryokuoushoku Shakai, Passpi, and Polkadot Stingray ), few would disagree that men still dominate the rock band scene. It seems to me like a reasonable inference that many women are fulfilling their demands in anime and real bands (including the relationships between members and the drama of the band).
