Girls Band Cry
An original anime about a band formed by high school dropouts.
Toei Animation created the original anime series Girls Band Cry, or GaruKura, as part of a music-focused multimedia project launched in 2023 with Agehasprings and Universal Music Japan. The show ran from April to June 2024. The story follows Nina Iseri, a high school dropout who moves to Kawasaki to prove she can live on her own. She meets Momoka Kawaragi by chance, and they bond over their shared love of music. Together with other girls from different backgrounds, they form a band to let out their raw emotions while facing internal struggles and the challenges of being new to the music scene.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Drama, Music
- Creator
- Toei Animation
Facts from the source article.
Characters
Togenashi Togeari is the central rock band of the series, consisting primarily of high school dropouts. Before the band's formation, each member was part of two bands: Nina, Momoka, and Subaru performed under the name Shin-Kawasaki (Temporary), while Tomo and Rupa performed as the Vocaloid duo Beni-Shouga (derived from the condiment of the same name, stylized in lowercase). After merging, their new name originates from Nina reading an audience member's shirt saying 'Togenashi Togeari' during their Suwa live house gig. Nina Iseri is the main protagonist and lead vocalist, hailing from Kumamoto. She left her hometown and strained past life to start anew, is not on good terms with her father, and dropped out of high school due to bullying. She initially moved to Tokyo to study at a cram school and enter university, only to focus on Togenashi Togeari instead. She is a major fan of Diamond Dust and felt their songs helped her during difficult times. In promotional material, she is seen with a Butterscotch Blonde G&L Asat Classic electric guitar, which she plays as the band's rhythm guitarist in the finale. Momoka Kawaragi is the lead guitarist and leader, hailing from Asahikawa. She was a former member of Diamond Dust before leaving due to creative differences, a decision she holds regret despite holding no ill will towards her former bandmates. She then performed as a solo artist and planned to quit before meeting Nina. She plays a Costa Azul Metallic Psychederhythm Psychomaster electric guitar. Subaru Awa is the drummer from Kobe who attends acting school to follow in her grandmother's footsteps despite showing no interest for acting and desires to follow her own path through music. She plays a Charcoal Metallic Pearl Roadshow drum kit. Tomo Ebizuka is the keyboardist from Sendai who ran away from home after experiencing parental neglect and dreams of performing at the Budokan. Her tendency to give blunt feedback due to being gifted at playing the keyboard also resulted in her and Rupa's former band breaking up. She plays a Nord Electro 6HP 73-key digital piano. Rupa is the bassist who lost her parents and experiences discrimination due to her half-South Asian heritage. Like Tomo, she dreams of performing at the Budokan. She plays an Ebony Gibson SG Standard bass. Diamond Dust is an idol rock band Nina idolizes and which Momoka was a member of, starting as a group of friends forming a school band before dropping out and being signed to a major label by the time Momoka left. Hina is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Diamond Dust after Momoka's departure, and a former friend of Nina. She plays a See-Through Purple Fernandes NTG-LTD electric guitar. Nana is the bassist who plays a Caribbean Shoreline Flat Ibanez Premium SR1605B bass. Rin is the lead guitarist who plays a Deep Candy Apple Red ESP Horizon-I electric guitar. Ai is the drummer who plays a Natural Cherry Pearl Masters Maple drum kit. The Iseri family includes Muneo Iseri, Nina's father who works as an advisor to Kumamoto's board of education and had an estranged relationship with Nina despite having published a book on parenting; Yasue Iseri, Nina's mother; and Suzune Iseri, Nina's older sister. Other characters include Tendou Awa, Subaru's grandmother who is a prolific actress; Hayashi, the manager of the Tokyo live house Shin-Kawasaki performed in; Mine, an indie musician Momoka idolizes and is friends with; and Shiomi Miura, a talent scout affiliated with Golden Archer who is a fan of the original Diamond Dust and offers her connections to Togenashi Togeari.
Production
In August 2019, upon joining Toei Animation, series producer Tadashi Hirayama was approached to produce a new original work focused on music. Hirayama enlisted Kazuo Sakai and Jukki Hanada, staff he had worked with on Love Live! Sunshine!!, to brainstorm initial ideas. Hirayama then approached Kenji Tamai of Agehasprings around the end of 2019 to compose the music and scout and manage the talents to form the band. Hanada focused on writing an all-female band story based on his love for Japanese rock music, having already written stories about idols. Hirayama cited the projected economic loss from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the concurrent COVID-19 pandemic as inspirations to make the story grounded in reality, basing it around the hardships of being a musician. The decision to set the story in Kawasaki was based on Hirayama and Hanada's observations of the city being overlooked compared to Tokyo and Yokohama, rent being cheaper, and fostering music activity. In June 2021, Toei Animation, Agehasprings, and Universal Music Japan announced they would initiate a new project combining animation with real band activity. That same year, Agehasprings, with assistance from Toei Animation and Universal Music Japan, held an audition called 'Girl’s Rock Audition' for the vocalist, guitarist, bassist, drummer, and keyboardist of the all-female band. Tamai recounted how he aimed the band to debut first to foster their popularity before the anime began airing. He also shared that although the auditions received several applications, there was difficulty in choosing candidates with proficient skills in both music and voice acting, leading the process to take more than a year and a half. An original anime television series produced by Toei Animation titled Girls Band Cry was announced on April 24, 2023, with a teaser visual featuring a girl with a guitar and the slogan 'Throw in All the Anger, Joy, and Sadness.' On May 29, 2023, a key visual was revealed alongside the main cast and staff. The five members of Togenashi Togeari were revealed with music videos of their two songs, 'Na mo Naki Nani mo Kamo' and 'Itsuwari no Kotowari,' released on the project's YouTube channel. In the following months, more music videos and introductory videos of each member were released; these songs were later compiled into physical singles.
Media
The discography of Girls Band Cry includes two studio albums, one soundtrack album, two extended plays, and eleven singles performed by Togenashi Togeari. Additionally, two digital singles were released by Diamond Dust, later compiled as an extended play. All music is released under the Universal Music Japan label. On December 20, 2023, the first PV for the anime was released with its premiere set for April 2024. A second PV was released on February 9, 2024, confirming its premiere date of April 6. The series is directed by Kazuo Sakai, with Jukki Hanada handling series composition and writing screenplays, Tadashi Hirayama as series producer, Nari Teshima designing characters, Mari Kondō and Jae Hoon Jung as CGI directors, and Kenji Tamai as music composer. The series aired from April 6 to June 29, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme is 'Zattō, Bokura no M' (the source cuts off, but the opening theme is 'Zattō, Bokura no Machi' as per the original source). A mobile game developed by DONUTS GAMES Inc titled Girls Band Cry First Riff is in development, and an action-platformer Windows game titled Momoka (wo) Wasshoi, inspired by the anime series, was released in September 2025.
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