Girls Band Cry

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First, let's talk graphics. Most anime that are CGI-based look bad. There are some that look "tolerable", and use downside of CGI as part of the style, but most look like they were only trying to save money, while applying same principals as 2D. Now this one... To me it looks like the studio knew that CGI works differently and you can't use same processes, and as result it looks great. It's not perfect, I can definitely see issues on some backgrounds, where the models on the first plane do not mesh with those that well (slight artifacts in lighting or perspective), but overall - really good. They even properly utilize 3D VFX in certain scenes.

But, of course, it's not just graphics. It looks like the story may be good, too. It will be a tough match against Jellyfish, which has a very similar premise based on 1st episodes of both shows, but at least this one did not have unnecessary oversexualized scenes in it. The characters so far do have their own, well, "characters", and they were likable. Both shows will probably touch on similar topics, too. I would say, main difference would be that this one is probably just about music, while Jellyfish also involves art as important component of the story.

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Episode 6:

Personally I find this one to be a bit better than Jellyfish, after all. Not by much, but still, it's less "everything will be daijobu" and more honest with feelings. But what I can't stand is how lip-sync in the opening does not match the words in some places.

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Episode 8:

Don't cry and drive.

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Episode 13:

Don't get me wrong, the final message of "We need to stay together" is same as in Jellyfish, but the way we got to it is way different. Girls got frustrated with each other, miscommunicated, fought, and actually worked things out in meaningful ways while staying together. They worked together to stay together through even through tough times.

Where Jellyfish is like a cheap American Christmas romcom, this show has actual story and character development, does not shy away from strong emotions and the need to work on them, and even the ending is way more realistic and... Stronger in its message. I mean, things did not work out as well as they hoped to, but both the characters and the viewers share the feeling that "things are moving forward".

And this show is still quite lighthearted. It tried things to be more optimistic, but the way everything was presented was just better. Humor was better as well, and part of that is how the studio worked the camera and those little animations. They were not using CGI for the sake of using CGI and (potentially) cutting costs: they used it as an actual story-telling tool, and it looked great.

The music, as well. Jellyfish was also supposed to be about music, although obviously with more emphasis on art as well, but it barely had any music in it. GBC has lots of music, not only like actual songs (most of which are quite good on their own), but also music during scenes, and it just adds to the overall experience.

I would dare say, that this anime was the best anime this season. There were good ones, of course, but overall they were all missing something here or there, while GBC felt like a complete and (mostly) polished experience.