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The Fall 2016 Anime Preview Guide
Show By Rock!!#

How would you rate episode 1 of
Show By Rock!!# (TV 2/2016) ?
Community score: 3.6



What is this?

Following the defeat of megalomaniacal jellyfish Dagger Morse, life has returned to normal for the furry denizens of Midi City. Things are particularly good for mustachioed egg Maple Arisugawa, who's recently added the mega-popular Criticrista to BRR's growing roster of bands. In an effort to get his label's lesser known groups invited to perform at the recently completed Puru Land theme park's opening ceremony, Maple has been booking gigs for Plasmagica and Shingan Crimsonz left and right. However, despite their best efforts to maintain a positive outlook, the girls of Plasmagica are deeply affected by Cyan's departure from the band. To make matters worse, the girls are attacked during their first Cyan-less performance by a mysterious trio of new enemies, accompanied by none other than a revitalized Dagger! It's soon revealed that the leader of these villains is an evil intergalactic queen whose goal is to corrupt the inhabitants of Sound Planet and rule the Sound Galaxy. With their greatest foe back in action, a mysterious new enemy to contend with, and a huge concert date looming, will our heroes once again be able to save the world while making a name for themselves in the music biz? Show By Rock!!# is based on a mobile game and can be found streaming on Crunchyroll, Sundays at 10:00 AM EST.


How was the first episode?

Amy McNulty

Rating: 3.5

Since the first season of Show By Rock!!# had a fairly conclusive ending, I was a little surprised to hear that the show would be returning for another round. After all, countless shows with incomplete endings never receive second seasons, regardless of how successful their initial runs may have been. (Although I suppose the good guys allowing the defeated Dagger to slink away after the final battle left the door open for a sequel.) Still, the characters were very likable, the visuals were nice, the songs were toe-tapping (if mostly forgettable), and the comedy was well-executed, so I'm not opposed to spending some more time in Midi City.

It seems the producers have adopted a “go big or go home approach” to the show's sophomore season. This episode's cold open chronicles a devastating attack on the entirety of Sound Planet, courtesy of the Queen of Darkness—this season's frightening but generically-named master villain. Right off the bat, it's clear that our heroes are dealing with a threat that's about a thousand times more menacing than Dagger. The fluidly-animated large-scale destruction featured throughout this portion of the episode is actually quite jarring, as the tone of the first season was largely lighthearted and kid-friendly—though it did have some darker moments toward the end.

Since musical numbers are one of this show's biggest draws, it should come as no surprise that the premiere features two of them: a concert performance by Shingan Crimsonz and an off-the-cuff ballad by the various Plasmagica members. While the Crimsonz piece is certainly catchy, it's interspersed with other scenes, which results in viewers not being able to hear the full song. As was the case with the first season's premiere, there's simply too much plot for one episode here, and the producers clearly wanted to set aside more time for the Plasmagica song—an American Tale-esque “we're all singing under the same stars” number that accentuates how much they miss Cyan and how much Cyan misses them.

One of my main problems with the first season was the sheer number of bands it attempted to wedge in—too many to properly develop in a one-cour anime. Since Show By Rock!!# is based on a smartphone game, it makes sense that the producers would want to give all the characters some screen time, but given the show's limited number of episodes, it may have been best to leave a few of these groups out. In the first episode alone, season two introduces two new bands, each with their own quirky theme—Bud Virgin Logic, a group of intergalactic femme fatales and Ninjinriot, a trio of futuristic ninja. With so many new faces and stakes that have been upped considerably, I hope Show By Rock!!# doesn't make the same mistake as its predecessor—i.e., introducing a complex overarching plot and ignoring it for as long as possible.


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