Band's List Gothic Metal Ave Mujica Completeness

BanG Dream! (or Bandori) is a Japanese mixed-media franchise started by the multimedia company Bushiroad. The origins of this media project goes back to 2014 with a manga series and first music releases which were not successful commercially. The change came with the start of an anime series and the launch of a smartphone game in 2017 which helped BanG Dream! to both commercial and critical acclaim in Japan. The game was 15th most-successful smartphone game in Japan regarding the total-revenue in 2019, while the anime series was less successful in the beginning.
Next to print publications, anime projects and the video game, the media franchise also consists out of music-related releases and concerts. To date, the franchise brought nine bands in total with six of them actually playing concerts. In an 2019 interview with Oricon, it was stated that the voice actors portraying the in-game and anime characters of the franchises's bands spent more than ten hours a day for several months actually learning how to play their instruments, even though playing an instrument is not required for being casted in one of the fictional bands. The voice actors casted for the fictional band member's roles would actually become the members of the real-life bands.

Ave Mujica is one of the nine groups currently existing within the media franchise and one of six bands whose members actually playing their own instruments during concerts. The group was started in April 2023 and during their first concerts, the identities of the real-life band members were kept a secret (using limited stage lights and the members wearing cloaks and masks). When the final episode of the anime series "BanG Dream! It's MyGO!!!!!" aired in September 2023, the identities of Ave Mujica's members were officially announced. The group went on to release two EPs entitled "Alea Jacta Est" in 2023 and "Elements" the year after. The year 2025 saw the release of the anime series "BanG Dream! Ave Mujica" which revolves around the band and it's band members. And while I have to admit that the BanG Dream! anime series is a guilty pleasure of mine, I dare to say that this series was the best output of the franchise so far, dealing with serious issues such as alcoholism, mental disorder, angst an feeling lost. Also in April 23, 2025, the first official "album", Completeness, was officially released.

This work contains seven tracks in total, with a total playing-time of exactly 28 minutes. The physical album came with a bonus CD containing on extra live-track from the group's fourth in-franchise concert held in 2024, entitled "Adventus". Also, a limited version which includes a bonus blu-ray disc containing the whole concert "Adventus" was released the same day. The music of Ave Mujica can be described as a visually gothic-influenced style of symphonic metal being a lyrical darker version of the in-franchise band Roselia which shares musical simularities. As for the album, all seven tracks are used in the "Ave Mujica" anime series, with "KiLLKiSS" being used as the series' opening theme while "Georgette Me, Georgette You" served as the ending theme song for the anime. "Imprisoned XII" and "Crucifix X" were used as insert-songs in the tenth episode, and the other three songs (Octagram Dance, Kao and Sora no Música) where playing during the series' final episode of the first season (a second season has been green-lit).

Why am I telling this? Because for the context of the songs it is important to know that they were used in the anime series. Written and composed by Diggy-MO', a former member of Japanese hip-hop group Soul'd Out, the song tackles in-anime-related themes. For example, "Imprisoned XII" is a song which was written by vocalist/guitarist Uika Misumi (portrayed by Rico Sasaki) in the anime series which was directed to Sakiko Togawa (portrayed by Kanon Takao), a fellow band member of the fictional Ave Mujica. Throughout the anime's story it is revealed that Uika actually is the blood-related aunt of Sakiko (having developed some kind obsession towards the latter which gives the song some grotesque meaning). In an interview with news website Music Natalie, Diggy-MO' further explained all the song's background and how they are tied to the anime series. "Octagram Dance" features circus-influenced themes making the song having an eerie aura. "KiLLKiSS" can be described as a peppy J-pop song featuring some J-Rock and a gothic-like beginning using string instruments before bursting into a more heavy sound. The song's animated music video which also serves as the opening sequence for the Ave Mujica anime series gives some dark and fascinating vibes. The usage of silhouettes evoke simularities to the infamous "Bad Apple!!" music video. The second track "Georgette Me, Georgette You" starts off calm before getting heavier during the choruses. "Imprisoned XII" is a very ballad-esque song but due to it's in-anime background the song is pretty dark and twisted.

"Crucify X" is may be next to "KiLLKiSS" and "Kao" one of the "albums" heaviest tracks. The song starts off with the use of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" and turns into some alternative metal/hard rock song despite having some cliché lyrics like "I never die". The seventh track "Sora no Música" gives the work an epic ending. Overall, Completeness is a solid heavy rock/symphonic metal album which was on heavy-rotation for at least the last month. Despite being quite heavy and dark-tuned, Ave Mujica is still part of "BanG Dream!" which means that the group fits within the idol-esque formula earlier bands of the franchise had established. While overall enjoying Completeness, there are some criticism like marketing it as a full-length record while clearly being an EP or a mini album at last. Producing a second disc with just one track is the opposite of ressource-saving (it would be okay, if it were a second disc featuring all those bonus tracks which were printed on five bonus-discs). Another negative point may be the selling price of the limited version of the franchise's releases in general (not just for Completeness) being at least 80 USD for a single and about 100 USD for an album (w/o shipping costs, VAT, import and custom duties).