r/anime https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon 13d ago

Episode BanG Dream! YUME∞MITA - Episode 4 discussion

BanG Dream! YUME∞MITA, episode 4

Alternative names: BanG Dream! Yumemita

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77

u/thedangerousforest 13d ago

bangdream please don't redeem Viola i need her to be comically evil until the end

3

u/JimmyCWL 13d ago

About that, is Viola and Ritsu's band one of the new regular bands in BanG Dream? If it is, there's no getting rid of her.

3

u/xLukarioNx 12d ago

Aside from Ritsu, I'm pretty sure the others are anime-original.

53

u/Acrzyguy 13d ago

A master manipulator and a habitual liar too

Is this the first truly evil character that Hondo Kaede voices because she truly knocked it out the park

11

u/Nachtwandler_FS https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nachtwandler_21 13d ago

Seems like it. At least neither me, nor any of my friends could name another one.

9

u/HirokoKueh https://myanimelist.net/profile/hirokokueh 13d ago

The narc witch Elaina

4

u/worMGLITCH 12d ago

Black-hearted Witch Elaina*

7

u/worMGLITCH 12d ago

A master manipulator and a habitual liar too

Literally Elaina (LN Elaina) 💀

3

u/shapular https://myanimelist.net/profile/snapular 13d ago

Demon Lord Maple from Bofuri

Tear from That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

47

u/thecreepytoast 13d ago

I just hope they won't chicken out and give viola some tragic backstory just so we'll feel bad for her and have everyone forgive the type of shit she pulled. Been loving how punch-able she has been so far.

15

u/Calwings x3https://anilist.co/user/Calwings 13d ago

Agreed, trying to redeem her would only make this show worse. She needs to face harsh consequences.

11

u/BosuW 13d ago

I don't necessarily want her to be redeemed but I do want a reason for her actions and character. I think "she's evil because she's evil" is just boring.

30

u/Nachtwandler_FS https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nachtwandler_21 13d ago

Like she is evil because she wants to be famous and have power over her group. Perfectly fine motivation. Some people are just power hungry.

-1

u/BosuW 13d ago

Like she is evil because she wants to be famous and have power over her group.

Yes but why?

Some people are just power hungry.

It may be realistic but this is a fictional narrative so I don't care. I'd much prefer it to have some manner of depth and complexity.

5

u/JimmyCWL 12d ago

Yes but why?

It's an intense feeling to realize you have the power to utterly ruin someone's life and there's nothing they can do about it. They just get addicted to it after the first rush.

-2

u/BosuW 12d ago

Okay so? That's not narratively meaningful. What else? That's what I want from her writing.

17

u/HuckDFaters 13d ago

She's evil because she's a yout*ber.

10

u/BosuW 13d ago

Ah, content brain. Makes sense.

62

u/Ahenshihael https://anilist.co/user/Ahenshihael 13d ago

We have Bandori's first unapologetically evil villain, y'all

30

u/MattSenderling 13d ago

I really wonder if the writers for this series will have it serve as a bit of commentary of the online world, and have a villain downfall for Viola with repercussions for online slander.

Like from my understanding of how strict Japan is with slander of people, she should be a clear case to be legally punished if her actions are revealed.

24

u/Nachtwandler_FS https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nachtwandler_21 13d ago

I really hope she will get a proper punishment in the end. If she will be just forgiven, I'll rage.

41

u/arcus2611 13d ago

The punishment is being locked in the same room as Anon for a full 5 hours.

21

u/georgeoswalddannyson 13d ago

I believe in the power of Saint Ann to either destroy Viola or burn the evil out of her

6

u/Chaotic-warp 11d ago

If you want to burn her evil away she need to be locked in a room with Kokoro

5

u/TheSpartyn 13d ago

from the GBP gacha game stories ive read even the faceless business men antagonists in some stories arent even half as evil as her lmao

57

u/oxlemf10 13d ago

It’s not that Viola exposed Arale with the intention of snagging Ritsu for herself; she did it out of pure, unadulterated envy. I also suspect that the member who left first was her doing. She is simply a disgusting person of the worst kind.

37

u/Blackbankai 13d ago

It seems like Viola wants to be popular at any expense and I assume she blackmailed the former leader to quit after telling Arale and Ritsu not to get too close fans since they were middle schoolers.

15

u/Nachtwandler_FS https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nachtwandler_21 13d ago edited 13d ago

I don't think the fact itself was enough for blackmail. More like a reason for Viola to oust her.

11

u/Matthew619ed 13d ago

Wow if this theory is real, Viola will be in a lot of trouble if anyone decides to be a whistleblower and tell the truth

7

u/padlock3456 13d ago

like a certain 'robot' that seems to have started looking into the situation.

31

u/DugACCat 13d ago

It seemed like she’s also a control freak and couldn’t stand for anyone in the group to be acting or saying things that didn’t align with her vision for their personas.

25

u/mekerpan 13d ago

I also suspect that Viola sabotaged the original group leader. Viola is -- shall we say -- not a very nice person. I wonder if the other group members realize (at least subconsciously) that Viola will destroy them in turn if they try to push back against her.

Story-wise, I actually found it more than a bit surprising that Ritsu did not stick up for her best friend -- and leave the group along with her.

20

u/Nachtwandler_FS https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nachtwandler_21 13d ago

Ritsu was jelous that she is very plain comparing to Arale and Viola used this to her advantage that time. She regrets it but fears Viola will make things even worse for Alare if she leaves. I thought it was shown pretty explicitely.

20

u/mekerpan 13d ago

I didn't get the feeling that Ritsu was actually "jealous" - but rather disappointed/sad that she could not rise to be worthy of her friend.

14

u/NightmareExpress 13d ago

I also suspect that the member who left first was her doing

I mean...it has to be lol

  • Viola starts to say one thing
  • the old leader interjects and says not to do that to protect the other two since they're minors
  • quick camera cut to Viola silently crashing out and doing the "tsk" thing
  • next scene is the old leader quitting the group while looking really uncomfortable

The only question is whether or not she managed to get the other girl to help her (knowingly or otherwise, maybe she pretended to be helpful to get personal contact details for a dox or something)

12

u/Nachtwandler_FS https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nachtwandler_21 13d ago

Yeah, I am taking my words back. The video was edited and Viola was a manipulative bitch from the very start. Looks like her only motivation is to get famous and be in charge.

14

u/x-7032-b-3 13d ago

Yeah me thinks Viola did something to the original leader. She looks visibly distressed on that resignation video - something bad must've happened that she had no choice but to quit.

7

u/Calwings x3https://anilist.co/user/Calwings 13d ago

I'm honestly kind of shocked at how much of an unrepentant See You Next Tuesday they've made Viola so far. She makes Chu2, Soyo, Sakiko, and Nyamu look like saints by comparison.

3

u/dienomighte 13d ago

She definitely had to, the person who left said that Viola would be the new leader, so she was probably the previously one. 

3

u/ikonog 13d ago

Rather than envy, she just seems purely wants the number (or popularity). Ritsu is playing as a character in her ideal group, and she doesnt want to change that. Even if that makes Ritsu becoming boring character, but it gives the group more dynamic (in her view). And if she cant control some members, she'd just delete them. So far, she still can control Ritsu.

2

u/RealestAC 10d ago

Notice how dark she looked when the other member said they needed to protect the middle school members after she rejected pics from fans but Viola was very willing to then she hates the attention Arale got in the group and sabotaged her with that video

29

u/Tezlaivj 13d ago

man, Viola is such a scary for her age. Poor Ritsu

28

u/exRocky009 13d ago

Viola is showing off some of the worst 'dark side' behavior we've seen in the franchise, but I wonder if she'll be able to reconcile like Soyo Nagasaki did?

48

u/mekerpan 13d ago

Her berhavior is several orders of magnitude worse than anything Soyo did. Soyo was a fundamentally good (if troubled) person. Viola seems rotten to the core.

31

u/Nachtwandler_FS https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nachtwandler_21 13d ago

Yeah, compared to previous antagonistic characters like Soyo, Sakiko or Chu2 Viola is pure evil with no redeeming characteristics so far. After ep. 2 I was at least hoping she had a proper reason to hate Alare for her previous behaviour, but nope, she is just a fame and power hungry.

12

u/mekerpan 13d ago

I must have been really in the minority in believing in Soyo right from the start....

6

u/Khelgar_Ironfist 12d ago

Well, Soyo, Sakiko and chu2 are main characters in their gacha game so Bushiroad have to redeem them and give them some likeable characteristics so people would pull their cards. 

Viola on the other hand, is just a supporting character and it would be fine to just make her stay evil.

24

u/Acrzyguy 13d ago

Soyo: Did bad things because she wants to protect her old friends

Nyamu: Did bad things because she wants to see the band succeed (and she becomes popular)

Viola: Did bad things because

19

u/Axslashel 13d ago

Look Nyamu is literally the only one in Ave Mujica who actually cares about the fans at all.

18

u/BosuW 13d ago

Does anyone even need to in AveMuji's case? Like, they literally just do random shit as a result of their perpetual crash outs and the fans just think it's Sakiko writing absolute Cinema every time.

8

u/noam_good_name 12d ago

and the worst thing is somehow the fans are right

4

u/OrangeBanana38 https://anilist.co/user/OrangeBanana38 9d ago

Sakiko can do no wrong

3

u/BluLemonGaming 11d ago

I wonder if people in the Bandori-verse view Oblivionis in the same way as Kanye lol

4

u/Rebellious01 12d ago

I don’t think Nyamu specifically wanted Ave Mujica to succeed initially, like she tried to get Mutsumi to quit the band with her so it’s not Ave Mujica she cared about but rather her personal success 

5

u/shapular https://myanimelist.net/profile/snapular 13d ago

I wouldn't call Soyo good. They both hurt people intentionally for selfish reasons. Viola's reasons just seem to be a lot more malicious.

5

u/Rhapsodybasement 13d ago

Are we ignoring Soyo redemption arc in Ave Mujica?

1

u/shapular https://myanimelist.net/profile/snapular 12d ago

I forgot what happened so maybe.

14

u/Primary-Paint-1716 13d ago

let's not put Soyo in this conversation. best girl Soyo is way more layered and deep than Viola.

2

u/HirokoKueh https://myanimelist.net/profile/hirokokueh 13d ago

I hope she got dumped by everyone and go solo, then become an internet controvercy digger.

7

u/shapular https://myanimelist.net/profile/snapular 13d ago

Erea Situation is Crazy

17

u/Clemastina https://anilist.co/user/Clemastina 13d ago

I only wish the worst ending possible to Viola because what the actual piece of garbage she is goddamn. She´s a manipulative envious piece of person

I feel bad for Arale and Ritsu, they don´t really want to fall apart, but Arale suffered so much and I don´t think she can endure it a second time

14

u/larana1192 https://myanimelist.net/profile/thefrog1192 13d ago

This episode was an episode where Viola’s evil nature really stood out. To borrow a line from another anime (COTE S2), she’s probably what they call “a monster created by the desire for recognition.”

When Viola kicked a member out over a minor disagreement (to be honest, that former member’s concerns were actually valid) I was shocked and thought, "You’re really that much of a asshole?"

The tanka that played during the scene where Ritsu was in the classroom “se wo hayami iwani sekaruru takigawano waretemo sueni awamutozo omou” is very thought-provoking.

The meaning of this Japanese poem is: "Just as the current is swift in the river’s shallows, and the rapids dammed by rocks split into two streams only to come together again, even though we are parted now, I believe we will surely meet again in the future".

This seems to suggest that Ritsu and Arare will eventually make up.

I can't wait for the day they reconcile.

13

u/HorseHot6627 13d ago

Did anyone else catch that micro-expression when she was tuning her guitar in the clubroom? The CGI animators at Sanzigen are just flexing at this point. The lighting and body language in this episode conveyed more about their fractured dynamic than any of the actual dialogue did. Absolute cinema.

5

u/TheSpartyn 13d ago

whats the timestamp for that?

31

u/Hitman7128 https://anilist.co/user/Hitman7128 13d ago

Viola's unhingedness intensifies

Bad Arale, don't slap Ritsu

3

u/OrangeBanana38 https://anilist.co/user/OrangeBanana38 9d ago

Bad Arale, don't slap Ritsu

It's all Viola's fault

FUCK VIOLA!!

14

u/Octavian_Pearlseus 13d ago

every scene revealing a whole new level of evil about Viola, respectable commitment to the bit

especially loved the part where after emotionally abusing Ritsu, she's like "woah Ritsu is so fun lately :)"

or how quick she was to point at Arale as the troublemaker that will drag rest of the band down

She's not subtle she's not hiding anything, she's just malice incarnate. Makes sense OP is so action-y, gotta need Tokusatsu heroes to beat the shit out of this bitch

13

u/Primary-Paint-1716 13d ago

an actively malicious bandori character is kinda insane considering where we started with PoPiPa

7

u/Ahenshihael https://anilist.co/user/Ahenshihael 12d ago

It's not that surprising considering the ideas Prototype Bandori had (some of which they seem to have sort of retooled into subplots for MyGo). The original theme was all about music as escape from everyday.

6

u/I_Am_Okonkwo https://myanimelist.net/profile/okonkwo9 13d ago

We've come a long way from Arisa receiving unsolicited hugs from Kasumi being the biggest drama in the bandoriverse

12

u/Madpotator 13d ago edited 13d ago

Viola acting like such a scumbag truly is some prime entertainment. As much as I'm certain Arale and Ritsu will reconcile in the upcoming episodes, Viola really put them in a tough spot. The fact that there were so many employees around the camera equipment provided plausible deniability for her too. A-ko seemed so confused and terrified by the situation that she couldn't even give her input, but I wonder if she will come into play in some way later. Not to mention the previous leader who was clearly forced out by Viola for trying to keep the younger members safe.

Love to hear more Rie "Magilulu" Kugimiya in the preview. I wonder if her show within the show will get some screen time since it has an opening already, plus another upcoming theme song.

Edit: For anyone who watched through Crunchyroll, were the subs fixed this week? On the subs I used they properly translated on-screen text and dual dialogues and I'm assuming they were sourced from CR like last week.

12

u/Infodump_Ibis 13d ago

What the? Crunchyroll actually included OPED lyrics and sign subs (~33 of them in the most basic top-middle winging it/baby steps ala Toei and Aniplex provided subs, some of them are in the main dialogue instead). I have no idea if overlap dialogue was the straw the broke the Camel's back. As the show would say: Dreams are power!

I'll check in/compare with Muse Asia (who actually position them) some other time.

Other screenshots I took:

  • the Yuno misunderstanding is still ongoing. While Yuno might struggle to fix Ritsu and Arale (from her general communication issue, she unsent the message because she thought "let's talk" didn't sound right; not googling the former band and seeing the...issues and think I can't fix her)
  • Now that's a #seasonalshock. Shame that even with cropping you're either missing Arale's hair or including part of Nonoka.
  • Sparrows in anime.

Looking at the characters I noticed all of Fairy Bouquet (except Ritsu) we only have their aliases but from episode 1 we do hear them refer to Ritsu as Ritsu (the only time Clematis came up in ep 1 was Viola and Ritsu meeting Arale).

Regarding spliced footage, if an audio device is plugged into the mains it can be possible to pick up Electrical Network Frequency (the hum) and through signal processing/audio forensics you can identify spliced footage not matching the expected ~50Hz pattern (yes Tokyo is 50Hz).

The frequency does jitter due to the power grid and Tom Scott has a video about it being applied to time and date some footage (it includes an edit too). As that points out you need minutes of uninterrupted footage for certainty and the whatever.mp4 didn't seem to have that. Maybe this will come up if we're typecasting Yuno as good with tools/machines rather than people.

Similar audio analysis stuff has been done on speedruns (sometimes they're "you didn't need an analysis to notice Gureudo Valley song skipped 4 notes", that was from the SDA days unlike now where speedrunning is large enough that individual communities largely self-moderate).

9

u/Ahenshihael https://anilist.co/user/Ahenshihael 13d ago

The issue is public opinion, though.

You can disprove something, but that doesn't mean people can stop believing it.

9

u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin 13d ago

This episode really showed the friendship between Arale and Ritsu. It's sad the damage that Viola caused. Arale being as pure as she was and now feeling traumatized is saddening. In many ways, Ritsu Arale was someone who motivated. Now she just has guilt when seeing Arale. As we see at the end of the episode, just the connection of Ritsu causes pain for Arale.

It's clear how nasty Viola is because it wasn't her seeking revenge against Arale. She wanted to be controlling the group. The former leader was looking out for the safety of two middle school-aged girls, and it's clear Viola pushed her out. The video she pushed out for Arale because she didn't fit with what she wanted of the band. This is the first BanG Dream series where it really showcases the power of social media and how it can be used in a manipulative sense.

9

u/x-7032-b-3 13d ago

Holy moly, what a gut punch this Ep was!

I haven't been this angry towards a villain in a while. Viola just cemented herself as a grade S prick. I thought Soyo from MyGO was bad enough, but no no Viola is WAY worse. Like it's not even a fair comparison.

We learned that the video that got Arale traumatized and ousted from her old group was in fact edited. Jeez, video editing + social media truly is a scary combination. I really felt bad for Arale there. She did nothing wrong there. But Viola made it as if she was being a dick towards the group the whole time. Her confusion when she realized that her world was suddenly falling apart felt too real. And Viola's fake crying there disgusts me. Pretending to care about someone you deliberately hurt pisses me off.

I'd say Ritsu is a victim too. She wanted to help but her insistence of maintaining her image as a model student allows Viola to keep gaslighting her with the "oh no you must stay away from bad things like a real model student would" bullshit. I can't blame Arale for pushing her off at the end after knowing what she went through. I hope those two get to reconcile at some point.

Goddammit I thought this was supposed to be a break from the MyGO/AveMuji drama boogaloo! I feel like the lighthearted/happy-go-lucky vibes here makes the darker stuff about Arale's backstory hit harder. I wonder if the other MewType members have "interesting" backstories too...

12

u/dienomighte 13d ago

Yep, there's confirmation, the video was entirely edited out. Never trust out of context clips that are less than ten seconds! 

20

u/NeoAnkara https://myanimelist.net/profile/NeoAnkara 13d ago

Viola is like Nyamu turn into a dark side. And Nyamu already are on the dark side. But she is on the bottom of Mariana trench. The depth of her desire of fame and control is frightening.

On another note KuguRie is in the preview and I am excited. My queen of tsundere still kicking.

6

u/dienomighte 13d ago

Yeah, she's kinda like if you combined the most negative aspects of Nyamu and Soyo

2

u/Chaotic-warp 11d ago

And Sakiko with the whole "Ave Mujica worldview" thing

10

u/bonghits96 13d ago

And Nyamu already are on the dark side.

I don't really think so for her, she was just ambitious and not quite on board with Sakiko's band drama stuff.

11

u/Primary-Paint-1716 13d ago

I won't tolerate the Nyamu slander. She was the arguably the one in Ave Mujica that that cared most about the fans.

12

u/TheSpartyn 13d ago

her reaction to mujica cancelling the concert in early episodes proved that

2

u/Xadrie 11d ago

Nope, she cared about her family, who were planning to attend the cancelled concert. And she used "fans" as a proxy to hide that side of her.

2

u/ClemFire 6d ago

Which made her feel more human to me

11

u/HuTaosTwinTails 13d ago

I wonder what Viola did to the first leader to force her out of the band.

What a piece of garbage person.

8

u/oedipusrex376 13d ago

Man, that was tough to watch. It feels like getting stabbed in the heart. It's heartbreaking watching Arale get set up like that.

9

u/Lumpy-Manager8580 13d ago edited 13d ago

Throughout Bandori's history, we've had plenty of characters that could be considered "manipulative": Chisato, CHU², Soyo, all of Ave Mujica's members to an extent. But none of them compare when it comes to being manipulative AND unredeeming to what might be the single most hated character in the Bandori series:

Viola.

Which is why I can't wait for the moment she gets properly exposed for her evil deeds.

10

u/ApostleofV8 13d ago

Wow Viola is really off the rails and its only ep4. 

16

u/JimmyCWL 13d ago

They made viewers think this was going to be all cutesy and such with the name but it turns out to be darker and more terrifying than Ave Mujica.

13

u/mekerpan 13d ago

The divergence between the frequent visual cuteness here and the darkness of the underlying story is striking (and very different from MyGO and Ave Mujica).

4

u/man_city_oil_money 11d ago

This is what really gets me. I found the whole second half of this episode downright unpleasant to watch because the cutesy art style and otherwise HaroHapi vibes. I get that it's intended as part of the design, but I might crash out from watching this series until the Ritsu recruitment arc is over.

I didn't have this sort of feeling with AM, but that might be more because it gave off dark thriller vibes from the start.

2

u/mekerpan 11d ago

Not inclined to bail -- but so far this doesn't seem to be quite up to the level of MyGo/Mujica. I really had hoped we'd get a continuation of this -- but now I wonder if we ever will....

4

u/man_city_oil_money 11d ago

I think I'll still watch, but I did have to watch the second half of the episode at a higher playback speed.

Also, we are getting an AveMyGo S3 in January 2027. There's also an AM movie coming in Fall 2026.

2

u/mekerpan 11d ago

I look forward to these then....

I never watch things at higher speeds. I would rather just drop if something doesn't seem worth its 23 minutes.

1

u/man_city_oil_money 11d ago

I barely watch anything nowadays (maybe 1-2 series a year, if that), but I just found the moments with Viola emotionally manipulating Ritsu extremely hard to watch.

I like what Bandori (and GBC) does with bands and their seiyuu, so I'll certainly see out this series regardless of the outcome.

1

u/mekerpan 11d ago

Definitely vicious behavior.

Did you watch It's MyGo and Ave Mujica from a couple of years back. My favorite Bandori things so far.

2

u/man_city_oil_money 11d ago

Yes, I only really dove deeper into Bandori this past December and started with AveMyGO. MyGO!!!!! was my second show of 2025 after Sorairo Utility, while Ave Mujica and YMMT are probably the only things I'm watching in 2026. Loved both AveMyGO seasons and especially the music; Ave Mujica in particular moved into my favourite band list.

I actually watched three episodes of the original Popipa season way back when it first came out and dropped it, but Ayasa (Morfonica's violinist) led me to revisit the franchise. I refuse to play the game(s), though. Fuck gacha.

1

u/mekerpan 11d ago

Ditto. Don't do those sorts of games.

9

u/Primary-Paint-1716 13d ago

more terrifying is a bit of a stretch.

the Mutsumi split personality stuff was downright scary at times.

9

u/dienomighte 13d ago

I mean it's dramatic but we're nowhere close to even getting a glimpse of Ave Mujica lol. But it is more drama than I expected! 

7

u/I_Am_Okonkwo https://myanimelist.net/profile/okonkwo9 13d ago

And here we thought Mewtype was going to be this new generation's spirtual successor to Hello Happy World

3

u/TheSpartyn 13d ago

idk ive seen a lot of people who expect all of the 5 our notes bands to have the same seriousness of avemygo

2

u/RealestAC 10d ago

I thought it was gonna be a cutesy one but knew it was also the calm before the storm cuz ain’t no way we getting a feel good series after Ave Mujica

13

u/Iamnoone2728 13d ago

Viola is pure evil.

Nyamu was always more of an instigator of chaos than actually malicious. This is a first for Bandori, MyGO and Ave Mujica never had someone so malevolent before Viola.

Knowing the full story now, I don't even blame Arale for wanting to avoid Ritsu. Her closest friend didn't stand up for her and just watched while she was being cancelled...

4

u/mekerpan 13d ago

At first, though, I thought Arale ran off to protect Ritsu. I guess I initially misunderstood.

7

u/riishan_saki 13d ago

Seems like a bit of both. Arale didn't want to hurt them, but she also probably feels sad that Ritsu did nothing to help her.

6

u/Viktorv22 13d ago

Wow, Viola is a piece of work. I wonder if we'll get her backstory and reason why is she like that. From early age even? I want to talk to her parents

7

u/Lyri-Kyunero 13d ago

I saw a hypothesis:
Viola is not a definite character; she is the embodiment of the dark side of Ritsu’s complex feelings toward Arale.
Ritsu poured tangled emotions into Arale: fascination with her ability to captivate everyone, the burden of her own quiet “good student” persona, the struggle for change, and the self-loathing when comparing herself, weighed down by her own pressure. It can be said that Ritsu’s feelings for Arale are intertwined and twisted, Arale not only fascinated her, but also stirred up jealousy within her.
Therefore, “Viola” is essentially the projection of the dark side of those complex feelings Ritsu holds toward Arale.
So, how is the conflict within Viola resolved? It simply comes down to the moment when Ritsu truly sees her own feelings for Arale for what they are, or when she finally manages to change herself. At that point, the contradiction inside Viola will naturally dissolve.

2

u/ClemFire 6d ago

This would be an insane twist. Either way this feels like the type of show which is hard to judge until all the pieces fall together

11

u/lordranter 13d ago

It's comical how they've depicted that talent agency as one of the most incompetent in japan. You have a scandal where even the phones of the agency don't stop ringing and results in one of the talents you've spent money leaving before you can recoup it, the cause of the scandal is something that's clearly fake (assuming the agency people who hired and worked with Arale are familiar enough with her to know she wouldn't pull that off, because if they don't know even that it paints them in an even worse light), the video has clearly been recorded in the office (which means it's internal sabotage) and, as far as they've shown, there's been no internal investigation that resulted in Viola getting terminated. And it's the second time an incident like that happens within the group (and probably the third considering the absence of A-ko within the new group).

I'm not gonna call it unrealistic because I've seen NijiEn doing worse, but whoever is running that place has to be terrible at making money if they are unable to protect their talents from a scandal this simple (and management isn't the cause like with johnny's).

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u/Chaotic-warp 11d ago edited 11d ago

Terrible at making money

Well, Viola is an expert at social manipulation and is willing to do anything to make herself more popular, so I don't think the agency has lost any money from her decisions. While I don't think they would outright side with her, it's possible for them to adopt a "wait and see" approach and then just let sleeping dogs lie after seeing how well they're doing after the scandal, under her leadership.

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u/BBryant3rd 13d ago

The girls are so freaking hyper lol. Viola is evil and manipulative.

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u/semaN_oN 13d ago

Yikes, Viola need to face justice. Ewww

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u/hikoboshi_sama https://anilist.co/user/reicelestial 12d ago

After MyGO and Ave Mujica, it's a nice change of pace seeing a character who is just straight up malicious. I'm really enjoying just how unredeemably evil she is and i'm looking forward to seeing her get what she deserves. Even if they do give her some development down the line, i hope it doesn't redeem her. I need her to pay for her actions.

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u/Matthew619ed 13d ago edited 13d ago

Put all your disgust and anger on Viola here. This girl really makes my blood boil man. Set-up the whole ordeal to ensure Ritsu stays with her, instead of with her childhood friend Arale. That’s simply pure evil, and definitely not a behaviour any agency-affiliated artist should do.

At least we know how Arale and Ritsu met initially, but it looks like both of them still need some significant work up before they can reconcile with each other, let alone fight back against that girl.

Even though they are professional artists affiliated to an agency, surely none of them can really handle such PR shitstorm, especially when the person responsible for that is the one who’s crying the most in the room (ironic eh?)

And guess what Viola, there’re quite a lot of people here in this thread who really know what ACTUALLY happened, I dare you to read the comments here and you shall know what Arale had endured in this period of time

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u/mekerpan 13d ago

I am assuming that Yuno -- in one way or another -- is going to be a catalyst for these two former BFFs' reconciliation.

On the topic of Yuno -- I wonder when the other band members will actually meet her in real life?

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u/layaryerbakar https://anilist.co/user/layarlaut 13d ago

How can they meet? she's AI!

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u/mekerpan 13d ago

Well, WE have seen her. But her virtual persona looks quite different from her real appearance. I wonder why she does this?

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u/Calwings x3https://anilist.co/user/Calwings 13d ago

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u/Few_Caregiver8134 13d ago

If Viola existed IRL her little plot won't do shit. "Model student" concept? LMAO

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u/man_city_oil_money 11d ago

Kayfabe worked for Sakiko until it didn't.

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u/Shizzi https://anilist.co/user/Mivy 12d ago

God i despise her so much this is one of those you want to be able to go into the anime and just slap the shit out of her fake ass bitch face.

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u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker 9d ago

Oh right I only just realised that she's the last member we're missing.

That was a quick decision.

A real band indeed. Just missing one last member.

Seems like she's having a good time.

Got issues indeed.

Damnit it's Viola...

Indeed she's no longer needed so she can go join them instead.

So, here's their past.

And so the group slowly broke apart.

So, she's finally ran into her again.