Why Afterglow is my Favorite Band - An Analysis

So this is something random but personal I wanted to share because I normally joke around a lot, and also I’m typing differently from usual, to help this be... idk, easier to read.

I’ve liked hip hop since I was like... 8 or 9. Now that I’m 20, hip hop is just a part of my soul, or something to that effect. You can probably tell by the genuinely amazing and undisputed official nickname I gave Chisato, lmao. But I’m always fond of things that remind me of hip hop, and with Bang Dream, Aglow very quickly started to strike as quite hip hop-ish after I downloaded the game. So right off the bat, they became my favorite band. They were actually the reason I abandoned LLSIF, as I’m not particularly attached to the idol aesthetic or sound—I just happen to like the Pastels as characters (ilu chisato but ur really a thug wearing a cute outfit)

Afterglow’s Presentation

Something about Afterglow just resonates deeply in my soul. For starters, they don’t have a strong thematic band outfit, everyone just has the same necklace/choker/jacket. Other than that each girl just wears what she likes. Hip hop at its core really values individuality and I see that same value in Afterglow. Even the way they wear the jackets differently speaks to how they all rock out in their own free-spirited way.

Adding on to all of this is the hair colors they have, as you’ll see a lot of younger hip hop artists rocking some pretty unorthodox colors as well. Both Afterglow and these artists strike me as generally unconcerned with being conventional/what society deems standard, and it’s something I really identify with. Then there’s Tsugu who doesn’t care and just goes with her natural color, once again being unafraid to be her individual self amidst a group of rocker girls with actual anime hair.

Afterglow’s Sound

Secondly, it’s gotta be something about their music. I’ve seen people complain about their sound, either because the music gets too chaotic, or because Ran’s voice sounds a little off/strained/too loud. The most common complaint I’ve seen is towards that Azu No-something cover song, and that song actually exemplifies explicitly what I love about this group.

Ran’s voice is all over the place in that song, as she starts off a little quiet and too mumble-like, it’s actually hard to hear her what she’s saying lmao. But then she gets going and just explodes in the chorus, and gets crazy loud/rough on the ears maybe. But I can’t recall how many countless hip hop songs I’ve loved where the artist is literally mumbling, or shouting way too loud, rapping too fast, or their voice is cracking/generally doing something unrefined. Hip hop values technique, but it also values pure expression and passion.

Idk who the band members actually are, so I’m just going to refer to the fictional characters. Anyways, Aglow really strikes me as expressiveness and passion over technique. It’s in the way Tomoe gets really explosive and insanely fast on the drums, to how Tsugu brings a much more quiet, yet noticeable, and focused melody with her keyboard.

Meanwhile I struggle to actually discern Himari’s bass sometimes but I know she’s there, providing crucial rhythm support from the shadows. She doesn’t feel the need to be in the spotlight. Moca is absurdly flamboyant and generally just wails on her guitar with total abandon, stealing the show for entire sections of any given song. Ran is always at the raging enter of the musical storm, using everyone’s support to give a thrashing performance with her emotional voice.

Everyone literally does their own thing from a musical perspective and sometimes it really shows, I would probably say Hey-Day Capriccio and Y.O.L.O are good examples. Other times, as with Jamboree! Journey, everyone is super in sync and the sound feels surprisingly groovy/rhythmic. I see the same thing in hip hop, where sometimes everyone involved with the song is doing their own individual thing and the song sounds nice. Other times, they come together, making music that’s full of synergy while also feeling deep.

So that’s why Afterglow is solidly my favorite band in this game. I need to read about the actual characters more though because I don’t know much about them individually, but they really appeal to me with their punk-rock vibes, I’ve always thought that hip hop and punk were cousins for their rebellious attitudes and flamboyance that overlap a lot of times. Aglow’s characters might even end up surpassing the thugnificent Chisato one day. And thanks if you read all of this, hope you enjoyed <3

everyone: himari's persona card is soo bad, fanservice

me: are you seriously?

While everyone has enough stars to pull 10,000 times for the event, i only have enough for 1 :(((

Feelstragicman

:,(

my take on all of the discourse // not trying to start more btw i think both sides are valid

Time Lapse FULL COMBO!!

After like 30+ tries I got it!

I really wonder though, why are much more players dread playing Time Lapse on expert? Is it the finicky Left/Right green note swipe or the pink note spam after chorus?

Is it as simple as “Not everyone has an iPad” and that I’m having an unfair advantage? (No it IS fair)

EDIT: Sorry for giving thumb players assumption... I tried this same song on a phone with thumbs and it actually isn’t any harder at all!

Here’s a video proving myself wrong

click me, I lead to a song cover!

I FINALLY FINISHED IT! the full version of my English cover of Goka Gokai Phantom Thief that I'd been working on for. a while. could have been done earlier had I not been lazy about the background stuff bUT IT'S DONE NOW

enjoy! ~

I kinda need to rant but it’s not about anyone here but from people in other places (also I don’t really want to cause any discourse hhh)

I find it really annoying when people complain about the lack of stars that Bandori gives you as a f2p because it’s not actually that bad if you, idk, actually play the game?? Yeah, the login bonuses aren’t that great, but if you actually events regularly, you get a decent amount of stars. I get roughly 800 (probably a bit more) per event, including event point & ranking bonuses and the event stories. That’s a bit less than 1/3 of a pull, but it adds up. I only play for like an hour a day these days but yeah. I’ve been playing endori since the beginning, and I have about 25k stars saved up, just by using the method above (I’ve gotten more stars from other things too). And I’ve not spent a single penny on the game. I don’t expect every one to have that much but yeah you can still save a decent amount if you try.

What I’m trying to say here is that it’s not that hard. It’s like any other game, you actually need to play it if you want rewards and items. You can’t expect everything to be handed to you. And if you really want it, then pay. Your money is what keeps the game alive.

Hhh sorry if this sounds stupid or condensing but I really hate when people complain about this I’m gonna go crawl back into my hole now bye.

I was really excited to see that Poppin' Party was gonna cover Life will change. I felt really proud that they would cover such a cool song, and after listening to the preview, I still love it, but I hate the fact that they do the persona 5 cover instead of afterglow, because now people are most likely going to trash PoPiPa for "stealing" afterglow's cover, and they don't deserve this. It's not even PoPiPa's fault that they do that cover.

"roselia wins the election"

in other words, water is wet.

Hello Hello~ My name is Nate, you can find me on twitter as @ryuseinate or on insta as @ryuseicosplay.

I absolutely love Pastel Palletes and would die for Aya and Chisato. As a cosplayer, I hope to cosplay them soon.

I also really enjoy other idol like franchises such as Idolish7, Ensemble Stars and Love Live.

I'd love to make more bandori friends tbh.

Also help, this game is addictive and I went from level 40 to level 60 in a week and a half...

Me - Hey have you watched the new series "Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight"? the cast are really good like Mimorin, Hinahina, AiAi, Ayasa...

Friend - O-Oh....

Me - Ahem... which means that Umi, Leah, Yukina, Arisa and the others are singing together

Friend - WHAT!!!??? what's the name again let me check that out ASAP