Days of Bang Dream

In the books and movies, it's normally a person that reaches out to you during your lowest point. But for me, the star in the sea of darkness was definitely all the characters in Bandori and their stories. It can be easy to pass Bandori off as just sparkles and smiles, but what I love the most about Bandori and each of the girls is that behind each smile and laugh, there was also struggle and conflict that they had to overcome.

(I'll try to refrain from this getting too long ;-; but here goes) The me two years ago let my social anxiety dwarf over every other part of me 'til the point where I absolutely despised myself. I was like Mashiro in a way- my parents sacrificed so much to give me the opportunity to go to a good school, yet it was also this school that made me feel like trash compared to the rest of the students there. The worst part was that I had no sense of who I really was, after trying so hard to "fit in" and make everyone happy.

Then Bandori came into play.

• The stoic and quiet girl I used to be became someone who silently suppresses shrieks of admiration while watching Roselia concerts- having someone that you can say you love and look up to is super important (I guess it's a bit sad to say I had no one like this in my life before, but now it's Yukina and a lot of other characters), because hey- that's someone that you wish you could be one day. And that's a starting point that you can improve yourself from.
• I think it was called comfort characters/songs? Yup, that was it. The lyrics for most bandori songs (especially Popipa and Roselia's!!) are really touching (I highly recommend to read them on the wiki!) and they've helped me a lot. Music is a powerful thing (the amount of times I've cried while listening to Hidamari Rhodonite and Neo Aspect is... embarrassing, to say the least :p)
• Each character is so inspiring- and this is where Bandori truly shines. Yes, their music is boppin', the anime is fantastic, and the game is super fun (not to mention the amazing seiyuu & live concerts), but their character development and writing is the most stunning of all. From Yukina to Aya, they all have their own struggles, they're not perfect, yet they try to become better versions of themselves. And that was what I had been foolishly doing wrong, just wallowing in self-hatred instead of picking myself up and trying to become better. I also found myself saying things like "Don't beat yourself up over that, Aya! So what if you can't ad-lib or stumble over your words? We all do that sometimes" and just pause and think- how come you don't talk to yourself that way?
• There's so much more but it's getting late and I haven't finished my science homework yet :( Bandori has taught me a lot about facing your fears, owning up to your mistakes, accepting what makes you different, and so much more. But I think the biggest change is that now, I'm no longer scared of hugs or the word "love". And it's become much easier for me to say love instead of hate, especially when it comes to my friends and myself.
• AAAAAAAAA I JUST LOVE BANDORI SO MUCH SERIOUSLY IT'S HELPED ME IN SO MANY WAYS. It would be no exaggeration to say that Bandori has changed my life. Without it, I really wonder where I would be standing now, socially, academically, and as a person. I went from that one awkward girl who is always gloomy and probably hates herself to that one awkward girl who's really nice (I hope ;w;) and is constantly trying to become the best version of herself that she can be.

(Format of the post is based off/inspired by Momoyukiis because I have no idea how to organize/format lengthy word-posts to make them less chunky and more readable ;-;)