In 2020, I decided to embark on a mission. I wanted to watch all band/instrument-related animes to see what they are about and what was the best. Did the popular ones deserve as much praise as it did? Were there some hidden gems that needed attention? I was curious and wanted to see for myself.

While I am in no way a professional musician, I’ve been a student of music for 20+ years, and have picked up multiple instruments over the years such as keyboard, guitar, clarinet, viola, harmonica, ocarina, drum kit, bass drum (drumline) and have spent a day or two with other instruments like saxophone and flute.

In more recent years on my guitar learning journey, I have taken a deeper interest in brands and more advance musical theory. Thus, when I watch a musical anime, I’m able to judge if the series is realistic when it comes to a character’s growth, accurate when it comes to it’s playing, or if the creators clearly don’t know anything about instruments.

My final rating is a summary of various things. The highest rated animes will be series that truly focus on the music, and are accurate, detailed and realistic.

Even if the storyline is great or interesting, it will lose points if they put 5 strings on a guitar and his fingering is consistently wrong. Considering they would need real musicians to play the music for the shows, there is really no excuse. This also means a series that would be rated horribly by the public may still have redeeming points if they cared about brands and the music was great.

If you know of other series that I haven’t mentioned, please leave a comment below! I would love to check it out soon. Also note that this is strictly about bands and musicians, not animes about singing or idols.

Kids On The Slope (Sakamichi no Apollon)

My Rating: 10/10

I don’t hate jazz, but I’m also not one to listen to it on a Sunday afternoon, so I was surprised to like this series as much as I did. Interesting characters, unique plot, actual jazz music, accurate representation of instruments and playing, and you gotta love their ability to jam out on the spot. There is nothing to really hate about this series unless, of course, you really hate jazz haha. While there is a hint of romance, music keeps center stage.

Sound! Euphonium! (Hibike! Euphonium!)

My Rating: 10/10

What is a Euphonium? I didn’t know either, and I took band class for 10 years and had to do those labelling quizzes more than once, thus I appreciate this show for bringing light to what appears to be a forgotten instrument. Having taken band class though, the show is very realistic in various aspects, from students picking the most popular instruments, to how serious a band has to be to compete, practicing the same passage many many times and still messing up etc.

It is made by the same studio as K-On!! (which is sadly the studio that was set on fire in 2019, condolences to the families), so you can expect the same lovely animation and attention to detail. It’s a shame this series isn’t really talked about. (2024 Update: Season 3 is finally out!! There wasn’t much playing this time around, but it was very interesting seeing the MC struggle as the president due to many interpersonal issues among members and lack of trust/understanding with the teacher in charge. It was a wonderful series finale though! Even made me tear up a bit haha)

Your Lie in April (Shigatsu wa kimo no uso)

My Rating: 10/10

I started this when it first aired. I couldn’t remember how I felt about it then and I never got to finish it, but I watched the whole thing again recently, and I certainly have a new found appreciation for the series. Unlike a lot of other series lower on this list where a beginner has unnatural growth, we get to see advance and professional musicians and their persona battles.

The attention to detail is amazing and I can only imagine how long it takes to animate a single piano scene. They also needed real people to play these crazy complex pieces. What I also like is that, while love is present, it isn’t in your face, nor does it take away from Arima’s internal battle as he returns to the piano after losing his mother who abused him and forced him to be perfect.

Those Snow White Notes (Mashiro no oto)

My Rating: 10/10

From episode 1, I knew this series would be something special. The main character learned the traditional Japanese instrument, the Shamisen, from his grandfather who recently passed away. He felt lost as he’s only imitated his grandpa, but he knew he had to find his own sound.

He is not interested in fame or money, but has a deep love and appreciation for the instrument. He ends up going to school and comes across rookies who are interested in learning the instrument and they aim to put on a performance. Similar to the star of Your Lie in April, he is somewhat known due to his family, and they all push him to compete and carry on his grandfather’s sound, thus creating more internal conflict.

The series was a great introduction to the shamisen and even I’ve fallen in love with it’s sound and the performances played in the show The pacing of the story is great, and while I may be skeptical of other characters below learning guitar in an unusual amount of time, I think learning a 3-string instrument when you have two teachers in the same room, and focusing on learning a song or two over the months is totally possible. The series also doesn’t try to be overdramatic or stereotypical in any way, I really didn’t know where it was headed. I’m looking forward to season 2!

Carole & Tuesday

My Rating: 10/10

This series takes place on Mars in the future, a place where AI machines take place of pets and can do most jobs, including creating music. But then we got two girls who just want to make music but their sound ends up touching people’s hearts, and they quickly make a name for themselves in the music industry.

I didn’t really have much expectations for this show, thought it may be something more cute and slice-of-life like similar to K-On! But the topics covered blew me away. From songwriting, to the power social media, to the need of a manager, to celebrities being controlled and not having much say or creative freedom, to stars who fell off, or lost their love of singing, to turning to drugs and so on. At first I didn’t get the whole Mars and AI concept considering the music scene was still very similar to Earth now, but I actually really liked the blend and how it related to the storyline.

As for the actual music, I can only imagine how much work was put into this. Most shows on this list may play the same few songs throughout, but these girls had to create so many new songs for each event and for their album. Then we got songs for every other artist who was highlighted and trust me, there were quite a few. I felt sucked in by most of them, so it was quite a magical experience. I also like how Carole & Tuesday didn’t have it easy and were even boo’d off one of their earlier stages but as you get more popular, people start to respect you. While they clearly gained more popularity, they still stayed true to themselves, their comfortable clothes, their own style of music, and their humbleness. The music is all that matters. I highly recommend this series!

Bocchi The Rock!

My Rating: 9.75/10

This was a great new series that I looked forward to watching each week. Unlike other band animes below (ie K-On! or Given), the main character had a more realistic timeframe of 3 years to learn her instrument, and she was uploading covers and all that. But it was all with the goals of joining a band and becoming more popular. Her only issue was, she suffers with serious social anxiety and can barely talk to people, let alone make eye contact with them.

The series was hilarious, and as others have said, they really didn’t have to go that hard with animating her inner world, but it made the main character, Bocchi, someone you wanted to cheer for. The rest of the band had likeable personalities and quirks, and we got to see them get their first gigs, selling tickets, taking promo photos and so on. The 2nd guitarist learned extremely quickly, which is the only place it lost marks, but at least the main character wasn’t some prodigy where things just came naturally for her. She worked hard to get over each hurdle and make her way to the stage.

Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad

My Rating: 9.5/10

Normally I hate when they put music animes under ‘slice of life’, because these characters are usually working very hard to reach their goals, and there’s often drama and so on, so it feels like a shonen at times, but in this case, that category is pretty accurate. We get to follow Koyuki who is just 14 at the beginning of the show as he goes from an average kid who no one even notices, even getting picked on and bullied at a point, as he learns guitar, joins a band, and makes it kinda big.

Now, what I like about the show is the more realistic approach for certain things, like the struggles of guitar but also how much faster one can learn with a teacher and in a band setting, or how tough it can be to break into the industry if you sound like everyone else or got a target on your back. Of course, we also how see how students change as they were all ignoring and avoiding Koyuki due to influence from his bullies, but we see how much everyone turns around and even gains interest in Koyuki when he starts gigging or appearing in movies. I’m sure his teacher who said none of his students have ever made it big so he shouldn’t even think about it would have shut up as well.

It’s a really great and insightful anime, and the animation is great considering it’s almost 20 years old, but there was still a few things where I couldn’t give it a perfect mark. At some points, it’s better than the series above when it comes to reality, but at other points, it was also just a little too unrealistic or extra, which makes for a good joke, but eh. For example…too many guitars were destoryed in this series. The most ridiculous one was Koyuki feeling it was a smart idea to go out with his borrowed guitar, with no case, and then by chance it flies up and off the bridge and gets ran over by a truck. I thought Koyuki wasn’t given a case, but he was…but hey, 14 year old boys can be dumb lol

Despite many record labels saying that Beck was average and wasn’t sure how they would stand out, they still got places through serious luck. Ryusuke, cool dude but, he ended up in some very odd scenarios. I get that they got a lot of attention at the Greatful Sound event, but was it enough to warrant a tour in America? Who knows haha. I felt the series could have gone on longer, as going on tour is a really big deal! But it is what it is. Regardless, I’d still highly recommend it. I did really enjoy this series.

K-ON!!

My Rating: 9/10

The OG band anime. A well known gem among musicians and otaku, and for good reason. You got cute and funny characters, a teacher with a secret metal past, adorable and heart warming songs, and so much more. While it is considered a slice of life anime, there is definitely a lot of action and climaxes throughout.

This show loses a point for 1 reason only. While it does put a lot of attention to detail in regards to the instruments and how it’s played, including brands and prices, Yui just wouldn’t be able to learn guitar at the speed she did, let alone play the faster or more difficult songs in such a short time frame. It could also lose a point for the scene where Ui was able to fill in for Yui and play perfectly with only a couple lessons from her sister.

Given

My Rating: 9/10

This popped up on Crunchroll one day. I saw a band and clicked on it. I wasn’t expecting a BL, but the music took centre stage. It’s a great story and I think anyone can relate to the characters and be touched by this anime. I love all the songs from the show and was caught from the opening theme, with the final song making me tear up.

The team did take the time study brands and the learning process like they did with K-On!! I actually think it’s a great show for beginners to watch as they can learn a lot of new stuff from it. You can check out my Given Analysis to see just how realistic it is at all phases. However, Mafuyu was able to sing and perform on stage after only playing guitar for 3 months! That’s half the time for Yui above to perform Fuwa Fuwa Time for the first time. So while I love the show, Mafuyu’s growth is completely unrealistic.

Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life

My Rating: 9/10

Based on season 1 alone, I would have given this series an 8/10. I felt it was going to be a series focused on relationships and drama like White Album. It had a similar premise to K-ON!! in that they’re a new or unsuccessful music club and they want it to grow, and their growth was quite fast. They had some timing issues, one member struggled with upbeats, but not much more than that. We really didn’t hear the koto at all until their first performance in episode 5…but even then, it was covered up a lot by flashbacks. I was craving to hear this unique and beautiful instrument like I got to the Shamisen. They also did the ‘big emergency before their big moment’ trope, but it was a vital moment for the storyline.

Season 2, though, deserves a 10/10. Here, we get to see and hear the koto a lot more, and with a new coach, it becomes apparent that, while they could play alright together, their tone and quality was lacking and they were pushed to go back to the basics and work on it. I’ve gotten tired of animes making it look easy to pick up an instrument and master it, but if you want to go to nationals, technique and attention to detail is so vital. Considering this team is working from very early to very late everyday, their growth wasn’t too questionable. I do appreciate that they make reference to painful fingertips and how breaks are necessary.

There are a lot of interesting characters and many learn lessons and grow. There are some love interests, but romance doesn’t become to focus of the the show, nor gets in the way of the team. I think they covered a lot of the pressure of being a musician as well, and how one still needs to enjoy music to feel motivated. Like the crowd, I was also tearing up during their qualifying performance. So combing the two seasons, I gave it a balanced 9/10.

Angel Beats

My Rating: 8/10

Angel Beats is a unique show where there is so much is going on and so many characters involved, yet it all ties together well. The show is called Angel “Beats” so you would figure music plays a big role….does it? It’s hard to tell. The opening theme and the soundtrack created by GirlsDeadMonster is amazing, but the show isn’t focused on music.

In the show, there is a band of experienced musicians who will play shows as distractions for the group’s missions. For some members, the band is a means to make peace with their lives and move on. And while the band and their music isn’t a highlight in the show, I think this speaks volumes when it comes to the heart of a musician. There really is no life without music. Some will literally be starving musicians with hopes and dreams that they can have a career in music. It’s a series I find myself watching again every other year, and I have yet to get sick of it.

Adding on, many anime fans may not know this but LiSA, the lady who sings Crossing Field from Sword Art Online and Gurenge from Demon Slayer, made her debut in this show. When the leader moved on, she took her place. So if you love her music, be sure to give this show a watch!

Bang! Dream (Bandori!)

My Rating: 7.5/10

Bang Dream is often compared to K-On! in that it is a group of high school girls creating a band and such. However, the approach is much different. For K-On!!, Yui wasn’t even sure about joining the band and was pressured into it. While the band had big dreams, they were focused more on school events and generally having a good time, often slacking off while drinking tea.

Bang! Dream, on the other hand, Kasumi was led by stars to a guitar, and after seeing a live performance at a local venue, she made it a mission of hers to play on that stage too. However, the pressure was on as the venue was going to close it’s doors forever in the near future. Kasumi managed to find some members and they got practicing. The thing is, the venue owner is very strict about who plays on her stage, thus, when they auditioned the first time, they failed. Only the MC thought the band was amazing, but the owner made it clear she was the worst of the group.

While I do appreciate showing failure in shows (as opposed to things being easy and them always succeeding), they were able to make it next time. When you consider their competition, and how strict the owner is to what performances make it on stage, it just seemed a little too convenient since they only had two weeks between the first and last rehearsal?

Since making the stage was the main mission and it was accomplished in that season, I wasn’t too interested in what Season 2 would hold, and the CG was a bit hard to watch. The Bang! Dream games are super popular, and they made this show with similar goals like Love Live, but for a series, at least for season 1, it was simple and predictable, yet also a unrealistic.

Fuuka

My Rating: 6.5/10

You ever watch a series and you just feel kinda…lost? I didn’t even watch it that long ago, but it took me some time to recall as I felt I was confusing the storyline with other shows on this list. I didn’t hate it when I finished it, but it also wasn’t anything special. The show only had a few songs which were somewhat forgettable, and Fuuka is a character you’ll either love or hate.

Anyways, she wants to sing, and she drags the MC to join a band with her. I didn’t mind the original angle of the show, but then the MC’s childhood friend who is now a big idol pops up into his life and there’s a cliché romance triangle. Then later on, when people find out who the idol loves as she announced it publicly and that she was somewhat rejected, this creates a lot of hate for Fuuka and the band. While the band is supposed to be a big part of the show, we don’t really see them practicing, nor get to see how the MC struggles as he learns the bass.

There was just a lot going on, and while I was interested to see where it goes, there also wasn’t anything too new or special about the series. When I read reviews, many manga readers questioned if it was even Fuuka as they changed a lot of the plot. Still worth the watch, but in a musical aspect, there wasn’t a whole lot of attention to detail, as the band was simply a means to drive the plot forward and create more drama.

White Album 2

My Rating: 5/10

This anime regularly comes up on lists when I’m looking up musical animes (Don’t ask me about White Album 1 as many reviews said it wasn’t necessary). This series is well loved and rated highly, but honestly, I’m sure most of those ratings are for the messed up and ‘realistic’ love story, as opposed to the music. It was quite disappointing considering the title and that a lot of time is spent practicing songs for a performance, but also unrealistic music wise too.

Let’s put it into perspective. We have the MC, Haruki, who has been learning guitar by himself for about 6 months. Despite playing this long, he sucks. He knows he sucks, his friends knows he sucks, but he enjoys playing, and I’m fine with that. Most people, including myself, don’t sound that polished in our first year, and that’s another reason why I had to deduct points from K-ON!! and Given.

One day, while playing the famous song of the season, a singer, Setsuna, and an amazing pianist, Kazusa, join him. The singer urges them to join together so she can live her idol dream and play on stage. While the MC initially likes Setsuna, he spends a lot of time with Kazusa as he practices, and thus the love triangle develops, I won’t go into that as I don’t want to spoil anything, but the set up is weird. Usually, a singer is paired up with an acoustic guitarist OR a pianist, but not guitar and piano. I thought it would be a weird trio, but they create a backing track to play to, so fair enough.

But then I got two more issues. For one, the guitarist only had like a week or two to learn this solo for one of the songs. He was struggling the whole time, spending hours and hours a day, and still messing up…..yet he nails this very VERY complex solo on stage? Naw, that doesn’t happen. Second, I’m not sure if the animators were lazy or they just didn’t know much about the instrument, but during this same solo, we only see the actual guitar for a very miniscule amount of time. Throughout, we are seeing the audience, the reactions of the other band members…the stage lights….THE STAGE LIGHTS! They always pan the camera elsewhere during their performances, sometimes even highlighting a random classroom window or scenery outside. The few times we do see him, the fingering is a bit off. Thus, the attention to detail isn’t that great.

I totally forgot they also performed a song that they only practiced for one day…..If I wasn’t a musician, I may have rated it higher for the romance aspect as well, but considering how much the music is highlighted in this show, considering it is named after a song, it just lacks music wise in various ways. It’s not horrible though, so I’ll at least give it a passing mark.

Angels 3-Piece

My Rating: 3/10

Another series I saw while scrolling Crunchroll for band anime and I…..I….*scratches head* …hmmm…what can I say about this series? Well first off, it is a loli focused series, and they’re not afraid to show it. It is very subtle at first, so I brushed it off, but it got more explicit and wrong as episode went on. I did quit it as it was really boring, but then I had to show my cousin how messed up it was, and ended up finishing it out of curiosity.

As for the storyline…what is the storyline? It’s a bit all over the place. It starts off with 3 orphans who live in a church. One is a big fan of the MC’s music that he puts online and she reaches out to him as they wanted to put on a concert to raise money or gain attention to save their home. Okay, not bad. But like, the girls are already amazing musicians. I don’t really understand why he’s there or how he really helped them.

The concert happens around like episode 5, and the rest is more of a slice of life series. They go on trips, dates, there’s a few confessions etc. The girls are very forward about their feelings, and even others question if the MC is a pervert, but he really doesn’t have to spend much time with them. His little sister even gets jealous lol

However, the show gave the girls real instruments, with real brands that the MC is intrigued by, the playing looked decent, the songs weren’t horrible in anyway, the MC has some growth and such, so it has some redeeming points. But like, I don’t know what audiences would really love this show besides a certain kind, if you know what I mean. There isn’t much growth or progress music wise, it was just a plot device.

Currently Watching

Girl Band Cry

My Rating: ?

Just started this, the first episode was cute. 17 year old girl leaves her small town to go to Tokyo for no real reason (no dream or goal), but it’s a rocky start as she gets a bit lost and her phone dies. But once her phone can turn on, she sees that the musician who changed her life was doing a street performance not far away, and the two become acquainted. She learns that the musician broke up with her band and gave them the rights to the song she held so dear.

Additionally, the musician was working her own job and sharing an apartment because music wasn’t paying the bills. That was actually her last night in town and she was going to move away the following day. The MC can’t accept this and calls out to her, and the two reconnect, with MC singing and her playing guitar. I’m interested to see where it goes. The graphics are high tech and the characters are a lot more animated, giving a bit video game vibes, but I like the reality aspect of it so far. The playing also appears to be accurate from a glance.

Paused Series

Show By Rock

My Rating: ?

Just saw that this was on Crunchyroll. Unfortunately, the first season is dubbed and so far…not only is the music very basic and there’s not much detail in the instrument department. It’s been a while since I thought I was actually watching a cartoon, but let’s see how this goes ^^”

Legend of Black Heaven

My Rating: ?

Watched the first episode, concept was funny. I think I just got really busy at the time or got caught up with another series. Will finish eventually!

Nana

My Rating: ?

I know this series has rave reviews, and I’ve been meaning to finish it. Sadly, it’s not on Crunchyroll so I can watch it on my TV without any ads. Gotta go back in time to sketchy sites that you always gotta do tests for and they’re constantly riddled with pop up ads ;____;

Looking Forward To

Kimi no Iro (The Colors Within)

Kyaaaah!! They say this movie is like Christian K-ON or Bocchi The Rock. I just happened to have changed direction of my blog to create more resources for the anime and Japanese Christian community, and I also started working on a Japanese Christian cover band myself. I saw an Instagram reel about it in late November 2024, which is after it’s showing in Japan in August, but it’s not available anywhere to stream just yet. I hope they translate and release it soon though!!!

Detroit Metal City

Conclusion

Feel free to share your ratings below, and also let me know if there’s other shows I should watch. I will keep updating this list as I watch more series 🙂