I came down kind of hard on MyGO in this post, so let me preface it by saying that I'm glad most other people seem to like it. Anything that helps BanG Dream as a franchise is okay in my book.
Anyway, I also binged
BanG Dream! It's MyGO!!!!!
and, as predicted, I didn't like it. I disliked it for a different reason than I expected though. I was afraid it would be too bleak and dramatic for my tastes. Instead I mostly just felt frustrated. They kept taking turns breaking down and running away, and then they'd delay the resolution for as long as possible before stumbling into the next problem. Watching them try to accomplish stuff felt like they were taking zero steps forward and two steps back... but then they'd manage to put out a good performance even though the story skipped all the practice and hard work that should've went into getting them there. That's the kind of stuff I find most interesting in music anime, so I'm sad MyGO didn't focus on it at all. It felt like every time it showed them in a practice studio, they'd find a reason not to practice.
I mentioned earlier that Rui from Morfonica was my least favorite BanG Dream franchise character. That position has now been taken by Rana. Ugh, she's so lame. She's just a pale imitation of Hina (instantly good at everything, finds other people interesting for odd reasons), except Rana added nothing to her group's dynamic. I did like Tomori, Taki, and Anon. Soyo was... well, I didn't hate her. I kinda hate that the franchise now has a Saya, a Sayo, and now a Soyo, but that's not her fault. At least I know there will never be a Soya because that's Tomoe's catchphrase when she's banging taiko drums. Anyway, there were parts of the story that were pretty interesting! It was a unique idea to have this new band forming in the shadow of another band that broke up. It's just too bad that I was mostly frustrated by the actual presentation of this idea.
For instance,
they never explained why the hell Saki randomly quit the band at the start. I guess her dad is an alcoholic, but she's starting another band so clearly whatever problems she has aren't keeping her from music. She just didn't want to be with them anymore for some reason, but why? What changed? Why not use your words to explain it better so we can avoid a season of frustrating drama? And then there's Mutsumi, aka "being in a band wasn't fun, not even for a second... but sure Saki, I'll join your new band". It's hard to get excited for this new Ave Mujica band when I don't understand what their deal is. At least their aesthetic and presentation is cool.
The best part of MyGO was all the cameos from better parts of the franchise. Those few moments with Kasumi were like water in the desert. She was fun. I remember what fun is. Hey, there's Afterglow for a few seconds playing a real song and not more of Tomori's mumbled poetry. Hey, they're in Hazawa Coffee and getting served by Tsugumi! I love you, Tsugumi!