D4DJ All Mix – 01

OP: 「Maihime」 () by (Lyrical Lily)

「Jan. はじまりはじまり」 (Hajimari hajimari)
“Jan. “Beginning Beginning””

Everyone stop whatever you’re doing because D4DJ is back, and in case you didn’t know it’s the best music show to have ever existed. Well actually that’s debatable, the 3D might instantly put some of you off, but I personally know that this is probably one of the most enjoyable music shows out there. Of course, don’t expect me to review more than one episode, I don’t really have much to comment on plot-wise, and the enjoyment levels were through the roof, sure, but the more I thought about how I’m going to have to make this into an 800-word blog post, the more I dreaded. So this one stays in my back pocket – aka, this is the last you’ll hear from me talking about this series. Some might sigh collective relief, but for those of you that wanted more – well let’s talk about this premiere proper.

They were not lying when they said All Mix – albeit I wanted this second season to be named Second Mix – that name was reserved for a special OVA. With so much content around D4DJ it’s kinda hard to know where to start, but for those close to the franchise more content is better always. All Mix refers to how most of the groups if not all (at least the popular ones) of them are here and are ready to perform. New DJ units were introduced in the mobile game, I believe and have yet to see their cannon debut in the anime, so here’s hoping we get to see them shine. However, this superstar ensemble has all the popular units. Including Peaky P-key, Photon Maiden, Merm4id, RONDO, Lyrical Lily, and of course your favorite girls, Happy Around! I honestly thought that the show was going to shift focus onto LL – and well let’s just say I’m not too fond of the whole Catholic School setting because I myself attended one in high school. So I was a little worried the episode was going to focus solely on them, but that was not the case. And the Christian fuckery ended around the ~15-minute mark of the episode. Of course, LL sings in the choir. Lore-wise, I’m not really interested in anything else. I had to actively push back against that part, but all ends well. All you need to know is that there are sisters roaming around the school. And this ain’t some indigenous conversion camp.

Around the halfway point, we finally understand what the hell is going on, turns out LL is trying to get groups to participate in a once-a-month concert that they organized, of course with some connections they manage to get everyone on board with little to no fuss. And so the first group to perform in this once-a-month stage is PPK. Thank god for the sisters of the cloth, they know how to get down!

~ Jokes aside, the episode felt very much how the first season felt, and I was very happy that they called out to the ending of the first season, but did it a little differently. It’s basically like the series never left at all, and I’m happy about that. And this first episode of the second season actually started out very strong, even including a little snippet of Black Lotus because we all know Sanzigen can’t get enough of that song. Even made it the ED for D Cide, so we all know they love it way too much, and it’s no surprise that it was in the episode.

What I’m saying is that second seasons are treated usually with laziness and have less performance as they tend to focus more on the relationships of the girls. *cough* Love Live *cough,cough*

Huh?! Who said that?

Anyway, for me at least it was fun, and I can’t wait to experience a whole year go by in the blink of 3-month span. Plot-wise at least – however there is one aspect that did ramp up a lot in a good way, and that’s the animation, they are getting really good at making it seem like an anime, to the point where if you squint enough it looks like hand-drawn, and that’s super interesting to me. Also, the fact it’s 3D when it goes into performance mode, makes the change not so jarring. And well the dancing is also good like they are actually dancing, not whatever that was in UniteUp. The anime faces and over-the-top expressions are so well communicated, characters emote and look like they have countenanced, and doing that in 3D requires some blend shape magic. I wouldn’t be surpsied if by now each charachter has more than one model. So yeah I’m looking forward to experiencing this show – by myself and without the pressure of having to churn out an 800-word blog post out of absolutely nothing. That’s right I’ll enjoy this casually and at my own pace. I will not be blogging about this one because my love requires solemn contemplation. I will not feel guilty about it. We could always talk about it on the reddits.

Thanks for reading anyway!

Full-length images: 45.

ED Sequence

ED: 「Around and Around」 () by (Rinku Aimoto (CV: Yuuka Nishio), Kyouko Yamate (CV: Aimi), Saki Izumo (CV: Risa Tsumugi), Seto Rika (CV: Natsumi Hirajima), Tsubaki Aoyagi (CV: Rihona Katou), Miyuu Sakurada (CV: Hazuki Tanda))

Preview