There are some popular musical anime out there such as K-ON or Your Lie in April, but it really feels like the musical genre itself in anime is really underrated.
The plot is very well constructed and shows realism, and the series portrays it perfectly and naturally. The plot is perfectly mixed with the drama, romance, friendship, and struggles that revolve around the band. The characters' school life, their part-time job, their casual band practice, their path to success, and the drama that revolves inside and outside of the band, all tie up together perfectly and feel so honest to goodness. The pacing of the show has been perfect as it is. It's perfectly paced like a slice-of-life series with corresponding dramas between the characters.
The series deals with a lot of issues in the music industry. It's a perfect demonstration of how many bands struggle for success. They portray the 'Beck' band as an actual indie band because it shows the struggles of an indie band to achieve fame. The band is portrayed as just 'nothing special' because there are also tons of bands out there that also have immense potential. Their portrayal as being that feels realistic because, in this vast world, an indie band achieving fame is a lot harder than it sounds, knowing indie, in general, is not as known compared to other sub-genres. Their struggles and adventures make this series a lot more exciting to watch. The way the characters need to sacrifice or let go of something for the sake of the band, just feels so realistic. The series also shows how dirty people can get just to achieve fame in music industry.The plot isn't rushed and that the band is actually doing things slowly, step by step to achieve success feels surreal. It feels satisfying to see the growth of each character and the band; they really went from 0 to 100 and it's so much satisfying to watch.
The main character, Koyuki,is one of the most human fictional character, which in itself is amazing. He's a normal highschool guy with no passion for anything, but his life turned its tables the day he met their lead guitarist. Koyuki and Maho's (female interest) development has been top-notch over the course of the seies, considering that this is not even romance-centered to begin with. The series unironically also portrays romance quite a lot better than other romance-centered anime.
The rest of the cast are also cool and feels natural; just a random bunch of guys with personal issues whilst performing with the band. Insecurities, past issues, relationship problems, they really felt like real people. It's so much fun to watch them being portrayed as if they were real. I simply love its realism.
The art and animation were pretty on point . I don't have anything more to say from it because Madhouse did a decent job in animating it. Nothing groundbreaking, just decent.
The music and OSTs probably the BEST thing in this series. It feels so alive. It's very rock-like. Man, everytime they perform it always gives me goosebumps and sends shivers down to my spine. It feels so real. It makes me want to hear their performance on live. The bass, the lead guitar, the drums, the vocalist, all are perfect for the series.
I really love every song in this anime, all hits and no misses. The way how the studio perfectly fits the music to the corresponding mood of the scene is awesome. I especially love the 'Moon on the Water' soundtrack on the pool scene when Maho and Koyuki went to the pool together.
Overall, it's an amazing series. It's so relaxing while also portraying realism in life. One of the best coming of age I have ever seen. Very highly recommended. And also, take time to read the manga too since the anime didn't adapt it entirely. The anime only adapted 30% of the manga so it's worth checking out especially if you want to see things getting serious with the band.