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A delightful blend of noble etiquette and stage-smashing mayhem — this series electrifies the band genre with its fierce contrasts and unrelenting drive.
Story - 9.3/10 This is one of the series that surprised me the most this season by far. We live in an era where we are starting to see more and more band anime, and I'm all here for it, I love this type of stuff. But, many of those so called band anime series follow quite a similar premise, mostly building on unique characters, and focusing less on a creative approach to the narrative value. Of course there are exceptions to this, the likes of 'BOCCHI THE ROCK!' having some of the best creative direction in the genre, 'K-ON' taking a more slice of life, serene approach. There are some others but I'm not here to speak about the music genre, I'm here to say that, there are a lot of series playing it too safe on the basis of their series, and this series does the exact opposite, having both and amazing premise and building onto great characters.I found 'Rock is a Lady's Modesty' to have one of the most interesting approaches in the genre, also by far the most unhinged moments as well. This series takes away most of the fun from rock music and turns it into insane competition and a love for destruction. Doing all of this while keeping the plot of being a maiden in play, a contrast so heavy, it makes for such amazing interactions and creative moments.
This series follows a double personality level plot, of both being a lady, under a prestigious maiden school, with our female lead, Suzunomiya, who lives under both the persona of a rock guitar player and someone who is trying to achieve the top of the ladder to become a noble maiden. This series manages to build onto both of those plots in a balanced manner, making each of them feel relevant and not one moment forgotten or overshadowed. A story full of intense moments as well as a multitude of crashouts, there are a lot of unhinged moments that bring some of the most powerful energy. A level of energy that comes from the amount of competitiveness this series showcases, characters that love being the best and destroying their competition, as well as their teammates.
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A lot of this series is trying to keep undercover the band aspect of the series trying to focus on academic studies and building connections, while also playing in a double rock-drums combo for half of the series, probably my only complaint with the pacing, the introduction of the other two band members felt quite late. I loved the duo that both Oto and Lilisa made, yet I feel like this series even with its fun moments was dragging for a bit in the beginning. But what really made this series so good where the hype concert/practice moments, as well as the unhinged crashout sessions, they brought the most out of the characters and brought a vibe that is not that present much in anime. There were also some rock references here and there that were fun to see, many interesting ideas and just a great execution overall with both the pacing and the balance of plots.
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Characters - 8.9/10 When it comes to characters, there aren't really many to speak on really, outside of the main band, we have two or maybe three characters that have some relevance, but that's not necessarily bad, as the band is more than enough to hold this series as high as it is. As previously stated, Lillisa Suzunomiya is the series' female lead, a character that resembles a lot Kikoru Shinomiya from 'Kaiju No.8' now this might be a coincidence but I have to mention this because they are really similar in character design. But when it comes to personality, Lillisa is a character that is both unhinged, as well as really smart. Following her through this series has felt really interesting as she is the most different in the band, maybe along with Tamaki that are both fitting of the rock persona but also the maiden one. Tamaki is less of a crazy character, and a more cold grounded individual in comparison, she is also one of the only characters I though did not have any reason to be involved in the 'lady' narrative. It was a choice that had no influence and was better left without a mention. There is also the fact that every time someone mentions rock as being 'fun' it triggers the hell out of Lillisa, having that as a trigger word made for some funny moments honestly.
#####Other characters of the series include Otoha, which is the most like a lady from the whole group, going by everything about her, her only breaks are after intense performances and that's it. She keeps her persona the whole time and manages to make so many insults sound polite at the same time, she bring an amazing dynamic to the group being one of my favorites. And lastly, Tina, she is the keyboard player and the shiest person in the band, making for quite and odd choice I might say, she mostly feels like a fan-service selection more than anything, as it is really obvious she doesn't fit the group from the start and has a really slow build-up in the band, which in the end is still not fully rewarding, leaving her as a really disconnected character from the story. Oh yea, there is also Alice, which is Lillisa's step-sister, she is decent, slightly annoying and quite a clingy person but it's alright in the end, she doesn't distract from the important moments.
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Visuals - 9/10 The animation for this series was pretty good, it was quite a bit over what I would call the standard for this times, as well as it had some great performance sequences. This is an anime that uses CGI for its performances, and while there are moments where it looks a little out of place, most of the time it's really good, I never had a problem with CGI in anime if it is used with purposed, and this series does do that, the performances are really dynamic with some amazing shots and moving cuts that look great and really add to the experience. The series in general also uses really vibrant colors and builds some great scenery. It has a nice visual style to the characters too. There are also some really random BDSM scenes in some performances, which I'm not gonna lie, build onto the yuri-bait allegations, but they are quite well made as well, I can't deny that, as odd as they may be.
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Closing Notes Closing off, this is quite a unique take on the music genre, a series that builds on unhinged energy and absorbing another's potential. A series full of fun and interesting dynamics, with some genuinely creative direction worthy of a name close to the top of the band anime genre. It is impressive the amount of balance this series manages to consistently have between its two plotlines, making for a really unique experience and some great moments. I had a lot of fun watching this series and laughed my ass of many times, definitely a must watch for anyone that likes band anime in general. Enjoyment Level - 9.7/10 Favorite Character - Otoha Kurogane Favorite Episode - Episode 5 ‘Lady Version: "My Heart is Racing" / Rock Version: "Whip Yours Out, Too!"’
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