Morfonica | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Japan |
Genres | Pop rock, symphonic rock |
Years active | 2020–present |
Labels | Bushiroad Music |
Spinoff of | BanG Dream! |
Members |
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Morfonica is a Japanese all-female rock band that is part of Bushiroad's media franchise BanG Dream! . Formed in 2020, the group's members portray fictional characters in the project's anime series and mobile game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! in addition to performing their characters' respective instruments in live concerts.
The band consists of Amane Shindō (vocals), Hina Suguta (guitar), Yūka Nishio (bass), Mika (drums), and Ayasa (violin). In the game, Morfonica is represented by five first-year students at the prestigious Tsukinomori Girls' Academy: Mashiro Kurata (Shindō), Tōko Kirigaya (Suguta), Nanami Hiromachi (Nishio), Tsukushi Futaba (Mika), and Rui Yashio (Ayasa).
Of the nine bands in BanG Dream!, Morfonica is one of six whose members perform their own music during live shows.
Morfonica's formation was announced on 1 March 2020 during the franchise's live stream BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! @HHW CiRCLE Live Broadcasting Pre-3rd Anniversary Special. The band is the seventh in the franchise and the fourth that performs in live concerts after Poppin'Party, Roselia, and Raise A Suilen. [1] Morfonica is the only group in the project with a violinist, which was conceived by BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! developer Craft Egg to differentiate them from the others. [2]
During the stream, a music video for their song "Daylight" was broadcast; the video was animated by the BanG Dream! anime's studio Sanzigen. [3] A live-action music video and an introduction clip starring the voice actresses were released four days later. [4] The Morfonica-centric weekly YouTube show Morfonical, hosted by the band's members, began airing on 24 March. [5]
On 13 May, Morfonica was named Tower Records' recommended artist of May 2020. "Daylight" was released as their debut single two weeks later on 27 May. [6] The single sold over 15,000 copies in its first week, and peaked at second on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. [7] In June, the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Cover Collection Vol. 4, a series of cover songs by Morfonica and other bands in the franchise, topped Oricon's Weekly Albums Chart with 2,231 sales in the opening week. [8]
The band's first concert, Special Live: Summerly Tone at the BanG Dream! 8th Live Summer Outdoors 3 Days alongside Poppin'Party and Pastel Palettes' Ami Maeshima with Raise A Suilen, took place on 23 August at Fuji-Q Highland Conifer Forest. Morfonica was the first of the three acts to perform, playing five songs. [9] Cantabile, Morfonica's maiden standalone performance, came on 7 October at Tokyo Garden Theater. [10] The live featured 12 songs, including the two from the "Daylight" single and four cover versions of popular anime theme music. [11]
Morfonica's second single "Bloom Bloom", which was revealed during Cantabile, was released on 13 January 2021. [11] The group held a "Friendship Live" concert with Poppin'Party, known as Astral Harmony, on 23 February at Yokohama Arena. [12] The band's second standalone show, titled Andante, took place on 21 May at Zepp Haneda. Morfonica also performed alongside Raise A Suilen at the BanG Dream! 9th Live, subtitled Mythology, on 4–5 September at Fuji-Q Highland Conifer Forest. [13] A sequel to Mythology was held 18 June 2022. [14]
"Harmony Day", the band's third single, came out on 6 October 2021. [15] One of the single's tracks, "Fateful..." was used as the second ending theme music for the anime Cardfight!! Vanguard overDress . [16] Later in the month, Morfonica began a two-stop concert tour, titled Amabile, at Zepp Osaka Bayside on 28 October and Zepp Haneda on 5 November. [17]
In 2022, Morfonica partnered with Jun'ichi Satō of the band Fhána for a song composed by Satō titled "The Circle of Butterflies". The collaboration also included Morfonica covers of Fhána's songs "Rhapsody of Blue Sky" and "Divine Intervention". [18] [19] The band's fourth single "fly with the night" was released on 30 March. [20] They held the Resonance show at Tokyo Dome City Hall on 24 April; Nishio did not take part after testing positive for COVID-19, and backing tracks of her bass and vocals were used in her place. [21]
In the anime and game, Morfonica is a band of first-year high school students at the prestigious Tsukinomori Girls' Academy. [3] The group is formed by Mashiro Kurata, a new student who struggles to fit in with her more accomplished peers, after attending a concert by Poppin'Party and the other major bands. [26] Morfonica is a portmanteau of "morpho", in reference to their goals of changing themselves for the better (a metamorphosis), and "symphonic", alluding to their use of a violin. [27]
Morfonica's characters first appeared in Girls Band Party! in the main story's second season in 2019, [28] and were formally added as a group during the third-year anniversary on 15 March 2020 and later worldwide in 2021. [29] The band makes its anime debut in the 2020 spin-off series BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Pico: Ohmori . [30] A two-episode original anime focusing on the band titled Morfonication premiered in July 2022. [31] [32]
As of 28 September 2022 [update] , Morfonica has 13 original songs. [33]
Year | Title | Coupling track | Release date | Peak Oricon chart position | Notes | Ref |
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2020 | "Daylight" (Daylight -デイライト- 」) | "Prelude to Gold" (金色へのプレリュード, Konjiki e no Prelude) | 27 May | 2 | [34] | |
2021 | "Bloom Bloom (ブルームブルーム) | "flame of hope" | 13 January | 6 | [35] | |
"Harmony Day" (ハーモニー・デイ) | "Sonorous", "Fateful..." | 6 October | 8 | [15] | ||
2022 | "fly with the Night" | "Secret Dawn" | 30 March | 7 | [20] | |
"Yorube no Sunny, Sunny" (寄る辺のSunny, Sunny) | "One Step at a Time" | 14 September | 23 | Limited edition release includes Morfonication soundtrack | [36] [37] |
Year | Title | Release date | Peak Oricon chart position | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Cover Collection Vol. 4 (バンドリ! ガールズバンドパーティ! カバーコレクション Vol.4) | 27 May | 1 | Joined by Poppin'Party, Afterglow, Pastel Palettes, Roselia, Hello, Happy World!, and Raise A Suilen | [38] |
Garupa Vocaloid Cover Collection (ガルパ ボカロカバーコレクション) | 16 December | 4 | [39] | ||
2021 | BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Cover Collection Vol. 5 (バンドリ! ガールズバンドパーティ! カバーコレクションVol.5) | 24 February | 6 | [40] | |
"BanG Dream! FILM LIVE 2nd Stage" Special Songs | 25 August | 13 | [41] | ||
BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Cover Collection Vol. 6 (バンドリ! ガールズバンドパーティ! カバーコレクションVol.6) | 10 November | 4 | [42] | ||
2022 | BanG Dream! Dreamer's Best | 16 March | 6 | Fan vote-determined compilation album with Morfonica's "Daylight", "flame of hope", and "Bloom Bloom" included | [43] |
BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Cover Collection Vol. 7 (バンドリ! ガールズバンドパーティ! カバーコレクションVol.7) | 14 December | 13 | Joined by Poppin'Party, Afterglow, Pastel Palettes, Roselia, Hello, Happy World!, and Raise A Suilen | [44] | |
2023 | Quintet | 15 March | 9 | [45] |
Aimi Terakawa, professionally known under the mononym Aimi (愛美) is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture who is affiliated with the talent agency Hibiki. After aspiring to become an entertainer for part of her life, she started her singing career in 2011 after winning an audition to become part of the Tantei Opera Milky Holmes franchise. That same year, she made her solo music debut with the release of her first single "Tenshi no Clover"; the title song was used as the opening theme to the anime series Astarotte no Omocha!.
BanG Dream!, also known as Bandori! (バンドリ!), is a Japanese music media franchise owned by Bushiroad. Created by Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani in January 2015 with original story by Kō Nakamura, the project began as a manga before expanding to other media. In addition to other manga, BanG Dream! includes an anime television series, live concerts, singles and albums, vtubers, and the mobile rhythm game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! by Craft Egg.
Raise A Suilen is a Japanese all-female rock band that is part of Bushiroad's media franchise BanG Dream!. Formed in 2018, the group's members portray fictional characters in the project's anime series and mobile game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! in addition to performing their characters' respective instruments in live concerts.
Poppin'Party is a Japanese all-female band that was formed in 2015 as part of Bushiroad's media franchise BanG Dream!. The group's members are voice actresses who portray fictional characters in the franchise's anime series and mobile game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!.
Roselia is a Japanese all-female alternative rock band that is part of Bushiroad's media franchise BanG Dream!. Formed in 2016, the group's members portray fictional characters in the project's anime series and mobile game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! in addition to performing their characters' respective instruments in live concerts.
BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!, also known as Garupa or Bandori, is a mobile rhythm game developed by Craft Egg and published by Bushiroad for the Android and iOS platforms. Part of Bushiroad's BanG Dream! music franchise, it was released in Japan in March 2017, and worldwide in April 2018. The game was also released by Mobimon Inc. in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan in October 2017, by Kakao Games in Korea in February 2018, and by bilibili in mainland China in May 2019. A Nintendo Switch port of the game was released in Japan in September 2021; unlike the free-to-play mobile version, it is a premium game.
The Japanese media franchise BanG Dream!, created by Bushiroad in 2015, consists of seven bands whose members portray fictional characters in the anime series and mobile game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!. The bands consist of Poppin'Party, Roselia, Afterglow, Pastel Palettes, Hello, Happy World! (2016), Raise A Suilen (2018), and Morfonica (2020). MyGO!!!!! (2022), Ave Mujica, and Mugendai Mewtype (2023) are the three bands in the franchise that are not tied to the seven in Girls Band Party!.
Amane Shindō is a Japanese voice actress currently affiliated with HiBiKi Cast. She has voiced characters in the anime series Bermuda Triangle: Colorful Pastrale, Rebirth, and BanG Dream!, where she is also a member of the band Morfonica, serving as the vocalist and portraying the in-universe character Mashiro Kurata.
BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Pico, stylized as BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! ☆ PICO and also known as Garupa ☆ Pico, is a Japanese chibi short anime series by Bushiroad. Animated by Sanzigen in collaboration with DMM.futureworks, it is a spin-off of the main BanG Dream! series with characters from the mobile game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!. As of 2021, the show consists of three seasons.
Rimi Nishimoto is a Japanese voice actress and musician. Affiliated with the HiBiKi talent agency, she plays the bass guitar for the band Poppin'Party of the BanG Dream! franchise, which includes portraying the character Rimi Ushigome.
Sae Ōtsuka is a Japanese voice actress. She plays the guitar for the band Poppin'Party of the BanG Dream! franchise, which includes portraying the character Tae Hanazono.
Risa Tsumugi is a Japanese voice actress, DJ, rapper and singer from Okinawa Prefecture who is affiliated with Hibiki. She is a member of the band Raise A Suilen (RAS), and plays the character CHU²/Chiyu Tamade in the multimedia franchise BanG Dream!. She also portrays Tazusa Andō in Assault Lily and Saki Izumo in D4DJ.
Haruka Nishio, better known by her stage name Yūka Nishio is a Japanese musician, singer, voice actress and DJ from Kanagawa Prefecture who is affiliated with Hibiki. She was formerly active as a solo musician under the name Haruca, releasing the single "Eien no Kotae" in 2017. She is known for her roles as Nanami Hiromachi in BanG Dream!, where she also serves as the bassist of the band Morfonica, and as Rinku Aimoto, the protagonist of the multimedia franchise D4DJ.
Hina Suguta is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Hyōgo Prefecture who is affiliated with the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society. She is known for voicing Marin Kitagawa in My Dress-Up Darling. She is also a member of the band Morfonica, a part of the multimedia franchise BanG Dream!; she voices Tōko Kirigaya in the same franchise.
Natsume is a Japanese drummer and voice actress. She is a member of the bands Shazna and Raise A Suilen, the latter as part of the BanG Dream! franchise, for which she voices the character Masuki "Masking" Satō.
Reo Kurachi is a Japanese voice actress and keyboardist affiliated with S Inc. She plays the keyboard for the band Raise A Suilen of the BanG Dream! franchise, which includes portraying the character Reona "Pareo" Nyubara. She also voices Esora Shimizu in D4DJ and Kina Asaka in Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki.
Ayasa Shimamura, known professionally by the mononym Ayasa, is a Japanese rock violinist and voice actress. She is the violinist for the band Morfonica of the BanG Dream! multimedia franchise, which includes portraying the character Rui Yashio. In addition, she posts YouTube videos where she plays violin covers of anime songs while wearing cosplay and has released several albums with the record label Dreamusic.2024 and she like Linkin Park and Korn
Mashiro: Th-they... w-were a lot of fun!! Just amazing!! So cool!! [...] I-I thought maybe I'd start a band of my own! (After that, I went home and made a poster to recruit bandamtes right away... Kasumi-san and the other bands were all shining just as brightly as the students at Tsukinomori. If I start a band, maybe even someone like me... can shine just as bright as them...)
Tsukushi: I'd like our name to have something to do with change... Kurata-san, didn't you say you thought starting a band would be a good chance to change yourself? Then that idea should be a part of our name. [...] I'd like to add something that represents us... Ah, the violin! / [...] Nanami: Ah... Symphony... What about 'symphonic'?