Advertorial

BanG Dream! Now Has a Real Villain in Viola

All stories are fundamentally based on conflict. Due to their nature, the girls band stories of BanG Dream! don't generally feature outright antagonists supplying said conflict. The girls struggle against obstacles within and without, to be sure, but even conflict between members of their focal bands are generally based on mutual disagreements or misunderstandings that can be resolved by compromise and reaching for their common goal. The broader BanG Dream! universe has featured antagonists of some stripe before: RAISE A SUILEN began as an antagonistic force in the anime's second season before evolving into deutragonists in the third. Ave Mujica angled as anti-heroes parallel to the path of MyGO!!!!! The BanG Dream! Girls Band Party mobile game has dabbled in opponents like Kokoro's vengeance-swearing childhood friend Charlie. There have been antagonists in BanG Dream! before, but there have never quite been outright villains.

Until YUME∞MITA gave us Viola.

Viola's vibes were effectively off from the first moment she appeared in BanG Dream! YUME∞MITA. She even fit into a more typical "antagonistic" role, being a part of Fairy Bouquet, the apparent "rival" group to MewType. The characters represented a position for the main characters to strive toward and eventually surmount. It's a common setup in music anime like BanG Dream! overall, and thus why Viola was effectively able to camouflage herself within it. This too belies the full scope of her villainy, as presenting herself as less harmful, less dangerous than she is, enforces so much of how she operates.

But then the reveal of Viola's villainy reinforces the gravity of her introduction into a series like BanG Dream! YUME∞MITA. The anime's three-episode premiere is built up to cap off with the shocking post-credits drop of how integral Viola's machinations have been in the struggles that Arale and Ritsu have already grappled with. Until this point, YUME∞MITA has progressed similarly to those aforementioned BanG Dream! anime entries. Viola's villainy is the "hook" of the three-episode rule that YUME∞MITA knows sells it most uniquely as a story.

It thus makes sense that the fourth episode of YUME∞MITA delves into the actual mechanics of Viola's villainous acts. It's here that more crucial comparisons can be drawn. As mentioned, previous BanG Dream! characters acted antagonistically. RAISE A SUILEN railed against Roselia and attempted to poach Tae from Poppin'Party. Soyo initially manipulated the members of MyGO!!!!! for her own personal ends. Uika of Ave Mujica engaged in a grand deception of Sakiko before the truth came out. These could be termed "villainous" acts, but pointedly, they were also key parts of the arcs of these characters as they participated and drove the narrative. They were still part of the leading ensemble and their actions, however flawed or misguided, still ultimately furthered the personal progress of the main characters in their band.

Viola, in contrast, is not a member of MewType—she is not one of the main characters being focused on. She's a wholly outside element, built into the backstory of actual lead character Arale. Her actions impact MewType through Arale, but thus far, Viola's been shown to be operating in service of her own agenda—even before MewType existed! This is the thrust of the flashback portion of the fourth episode. One of the first actions audiences understand from Viola in this context is her forcing Utami, previous leader of La La La La Girls to resign. Noticeably, we don't even actually see what Viola did to oust her. The implication is enough to mark her as a threat without explicit details. Nothing is scarier.

Not that YUME∞MITA entirely relies on ambiguity to couch Viola's actions. Her motivations at present seem simple, but relatably frightening. She craves control, both over the show business of the group she's usurped and the people in it. Particularly, she hones in on group-mate Ritsu as a target she can exert that control over. With passive-aggressive manipulations, plus threats both implicit and explicit, Viola's treatment of Ritsu mirrors patterns of abuse that some may recognize and relate to. This is easily the darkest aspect of her characterization thus far, and one that marks her as distinct from BanG Dream!'s other examples of antagonistic forces. Charlie might have tried to sabotage Kokoro's shows, but she never preyed on and manipulated her insecurities the way Viola does with Ritsu.

The real-world patterning of Viola's villainy is expressed in more outside ways. Her preferred method of going after Arale—manipulating cancel-worthy videos of her and inciting flame wars around her reputation—those speak to the modern worries and dangers inherent in those seeking online fame. It's an aspect already covered overall by YUME∞MITA's modern online content-creation bent, and thus it fits that its main antagonist personifies said element. What's more, Viola again embodies the uncertainty behind that fear: Arale has no idea that Viola was the one who caused her cancellation in the first place. She's the unseen anonymous antagonist, and a specific slighted person who can use that medium to enact her vendetta. As with so many of YUME∞MITA's elements, Viola really is the ideal antagonist for the virtual performing world the story is exploring.

Viola edges close to too-real villainy, but is this also what makes her an element driving the appeal of YUME∞MITA's unique story overall? That seems to be part of the case, as social media chatter over her in the wake of the anime's fourth episode was one of the most pronounced elements around it. It makes sense, with everything outlined here. Fans enjoy watching a good antagonist work. It's why Soyo was such a strong driver of It's MyGO!!!!!'s drama, and why watching the messiness of Ave Mujica before they fully came together was so compelling. Viola offers that and more. Her true cruel villainy is something that hasn't been fully seen before in BanG Dream!, and it makes both her and the new anime stand out.

With all that in mind, is there a path to resolution and even redemption for Viola? She and her group Fairy Bouquet clearly still have a role to play in YUME∞MITA, and possibly the greater BanG Dream! universe, so it makes sense they'll stick around. But will all the members of Viola's group be included in her villainy as it continues and escalates? Right now, Viola's role is as a very personal obstacle for Arale and Ritsu, as they seek to reconcile their relationship. If that happens and MewType moves forward as a performing group, they could then go up against Viola and Fairy Bouquet in a more professional sense. It's a natural escalation of the story that also repositions it into more of that "traditional" girls band storytelling of rival groups.

Furthermore, even if there was a chance for Viola to be redeemed, would we, as viewers, want it? As mentioned some people love seeing a well-conceived villain go to work, and dampening her damages might lose something. On the flip-side, some might see Viola as already having gone too far, and thus simply being "defeated" by the main characters, left behind as an overcome manipulator, might be preferable. In this respect, YUME∞MITA would continue giving viewers something fresh via its unique storytelling opportunities afforded by Viola: the chance to see the leads as true "heroes" who strive and win against a "villain." It's a constructed narrative perfect for the virtual idol age. Viola might almost be proud.

This is all speculation as YUME∞MITA continues its run, but it speaks to the sheer amount of unique options afforded by introducing a bold, unique element like Viola into BanG Dream! A villain isn't a new idea in storytelling, but it is distinct in being deployed in a story like this, in this series. And so love her, hate her, or love to hate her, it can't be denied that Viola represents one more way that YUME∞MITA is pushing its franchise into the future. Seeing who they're up against just makes it even easier to cheer for the girls of MewType, after all, and will make it that much more cathartic once they're able to succeed. We hope.