On November 3, Toei Animation released a PV and opened pre-registration for 'Girls Band Cry: First Riff', a game based on the 'Girls Band Cry' IP, alongside TOGENASHI TOGEARI's Special LIVE 'Akairo no Kyosai' held at Pia Arena MM.
'Girls Band Cry' is an original full-3D anime produced by Toei Animation. The story follows protagonist Nina Iseri, a high school dropout who moves to Tokyo alone and meets Momoka Kawaragi, a former member of Diamond Dust whom she idolizes, forming the band TOGENASHI TOGEARI. As a coming-of-age ensemble drama about girls carrying their own wounds who heal and grow through music, the series drew immense attention even before airing for its high-quality full-CG direction and for casting actual musicians as voice actors to perform TOGENASHI TOGEARI's music live.
Its game adaptation, 'Girls Band Cry: First Riff', is developed by DONUTS Games, the studio behind 'D4DJ Groovy Mix' and 'Magatsu Note', and bills itself as a 'girls' rock RPG crawling from the streets to the arena.' Surprise-revealed ahead of TGS 2025, the game officially kicked off its rollout about a year later on November 3 by releasing a PV and opening pre-registration.
In the newly released PV 1, various bands appear, including the original work's main cast TOGENASHI TOGEARI, alongside bands that debuted in 2026 such as Canna Lily, F-272, and Kuzumi Mizuku. Portions of the story presentation—capturing their stories through full-3D graphic cutscenes and illustration cards—were also revealed. The trailer also showcased character growth elements, such as 3D band live performances packing the original anime's signature impact, a system that combines character cards to express stats, and talent awakening.
Meanwhile, alongside opening pre-registration for the new game, 'Girls Band Cry' plans to continue its multi-faceted IP expansion, including announcing a new theatrical anime film scheduled for release on May 21, 2027, following TOGENASHI TOGEARI's tour.
