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Animax Asia to Air Gabriel Dropout, BanG Dream! Anime

Southeast Asian channel Animax Asia announced on Tuesday that it will air the Gabriel Dropout and BanG Dream! television anime. Gabriel Dropout will begin airing on January 9 at 10:00 p.m. in Indonesia and Thailand, and 11:00 p.m. in Singapore and the Philippines, while BanG Dream! will premiere on January 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Indonesia and Thailand, and 8:30 p.m. in Singapore and the Philippines.

Animax Asia is streaming an English-subtitled video for Gabriel Dropout.

The anime is reuniting the main staff from summer 2015's Himoto! Umaru-chan anime. Masahiko Ohta is directing the series, Katsuhiro Kumagai is serving as character designer, and Takashi Aoshima is handling the series composition at studio Doga Kobo.

Animax Asia describes the anime:

An angel at the top of an angel school has descended to the human world! However, she has been acclimating herself to the life of the human world so much that she ends up leading a self-indulgent life, skipping school all the time and being absorbed in online games. Gabriel soon forgets about her original goal to make human beings happy and has turned into a lazy and hopeless angel, or a “sloppy angel” in short. Amazingly, she swears to continue to fully enjoy the pleasure of various entertainments of the human world.

Miyu Tomita, Saori Ōnishi, Naomi Ōzora, and Kana Hanazawa are performing both the opening and ending themes as their characters Gabriel, Vignette, Satanichia, and Raphiel, respectively. The opening theme is titled "Gabriel Drop Kick." Kenichi Maeyamada (Hyadain) wrote, composed, and arranged the song. The main cast are also performing the ending theme song, titled "Hallelujah Essaim." Ryuji Sakai wrote the song, while Shingo Yamazaki arranged it. The CD singles for both songs are slated for February 22.

The ongoing manga series first launched in December 2013 in Kadokawa's Dengeki Daioh g gag manga magazine and serialized every other month before it began monthly serialization in April 2014. Kadokawa shipped the third compiled volume in May, and will ship the fourth volume on January 10.

Animax Asia describes BanG Dream!:

Just like the sparkling sound “Star Beat” that she heard while looking up at the starry skies when she was young, Kasumi Toyama has been searching for something that would excite and make her heart go pit-a-pat.

After getting into high school, Kasumi comes across a star-shaped guitar in an old pawnshop. It is this fateful meeting that evokes the emotions that have been locked up within Kasumi.

Teaming up with four other girls who, like Kasumi, dream of a place that can make them shine, the five of them work towards realising their musical dream.

The anime will premiere in Japan on January 21.

The program is a mixed-media project that includes live performances from the girls' band Poppin' Party.

Bushiroad launched the BanG Dream! multimedia project in January 2015, and the company formed the Poppin' Party band for the project in February 2015. The band's members consist of voice actresses who portray the characters in the story, and they play the same instruments as their characters. The cast includes:

• Aimi as Kasumi Toyama on guitar and vocals
• Ayasa Itō as Arisa Ichigaya on keyboard
• Rimi Nishimoto as Rimi Ushigome on bass
• Sae Ootsuka as Tae Hanazono on lead guitar
• Ayaka Ohashi as Saaya Yamabuki on drums

Bushiroad and OLM's joint anime brand ISSEN is credited with the original work, and is also handling animation production alongside XEBEC. Novelist Kō Nakamura is credited with the original story, and Hitowa designed the original characters. Atsushi Ootsuki (Wagnaria!!2, To Love Ru: Darkness, Argevollen) is directing the anime, and Yuniko Ayana (Locodol, Girls Beyond the Wasteland, Hello!! KINMOZA) is handling the series composition. Matsuko Nitta is adapting Hitowa's characters for animation, and Noriyasu Agematsu and Junpei Fujita from Elements Garden are producing the music.

Novelist Kō Nakamura launched a manga titled BanG_Dream! Star Beat in Bushiroad's Monthly Bushiroad magazine in January 2015, and Mami Kashiwabara launched the BanG Dream! manga in spring 2016 with Nakamura collaborating on the story. Hakuto Shiroi also launched a separate BanG Dream! manga, Yon-koma Bandori! (4-panel BanG Dream!), in Kadokawa's Dengeki G's Comic magazine last year.