Anime and manga series about aspiring bands and musicians have always been popular, but K-ON! revolutionized the genre when its in-series band, Ho-kago Tea Time, became the first fictional group to top the Oricon weekly music charts. This milestone marked the beginning of the anime idol and band era, with fictional divas regularly making waves on Spotify. As the genre evolves, the definition of an anime band continues to expand.

Consider these three anime bands, for example—they’re dominating their respective music scenes in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago. And, they have the music to prove it!

Kessoku Band

The anime adaptation of BOCCHI THE ROCK! has won over fans of all ages, launching one of the most popular anime bands of recent years. The series follows self-taught guitarist Hitori Gotoh, who once achieved a modicum of fame by playing guitar facelessly on YouTube. Now, with the help of her new friends, she’s overcoming her social anxiety and chasing her dreams.

Bocchi’s success is similar to that of many real-life talents who play music from home, many of them self-taught. In fact, music stores are using the series’s popularity to inspire music fans to learn guitar from home, too. BOCCHI-branded lesson books and instructional videos are making the rounds as part of collab events!

PathTLive

The age of VTubers is upon us, but Kizuna no Allele imagines a future where aspiring performers could potentially go to school for it! Inspired by Kizuna AI herself, this series follows a group of ADEN Academy hopefuls as the train up and compete for the Lapin d’Or. As they pursue this prestigious award, they form entire new anime bands… including central group PathTLive.

These VTubers each have their own style of song and presentation, as well as their own ideas of what constitutes talent and success. While this initially causes friction, it leads to a well-rounded group that helps each other learn and grow.

JELEE

Not all anime bands—or real-world bands, for that matter—are solely about musical talent. In the age of utaite, many musical projects also incorporate programmers and artists. This is true for JELEE, the central group in the anime *Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night*. What begins as a former idol trying to restart her career evolves into a viral multimedia project.

With their music, lyrics, art, and animation, JELEE creates captivating music videos featuring their unique jellyfish mascot. The best part? You can watch these in-series videos and listen to JELEE's new songs at the end of each episode. Or, you can join their fans in the series by watching on YouTube!