D4DJ Double Mix

DGFischer Mar 13, 2023

9.6

D4DJ Double Mix (2022) is the OVA which straddles the first season D4DJ First Mix (2020-21) and the presently airing second run All Mix.  As an OVA, it serves a great purpose.  First Mix offers us the exploits of DJ bands Happy Around, Peaky P-Key, and Photon Maiden, each out to outdo one another.  Double Mix presents us two more girls' bands to the mix, RONDO and Merm4id (spell check, please accept certain cases of anime show naming).  As season two's All Mix comes from the POV of band #6, Lyrical Lily, the OVA works to move the introductions along. The theme of Double Mix is the desire to know what direction one must follow, what changes are necessary to move on (a touch of this is also found in All Mix).  The two bands in the OVA are at opposite ends of the style spectrum.  RONDO strives to be that 'gothic girl DJ troupe,' complete will black outfits which fit from head-to-toe.  They tend to be more introspective than most.  One member, Aoi Miyake, ponders her destiny when a colorful bird perches on her knee, then flies off when Aoi reaches out to touch it.  The bird must fly free, so Aoi muses.  Merm4id is a 'flash the flesh' style of girl band.  We first meet these four girls at a photo shoot, each girl donning a bikini and taking the typical 'come hither' pose.  Lead singer Rika images herself in the nude as she watches a smoothie running through the blander.  Face it, Merm4id is there for fanservice. It is as each of these bands seek a new path for their careers do they realize that these two opposite bands have links to each other.  Aoi and Rika were classmates, though Aoi seemed to be turned off by Rika's perky personality.  But both RONDO and Merm4id had seen Happy Around, Peaky P-Key, and Photon Maiden at the D4 FES and were inspired to follow their musical path.  Was 'gothic' and 'light-clad rockers' the ideal? Only a dual-concert at the exclusive ALTER EGO nightclub will hold the answers. Produced by the company which unleased BanG Dream!, Sanzigen, there is no stinting on the effects.  The clarity of synchronization of musical performance was better grafted in Dream!, but undoubtedly the drive to produce a well-composed series which grows to add more depth as more girls' bands debut.  And the music presented rides well with the four-girl team concept of DJ, VJ, lead and back-up singer. And it leads neatly into the 2023 project of twelve planned episodes.  My review on All Mix should come soon enough, but it really does strive on the energy of this OVA.  It’s a positive step forward in the world of the idol genre.