Girls Band Cry / Characters - TV Tropes (2024)

This is a character sheet for Girls Band Cry.

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As a whole

Color-Coded Characters: Each girl in the band has an associated color, which can be typically seen through visuals during perfomances and elsewhere. Nina is red, Momoka is blue, Subaru is green, Rupa is yellow, and Tomo is pink.
Dark and Troubled Past: The band's members have troubled histories to varying degrees.
- Nina was the target of bullying by a popular girl at school for reasons she isn't even sure of, and it got so bad that it escalated into physical violence against her and caused her to cut classes and ultimately drop out of school, with the school unwilling to do anything about it either. This left her relationship with her family badly strained and especially so regarding her father, as he was unable to accept that his daughter would be a dropout despite being a teacher who wrote a book on parenting. As a result, she ends up setting off for Tokyo to live and study on her own despite only being 17 years old, and it only goes From Bad to Worse when she finds out the current lead singer of the band she loved, Diamond Dust, was one of her former friends who abandoned and even blamed her for getting bullied.
- Momoka was an aspiring musician alongside her friends in their band, Diamond Dust, until she broke off due to being unable to tolerate how commercialized both they and their music was becoming, blaming herself for walking out on them in the process since she'd broken her promise that they'd make it big together. Her past experiences also resulted in her having hope that people would want to listen to her authentic music and is deeply afraid of trying and possibly failing all over again.
- While she doesn't have it as bad as the others, Subaru is stuck in a budding acting career she wants no part of, and is deeply unwilling to come clean to her beloved grandmother about not wanting to follow in her footsteps as an actress.
- Tomo reveals to Nina that she's a dropout like her, having no time for school after her decision to get into the music industry. It's also implied that she was a victim of Parental Neglect from her mother and the man she was dating, the latter of whom she didn't approve of, which also played a part in her decision. As "A waning moon appeared" further elaborates, upon moving to Tokyo she and Rupa were a part of a previous band, which ended just as quickly due to her Brutal Honesty causing strife among the group.
- Rupa lost her family to a car accident at a young age and was forced to grow up fast, and suffers discrimination and verbal abuse from customers for being part-foreigner. Despite this, her attitude is usually shown to be much more upbeat than her bandmates, even in more serious moments.

Nina Iseri

Voiced by: Rina

The lead vocalist of Togenashi Togeari, as well as the main protagonist. Originally from Kumamoto in Kyushu, Nina moved to Tokyo to start from a clean slate after the circ*mstances that led her to dropping out of high school. While she's usually introverted, she still has a temper that comes out when pushed.

Country Mouse: Nina is from Kumamoto, in Japan's southernmost island of Kyushu, and is generally unequipped for city life in Tokyo. Right in the first episode, she mixes up her train lines, doesn't know that her new apartment was actually in Kanagawa and not Tokyo, and is flabbergasted upon learning Momoka's roommate is a gay man. She even thinks Tomo is from the same region as her before having to be corrected, due to there being two cities called Sendai in Japan (Tomo is from the Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, not Kagoshima).
Idiot Hero: Downplayed. While she isn't exactly an idiot, her commitments to her band following her arrival in Tokyo caused her grades to plummet to the degree that the school had to notify her family.
Mood-Swinger: A very Downplayed with Nina since she's just a teenager and isn't in complete control of her emotions. That said, she can still get bent out of shape from her usual shy and kind nature to become moodier, depressed, or angry quite easily, and she's generally very fickle regarding how she can feel or what she might want.
Perpetual Poverty: After dropping out of her school in Tokyo and emancipating herself from her family to pursue music full-time, Nina is effectively broke at all times, even with her job at the same beef bowl shop that Rupa and Tomo work at. Tellingly, after the group's antics result in a broken door in Subaru's apartment and Nina is made to pay for it, the most she can manage for the repairs is an IOU that she promises to repay in 36 installments.
Shrinking Violet: Downplayed; while she's generally introverted, she does have a more temperamental and outspoken side that comes out when her buttons are pushed.
Vitriolic Best Buds: With Subaru.

Momoka Kawaragi

Voiced by: Yuuri

The guitarist of Togenashi Togeari and a former member of the band Diamond Dust. A tomboy who's both forthright and caring, which combined with her previous experience in a band makes her serve as the driving force of the band.

10-Minute Retirement: She had decided to quit music the same day she first meets Nina. However, after witnessing Nina's determination, Momoka changes her mind at the last minute and decides to form a new band.
Can't Hold Her Liquor: In contrast to Rupa, she seems to get drunk very quickly, often requiring Nina or Subaru to help her up afterwards.
It's All My Fault: Despite having quit Diamond Dust due to creative differences and reservations with how commercialized they were becoming, Momoka is quick to defend her old band when it gets criticized, especially in "This is the singing voice" when Nina grew upset at how her former friend who blamed the bullying she suffered on her is the new lead singer. During a confrontation about this, Nina ends up questioning why Momoka sticks up for her old group despite her reasons for leaving and trying to put up a mask of indifference, to which Momoka reveals that when the band first formed, they made a promise to stick together no matter what. She still holds the reservations that caused her to quit in the first place, but feels that more of the blame lies with her for breaking the promise she made with her former bandmates.
Street Musician: Performs as one in-between leaving Diamond Dust and deciding to start a new band with Nina.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Absolutely terrified of snakes, to the point of shutting herself in Subaru's closet after she first sees Tomo's pet snake. Rupa takes advantage of it and tells Momoka there's a snake in the room she's hiding out in.

Subaru Awa

Voiced by: Mirei

The drummer of Togenashi Togeari, and the granddaughter of famous actress Tendo Awa, who expects her to become an actress herself. Despite having no interest in being an actress, Subaru feels torn between respecting her grandmother's wishes and carving out her own path.

All Drummers Are Animals: Downplayed since she's not particularly wild despite being the drummer of the band (especially since she was raised as an Ojou), but she still has a habit of getting into the heat of things during performances about as much as Nina.
Genki Girl: Easily the most cheery and outgoing member of the band.
Ojou: While she's typically carefree and outgoing, Subaru can become the perfect image of a prim and proper lady when her grandmother enters the picture, and her family is wealthy enough for her to have a huge apartment.
Stage Name: Goes by the name Pleia (short for the constellation Pleiades, which refers to how "Subaru" is the Japanese name for the constellation) in performances to avoid association with her real name.
Strong Family Resemblance: She is virtually identical appearance-wise to her grandmother during her youth, as evidenced by the film of her Subaru shows Nina in her apartment.
Vitriolic Best Buds: With Nina.

Rupa

Voiced by: Shuri

The bassist of Togenashi Togeari and a former member of Beni-Shouga, a duo act between her and Tomo. She is the most levelheaded member of the band by a country mile, as well as the oldest.

But Not Too Foreign: She is half Indian on her father's side. While she's very Japanese in her habits, she's still had to face discrimination due to her heritage.
Cuddle Bug: Has a tendency to get up close and personal with Togenashi Togeari 's fans, offering hugs to them.
Even the Girls Want Her: Rupa is extremely popular among the band's female fanbase to the point where they crowd around her for an opportunity to receive a hug from her.
Formal Characters Use Keigo: Her speech patterns in Japanese are always very polite and formal, reflecting her generally reserved and calm personality.
Jack of All Trades: Besides being a bassist, Rupa has quite a wide range of skills and talents, with the most important one being that she knows how to drive a manual transmission vehicle.
Never Gets Drunk: In contrast to Momoka, Rupa seems to never get intoxicated no matter how much she drinks. Her hobbies even list drinking alcohol with dinner as one.
No Full Name Given: Unlike her bandmates, Rupa's full name has not been revealed so far.
Parental Substitute: Downplayed given their short gap in age, but she is essentially Tomo's legal guardian while she's away from her parents. Even then, she often acts as Tomo's mother anyways, taking care of her and nudging her to do the right thing when necessary.
Team Mom: She ties with Momoka as the oldest bandmate, but unlike her is shown to be more stable and level-headed, playfully urging Nina to start a performance and also taking care of the younger Tomo.

Tomo Ebizuka

Voiced by: Natsu

The keyboardist of Togenashi Togeari and a former member of Beni-Shouga, a duo act between her and Rupa. Very prickly and guarded, but ultimately well-meaning. She is the youngest member of the band.

Animal Motifs: Snakes and reptiles.
Brutal Honesty: Tomo has a tendency to be very blunt with her critiques regarding music, which drove off her previous band members and ruined multiple offers from labels. As a result, she isolates and keeps her real thoughts to herself out of a fear of causing the same issues with her new band, although she's free to start voicing her opinions again after seeing that they are all truly serious and welcome her criticisms.
Fangirl: Tomo is revealed to be a huge fan of the show Tendo stars in. Rupa even mentions that she watches each episode three times every time a new one drops.
Perpetual Frowner: Rarely shows any emotion other than sternness or anger.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Tomo is easily and frequently annoyed by Nina and Subaru, and is not afraid to lay it onto them. Especially towards Nina.