Modern anime fans have it so good that it's a surprise when an excellent show falls by the wayside.
If you want to stream a new show, there's a good chance it'll appear on Crunchyroll, Netflix, or Hidive. If the show is popular, the episodes may even air in the US on the same day as their debut in Japan. We've come a long way since the dark days when we paid a fortune for a handful of poorly subtitled episodes on VHS and DVD. What brought us here? Media companies are finally recognizing the voracious hunger for fresh anime, creating fierce competition among distributors for licensing new productions, regardless of their quality.
Girl band screamHowever, it is an anomaly: an excellent anime that took months to find a proper home.
Born from a mixed media musical project, the anime follows a group of young women who form a band in the greater Tokyo area. The songs are spectacular: nine chart in Billboard Japan's Top 100 and one cracked the Top 10. Jukki Hanada, best known for his adaptations of beloved shows. sonorous euphonium and A place beyond the universewrote the charming original story. And Toei Animation's art serves the show's fast-paced, colorful pace.
But Girl band screamDespite its pedigree and local success, it took months to reach the United States. The show premiered in early April 2024 on Tokyo MX. It became available in the US six months later on Microsoft Movies & TV, Fandango at Home, Hoopla and Prime Video. And even then, curious viewers had to purchase episodes via VOD.
Remember when I said that modern anime fans are doing well? That can be a challenge for modern anime shows like Girl band scream. Who spends money on an anime you've barely heard of that's available on streaming services you (excluding Prime) have probably never used, especially when your subscription services offer dozens of other shows? Only the most obsessive anime completists.
Girl band scream It finally arrived on a traditional streaming platform and appeared in its entirety on Crunchyroll in November. Released in the middle of the fall season, it competed for attention against a variety of popular shows like Dan Da Dan, Dragon Ball Daimaand more.
Now is the perfect time to give Girl band scream an opportunity. With the new year here, which is typically a slow period for games and movies, anime fans can catch up on one of the best shows of 2025. Yes, it took a little while for the stars to align, but compared to the old times, we still live in an era of anime miracles.