Anime with live performances to premiere on January 21

Anime Network Online announced on Monday that it will stream the anime BanG Dream! as it airs in Japan. The anime is part of a mixed-media project that also includes live performances, though Anime Network Online's simulcast will be the anime only. The first episode will premiere streaming on Saturday, January 21 for subscribers in the following territories: United States, Canada, Turkey, Scandinavia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Netherlands and Latin America.

The series will premiere in Japan on the Abema TV streaming service on January 21 at 10:00 p.m., and then it will run on the Tokyo MX, Sun TV, KBS Kyoto, AT-X, TV Aichi, Teletama, BS11, BS Fuji, tvk, and Miyagi TV channels.

Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series for digital and home video releases, and it describes the story:

When she was a child, Kasumi Toyama (played by Poppin' Party's lead singer, Aimi) felt a heart-pounding thrill every time she gazed at the stars, and she's been looking without success for something that could inspire the same feeling ever since. One day, she comes across a star-shaped guitar in a rundown pawnshop and, for the first time, discovers the thrill she's been searching for. Kasumi becomes determined to form an all-girl band, and her search leads her to four like-minded souls: Saya, Arisa, Rimi, and Tae (all brought to life by the members of Poppin' Party). Does this band have what it takes to make their dreams of stardom come true?

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.

Update: Anime Network Online confirmed with ANN that the simulcast will be for the anime only.