Joker's Band Game Story

As soon as Ren Amamiya arrived backstage at RiNG, he was suddenly greeted by someone.

It's Tomoe Udagawa, the drummer for Afterglow.

Amamiya has some connection with AG. Although he has never cheered for them, he has encountered AG quite a few times at past live performances.

Naturally, she has a very good relationship with the cheerful and handsome senior student, Ba.

Because of this, he was often antagonized by Himari, who was in the same band as Tomoe. Himari practically clung to Tomoe's arm to assert her dominance over Amamiya. [Right? Delete?] [Just Kyuuzaki 9 (々八)]

However, Amamiya didn't actually have any feelings for Tomoe, nor did he ever think about dating her. This wasn't just because he was too mature psychologically, but more importantly, he naturally wouldn't take the initiative to break up other couples.

Ba and Fei Mali have a good relationship, why is he getting involved? Although as an 'old-fashioned' person he's not quite used to this situation, he still offers his blessings to the two of them.

"Brother Lian~ We're here... oh!"

Nijika, who was happily greeting Ren Amamiya, was startled when she saw Tomoe after entering. Tomoe looked a bit like a delinquent girl.

Ryo, who was behind her, quickly came over and greeted Ba: "Hello, Udagawa-senpai, I'm Yamada Ryo, the bassist of the End Band."

"Oh~ So you're performing with Ren today? That's great~ I have high hopes for you two~"

Ba patted Ryo on the shoulder and encouraged him loudly, looking forward to seeing what kind of performance Amamiya Ren would bring to them today.

Ren Amamiya is quite an eccentric person, and she was naturally very curious about some of his performances. Today, she learned from the program schedule that the band had a song that was exclusively their own, and she was also curious about what new tricks these younger bands would come up with.

"Udagawa Tomoe, next to her is Uehara Hisamari, they are both members of AG. Over here are Yamada Ryo and Ijichi Nikka, members of the End Band."

Ren Amamiya, acting as the middleman, began introducing the group, mainly speaking to Hishimari and Nijika.

After all, Ryo was clearly someone who had seen AG's performances. She looked at Himemari with a rare expression of admiration: "The strongest bassist of the Heisei era, it's a pleasure to meet you."

AG's songs are extremely difficult for bassists; they are arguably the most difficult in the BanG Dream! universe.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to call her the most skilled bassist born in the Heisei era.

Upon receiving such praise, Felice chuckled shyly twice; she could feel a little embarrassed when praised.

"Alright, let's not just stand here anymore. Everyone must have things to do, right? Where are Kita and Pochi? Haven't they arrived yet?"

"Oh, they said they were coming with new friends."

New friend? Ren Amamiya immediately knew who their new friend was.

Of course, it's Chihaya Aine and Takamatsu Akari, who are both from Haneoka.

"But since the seniors from Yuqiu have all arrived, they're still dawdling. That won't do!"

"Alright, Lian, you're not from Yuqiu, yet you're interfering."

Ba tapped Amamiya Ren on the head. None of the Haneoka members said anything, so why was Amamiya Ren, a member of the Shuujin faction, thinking of causing trouble?

So Ren Amamiya just scratched his head and didn't say much. At that moment, he saw Rinko-san walk over and lead Ren Amamiya to their lounge.

This is where the difference between RiNG and Fanxing becomes apparent. Fanxing's dressing room is a space where everyone stays together; a few tables are simply pushed together to form a dressing room for a band. RiNG, on the other hand, provides each band with their own separate dressing room so they can properly rest.

This was also Hongxia's first time visiting the backstage of a livehouse other than Fanxing, and she was incredibly surprised to see how it was set up like a small karaoke room.

"What, is it that strange?"

"Of course! RiNG is a super-large-scale livehouse!"

RiNG and Circle are arguably two of Tokyo's most famous livehouses, or rather, this is the difference between the main store and a branch.

Nowadays, band concerts are usually held at RiNG, not Circle, and this kind of event is indeed quite common.

Ren Amamiya also frequently participates in these kinds of concerts. As I said before, the concert lasts for several hours. The band doesn't have that much energy to keep playing. They definitely need to take breaks in between. In order to avoid a lull in the atmosphere, other bands are needed to come and support them. Ren Amamiya is the one who is most often called upon.

Simply put, he's incredibly talented. Many bands trust Ren Amamiya, so there aren't many people in the Tokyo band scene who haven't heard of him. He truly is a remarkable figure.

"Alright, let's rest for a bit and wait for the others. Don't be too nervous about going on stage today."

Ren Amamiya took a flyer and looked at the program schedule on it.

I happen to have three pieces on my side, and the names of each piece are clearly indicated.

Ai Yin and her band only have one song, and it seems they have plenty of time. I wonder if they'll add any other tracks later.

"Sorry we're late!"

Kita pushed open the door to the lounge, and she and Pochi walked in, both panting.

Behind the two, Aine greeted Ren Amamiya, seemingly wanting to come in and chat, but was dragged away by Riki the next second.

It's obvious they're all very nervous.

"Now that everyone's here... let's get ready for the audition. There's only an hour left before the performance."

"Shall we practice again later?"

"There isn't enough time, but I believe you've practiced enough during this period, so there's no need to worry too much."

Seeing the unease among the group, Ren Amamiya turned his gaze to Pochi-chan, who was writing the character "人" (person) on her palm and stuffing it into her mouth in the corner: "So don't be so tense anymore, relaxing is the best choice."

"Yes!"

"I'll take you to visit some bands later. It's not usually easy to get close to Poppin' and Afterglow, so you can learn a lot from their experience today. But before that, everyone get ready to go on stage, the audition is about to start."

Although Ren Amamiya was not a member of the End Band, he acted like a leader, instructing everyone on what to do.

Compared to RiNG, the live performance by Fanxing is nothing; they have very little experience in this area, so at this point, they can only ask Ren Amamiya for help.

(PS: I knew it! You can't predict the plot of Mother Hen's storyline right now. It's really enough! Teacher Da Xiang's stock price can keep falling. If it weren't for the plot twist in the next episode preview, she would have been completely finished. Although I know she's a high school student and that everything she's been through has made her a bit broken, I can understand her situation, but I can't accept her actions. She needs to grow up quickly.)

(PS2: But I didn't expect Soyo to go to such lengths. "My harmonious relationship isn't that good." That's so typical of Soyo. She's the epitome of a tsundere stepmother who says one thing but means another.)

(PS3: What's going on with Hailing? I thought I could guess what was going on, but now I have a feeling something bad is about to happen. I'll have to be more careful when writing about her from now on. It seems like her breaking point is different from what I predicted. Lixi has come to Mu's door, which is interesting.)

(PS4: If there weren't a seventh episode, Watashi... (stretches neck).)

Chapter Seventy: Preparations for the "Live" Event

　"Now let's start the sound check! Drummer, please check your sound! Start with the bass drum."

Hongxia's live performance this time was completely different from her previous performance at Fanxing. The formality of the event made her very nervous.

She even swallowed twice before starting to beat the drum.

"Please hurry."

Hearing this, Hongxia became even more nervous.

The others were also standing nervously, but only Ren Amamiya was still in his seat, greeting Ran Mitake and Tomoe Udagawa who had come to watch the commotion from not far away.

This wasn't the first time he'd done it; practice makes perfect, and he'd get used to it.

It's normal for them to be nervous, as it's their first time on stage.

"Okay, now bassist, please play a melody."

Compared to Hongxia's nervousness, Liang was much calmer. She was the most composed of the four band members after the band ended, or perhaps it was just her personality? In any case, her bass playing seemed perfectly normal.

"Very well, so guitar... uh... let's start with lead guitar, lead guitarist? Lead guitarist?"

Rinrinko's gaze fell upon the pink-haired girl in the black t-shirt who remained silent; she was visibly melting.

Wait a minute, is she so nervous that she's already out of sorts?

"Poch-chan! Cheer up! The live performance hasn't even started yet!"

"But I feel like I'm really going to die..."

Kita tried to shake Pochi back to normal, but Pochi's attitude proved that she really couldn't do it anymore.

Rinrinko, on the other hand, seemed somewhat helpless: "Haha...maybe this is the result of my first live performance."

"Sorry, let's do a sound check first. This is their first time performing at such a large live venue."

Ren Amamiya had no choice but to pick up the microphone and speak to Rinrinko. As for the lead guitar issue with Pochi-chan... we'll talk about that later.

"Alright then... You have two lead singers on your side, right? Then we'll have to try both headsets."

"Okay, I'll try it on my side first. Thank you for your hard work, Ms. Rinrinko."

"It's not hard work at all. With you leading the way, it's at least a bit easier."

RiNG has encountered many new bands. Bands coming here for the first time are more or less nervous, and having an older member to help guide them makes things easier.

With Ren Amamiya's help, the band's audition was successfully completed.

Meanwhile, Pochi-chan appeared remarkably composed with an air of enigmatic confidence. The reason for this...

It was just that Ren Amamiya whispered a few words in her ear.

'Boqi-chan, today is your day to shine for your fans! You're a guitar hero with 30,000 followers, so show them your guitar prowess!'

"Hehehe, I'm a hero~ I'm a hero~"

Now that Pochi-chan has entered a brief period of superhuman strength, there are naturally no problems with the performance that follows.

Although we didn't actually practice much, we did go through the rehearsal briefly, and everyone played a small part of their pieces to ensure there would be no problems with the recording.

This live performance also has a collaboration with the game company, so we paid extra attention to the sound recording; otherwise, the audience in the game might not have a good experience.

"Would you like to eat something? You don't want to be too hungry to go on stage."

Ren Amamiya was the last to enter the practice room, carrying several sandwiches which he distributed to the others.

“Arigato… Ah, indeed, eating a sandwich can make one feel much better.”

Kita leaned back on the sofa and couldn't help but sigh, she couldn't have been more nervous on stage just now.

But Boqi was even more nervous than her, so she couldn't help but glance at Boqi several times, her attention completely drawn to him.

Fortunately, I've been training a lot lately, and my muscles have developed muscle memory. Even when my mind is blank on stage, my hands still play unconsciously.

"Ah, actually you don't need to worry too much. As long as you don't cause any performance accidents, a few simple mistakes won't be a big problem."

Ren Amamiya was also comforting everyone at this time: "After all, these are all new songs, and none of you have heard them before, so if you accidentally play a few wrong notes, the audience won't notice immediately, so just relax. As for how not to get stage fright... this is a necessary step for every newcomer. Practice makes perfect, and once you get through this, you'll be able to relax."

As Ren Amamiya spoke, his gaze fell upon Pochi-chan, who had not yet returned to her timid self: "Especially you, Pochi-chan, you are the hope of our entire team this time. You have to lead us to become the most dazzling band in this live performance. Do you have the confidence?"

"Have!"

Pochi-chan, who was easily fooled by Ren Amamiya, stood with her hands on her hips, looking incredibly confident. She had overlooked some things that made her so confident, and she was just waiting to go on stage and show off her skills to make everyone submit to her.