The Japanese music media franchise BanG Dream! features a large ensemble of characters, with its main cast organized into twelve all-female bands of five members each. The band Poppin'Party serves as the protagonists of the franchise's anime television series, making their debut in 2015.

Four new bands were introduced with the arrival of the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! mobile game in 2017: Roselia, Afterglow, Pastel Palettes, and Hello, Happy World! At the end of 2018, a backup band called The Third was renamed Raise A Suilen, with its members portraying new characters. A seventh band named Morfonica was introduced in 2020.

In 2022 and 2023, following a new approach being undertaken by Bushiroad, MyGO!!!!! and Ave Mujica were introduced as the eighth and ninth bands in the franchise. A tenth band, Mugendai MewType, was also introduced in 2023, consisting of five VTubers.

In 2026, two new bands, millsage and Ikka Dumb Rock!, were introduced and both made their debut in the franchise's second mobile game BanG Dream! Our Notes.

For live performances, the members of Poppin'Party, Roselia, Raise A Suilen, Morfonica, MyGO!!!!!, Ave Mujica, and Mugendai MewType play their own music, while the others are limited to vocals as well as voice acting. The live bands are the main characters in the anime while the mobile game further details their formation and activities. Various voice actresses also host band-themed online radio and television programs.

Creation and conception BanG Dream! was founded by Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani on the premise of voice actresses who could play their own instruments in live concerts. To create the characters and setting, he approached novelist Kō Nakamura; despite having little experience creating fictional bands, two of Nakamura's works were music-based and inspired by his college friends. He shaped Poppin'Party, the first band in the franchise, and its formation after his time in high school. For example, Kasumi meeting her friends is based on Nakamura befriending classmates who wished to create a band; like Kasumi, the guitarist of Nakamura's band bought a guitar at a local pawnshop, while both groups held meetings in a warehouse. Other character aspects were based on their voice actresses, such as Tae holding street performances in the second season of the anime being inspired by Sae Ōtsuka doing the same as a teenager and Chiyu and Risa Tsumugi both being fluent in English. The character designs for Poppin'Party are also loosely modeled after their real-life counterparts. The franchise's first work, the manga BanG_Dream! Star Beat by Nakamura and Aya Ishida, contained numerous differences in character traits that were retconned in later media. The rebooted story takes place in Tokyo's Kita and Shinjuku wards.

The premiere of the anime and launch of BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! in 2017 saw the debuts of Roselia, Afterglow, Pastel Palettes, and Hello, Happy World! Roselia had first appeared as a live-action group at Tokyo Game Show 2016. Nakamura was not involved in the game's storywriting as developer Craft Egg instead oversaw it.

The Third, a backup band that provided instrumentals for live concerts by Afterglow, Pastel Palettes, and Hello, Happy World!, debuted as its own group alongside Poppin'Party and Roselia in April 2018. The band was later renamed Raise A Suilen. Morfonica, the lone band of the seven with a violinist, was formed in 2020 to celebrate Girls Band Party! three-year anniversary.

Nakamura primarily writes the lyrics for Poppin'Party songs, while Elements Garden's Asuka Oda does so for the other bands.

Many of the characters are high school students, mostly split between Hanasakigawa, Haneoka, and Tsukinomori Girls' High School. As part of Girls Band Party! sixth anniversary, ten characters begin attending college at Yotsuba Women's University or Keiho Women's University.

Poppin'Party

Poppin'Party (PoPiPa for short), the first band in the BanG Dream! franchise, serves as the protagonists of the anime series. Formed by Kasumi Toyama, the band consists of five high school friends who support her in her journey to rediscover the "Star Beat". Although their raw skill is not the best, they make up for this with their strong energy and innate connection between each other. Their name references the "popping" theme of their band and music; before performances, they huddle and recite the chant, "PoPiPa, PiPoPa, PoPiPaPaPiPoPa!".

The first season of the anime is focused on Poppin'Party's creation and efforts to perform at live house Space, while the second and third seasons detail their organization of a self-sponsored concert and participation in the BanG Dream! Girls Band Challenge, respectively. In the main story to Girls Band Party!, the band helps the player character recruit bands for the titular event. Poppin'Party has four in-game band stories: "Poppin'Party is Born!" is a retelling of their formation from the first season; "Colorful, Poppin' Candy" follows the band's plans to save the downtown festival; "Double Rainbow" focuses on an argument between Arisa and the others; and "Live Beyond!!" focuses on the band's participation in the Rocking Star Festival and desire to spread their music.

Poppin'Party is a pop rock band with upbeat music. In accordance with their goals to find the Star Beat, their outfits—which are based on school uniforms—heavily feature a celestial motif.

Kasumi Toyama is a third-year student at Hanasakigawa Girls' High School who serves as the leader, lead singer, and rhythm guitarist of Poppin'Party. She plays a red ESP Random Star. She is active and optimistic and is always looking for a heart-pounding, sparkling sound called the "Star Beat". Her sister Asuka is a year younger than her, but it is sometimes hard to tell who is the older of the two.

She is voiced by Aimi. In the English dub, Juliet Simmons voices Kasumi.

Contrary to her happy-go-lucky nature in the finalized version, Kasumi is a shy and reserved girl in Star Beat. After being ridiculed for sensing the Star Beat and singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" as a child, she becomes withdrawn as she enters high school, but wishes to change herself by rediscovering the Star Beat. Upon finding the guitar at Arisa's pawnshop, she is recruited into becoming the protagonist of Arisa's "game" BanG_Dream! As she learns the instrument, she regains her confidence in performing.

Tae Hanazono Nicknamed "O-tae", is the lead guitarist of Poppin'Party and a third-year student at Hanasakigawa. A skilled guitarist who has been playing since she was little, she loves music and works part-time at a live house, the money from which she saved to buy her blue ESP Snapper guitar. A bit airheaded girl, she tends to take things at her own pace, and can be surprised and wired at times. Tae lives with her parents and 20 rabbits, whom she treats like her children.

Tae is voiced by Sae Ōtsuka. Luci Christian portrays her in the English version.

Her Star Beat counterpart is shy but strong-willed. She joins the band after assisting Kasumi, Arisa, and Rimi in writing the lyrics to their song "Yes! BanG_Dream".

Rimi Ushigome is a third-year student at Hanasakigawa and the bassist of Poppin'Party, making her the youngest and shortest member of the band.; she is nicknamed "Rimi-rin" by her bandmates. She is shy, and efforts to overcome this have not resulted in success so far. Rimi plays a pink ESP Viper bass, which was a hand-me-down from her older sister Yuri Ushigome of Glitter Green. She loves the chocolate cornets from Yamabuki Bakery and chocolate (outside of mint chocolate) and sweets in general. Contrary to her meek personality, she also enjoys horror entertainment like paranormal fiction and zombie films as long as they are not excessively grotesque. Rimi grew up in the Kansai region before moving in middle school, and she occasionally speaks with a Kansai dialect when panicking.

Rimi is voiced by Rimi Nishimoto. She is voiced by Avery Smithhart in the English dub.

In Star Beat, Rimi is depicted as a mysterious girl who enjoys eating rice and pretending to be a ninja.

Sāya Yamabuki is the drummer of Poppin'Party and a third-year student at Hanasakigawa. She performs with a Pearl drum kit. A kind-hearted girl, Sāya always tries to be a good friend to Kasumi and those around her. On top of her high school studies and the band, she helps out at her family's popular business, the Yamabuki Bakery. She has a brother, Jun, and sister, Sana, who are a lot younger than her.

Sāya is voiced by Ayaka Ōhashi. Christina Kelly voices her in the English dub.

The Star Beat version of Sāya does not appear until later in the manga, though she spends the early chapters communicating with Kasumi by writing on her desk. Although she urges Kasumi to form a band with the others and helps her complete the lyrics to "Yes! BanG_Dream", she is hesitant to join.

Arisa Ichigaya is the keyboardist of Poppin'Party and a third-year student at Hanasakigawa. She plays a Roland Juno-DS61 keyboard. Arisa is a very indoor girl who likes taking care of her bonsai trees and looking at stuff online. She does not go out much, but is incredibly smart and excels academically, including being the top pianist at her music school. Her sharp tongue and tsundere nature causes her and Kasumi to frequently butt heads, though she tries to keep the appearance of a rich and refined girl around others. Her grandmother runs the pawnshop Ryuseido.

Arisa is voiced by Ayasa Itō. Maggie Flecknoe voices her in the English version.

In Star Beat, Arisa is a hikikomori who plays video games. She introduces Kasumi to the Random Star at her pawnshop like in the current series, which she allows her to play on the agreement that Kasumi join her "game".

Roselia

Roselia is a Gothic rock band that is recognized at a near-professional level and has caught the eye of the music industry. Their name is a combination of "rose" and "camellia", a reference to a blue rose as it represents the band's goals of achieving the impossible. With music that also contain symphonic metal leanings, Roselia's shows are based on visual kei with elaborate costumes and impressive visuals.

In the first season of the anime, Roselia plays a minor role by performing at Space's final show. The band's presence is increased to a co-starring role in the second and third seasons as its members organize a self-sponsored show and participate in the Girls Band Challenge. In the game, their primary goal is to perform at the prestigious Future World Fes. Roselia has three band stories: "Bloom of the Blue Rose" details their creation;"Neo-Aspect" follows their efforts to rediscover their pride after a poor performance; and "Sprechchor" focuses on the band's thoughts on becoming a professional group. The first two band stories and the "Noble Rose" event story trilogy are also covered in the two-part film series Episode of Roselia.

Yukina Minato is the leader and singer of Roselia who takes everything in regards to music very seriously. She has sung for as long as she can remember, taking inspiration from her father whose burgeoning music career ended after he was forced to abandon making his own music and sell out. Although she is usually cold and stoic, she would show her softer side to people she eventually warms up to. She and Lisa have been best friends since childhood. Outside of the band, she is a first-year music student at Yotsuba after previously attending Haneoka Girls' High School. Yukina also secretly loves cats.

Aina Aiba portrays Yukina, while Olivia Swasey is her voice actress in the dub.

Sayo Hikawa