I hated it. I couldn't even stomach it. Season 3 (Mashumairesh!!) was merely pointless and dull, but Season 4 brings back everyone from Seasons 1-2 for a big crossover season... and then just does a rehash of Mashumairesh!!.

I loved Seasons 1-2 and its heroines (Plasmagica). They had drama and a strong storyline, but also lovable characters, humour and lots of charm. I'd watch almost anything if it meant more Plasmagica... but not this. Let's do a season summary.

EPISODE ONE = the Mashumairesh!! girls go to join up with Plasmagica... and have a vehicular speed duel with them through the city for no reason except annoying stupidity. A giant monster appears in the sky and chases them. It's the size of a large building. There are skyscrapers everywhere you look, so we're still in the middle of Midi City and it's definitely not in the sticks. The chase ends in Delmin shooting their pursuer out of the sky and trashing buildings. It would be impossible for all this to go unnoticed... except that apparently it did, because the Mashumairesh!! girls get arrested for causing all that damage.

EPISODE TWO = the girls appear in court and the show can just fuck off. Their court-appointed lawyer turns up late and has his preliminary client discussion in court, in front of the judge and prosecutor. He also has an irritating verbal tic. No one even mentions a giant flying monster until we're more than eight minutes into the episode. Get out of here. Plasmagica have been sitting in court for ages, just listening and saying nothing. Oh, and the prosecutor immediately raises an objection to, effectively, the girls being allowed to present a defence.

Everything revolves around video evidence. If you don't have camera footage of your version of the truth, then you're guilty as charged! Also, the prosecutor demands 69 years in jail for the defendants, because "69" can be pronounced "rock" and this series loves throwing it around (heedless of innuendo). Piss off, piss off, piss off. I wouldn't mind if this were a dystopian grimdark series about travesties of justice, but no. It's just empty-headed fluff that's meant to be fun. Eventually, the girls get released because lots of passers-by in the city filmed the flying monster on their smartphones... but if there were so many eyewitnesses, couldn't the police have tried talking to some of them before all this reached court?

Unbelievable. Hate hate hate. It's 24 minutes of bullshit.

EPISODE THREE = hang on, where are Plasmagica? It's Mashumairesh!! who are getting all the character beats. This makes a sort of sense, since Mashumairesh!! were the heroines of last year's season, while Plasmagica were last seen in 2016. Unfortunately, the show's now falling into a Mashumairesh!! slice-of-life rhythm where nothing meaningful happens (despite eps.1-2) and I'm starting to hate life. Give me Plasmagica. I'll be happy if you give me Plasmagica.

There's some funny interaction between the two bands, in the Angelica Bar & Cafe. After that, though, we realise that the episode's plot involves (Mashumairesh!!'s) Delmin getting cross with (Mashumairesh!!'s) Rufuyu for going off to find a cafe, then at the end they make up and everyone's happy again. (I'd have sympathised if she'd been getting cross with Rufuyu's overexcited squawk-voice, although in fairness Plasmagica's Cyan sounds unnatural too.)

EPISODE FOUR = the boys appear and are annoying. Fast-forward through this. (Theoretically, Shingancrimsonz are hilarious and Dokonjofinger have their moments too... but not here.)

EPISODE FIVE = tickets to see a concert.

EPISODE SIX = do voice training, which involves climbing a mountain and bathing in a hot spring.

EPISODE SEVEN = boys again. Fast-forward.

EPISODE EIGHT = the girls go on a cruise ship.

EPISODE NINE = school sports festival where all the competitors are girl band members.

EPISODE TEN = rock festival.

EPISODE ELEVEN = writing a new song.

EPISODE TWELVE = the flying monster's back! At the last minute, the show's remembered the concept of a plot! Might this perhaps mean that the final episode won't just be slice-of-life nothing? This monster will be defeated by... oh, bloody hell. By playing music at another rock festival. "Right now, what we need are your soulful, passionate performances!"

This season made me hate Show by Rock!!, which I love. It does nothing with the Plasmagica heroines, because they're playing second fiddle to Mashumairesh!! and furthermore being crushed under the static, foetid, slice-of-life format. I was annoyed by the show setting up mirrors (e.g. in the title sequence) between Howan and Cyan. Yes, they're the good-hearted lead heroines of Show by Rock!!'s two anime incarnations, but... oh, sod it. Ep.1 is bad, then ep.2 is a nuclear-fuelled abomination that could wipe out life on Earth. After that the show had no way back.