Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!

Episode 4

Episode 4 is as exaggerated as prior weeks, but in the kind of emotional hyper-realism that I find endearing.

Nukumizus' entire situation has been a bit ridiculous thus far, and that's part conceit, part expedience. All three of our leading ladies are airdropped into his life without so much as a hi-how-ya-doin, and they have become entirely embroiled in one another's lives. It's absurd, but hey, it gets the ball rolling, and now that we're into more meaningful emotional territory, it is more benefit than drawback. I personally enjoy what episode 4 has brought to the table as it moves away from a certain kind of self-insert fanservice that was a bit too voyeuristic for my tastes and into something more resonant and interpersonal.

Komari's big confession goes nowhere for her but pushes others closer together. It's expected romantic stuff; heartache caused by miscommunication and lack of clarity between the two senpai! You're as shocked as I am, I'm sure of it. These lead to a series of confessions and half-meant statements of absolute finality that keep all the dramatis personae swirling around in a perpetual state of will-they/won't-they that keeps the drama bubbling.

But it all works well this week because it gets at the heart of these burgeoning teenage romances. Every big emotional event feels like the end of the world or the start of a new era when you're that young. These characters feel every injury as if it were a mortal one and every triumph as if it were life-affirming. Teenage romances often involve a lot of always and never, and the ups and downs of emotional turmoil create angst and jubilation in equal measure. The direction does a great job underscoring the heightened intensity of the cast's feelings: vast skyscapes, gorgeous rainbows over blooming flowers, etc. The freshly blooming natural world of spring-to-summer mirrors the blossoming identities of these youngsters. It may seem like they are just meeting for clubs and eating lunch together in the stairwell, but when you're that age, it's your entire world.

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Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.