Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!

Episode 5

Episode 5 is a tornado of events that somehow feel like not enough is happening and too much at the same time.

There's really no other way to put it. There are a lot of vignettes in this week's episode—though they have a vague connectivity to them and a few dramatic and emotional throughlines. Yanami's family is undergoing a moment of crisis as her father is paid purely in noodles for an entire month's wages. This creates a few interesting tidbits with Yanami eating so much she becomes sick of it and therefore resorts offloading as much of it as possible. This works well enough as a point of conflict and gets Yanami and Nukumizu interacting beyond school grounds.

There are also the ongoing worries Chihaya has about Ayano and Lemon. She is concerned that Lemon is moving in on Ayano—staying around him and refusing to truly separate herself from Ayano's presence despite Chihaya being the one dating him. This creates a lot of hijinks which can be fun but I mostly found it to be a bit ridiculous. That said, it all seemed like pretty fair game as far as romantic comedy shenanigans are concerned. So, it may just be my lower tolerance for such tropes.

I have to applaud the team at A-1 Pictures for their work on these episodes. The character acting is really superb, with a number of delightful character expressions, outfit changes, and high interactivity with the environments. Even mundane actions like Chihaya's nervous feet moving while she talks are rendered with immense care. Even if I'm ho-hum on the over-the-top events or character interactions, I can't deny that there's always something worth appreciating in every scene. It's a real testament to the beauty of our mundane lives.

Rating:

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

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