Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!

Episodes 8-9

Episodes 8 and 9 thread the needle expertly between romantic excitement and actual believability.

I was really impressed by both of these episodes and how they achieved their aims. They are both themed around the impending Tsuwabuki Festival, which is similar to Halloween and involves dressing up, fall treats, and so on. The fact that the students have to play a role in the event makes for a realistic conflict that doesn't feel overly ridiculous. Sometimes scenarios in romantic comedy-type situations have to go a bit overboard to create absurd situations but this is all pretty believable stuff. The kids cook, clean, and prepare their short stories—all while working together and lending their unique talents to the mix.

Most importantly it touches on a theme of overwork and stress. Komari pushes herself to the limit and collapses, which scares the students and her family. She is fine in the end but even that scare is a wakeup call for their activities. Later on, when Nukumizu shows up early to get things done on his own, the others arrive too and chastise him for trying to take on too much at once. “I wasn't going to push myself,” is his excuse, but this is kind of a weak defense. Many people who work hard and push themselves into burnout (or worse) do not actively think “Today I will overwork myself.” These situations involve people just trying to get a lot done and inadvertently hurting themselves by pushing well past their limits.

The romantic tensions are also a lot more subtle in both of these episodes, which I appreciated. There are no grand confessions or overly bombastic displays but rather the all too relatable tensions that occur in will-they-won't-they type situations. Confessions have been made but everyone is still friends… or are they? Or perhaps still something more? These questions simmer in the background and add a nice texture to the (gloriously realized by the A-1 team) mundane activities they have embarked on. There's still some typical tropey stuff I don't care for and it even gets called out in-text by Nukumizu, but it's rather minor and didn't take me out of the moment. Both episodes were big winners in my book.

Episode 1: Rating:

Episode 2: 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.