We need to talk about good boys for a minute.

So, for the first time with Make Heroine ga Oosugiru, I was picking up a bit of a True Tears vibe this week. I imagine most will dismiss that out of hand based on the admittedly stark tonal difference between the two series. But they share a certain perceptiveness when it comes to the emotional fragility of teenagers, even if it manifests a little differently. They share a gorgeous depiction of  a small Japanese city close to nature (in this case Toyohashi, in Aichi). And perhaps most critically, they share a very distinct character type at the heart of the story.

Yes, there’s no doubt that Nukumizu – like Shin’ichirou – is a “good boy”. There are many ways this manifests and can be defined, and Nuk-kun is a more typical modern teen than Shin in most respects. But the essence of it is what I said back then: “Shin can’t help himself – he’s serially nice.” Kazuhiko too is serially nice. He stops himself thinking about what he wants, and winds up largely defining himself by the roles he plays in other people’s dramas. Kazuhiko equates it with LN lingo as being a “side character”, but that’s what it boils down to. Both boys are too afraid to be the protagonists in their own story (they’re both writers, actually), and they’s so sweet by nature that they can’t help act when they’re confronted by suffering. Nuk-kun can’t help himself – he’s serially nice. Stop him before he helps again.

As I said, I find this show to be very perceptive when to comes to adolescent emotions. And with hindsight, I feel like the problems plaguing our heroes are relatively simple to diagnose. In essence, theses yoots are too inexperienced to realize this shit they’re trying to pull off just doesn’t work. I mean, one relationship at a time is too hard for most people (never mind teen people). They’re trying to be friends with crushes, have social threesomes with their crush and their partner… The difficulty level here is off the charts. Almost no one could fly this close to the sun and not melt their waxen wings. But they’re young – they don’t get that. They see what could be and think, “why not?”

So really, I feel a lot of pain for them. And that means buy-in with the story, so that’s all good. The focus of most of the agony this time is Remon, whose three-way with Mitsuki and Chihaya may be even more messed up than Anna’s threesome. In the final analysis Mitsuki had gone to Remon for relationship advice (for some reason). Of course now Kazuhiko has to justify his being in a changing stall with Chihaya, and rather than admit he was helping her stalk Mitsuki he says he was asking her for advice. A story which can only evolve to have Anna be the object of his affections. Which has its own set of complicating factors, though those are on the back burner for now.

Eventually a group date is hatched by Mitsuki, as a means to help Nuk-kun get with Anna. Anna and he are the only two who know the full extent of the fiction at work here. The group go to the Underground Museum, giving Anna (who functions well as the comic relief valve when the pressure is on others) a chance to rant about the locale. Things are going okay until the planetarium looms. Mitsuki tries to get Remon to sit with them so Anna and Kazuhiko can be alone. Remon tries to get the two of them to sit alone. Mitsuki pushes, not realizing he’s sticking a knife in Remon’s heart. What a mess.

Eventually Remon unthinkingly blurts out the truth and flees. Mitsuki wants to follow, but Chihaya (though I can’t blame her) guilt trips him into staying. Nuk-kun rushes after her because- well, you know why. Nuk-kun is such a kind fool, truly. He has no clue what to say or how to help but he doesn’t want to leave Remon to suffer alone. She tells him a sad story with a happy ending, boards the bus for home, and winds up fleeing to her boho grandma’s house in the mountains. Everyone starts to worry when they don’t know where she is, but Koto eventually finds out from Remon’s mother and organizes a Lit Club rescue mission (neglecting to tell Nuk-kun to bring a change of clothes).

It’s remarkable the way Makeine balances the Debbie Downer of all this hormonal heartbreak with very effective comedy. Stuff like the sugar theorem and the”right-left” BL debate (OK, I admit I never heard that right-left thing – it really is code) and the river crab bit is really funny. And it keeps the tone of the show from getting too heavy. It just works, all of it. Even if Makeine weren’t far more gorgeous than it has any right to be, it would still work. This is a pretty special piece of work so far, and that’s coming from one of the most skeptical members of its potential audience.