First of all, something good is clearly happening over at A-1 Pictures. Between Makeine and Nigewaka (at sub-studio Cloverworks) they have the two best-looking shows of the season. Like, by a mile – not even close. Over the years their track record has been more middling with a side of inconsistent, but these two shows are strictly penthouse apartments. I’m not sure where in the world the budget for this series came from – are the novels massively popular and I just didn’t know it?
I do like this series generally so far, but frankly it’s the visuals (the music is nice too) that are making the headlines for me. Director Kitamura Shoutarou was not a name I knew well but he’s absolutely on my radar now. The series is just beautiful – the animation is silky smooth, the backgrounds detailed and gorgeous, and Kitamura’s direction is clever and artistically eloquent in a way that never feels too busy. The visuals wouldn’t look out of place in a theatrical film, and there’s not a trace of exaggeration in that statement. In fact they’re better than most anime movies I’ve seen in the last couple of years.
As for as the content, I still find it to be very solid. I didn’t think this episode was as good as the premiere in that respect but then, it didn’t have the element of surprise behind it here. This ep was also a good deal weirder and ecchier than the first, which if anything adds an element of uncertainty that’s kind of intriguing. After showing us a teacher bugging the nurse’s office in the hopes of hearing her underage patients banging, one assumes there aren’t going to be a lot of sacred cows here.
The storage shed scene certainly flirted with cliche. But it was an open flirtation, to the point of parody. Remon’s (Wakayama Shion) behavior once the heatstroke kicked in was certainly uninhibited. That whole sequence was pretty brash – the spray, the squealing, the tanlines – but it does indeed seem as if the boundaries here are pushed pretty far. And when Asagumo-sensei walks in on quite the scene, all she has to say is “let me know when you’re finished”. At least it didn’t go to the proverbial slapping moment, and Nukumizu-kun didn’t get in trouble for not doing anything wrong.
Then the nurse’s (Konuki-sensei) office. She’s even worse, talking about getting laid in that very room while she was a student. And then the whole recording thing, which is very edgy indeed. And I assume she was the one who wrote “Nukumizu 
Yakashio” on the notepad, though where the story goes with that I’m not sure since very clearly neither Remon nor Nuku-kun have any inclinations in that direction. Fortunately for Nukumizu Remon remembers none of what happened, and the only thing that eventually comes back to her is his promise to go with her to the literature club so she can borrow books for Mitsuki.
There were some good gags around the lit club, like Yanami-san getting the name wrong. And that locale is the home base of the third losing heroine, Komari Chika (Terasawa Momoka). Unlike the other two however she’s a homewrecker. She’s into the club president Tamaki Shintarou (Kobayashi Yuusuke), but he’s at least one year ahead of her and maybe two, and has his own osananajimi who he seems very close to. As for Mitsuki-kun (Kobayashi Chiaki) he does stop by the club, and Tsukinoki-san does remark that they seem like a couple, but he denies that in no uncertain terms. Then drops the bomb that he has a girlfriend (Chihaya, his cram school buddy). That leads to Yanamai inviting Remon to a consolation meal at Gusto (clearly a paid advertiser), where poor Nuku once more get stuck with the check.
All in all I thought this worked pretty well. Not as natural and effortless as the premiere was, but nonetheless pretty funny and refreshingly odd. The chemistry among the major characters is good, and I like all of them individually too (though these freak teachers are still a question mark for me). But let’s be honest – if they can keep the production values at this level (and that has to be a big if), it’s not as if the rest of it has to be great for Make Heroine ga Oosugiru! to make the grade – just “fine” would be plenty.
Joshua
July 22, 2024 at 4:42 amI think the key behind these was largely that A-1 and Cloverworks simply learned how to better budget their time and resources with their productions in recent years. Makeine for example was optioned for an adaptation right before the first volume came out, and some of the folks who worked on Kaguya-sama were eager to jump on to this as production went into fullswing. Sure we had the big roadbumps due to the pandemic, but all signs do point to a positive change. Even Nier Automata so far has been going fine for now (without any of the significant issues that plagued s1).
One can hopefully assume that Cloverworks has learned their lessons considerably in the wake of WEP’s production debacle and took the issues to heart.
sonicsenryaku
July 22, 2024 at 2:09 pmEpisode 2 didn’t quite have the production flourish of ep 1, but that’s not me saying that as a dig or even as a remark implying there was a considerable dip in quality; only that you can tell that the premiere was a bit more ambitious in its layouts, camera work, animation, and photography. Speaking of photography, I think that’s one of the strongest aspects of its visuals: it uses techniques and aesthetics similar to the ones used in Hyouka, which explains why it’s so pretty and bewitching to look at (and why you vibe with it so much visually, Enzo)
Overall, I’m quite liking this show so far; it’s got just enough of the “let’s have the character interactions organically illustrate character strengths, flaws, and growth” kind of writing style that I absolutely vibe with. It looks like under all those slice of life shenanigans, there’s gonna be a series that wants to tell a meaningful story about moving on from unrequited highschool love and how to build heathy social support systems through new friendships and life prospects; that sounds interesting enough to keep me hooked so as long as the execution remains solid enough, which it seems like it will. I’d like for none of the 3 main girls to immediately start falling for Nukkun. If this series is gonna set itself about from other romcoms in a intriguing way, allowing them to spend a lengthy period of time just being a solid friend group coping with romantic loss would be a great foundation to mediate the show’s drama around.
The anime feels like it’s aping the meta commentary most modern LN’s seem to like indulging in, but it’s wrapped up in above-average 2020’s anime production values, all the while being directed/portrayed with the sensibilities of an early/mid 2000’s anime
Oh, and a quick shoutout to Shion Wakayama; she’s starting to become a favorite of mine due to the subtlety of her voice acting (not an abundant trait in the anime industry so it’s always welcome), which can be seen across her performances as Yume from “Dynazenon,” Ai from “The Girl I Like Forgets Her Glasses”, and even Takina from “Licorice Broccoli”. She’s a chameleon in her roles, with her voice work usually feeling dynamic and grounded in delivery in comparison to the industry standard, rather than relying on a familiar archetype or singular “anime” sound. We’ll being hearing more from her later this year as Momo from Gainax’s newest— errrr, I mean Science Saru’s newest production, DanDaDan, which I’m simply hyped for. Maaaaaan, Summer season has been a weirdly strong outing of anime this go around….like what the hell? Given Spring’s more lackluster performance, it’s as if the hype that’s usually there got switched with Summer’s more conservative batting average
Guardian Enzo
July 22, 2024 at 2:17 pmShe would have been a good pick for Giji Harem, actually.
Yes, the art design and also Kitamura’s direction do have some elements of KyoAni to them, but I think the visual appeal of Makeine has more to it than that.
Interestingly Shinkai Makoto said during a Tenki no Ko anniversary event that he was a fan, and that the visuals reminded him of some of his own work. I can see that.
sonicsenryaku
July 22, 2024 at 3:03 pmFunny you mention Shinkai cuz that seems to be a sentiment floating around amongst certain peeps watching Makeine; that it doesn’t look that far off from a Shinkai project, which is honestly some of the highest praise you could give a work
And yes; Shion Wakayama would have been perfect for Giji Harem; Love me some Hayama Saori, but Shion would have pizzazzed the shit out of that role
Guardian Enzo
July 22, 2024 at 3:08 pmHayami is a square peg in a round hole in that show. If you need a square peg, she’s one of the best in the business.
Karen Fanboy
July 23, 2024 at 10:46 pmWas Karen not in this episode? Wtf?
Nicc
July 24, 2024 at 7:35 amFirst things first, we got the OP and it highlights the main cast and along with the supporting cast, which we also get to see a bit more of in this episode. Besides that, this episode focuses on our second losing heroine, Lemon Yakishio. We got a brief introduction in the first episode. She’s tanned and athletic, which a contrast to the bookish-looking Mitsuki. She’s been trying to get his attention to no avail, but some other girl already has.
While in the equipment shed, she and Nukumizu work out a plan where she and Mitsuki can head to the Lit Club together with the pretense of borrowing some books there. That sounds like a good idea, but then they find themselves locked in and it’s a hot day outside. The heat is getting to them, but especially for Lemon. A teacher comes to the rescue and Lemon is none the wiser that she got into a situation written for thin book material. At least she remembered the plan for visiting the Lit Club. We also meet the school nurse as they’re recovering and she seems like the type who would’ve written the equipment shed scenario between Nukumizu and Lemon. Oh, and she’s got the room bugged too and who knows where else.
The plan to meet at Lit Club goes as planned, but nothing that goes on inside the room does. We get introduced to our third losing heroine, Chika Komari. We also get to meet club president Shintarou Tamaki for the first time. Komari is into him and it’s pretty obvious at that. We already met Tsukinoki in the first episode and she is indeed close to Takami. Anna sets her sights on Komari as the homewrecker in that relationship. Tsukinoki makes a pitch to Lemon and Mutsuki to join the club. Yep, they look like a couple, except they’re not because Mutsuki already has a girlfriend. Indeed, that made for a great scene as he dropped that bomb. Tsukinoki perhaps said a bit too much, but at least she got a new member to the club. One got taken by a transfer student and another one got taken by a cram school friend.
As for Lemon, she gets treated to meal from Anna and Nukumizu (At the same restaurant where Anna got dumped, no less). Alas, Anna is once again short on funds and so she just adds on the lunch debt. Nukumizu isn’t getting her out of his hair anytime soon. I agree that it is one of the best-looking shows of the season and I like the chemistry between the leads so far. I’m still not used to the four bowties yet, though.
Nadavu
July 27, 2024 at 9:35 pmThe shed scene was awful, it made me question my choices in life and I nearly dropped the show right then and there. Luckily it was all up hill from there. I like how natural the characters feel (when they’re not acting out Ecchi Tropes), and I like Anna in particular. She’s a bit of a klutz but has her own sense of wit about her. Compare her with a character like Alya and there’s no comparison who’s more entertaining to watch.
I had a LOL moment when Anna deduced that Chika is a dorobou neko. I hope Chika is the next character to be featured; Lemon is harmless but she hardly stands out.