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.
Nadavu
August 18, 2024 at 7:39 pmLast week I commented on the writing quality of this show; now I want to emphasize how great the pacing is. So much has happened (your coverage didn’t go into the road trip at all, and that was like 1/3 of the episode) and yet it didn’t feel rushed in the least.
Nukumizu (is he a writer? so far I’d say he’s an avid reader) isn’t the only good boy here, either. All the unrequited crushes have proved themselves to be good guys – deserving to be liked by the losing heroines – whose only fault is being dense and inexperienced.
Guardian Enzo
August 18, 2024 at 7:46 pmWell I mean, the last two paragraphs are mostly the road trip.
Nuk-kun is writing a LN for the same site the Prez and Komari are.
Nadavu
August 18, 2024 at 9:44 pmCan someone writing a LN really be called a writer, though?
Just kidding. I thought he only wrote one piece that was mandatory and now he’s going to revise it because, again, it’s mandatory. I don’t really see that as a writer, still
Alonom
August 18, 2024 at 9:47 pmI actually was also reminded of another show this week – Ano Natsu de Matteru. Not plot wise but the vibe it gives off.
Something about the summer feel of it and the balance between drama and comedy.
Guardian Enzo
August 18, 2024 at 10:11 pmI can totes see that. That was also an incredibly beautiful series visually.
Richard M.
August 20, 2024 at 1:46 am*Lemon. I think there’s something about translating Japanese into English that makes the L and Rs weird. It’s the same thing that happened with Lachesis in Fire Emblem Genealogy of the Holy War where her name was originally thought to be Rachesis. But Lachesis is actually a name where as Remon and Rachesis aren’t.
Anyway I think an interesting thing about this episode was how Mitsuki is so unbelievably dense about Lemon and her feelings, but managed to make a reasonable conclusion of Nuk-kun’s fake girl story. If Nuk-kun (and it might not be an if for all we know) actually did like Anna, it actually would be harder to talk with a girl in the lit club than a person outside of it. That being said, Mitsuki is an idiot for not asking why they need to be in a changing room to talk about that.
Nadavu
August 23, 2024 at 7:29 amI think Enzo is having a bit of a laugh with the Remon transcription, but your comment got me thinking – is it actually wrong? After all, it’s in Japanese, and no romanization system (that I know of, at least) uses L. But on the other hand, if it’s clear that the intention is Lemon, should we not oblige? After all, we don’t call Ceil Phantomhive shieru fuantomuhaibu (couldn’t bring myself to capitalize this monstrosity) .
So the question boils down to – is Remon an actual name?
So I looked it up. Her name is made up from two rather obscure kanji, both meaning “lemon” or “lemon tree”. And together they read…. Remon. In katakana. Because it’s ateji – the use of kanji for their meaning to represents existing words that sound nothing like said kanji. So it’s literally Remon that literally means Lemon. Literally.
Jisho.org also lists “Remon”, with these two kanji, as a female given name. But again, it could never spell it Lemon, being that’s not a valid romanization. So we’re back at square one.
I do think it’s theoretically possible that you might find some old geezer living on a tiny island on the backside of Japan who knows the word Remon and that it refers to the sour yellow fruit, but is not, in fact, aware that it comes from the foreign word Lemon. For that hypothetical person, spelling it Remon with an R would be the correct choice. For the rest of us, yeah, I am forced to concede that Lemon is more proper.
Guardian Enzo
August 23, 2024 at 7:57 amTBH I’m considering a switch.
Nicc
August 22, 2024 at 5:46 amThere was no NTR to be found in this episode, but plenty of drama. Nukumizu is put on the spot about why he’s hanging out with Asagumo. He turns that question around on Ayano to answer first and he says he’s hanging out with Lemon for relationship advice. Well, that’s convenient as Nukumizu can use that same excuse too and now Ayano thinks there’s somebody in the Lit Club that Nukumizu has his eye on. That somehow worked out, but now things get a tad complicated with a five-way group date. There’s going to be an odd one out.
Going to an Underground Museum sounds like a good way to get away from the summer heat and there seemed to be some interesting exhibits down there. Anna makes a big deal on being fashionable and that comes into play later on too. It’s planning on the seating arrangements for the planetarium when things indeed get messy. Ayano and Lemon have not been on the same wavelength about where their relationship is until she makes a Freudian slip. Ayano has been dense, but there’s no way he missed that semi-confession. She runs off and he tries to go after her until Asagumo holds her back. Right, I can’t really blame her either as she’s still vacillating about whether she wants to stay with Ayano or let him go.
Nukumizu is the one who gives chase and, yep, he can’t help himself but to get involved. He is too much of a nice guy, even if he’s wading (again) into something complicated and doesn’t know how to help. Right, she tells him a fairytale before she boards a bus and isn’t heard from again. She’s been skipping track practice too and so she’s laying low somewhere. After a bit of investigative research, Koto summons the Lit Club for a field trip. It seems that she’s been staying at her grandma’s house. Koto just got her driver’s licence too and so this good timing on her part as well.
Summer at the countryside, of course. We already did the beach episode and so this works as a summer episode. There are trees, rivers, crabs and opportunities for social media clout. Yanami is working on that part. It looks like the Lit Club will be crashing at her grandma’s place for at least one night, though Nukumizu will need a change of clothes. Lemon seems cheerful here, but I’m sure there’s more to learn later. At the same time, I’m expecting to see bug catching too. Frankly, I like how we’re seeing the “winning” heroines play a part in the story. We still have not seen Karen show up yet and I’m guessing that will be saved for last.
sonicsenryaku
August 22, 2024 at 11:31 amKazu is such a good boy. Throughout this episode, all I could think of (besides one other thing) was how much energy consumption an introvert must feel as consequence of having so much empathy for people during their times of need yet simultaneously vying for any opportunity to stay away from others and enjoy their peace of mind; boy, can I relate to this so much.
WARNING! INCOMING SHION WAKAYAMA GLAZING
Again, I gotta give props to Shion Wakayama’s naturalistic voice acting; she’s really good at adding shades of sentimental nuance to her delivery at the drop of a hat, elevating her performances from what would normally just be an archetypal portrayal of the scene’s emotions into genuine moments of acting prowess. When she’s trying to cover up her pain after seeing Chihaya wrap her arms around Mitsuki’s, you can hear Shion’s performance waver between bouts cheeriness and distress. Now while that may same, it’s not like she’s doing the typical “forced happiness” voice. You can legitimately hear her performance waver between the modes of cheeriness and pain, as if the façade breaks in and out in real-time; it’s really dope. You sorta get this performance delivery again when she’s telling Kazu the concept for her children’s story (which I imagine is about her trying to keep up with Mitsuki’s intelligence despite her not being book-savvy enough to hold her own with school and his bookish interests) and there’s a point where you hear her slip from reciting her story calmly, to sounding like she’s on the verge of tears before she gradually regains her composure throughout the rest of her narration.
I’m sure credit for these moments also goes to Shion being given good voice direction, but these examples are also just aspects of her acting in general, and can even be seen across the various roles she’s played since entering the industry; Shion is just a great naturalistic voice actor. It’s why she was right at home in SSSS Dynazenon, since that show was basically a tokusatsu and the voice acting intentionally went for a more live-action approach; it’s why even though she’s done multiple soft-spoken characters, they each sound a bit different from one another in performance.
I remember Masako Nozawa levying critcism at the current state of the seiyuu industry a few years back and she said something to the effect of: “Seiyuu today are often compelled to mimic a certain type of sound rather than trying to find a unique voice and creating an identity within the role they play by means of their raw acting talent.” I’m heavily paraphrasing, but that was the general message she was trying to get across from what i remember. I think Shion would be the type of seiyuu Nozawa would appreciate: the type who goes into a role with the mindset of acting and embodying the role of the character, not just performing an archetype and it’s really nice being able to feel that from her work.
sonicsenryaku
August 22, 2024 at 11:35 am*Now while that may sound basic, she’s not just doing the typical “forced happiness” vocal performance*
Guardian Enzo
August 22, 2024 at 12:26 pmAnd she’s Momo in Dandadan, which is encouraging. I agree, she’s very good. Excellent in Dynaenon as Yume, and very good here. I really do like almost all the characters here, but she’s in with a chance of being my favorite of the losing heroines (between her and Anna I’m still not sure).
sonicsenryaku
August 22, 2024 at 10:39 pmFunnily enough, I too am struggling with whether Lemon or Anna is my favorite. I’m enamored by the balance the writing strikes juggling Anna’s neuroticism, silliness, and perceptiveness; but Lemon’s chill, fun-loving, gal-pal vibes and her overall maturity make her an extremely pleasant character to watch; decisions decisions……