An interesting bit of Makeine news dropped this week with the announcement that the finale would be an “original”. One penned by novelist Amamori Takibi that is, but directly for the screen. As such Komari’s arc officially ends here (it never made sense for it to be two episodes longer than Lemon or Anna’s). That’s also why this episode has a distinct finale feel to it, though all the arc concluders did to an extent. This is all relative of course – a second season is an absolute lock (with apologies to Nozaki-kun) with the only question being the timing.
The one continuity through all the heroines’ arcs was Nuk-kun as a central figure, of course. And therein, really, lies the most interesting open question for me with Make Heroine ga Oosugiru. It’s already established beyond a doubt that it’s exceptional for what it is – a light-novel romcon. Miles above the norm. What will determine whether it’s more than that – great, or just great for what it is – is how it handles Nukumizu’s character. Generally in this sort of series it’s one of two things with the male protagonist – so bland that you don’t care that they get no development. Or interesting enough that you’re frustrated that they get no development. The second is obviously less worse, but you can see the constant.
It doesn’t have to come this season – we have only one ep left, and there will surely be sequels. But it does have to come sooner or later or its absence severely limits this series’ upside for me. I have an image in my head of Nuk-kun roaming the streets of Toyohashi at dusk, searching for depressed girls to lean on railings next to until they feel better. That’s his identity in the series – the role in plays in these girls’ personal crises. There’s lots of possibility for exploration here – Nuk-kun literally sees himself as a side character. Does Amamori-sensei get the irony, or is that just how it’s going to play out?
As Chika’s arc has shown us, personal development is the key here and it doesn’t have to be tied to romance. Her failed one (mostly a case of puppy love in truth) was a factor in that development, but relatively minor compared to the first two heroines. Not for the first time I’ve been impressed by the perceptiveness in the writing here, as it’s addressed an issue at virtually the same moment it crystalizes in my mind (I love it when that happens). There’s a key difference between Kazuhiko and Komari-san, and it runs deeper than simply her social anxiety being stronger than his.
As an introvert myself, I’ve become quite adept at spotting the subtleties on the continuum. We’re like snowflakes, no two alike. Nuk-kun uses the very word for himself at the very moment I applied it to him – he’s a loner. He’s not afraid of social situations or connections so much as w(e)ary of them – he’s comfortable in his own company. Chika, by contrast, is genuinely shy. Interacting with others (much less groups or public speaking) terrifies her. But she actually longs to be be comfortable around others, and that’s a key difference. Nuk-kun doesn’t crave that because he’s a happy boy as he is – he’s fine on his own, and he can function socially when he needs to. Chika isn’t and can’t, and that makes high school life (and life in general) harder for her than it is for him.
This distinction comes into crystal focus with the matter of presenting the club activity report (and for a change the Bungeibu really has something to report) to the student council at the club presidents meeting. Chika is a stammering mess even practicing just with Kazuhiko because she’s still imagining actually doing it. Yet it’s terribly, brutally import to her to get through it – to justify the trust her sempai placed in her, and because she’s worried that if she fails her support system will desert her (they won’t of course, but she doesn’t know that).
To be blunt Nukumizu muffs this situation pretty badly. This is because he doesn’t have the above realization about how he differs from Komari until too late – which is forgivable, given that he’s a 16 year-old male whose social education is mostly light novels. He keeps pushing Chika to let him take over, thinking he’s being kind to her. But in fact he’s validating every fear she has, both about herself and generally. Anna kind of falls into her usual Greek chorus role here, eating everything in sight and gently reminding Nuk-kun when he’s screwing up. Not even a trip to the zoo to preach to the animals does the trick for Chika, and the meeting predictably turns into a debacle. But not fully until Kazuhiko intervenes and makes things worse.
I’m not sure how to take the ending here. Nuk-kun realizing his error and apologizing, no issues there. But his doing the speech and taking over as the club president? That’s a little dodgier to me. True, he’s probably better-suited to that job than Chika is. But what’s the message this sends? In a sense she’s letting this situation beat her rather than facing her fears and trying to overcome them. I guess it comes down to what you consider most important in this resolution – Chika realizing she has friends who’ll be loyal to her, or her fully committing to try and surpass her restrictor plate.
Trust me on this – the world (and nowhere more than high school) is designed by extroverts for the benefit of extroverts. No one is going to change that for Komari-san – she has to find a way to function in that world, and she won’t always have Nuk-kun to take over for her when she’s out of her depth. There’s another moment of real insight in the writing here, as Nuk-kun realizes life is a series of temporary connections we make in order to get through the various stages of our journey. The lesson Chika learns from this chapter in her life may not be one that will help her when she gets to the next one.
Guy Thompson
September 22, 2024 at 7:54 pmI’m really glad they decided to add original episode 12 rather than try to stretch one chapter into two episodes!
Now then, with all 3 arcs aired, it’s about time for Team Lemon (retrospective) trivia.
Absolutely no spoilers here! Only observations from already aired episodes with – I assume – the hints / easter eggs purposefully dropped by project team.
First, episodes #3, #6 and #7 have plenty of obvious 1-1 interactions between Lemon and Kazuhiko, so no hints really required.
The most blunt hint everyone noticed is from E2 at 22:10 in school nurse notes.
But apart from that, there are more subtle hints:
E1 at 17:03 – Yakishio’s bow ties and Nukumizu’s tie colour match. Applies to other prospect romantic interests upon closer look, though whether the first or the second pair of bow ties match may have different meaning.
E4 at 9:41 – Picture diary – Yakishio is near Nukumizu in the picture and probably holding his hand, though it’s purposely obscured by framing.
E5 at 16:27 – Plush toy in Nukumizu’s room with eyes, skin colour and hair style resembling Yakishio’s, also present in E1 at 13:59. It’s always turned towards the viewers.
E8 at 15:30 – Lemon First Love drink, pretty obvious too.
E9 at 17:51 – Kaju sits near both Yakishio and Nukumizu, other students in the room are already couples.
E10 at 12:05 – Public confession banner visible when Nukumizu receives Yakishio’s message.
E11 at 0:31 – Photo from Edible Readings – boys in couples are to the right from their girlfriends and Nukumizu is to the right from Yakishio.
There were probably other ones that I didn’t notice? Again, not trying to predict finale here, but that was quite a fun to look for these.
Jackson
September 22, 2024 at 8:35 pmDid you notice the change to the end credit for Chika? I think it points more to the having friends resolution being what the writer(s) saw as important.
pekwa
September 22, 2024 at 9:00 pmI think the reason he took over was because being humiliated in public is every introvert’s worst nightmare. Sometimes, they never fully recover and are forever reminded of that moment whenever they try to speak up. So, he chooses to play the villain instead. She’ll just think Nukumizu is some kind of jerk and blame him. It’s basically a self-sacrificing move, like Hachiman’s. Too bad she realized what he did, though.
Guardian Enzo
September 22, 2024 at 9:14 pmI don’t think he said what he did at the meeting because he was trying to take over as president (either for the reason you suggest or otherwise). I think he was just trying to bail her out of a terrible moment and was genuinely surprised when she suggested it later.
Brian Guy
September 23, 2024 at 5:36 amYep, and it was foreshadowed in the sheep bit at the zoo. There, he watched her flail and fall under the cutest assault ever until she screamed for him to save her. It’s not directly referenced when he jumps in at the presidents’ meeting, but it’s clearly on his mind when he decides not to wait this time.
Nadavu
September 23, 2024 at 1:30 amZombie Senpai actually tried to help Chika out after Nukumizu asked her to be easy on her. Classy move, ZS!
This was a pretty painful episode to watch, and possibly the weakest one of the bunch (and mind you, I’m firmly Team Komari). Anna was a bit too much of a goofy sage, Nukumizu was a bit too much of a dunce (even thinking he had it figured out before the meeting, but then waiting to speak to Komari just as she was entering the room, and then charging in like a Buffon) and Komari was, well, pitifully persistent to a fault.
I don’t necessarily agree that the way things were resolved left Komari with the wrong lesson. It could be that she learned that the whole point of having friends, which she desires desperately, is that you can depend on them (a lesson I thought was taught last week already). Objectively, Komari can’t deliver the report to the council at the moment. Maybe she made some progress, but if you need 65 to pass going from 0 to 20 is still a fail. If the lesson she takes away from this is that it’s okay to ask for help while she’s working on herself, then it’s definitely the right one. In the end, I think Koto and Shintaro made a mistake by making Komari the new president. They should have known she wasn’t ready, or at the very least, consult with her first or bring it to a group decision. They could have made her vice-president, or I don’t know, invent some role of importance for her, like head of recruits.
Anyways, just a small correction: The Lit. club is called bungeibu, not bunkabu (which I think is an umbrella term for clubs that are not sports oriented)
Brian Guy
September 23, 2024 at 5:54 amYour worries about Nukumizu becoming a stagnant character should have been alleviated by the massive amount of development he’s already shown in this season. The version of him that steps in proactively (and maybe a bit +too+ aggressively) would be unrecognizable to the one we met in that family restaurant only four months earlier in-universe, the one who wanted nothing more than to escape the hassle of other humans and considered any interactions he was forced to have to be wholly transactional in nature.
We’ve seen hints as to where further developments might come from. Kaju has very clearly begun to question how much her neediness (even apart from her massive brother complex) has delayed his social development and wants to see him continue moving forward no matter how much it hurts her own heart. Both Sousuke and Karen have it in mind to get Anna and Nukkun much closer than they are. Karen may be more subtle about it, but it’s hard to see any other reason for her to approach him with Anna nearby. There are more clues to be found as well, but they’d need slightly spoilery context to see clearly.
Now, whether Nukkun is spurred forward by this support, whether he takes too many steps forward and falls on his face, whether he moves ahead too slowly and misses things in front of his face, whether he moves forward but falls back behind again, whether he remains (or might even consciously choose to be) an eternal side character regardless of how his world actually shifts… all that is completely up in the air for next season.
As far as non-readers can tell.
Guardian Enzo
September 23, 2024 at 9:05 amYou’re missing my point. All of his development surrounds the way he functions as a support for the others. None of it is about his passions, his desires, his selfish quest for happiness.
In short, Kazu needs a heroine arc of his own. I think we’re already getting too close to spoiler territory in this thread so probably better to leave it there but I wanted to make that clear.
Brian Guy
September 23, 2024 at 1:26 pmHe just doesn’t have those kind of passions of his own to develop at this point, though. He’s never had an existence that wasn’t subordinate to someone else’s needs and interests. Even his treasured light novel tastes were plainly imparted to him, not something he chose. He still has the challenge of completing this basic growth arc ahead of him before he can see himself *as* a self with some semblance of inherent dignity and worth.
But he definitely is already on that arc. And has been from the beginning. And with that, my lips are zipped.
Introvert
September 24, 2024 at 11:46 pmI’d be lying if I said I didn’t have hard feelings towards a lot of extroverts. My family’s always shamed me for my introverted tendencies. I know that I can’t express a single introverted sentiment ever or else they’ll become enraged and lash out at me.