Healer Girl

Kindhearted, powerful songs heal the world. These are beautiful miracles sung by humanity.

Shows with "Heal" in their titles don't really have a very good track record, so I was reluctant to give this a shot at first, but seeing its main focus on Music and being made by Studio 3Hz, I decided to give it a try. And from the very first episode, it definitely felt that this show had the potential to become something special.

The concept of Healer Girl is fairly straight forward - it's a show about girls that heal, through the power of music. My first thought was that this show would be done in some sort of fantasy setting, so it was a nice surprise seeing that these elements were actually incorporated into a modern, normal life setting. Though simple, finding an original and unique concept used in a music anime was a nice change of tune.

At its core, this is a slice-of-life about cute girls striving to chase their dreams, with each of them having their own motivations for choosing the path of becoming a healer. The three main characters have good chemistry with their own unique personalities and quirks complimenting each other. The rival and supporting cast have also been fairly fleshed-out, albeit less than the main trio.

For the main focus of the show – the music. Combined with the voice acting, they have all been done phenomenally. The seiyuus present a very convincing performance on both spoken dialogues, and song segments especially (also worth noting that the main 4 are the ones that sung both the OP and ED), they are all definitely very talented both as singers and voice actresses. From the incorporation of singing in fun casual conversations à la musical theatre, to the more serious choir-like healing sequences, it definitely feels that you – as the viewer, are also being soothed by their melodies as they sing. Without a doubt, it is the strongest aspect of this anime.

The art and animation are fairly well-done, especially during movement or dancing sequences which flow naturally. Backgrounds are nothing too special, but it gets the job done and even has the opportunity to shine in certain scenes such as the healing sequences. As for the main character designs, I quite like their color schemes, it fits the characters’ personalities well.

If there was something I felt that the show was lacking though, it would be the lore and worldbuilding. I think it would've been nice to see a full explanation of the concepts of healing through music, such as explaining how certain songs get healing properties, or rules and limitations needed to make them work. This would've made for a more immersive experience, but has only been teased in little snippets of dialogue. Aside from that, my biggest peeve with this show was the episode where they switch the opening and ending song without changing the animation, then showing them play instruments through big ass animal costumes. But despite its flaws, I think the story still wrapped up and concluded nicely.

Overall, the comedic, serious, and musical moments of Healer Girl all work together to offer an enjoyable experience, and watching it feels much like drinking a nice blend of coffee that fills the cup of a slow Monday morning. If you’re looking for a light-hearted, comfy, feel-good show, and are a fan of cute girls doing cute things, definitely do give this one a shot.