Ah… it happened again. Yet another good anime ruined by its last episodes. What can I even say? It is a shame indeed.
Heroine Tarumono! is about a boyish, straightforward girl that goes to the city to pursue her dream, track and field. It just so happens that two of her classmates are actually a very popular idol group, LIPXLIP. She doesn't even know them, as she isn't interested in idols; but she needs money, so when she sees some agency's hiring announcement, she immediately applies for the post. Turns out, it was a recruitment for the manager-in-training for LIPXLIP! And, surprisingly, she was hired, due to her ability to supervise them as their classmate. That marks the beginning of a tiresome, frustrating, but fun journey, during which new friendships blossom and new experiences are gained.
Heroine Tarumono! showed potential in the beginning. It doesn't have the best characters nor the greatest story, but it has its own charm that makes everything else work. It feels innocent, relaxing, and warm. Well, that goes away quickly, starting from episode 10, when utterly unnecessary drama unfolds, and it is a pretty damn shitty one as well. It got slightly better in the last episode, but… it wasn't enough, at all. The conclusion to the events that took place in episodes 10 & 11 felt very rushed and shallow, just like the rest of episode 12, honestly.
:spoilers start:
Of course, we really needed some obsessed fangirl being a psychopath, harassing people just "for her bias", right? Because it seems like the writers wanted drama and an entertaining plot, but they couldn't think of another way. Well, spoiler incoming, they ridiculously failed. Ah, and the characters all act like some broken toys without a brain in those episodes as well. One of them gives some real shitty advice, like?? "Oh, well you have to think about the harasser's feelings, it doesn't matter what fucked up things they did they surely have a reason, you have to understand them". Oh my god… and the protagonist actually listened to that stupid advice, are you for real…
Yeah, it is just that awful.
:spoilers end:
Well, aside from those atrocious episodes, I do have another bone to pick with this series: its misogyny. Specifically, the way it portrays women. They just had to draw the heroine's brows in a really weird manner just to show how "ugly" she is, didn't they? The idol main characters are also fine with her being their manager-in-training because they "can't see her as a girl" (because she is "ugly", energetic, and doesn't really care about her appearance). Like… oh my god it's 2022 do we really have to go through this? They don't seem to regard her as a girl for the whole anime (except for one episode). Aizou is openly misogynistic as well (and doesn't really have any character development when it comes to that).. The show does try to make him a backstory for it, basically to gain the sympathy of viewers and make them overlook this fact, but it just falls flat anyway.
The characters work pretty well together. We have the competitive, hard-working, and sassy duo, paired up with the equally hard-working, righteous, and straightforward girl manager. Aizou looks like a playboy, yet hates girls; Yuujirou has the appearance of a gentle, timid teenager, yet has a very sharp tongue and doesn't really care about anyone. And the most important thing, they don't even like each other. This makes them always compete with each other, and scowl when they accidentally see each other in their free time. The saving grace in this situation is the heroine, Hiyori, who makes them closer thanks to her becoming their friend (though they are too stubborn to admit it). The girl's perseverance, energetic self, and kind nature manage to make them warm up to her, and that's pretty heart-warming to see.
Though, the best character is Hiyori herself.
Very average art. Not bad, though. As for the voice acting, I personally loved Hiyori's voice. The songs were pretty nice as well.
For the most part, this anime is quite enjoyable. If we ignore the last 3 episodes, at least. If we don't, well... enjoyable until that point, and a big "why?" after. I recommend the first 9 episodes, especially if you are into idol anime (obviously).
(Ratings: story: 6; art: 5.5; sound: 7; character: 6; enjoyment: 6.5; overall: 5.7)
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