Name: Great introduction to a new generation of HoneyWorks main characters, but the final arc leaves a bit to be desired.
Item: Heroines Run the Show
Rating: 77
Author: pengwolf

Waifra

Great introduction to a new generation of HoneyWorks main characters, but the final arc leaves a bit to be desired. · Waifora

To preface this review, I'm a huge HoneyWorks fan. I've been listening to the songs for years, and recently got into the storylines. That started with just reading along to the lyrics as I watched the music videos, then in the past month or so I finally got around to watching the older anime content (the 2 movies and 6-episode anime following the first generation of characters, Sakuragaoka's graduating 3rd years). I fell in love with those couples pretty quick, and I think that stuff is a great intro to the franchise: the Natsuki/Yuu story is a sweet, concise, successful childhood friend romance; the Hina/Kotaro story is a slightly rockier childhood friend romance with a decent amount of drama and a comfy resolution; the Akari/Sota story is a perfect little fairy tale; the Miou/Haruki story is a dramatic and heartwarming tale of mutual love and adversity. All of these require very little song knowledge to enter, and just a handful of songs to "wrap up", in the Tokyo __ Session epilogue series and three Hina/Kotaro specific songs.

Those anime also give teasers for what I assume will grow into gen 2, featuring more of Hina/Kotaro, their friends Arisa/Ken and Jodai, who we see in this anime is dating Juri, Hiyori and Chizuru's friend. We also know from the songs that Mona views LIPxLIP as professional rivals, as a fellow up-and-coming idol, so I was really happy to see her in this anime.

I realize I've written this much without mentioning this show at all so I hope that shows anyone reading how connected I feel this whole franchise is and how much I love this whole thing.

So how about THIS show? This is a "Heroines Run The Show!" review, after all.

I liked Hiyori a lot from the beginning. She's super energetic, cheerful, and optimistic, and her sharp contrast to the moody LIPxLIP boys sets the stage with some funny clashing drama. But we quickly see her sunshiney personality "fix" the boys, as they finally break down their walls and show their genuine emotions, getting invested in personal relationships, getting a better outlook on their idol career, etc, all thanks to Hiyori. If the anime was just that stuff, it would be a solid entry into HoneyWorks' other feelgood wholesome type stories, just devoid of any romance unlike the others. I loved the trickle introduction into Mona, referencing how she's gotten over her "hatred" of her sister Sena, which was purely out of jealousy and feelings of inadequacy, and how she's now in a healthy headspace regarding her relationship with her sister, and able to work on herself as an idol. (I could say more, but I would spoil Mona's songs and possibly the next anime we see come out of HoneyWorks).

So why did I rate this show a bit lower than the other HoneyWorks stuff, if I like the franchise so much? The answer is, like it probably was for the other reviewers, purely thanks to the final arc regarding Chuu-tan. Any of you familiar with the songs would know that (as of January 2023) the current viral hit HoneyWorks song is called "Sorry For Being Cute/Kawaiikute Gomen", featuring Chuu-tan as the cover girl. But that's not who she is.

Spoiler, click to view

She's a stalker, a psychopath, a yandere-light, who represents all the gross parts of idol (and vtuber, for that matter) fandoms. She gets so parasocial about the LIPxLIP boys that she assaults one of her only friends and is willing to throw away that friendship, all for her OBSESSION with one of these idols. But that's not even what I hated about that arc - what really pissed me off was how quickly Hiyori forgave her, and how she even blamed herself for it, saying things like "I didn't know I was hurting Chizu-chan so much" or "I didn't realize she loved them that much", when the real problem Chizuru had was with her own mental health and obsession with these boys.

I was hoping the anime would end with Mona revealing herself as an idol sooner, and possibly having a rival showdown type of thing at the big COUNTDOWN FESTIVAL that the anime ends with, but instead we got... that.

Still, as a whole, it's an enjoyable show, especially to fans of the other content, and it builds up enough of what could happen next that I was happy with it. Just not as happy with it as I could have been.

Final rating, 77/100. Good, but not as good as the other HoneyWorks stuff. Here's hoping for more of Hiyori and the boys, more of the Juri/Kodai love story, and more Mona!!!

Lastly I just want to mention that all the easter eggs and older songs that surfaced in this anime were extremely satisfying. The Heroines Run the Show special EDs were:

Hina and Hiyori version of "I Want To Be Cute"
Kotaro and Ken version of "Romeo" singing to Hina and Arisa
Sena and Mona version of "Dream Fanfare"
Hiyori, Juri, and Chizuru singing "Heroines Run the Show"