All Mikan Kise wanted to do was make her younger sister happy. They were going to see the hero show of Kamidaio, one of many “local heroines” created to promote small towns, who had gotten popular nationwide and was scheduled to perform at Mikan’s rural fruit-selling town of Hinano. However, when the show is cancelled due to production issues, Mikan tries to cheer up her heartbroken sister by telling her she’ll still take her to a Kamidaio show, and after panicking over how to fulfull such a promise, she enlists the help of her athletic schoolmate and Kamidaio enthusiast An Akagi, and the two set up, practice, and perform a mock Kamidaio show. Despite the show obviously being a knock-off, Mikan’s and An’s athleticism make for an engaging show that captivates Mikan’s sister and the other kids watching, and even the nearby watchtower bows down in awe of their performance. (Well, actually, it crashed down when An climbed on it during the show, but that’s just because of shoddy construction work, right?) Unbeknownst to them, their show also caught the attention of high schooler Misaki Shirogane, who proposes that they create their own action heroines to promote their town of Hinano.
Anime about reviving local towns are becoming more common—we even still have Sakura Quest airing its second half this season—so it’s nice to see the original anime Action Heroine Cheer Fruits make an impression with a unique niche and strong execution. The show has a ton of charm, starting with its simple first episode story about a girl that just wants to make her sister happy. They also show how much work they go through in both preparations and practice just to put on a simple mock show for children. Overall, for a show about cute girls staging hero shows, it’s got a lot of heart to it, and is also lots of fun. The first episode already works well as a charming little story about a girl who wants to do something for her sister, and if the show can keep up this level of execution as it expands to a greater story about local heroines, we could very well end this season with two top-notch shows about town revival.
Action Heroine Cheer Fruits can be legally streamed on the new anime streaming service HIDIVE.
