First Impression: Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!

When Kazuhiko witnesses his beautiful classmate Anna getting dumped by her childhood friend, and then when she looks up to discover that not only has he seen the break-up but something even more embarrassing in the aftermath, a unique relationship begins. And one that’s not much to Kazuhiko’s benefit, as he sees it. He would rather stay friendless (much to his little sister’s chagrin), read manga, and time his every interaction so he doesn’t run into any type of problems. But Anna herself is kind of a walking problem. Cute but surprisingly upfront and energetic, she starts to use Kazuhiko as a complaint board. Well, he can deal with that (at least until she pays him back in full for the meal he bought her), but can he deal with the swirling relationship issues and school life situations building around him that might lead to more than just one “losing heroine” in his orbit?

School-life anime romances are the stuff I live for, but I admit that I’ve grown picky with them over the years. The same old, same old just won’t do it for me anymore. But Makeine‘s first episode promises something different, something smarter. The central concept that Kazuhiko will be surrounded by young women who are on the losing end of their romances—like a gathering of all the losers in anime rom-com love triangles—is a fun setup, especially with all the wink and nods of this series; Kazuhiko is an otaku, so he’s very familiar with the tropes, and that meta aspect is a huge part of the fun. The humor is also on-point—Anna is hilarious (her throwing items from her bento into Kazuhiko’s to build up the value of her payments to him is such a comical little aside), and Kazuhiko’s inner thoughts are quite funny too. But there’s earnestness in Makeine as well, which is figures to be so very important for a show that could easily fall into basic harem territory. Kazuhiko is a kind boy at heart and quietly struggling through his own insecurities, while Anna is able to be both quirky and loveable enough to stand as the “main girl” of this “losing girl” series. The characterizations, both plainly through these two leads but also already starting to develop for the other two “losing girls,” look to be excellent; the trio of girls play into romcom types; but because they are in the middle of heartbreaks, all the character building that it would take thirteen or twenty-four episodes to get to in a typical series seems to have already occurred, leading to fully realized characters. Can they grow further and become even more interesting as this show goes along? Hopefully! Also, the romance and drama are conveyed well through beautiful animation and direction that reminds us that this show is intended to be a romance plus satire, but really more of the former; extreme close-ups, moving in-focus and out-of-focus, and lens flares help emphasize scenes meant to get Kazuhiko all doki-doki (and us as viewers too). Episode one ends with a fabulous ED that’s rotoscope style and mixes in actual photos meant to evoke nostalgia, the only ending that’s really stood out to me this season. There’s so much to love here in the opening episode—here’s hoping Makeine continues to remain as romantic, humorous, smart, and charming throughout its run as it is in episode one.

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

Twwk
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