Strawberry Loft

Being a chronically online content creator, you’d think I would know about all the latest in popular media. It’s my job to follow the buzz online. Not everything catches my attention, and like anyone else, there are topics I’m not interested in. I know people who aren’t into popular media purely out of spite. Hiyori Suzumi is truly just clueless when it comes to the world of idols, never caring for music from any groups. Living in a rural town, idols just aren’t a big deal. Somehow though, she aces the interview to be the manager in training for an upcoming idol group, LIPxLIP. This position comes with one rule: don’t tell anyone about her job, which would be easy if LIPxLIP weren’t classmates she couldn’t stand.

When I first started Heroines Run the Show, I didn’t think it was a show I was going to finish because Hiyori was not an intriguing heroine to me. It was nice that she moved so far from home on her own to pursue her dreams of running on a track team, but for some reason I wasn’t on board for her journey. Hiyori comes off as overly positive and chipper, and I expected there to be no real conflicts of story to hold the show up. Instead, as I continued, Hiyori grew on me just as she did the other characters; there were plenty of conflicts that Hiyori tackled, not always with grace, but she always found a solution, unable to let things sit and slowly fall apart. I liked that about her character; she was running the show. Most of the time Hiyori is in a scene alone, she is mulling over a new problem caused by the idol duo LIPxLIP. They are the main source of all her stress but also pay her bills.

The members of LIPxLIP—Aizo Shibasaki and Yujiro Someya—have the same feeling that Hiyori gave me at first; their personalities are perfectly scripted. Fans support them but have a hard time relating to the duo, keeping them from finding an even bigger audience. Their career is stagnant, and they aren’t sure they want to continue LIPXLIP, as both boys hate each other. They were randomly paired together after an idol search contest and started fighting day one. Hiyori becomes their manager by accident after applying for the job, having no idea it was for a manager-in-training for idols. Her can-do, assertive attitude makes her reliable; it also helps that she’s in the same class as Aizo and Yujiro—she is tasked with keeping them out of trouble. They pick on her and belittle her, but it never makes her give up; she strides forward because she needs the money.

I see a lot of my own drive in Hiyori to keep working on things until I know they’re going to work. To give it my all until I’m happy with the results. Getting wrapped up and passionate about one thing can have negative results on others; unfortunately, you can’t always do it all. Hiyori comes to understand what being a fan of an idol group means; it’s like how she feels about running. It’s a community and shared inspiration. Suddenly, Hiyori wants LIPxLIP to succeed, but it comes to the detriment of her track career, the whole thing she moved for. During a fan celebration concert, the exclusive gifts for fans were left behind at the office. Hiyori is the only one fast enough to get the box and return before the end of the concert. She takes off and can see the stage when she trips and twists her ankle right before a big track meet. Hiyori hides it to deal with it on her own, but it’s a huge blow to her. She’s happy she didn’t let the fans down, but she would no longer be able to participate in something important to her. It’s the first time in the show the audience has seen her defeated, and I was bummed. She had it all planned out, but she hit a snag. It’s always so disappointing when you have your plans ready, and life cancels them. It leaves an empty feeling sometimes.

Hiyori is the glue holding the show’s relationships together; she is the one stuck playing telephone when Aizo and Yujiro want to argue over text instead of in person. Pointing out the ridiculousness of it all, Hiyori is the first to not treat Aizo and Yujiro like stars and talk back to them, impressing them. She’s blunt, but it’s not mean; she doesn’t want things to get misconstrued, which stops a lot of the typical slice-of-life romance events from taking place. Being as observant as she is and taking the time to get to know people, Hiyori eventually realizes that a lot of Aizo and Yujiro’s issues stem from each of them wanting to be the other outside of their idol personas. Yujiro is silent and aloof; he has trouble connecting to others and sees Aizo hanging out with groups of friends. Yujiro doesn’t realize that Aizo wishes people would leave him alone. Aizo has a hard time trusting people, as his mother and older brother treat relationships without much care. He doesn’t believe people like him for him, just for his fame. Hiyori needed to treat these two to a rage room and some dinner on the company dime. It may have solved the problems earlier.

LIPXLIP aren’t the only ones with insecurities that need to be worked through. Hiyori became incredibly relatable to me when she started talking about fashion. For most of the show, we see her in oversized hoodies and jeans, something I wear every day. Hiyori imagines herself in dresses and skirts, and she likes the idea until she tries them on and determines they just don’t fit her. That is exactly how I feel about more feminine clothes. They just don’t feel right; I feel overdressed if I wear a skirt just to meet up with friends at the mall. Luckily, Aizo and Yujiro are always impeccably dressed, and the idol world has taught them fashion, though Yujiro was always good with his looks. Taking Hiyori on a shopping spree, they teach her how to find cute casual outfits that complement her and make her feel confident and comfortable. I took some of my own notes from this episode because sometimes I just want to wear a skirt without feeling like an odd man out. Hiyori’s low self-esteem with feminine clothes stems from her childhood when a boy told her she looked weird in a dress. He was important to Hiyori, and she took his opinion to heart, and it plagued her like a curse for the rest of her life when she looked at a dress. This is another case of misunderstanding from a male character, because truthfully, this boy has been in love with Hiyori from the moment he saw her in a dress and didn’t know how to tell her.

Heroines Run the Show had the opportunity to give viewers a love triangle, which I was kind of anxious about. Both Aizo and Yujiro are good for Hiyori in different ways, but they all work better together as a trio; I couldn’t imagine her picking one and hurting LIPXLIP. The show sets this train of thought up in the third episode as a jealous female attempts to get Hiyori fired. Luckily, the boys see through her crocodile tears and stand up for Hiyori, and during this interaction, they’re dressed as princes thanks to the music video they’re filming. It’s sort of a romantic setup. There is no romance in the air between Hiyori and LIPXLIP, though this is the episode where Hiyori understands the hype behind idols. Hiyori still finds romance elsewhere, even if it’s not conventional. Nagisa Shiranami is Hiyori’s childhood friend—the one who made her self-conscious. Nagisa visits Hiyori in Tokyo, and his English dub has a cute accent! This is a classic case of a boy not knowing how to tell a girl he has feelings for her, and the girl being too dense to notice his obvious signs. Luckily, Aizo and Yujiro pick up on the signs and convince Nagisa to confess. It’s not perfect and a little messy with Hiyori being hesitant about her feelings. Not something I’m used to seeing. The outcome of this awkward blooming love was surprising and handled very maturely. Hiyori pulled her signature move, speaking her mind clearly and returning Nagisa’s feelings; however, in that moment, she didn’t have the proper time to give him between work, school, and track. She asked him to be her first and last boyfriend when she could give him the time he deserved. This healthy relationship potential had me giggling and kicking my feet. Also, a little disappointed we didn’t get a dramatic kiss before Nagisa boarded the train home to seal the promise. I’m glad Hiyori recognized that she didn’t have time currently for a relationship; it’s hard to admit that when you really love someone. The relationship will be so much stronger when both parties can give it their all. I was satisfied with this romantic outcome for the most part. I wanted to see one kiss.

If you watch Heroines Run the Show and you enjoy the music and are worried there won’t be a season two, I have some good news. This whole anime is inspired by a series of music videos by HoneyWorks on YouTube, telling the story we see in the anime and beyond to the cast’s college years. The music videos also focus on the story for some minor characters or characters that weren’t in the anime. I watched a few of the music videos, and the songs have bubbly vibes with cute art. Kawaikute Gomen might be a song that you’ve heard before if you get Japanese songs on TikTok. It’s very catchy!

Heroines Run the Show was slow to grab my attention, but once it had it, it took off running, and I binged the show. I like how real the problems feel for each character and how not everything is resolved in one episode; the storytelling is well-paced for 12 episodes. I found myself wishing there was more. I felt like I got to see LIPXLIP right as they were growing ready to take off, and I wanted to see how far they could go. I was wrapped up in the idol hype. If you want to get wrapped up in the magic of show business, seen through Hiyori’s sweet, hopeful eyes, grab your glowsticks and join the crowd!