Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines: Season 1 – Review
“Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines” gives you that high school nostalgia in perhaps the best or worst way, as it explores burgeoning feelings like love.
Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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| Number of Episodes | 12 |
| Season Premiere | 7/14/2024 |
| Season Finale | 9/29/2024 |
| Network | Crunchyroll |
| Genre(s) | Comedy, Romance, Young Adult, Animation, Non-English (Japanese) |
| Character Name | Actor |
| Nukumizu | Shūichirō Umeda |
| Anna | Hikaru Tono |
| Lemon | Shion Wakayama |
| Mutsuki | Chiaki Kobayashi |
| Hakamada | Ryōta Ōsaka |
| Komari | Momoka Terasawa |
| Shintaro | Yūsuke Kobayashi |
| Kaju | Minami Tanaka |
Plot Summary
While most of his classmates pursue their first love, Nukumizu sits on the sidelines. In some ways, he prefers this life, lacking any notable or serious drama. However, after witnessing the heartbreak of Anna being rejected and being coerced to honor his commitment to the Literature Club, Nukumizu finds himself becoming aware and eventually involved in the stories of many of his peers who, unfortunately, are dealing with unrequited feelings.
Review
Our Rating (85/100): Positive (Watch This) – Recommended
“Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines” crafts a wonderful first season that feels like a genuine exploration of what it means to experience not only a crush, which could be your first love, but also your first heartbreak. All the while, you follow someone who seems anxious, if not hesitant, about the topic of love because he sees all too well the effect it could have.
Audience
For an older audience, “Makine: Too Many Losing Heroines” provides a sense of nostalgia, which may make you cringe in the best way, as you reminisce about the things you did when you decided to try to make a crush into a significant other. As for the crowd, which fits Nukumizu and the other’s age group, I can imagine them finding this relatable, maybe at times a series of cautionary tales, but ultimately giving them a sense that, while that first time you feel capable of loving someone romantically might be a doozy, it can be so worth it in the end.
Highlights
How It Acknowledges Being Young And Dealing With Overwhelming Feelings For The First Time
Watching “Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines” triggered memories of “Just Because” and “Andi Mack” in how they appeared to want to do justice to what it means to be a young person overwhelmed by this new stimulus called romantic feelings. For many of the ladies, there are moments of tears, especially since their crushes aren’t strangers, but long-term friends or even age-appropriate mentors, and each one has a different life that represents where their struggle lies.
Lemon has an opposites attract crush on Mitsuki, in which she is the star athlete and he is the academic. Which considering Lemon’s family seems filled with them, you’d hope that would mean he would fit right in with the family’s black sheep. Anna is one of the most popular girls in school, and her crush, Hakamada, is her childhood friend. I’m talking about families that have met, and she sees the writing on the wall, yet there is a question of whether she has to play the long game or not all close relationships become romantic.
Lastly, there is Komari. She is introverted, stuttering when forced or needing to speak, and has a crush on her mentor. Mind you, her mentor, Shintaro is the head of the Literature Club, and he has his own issues with relationships. As seen with the other ladies, Komari may have fear, but she wants what could be good on the other side.
In watching all these ladies, nostalgia, of both the positive and negative variety, can easily come over you as I would imagine at least one of the girls mentioned you could find relatable, especially if you are the type who hasn’t found love to come easy, even when the opportunities are plentiful.
Showing Platonic Friendships & The Struggle Of Making A Crush One
Many people may question whether you really like someone if you are all or nothing – in terms of them having to be your significant other or nothing at all. “Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines” doesn’t push this to the extremes but addresses that it is not always simple to change your vision for someone in your life. For most of the girls, they can’t just drop their crush and move on. They go to school with them, and for Anna, her crush’s family and hers are integrated. Hakamada still has a place in her heart, and the only thing he did was be unavailable to her romantically.
Again, you see a far more mature push than you may think a show titled in such a way would give. Yet there is a reminder that there is more to human connection than the assumption that if you get along with someone of the opposite sex, and they stimulate you and are fun, it needs to progress to something more.
I’d even add Nukumizu to the situation. You could easily imagine a harem developing, especially as these girls don’t get the guy. Yet, here is Nukumizu, who might be socially awkward but tries and does show a willingness to go out of his way for each. It’s an admirable, maybe even attractive trait, and it isn’t hard to start wanting to do a #TeamLemon, #TeamAnna, or #TeamKomari cheer as he grows close to these girls.
But, by the end of the season, you see his value, just like the girls’, is so much more than what they could be in a romantic relationship. Their different perspective, struggles, goals, and strengths allow for situations like being rejected not to hurt as much or as long as they would if they were going through it alone. For whether it is Nukumizu or the Literature Club as a whole, they have someone who sees their worth and their contributions and is there for them even when they aren’t at their best or convenient. Thus showing them, they are loved even when the lack of reciprocated feelings makes them feel unlovable.
It Gets You Invested In The Majority Of Characters
Often, with season reviews, we omit characters because they lack impact, even when they appear in the majority of episodes. With “Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines,” it is much harder to omit characters because they give you a reason to invest. Whether it is Nukumizu, one of the girls, their crushes, or even the odd staff at their school, almost everyone presents a reason to take note of them.
Now, I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say I checked our character guide to double-check a name, but while I can’t remember a name, I remember how they made me feel, their importance, and what I hope to see from them if they ever make a second season.
The Desire To See Nukumizu Experience Love
Generally, I feel that too often, giving the lead a love interest is an obligation more than something that often makes sense for them. Usually, they are paired with someone who is convenient, and when that relationship is tested, it may stay on screen, but as a viewer, I find it easy to poke holes and question why it is continuing. Luckily, with “Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines,” they don’t put Nukumizu in a relationship.
However, as noted above, there is a desire to see this skeptic experience love and get his take on it. You see a certain level of chemistry with each girl, with the show mainly pushing Nukumizu and Anna to potentially be a thing. While there is a benefit to him just being their best and most consistent guy friend, it doesn’t discount your wanting to see Nukumizu’s reaction to being in love or even daring to pursue it with someone.
At times, he seems stunted and more willing to be a voyeur and use what he sees to justify his inaction than to be a participant. Which, because you invest in him as much as anyone else, you want to see him break out of and be free of that mindset and learn to be an active participant in life, rather than operate behind the curtains of someone else’s story.
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