The Idol Anime That Tried to Make Toxicity Cute

Heroines Run The Show starts off with a lot of potential but ends up as kind of a disaster… Let's talk about why.
Spoilers for Heroines Run The Show Ahead
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CHAPTERS:
0:20 Great Heroine, Terrible Show
4:44 Toxic Idol Culture Is (Not) Cute (Major Spoiler)
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[@TheAnimeTea]

Idol anime fans leave your recommendations for shows in the comments! I know there are plenty of good idol anime out there and I just happened to stumble upon one that got on my nerves...

[@angelos141996]

I don't watch many idol shows but Zombieland saga is one of my favs,such a fun and over the top show(and with a trans girl too!)

[@homogenized]

I really liked (takes a deep breath) If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die aka Oshibudo! I also like Love Live but that series definitely takes more of a rose colored glasses approach whereas Oshibudo looked at stuff a little more realistically

[@sleepyinu4428]

@@homogenized oshibudo is so good 😭😭

[@oktayates9037]

I watched a documentary about this I learn what they get through that was horrible I have seen the show Shine Post I really didn't believe how they try to show a very innocent way this toxic culture

[@TheMandalorianPadawan]

you NEED to watch IDOLiSH7, it's amazing. Although it starts off all sparkly and stuff, it does end up showing some of the darker and harder sides of the idol industry, like manufactured scandals, sexualisation, and overwork, plus the characters are really good (and attractive, of course). The main character, Riku, is a good example (I think) of someone who didn't let their disability hold them back from achieving their dreams (he has a respiratory disease similar to asthma but he still worked very hard to become an idol even though people tried to stop him and it was physically hard for him) and all the characters have dealt with a lot of crap in their lives that they were still able to move on from and become stronger. It's got cute moments, happy moments, funny moments, absolutely heartrending moments that will make you cry your eyes out, frustrating moments, and everything in between, and you're bound to find at least one character that you connect to. It's currently in its third season and going strong, so I definitely recommend it and don't let the fluffy and easy first couple episodes fool you. It's a show that always comforts me and encourages me, but it also gets me emotional too, and it's criminally underrated among international anime fans, so you really should watch it. I don't think you'll regret it!

[@Heartyl55Cherry]

As a fan of idols I really hated how they handled the plot. The boys had to suck it up to everything that stalker girl did because according to Hiyori she's an important fan too. This girl invaded their privacy, bullied their friend and didn't receive any consequence for her actions. It's infuriating how they pass this as an okay behavior because according to then it's normal for fans to act entitled like this.

[@pomme2903]

It's definitely not passed as an ok behavior. The problem is that usatan is a representation of a community of people in Japan which wear what they call Jirai Kei and a lot of the time, are idol fans and/or doutankyohi. She's a very popular character in Japan which is way she never really was seen as a bad guy even for the anime, since she has her own circomstances and anger issues problems, and is meant to be a character landmine girls in Japan can relate to and feel safe around. The anime is an anime for fans of the Honeyworks songs, not really for anime only newcomers. We all know usatan's way of thinking, and forgive her because we know it ends well and she starts letting her true self out instead of hiding it, even at the end of the show hiyori is still a trio with usatan in it, just stronger than before. She actually becomes really protective of her friends now, as she starts trusting them. She didn't really start trust hiyori at first because she finds it difficult to trust people. Usatan is a person who thinks she's better off alone and doesn't like getting close to people

[@Mycorrhiza]

@@pomme2903 The fashion style jirai use is called girly kei or dark girly, which is associated with jirai because those 'landmine' girls tend to using that fashion style to feel better. 'landmine' is used to as a derogatory term to people who get mental breakdowns easily. 'jirai' is the behaviour not the fashion.

[@intanannis7971]

Remind me of Marinette when she was stalking Adrian, she literally have Adrian's go out schedule! And even invaded inside his bedroom!

[@tsukaem]

it's giving miraculous ladybug

[@S2MiaS2]

Have you ever watched AKB0048? The space idol anime? That has an episode about loving your "fans" that send hatemail and death threats? Cause they're doing it so you can do better?

[@aerrrrrr]

idk i kinda like the fact that they kinda just made them close friends. people are so quick to assume that 2 pretty boys + girl = love triangle but never just… friends yk. not everything has to be abt romance and platonic relationships can probably be just as entertaining if their chemistry/dynamic is interesting. maybe even taking a critical stance about distinguishing fantasy (being chased by handsome men and making them better people bc theyre in love with you) and reality (just being friends cuz you’re not compatible with them, or because they have way too many issues that would be too toxic for a relationship and you cant just change them)

[@eunac3037]

It is indeed a nice thing to make them friends instead of going a cliche love triangle setup!!

[@Scarshadow666]

Agreed! More pieces of art/media should cover character relationships like that, imo!

[@SOA_yt]

True, I got used to this setting when I always read shoujo manga. That’s why Fruits Basket was another surprise for me cause while it was setting up to be a love triangle, we find out much later on that it never was, and it was much more satisfying like that.

[@darialomurno05]

In one of the mvs she falls in love with a guy and the idol boys help her to set up a date, so yeah, it's pretty clear that they are just friends

[@Nightmare4edits]

The girl actually has a crush on another guy in the enemy band of the boys

[@sarahtachibana1333]

Hey, did you know that while the anime isn't based on a manga, it is actually based on a couple popular mv's from a music group called HoneyWorks? One is called "Heroine development plan" and the other is called ヒロインたるもの, I dunno if I can link them here but you can find both on youtube. They basically cover exactly the plot of the anime but less fleshed out. Which I think explains a LOT about why the anime is so all over the place and full of random plots that go nowhere...because it's trying to fit in everything that was in the mv's and I don't think it's doing a great job. I'm curious if you have thoughts of how they could have adapted the mv's into a cohesive anime, with a better and not toxic plot!! Because I feel like it's...maybe possible? Although maybe not too, the mv's are pretty all over the place plot-wise...

[@TheAnimeTea]

Thanks for sharing Sarah! I knew that the producers of the anime also created music but I didn't know that the music videos they made corresponded with the anime. I'm going to check those out! It kind of feels like they tried to fit an entire idol universe into an 12 episode anime since there were so many random cameos of characters that felt important but served no purpose in the end. Maybe an anthology series would have been a better choice? But I'm sure it was easier to green light a single story. I'm definitely gonna take a deeper look into this

[@sarahtachibana1333]

@@TheAnimeTea they are really interesting and it's quite the rabbit-hole to check out a lot of their videos! Seems like they have a whole idol universe in there for sure...I haven't watched all of them myself and I too am curious about their full history and story... Thank you for making this video it was a cool dive into this topic I haven't seen a lot of other people talking about :)

[@cottoncandyFRIZZ]

adding to this, this is only 1 part of what honeyworks set up in their universe. the other side is their "love series", which is as cheesy and romantic as a shoujo anime can be (and i love it lmao). there are 2 movies and one 6-episode anime series, but i'd rather recommend the MVs (that date all the way to the early 2010s) bc i feel like the pairs and their characters can have more time in the MVs. save for 1 couple (haruki and miou) who got their story more fleshed out in the 6-episode anime (where the lip x lip sings the opening of)

[@sarahtachibana1333]

@@cottoncandyFRIZZ oh, I didn't know about those! Will I find them if I search "honeyworks romance series"?

[@kiwithevtuber]

The mvs are based on LN.

[@tcherieee]

I wanted to address this as an ongoing problem I notice with a lot of girl lead focused anime. ANYTIME it’s a lead girl with a boy or two also in focus that girl has to put the boy(s) first. I don’t understand why Hiyori couldn’t have won in track and also managed them. I started the show primarily to see HOW she would balance the two and win at both (guess I got too excited). Also, I was hoping to see more scenes of the idol boys support her in track because she supported them. It’s goes to show how these creators think women can’t have it all, but boys? Oh boys can have the job, the girl, the trophy, friends, etc. I’m sick of that narrative. I hope a new show comes out to change that. Nonetheless the show was decent, I give it a 6.5 or 7/10

[@TheMandalorianPadawan]

That's the whole reason I didn't watch the show. I love seeing female athletes in anime, so I was initially excited when I saw that Hiyori was a track runner AND was in a show with cute idol boys, but after reading some initial reviews and watching the first episode, I was severely disappointed. I do want to correct your statement at the beginning though. There are a lot of shoujo manga (not so many anime, but that's an issue of its own) with female leads who aren't forced to put the guys first. Check out Queen's Quality or Crimson Hero (Queen's Quality is a psychological action romance manga with an amazing female lead and Crimson Hero is a sports manga with awesome female leads but the last chapter is trash so we just pretend it doesn't exist).

[@zitronentee]

I feel that it's also an issue in some shonen and games too. It's like Twilight : the main protagonist is audience surrogate, the everyman. There are no particular characteristics and usually 'go with the flow' of the story. This makes side characters more interesting that main character.

[@ma.2089]

I think there’s a societal belief that women have to give up stuff all the time. They give things up for the man in their lives, and then their children. The man can do whatever he wants. He’s allowed to try and aim for more, partially cuz as the stereotypical “breadwinner” they have that freedom outside the “house”. If a man neglects their family, they’re seen as bad (sometimes), but if a woman does, they’re demonized far more. Not that men should learn to give things up like women do, but a balance would be nice.

[@ma.2089]

@@TheMandalorianPadawan thanks for the reccs!

[@Bane_Amesta]

The only thing I liked about Itazura na Kiss was the ending, the rest is pure cringe... I mean girl you were rejected in front of everyone why you're still trying? It has to be the worst "you can get whatever you want if you're persistent" BS ever in anime, and I hate it so much

[@veronicachandler1314]

So many shoujo anime and manga I liked in my teens were actually abusive. Hot Gimmick (EVERY relationship the female protagonist has is abusive, every single one), Peach Girl (SA and sl** shaming), Itazura Na Kiss (worst marriage ever), Hirunaka no Ryuusei (I was actively rooting for a teenage girl to end up with her teacher), True Love (that manga has a get out of jail free card, but it doesn't fly, it's still icky).

[@korilakkumasoverture3338]

OMG I understand the frustration with Hirunaka No Ryuusei! Rereading it now as I'm older, it's so messed up 💀💀

[@PichuElric]

Oh god, these were such hits with us back in the day 😭

[@nurnadhirahsaing6169]

I understand. So many of the shoujo mangas I read before are very problematic. I have read some decent ones, but they're usually have a very simple storyline or just oneshots. SAs are the most common theme in shoujo mangas that I found, and I don't know why 😩

[@angelbiscuits]

fr shoujo manga groomed me into thinking toxic relationships were romantic 😭 still unlearning this shit as an adult

[@us3r003]

Dude you mentioned every manga i read and loved (back then) i tried reareading and watching them again and as I moved forward i kept asking myself "is.. this really what i used to watch as a kid..?" Thank goodness we can realize this now,better late than never i guess

[@enjisilverstone-nolongerac7533]

I’m so glad you spoke about this. I felt so bad for the main character she did SO much for them, including being involved in a fight and they just sugarcoat their toxicity by trying to get on her “good side” I think the childhood friend would have been a much better match for her than any of them ever will.

[@kmmk5022]

Seriously, Hiyori needs to have some self respect. If I was ever treated badly by Lip x Lip, I would of quit within a second without hesitation

[@5amanyday726]

The boys were seriously unlikeable and super annoying, not even main girl save the show either(for me). I just end up liking that love interest who showed up and disappeared orange hair friend and the homeroom teacher.

[@kmmk5022]

If I was ever disrespected by Lip x Lip, I would of slapped them right across their faces and exposed them for they are. And quit the job within a second

[@cottypuff7452]

As a HoneyWorks fan, I really disappointed when this anime came out. Many details in anime adaptation are different from the MVs version. It made people who only watched this anime and didn’t know the original songs before misunderstood about the characters especially LipXLip.

[@PichuElric]

While I agree with the toxicity point (which is honestly just a staple in anime right now) what I dislike more is how this tried to be both a shojou and an idol anime in the same breath, or maybe an idol anime dressed up as a coming-of-age shojou. I've loved these characters since way before they were in anime. Someone else in the comments already mentioned this, but LIPXLIP have their own set of songs and MVs which are in the idol anime realm, and Hiyori has her own songs and MVs too, and they occasionally intersect. I think choosing to flesh out either LIPXLIP or Hiyori instead of attempting both in just 12 episodes was the worst thing they could have done. I think you should see HoneyWork's 3min song Samishigariya to get how much was left out of all their stories.

[@TheMandalorianPadawan]

Shoujo is a demographic, not a genre, and there are lots of idol anime that are in the shoujo demographic, so I don't understand your statement about this show "trying to be a shoujo and an idol anime in the same breath." Idol anime is a genre (or even a subgenre) and shoujo is a demographic, so any genre can fall under that demographic. There's shoujo idol anime, shoujo sports manga, shoujo action, shoujo romance, etc.

[@kizukimitana]

@@TheMandalorianPadawan According to Oxford, Shoujo is a genre aimed at a specific demographic primarily consisting of young female audience so yeah no, Shoujo is not a demographic but a genre. What I think you're talking about is when an anime has both the shoujo and idol or shoujo and action genres which can intersect sometimes but are not very compatible hence OP's comment. The anime fluctuated between the shoujo and idol genres, not fully committing to one but also not merging them either which caused dissonance in the show. Anyway, that's what I believe OP wanted to communicate and my reply to you in good faith so I hope you did not take any offence :)

[@TheMandalorianPadawan]

@@kizukimitana Shoujo means "young girl" in Japanese, so that word describes the demographic that certain manga/anime are targeted at. There are plenty of idol anime/manga that are targeted at young girls and are published in shoujo magazines, making them idol genre manga targeted at the shoujo demographic. The only part of the definition you supplied that I disagree with is the "genre" part because the gender or age of the target audience do NOT determine the genre of a piece of media. You can have two pieces of media with the same genre - sports, for example - targeted at two completely different demographics. I'll use Haikyuu!! and Crimson Hero as examples here. Haikyuu!! is a shounen sports manga, making the genre sports and the demographic shounen (young boys), and Crimson Hero is a shoujo sports manga, so the genre is sports and the demographic is shoujo (young girls). They are the same genre but are targeted at two different demographics, making shoujo a demographic, not a genre.

[@cacaca0]

@@kizukimitana to add to what the commentator above said, in japan theres this periodic magazines featuring different manga updates/new releases etc., different magazines usually have its own target demographic cuz there are mixed magazines for both genders, that includes shounen, shoujo, josei, seinen, and kodomo, all meant to be aimed at different people, therefore i would like to restate, shoujo isnt a genre. Besides even if shoujo mangas have such repetetive elements, cliches or patterns to the point it can be seen as a genre then shounen would also be a genre, that one has a much more general and vast scope of limitation literally anything can be a shounen so long as its published in a shounen magazine.

[@lyannaericka4827]

@@TheMandalorianPadawan seeing two youtube users having the most intellectual, grammatical and sourced arguments debating whether shoujo is a demographic or genre will always be the funniest thing ive ever seen

[@Ao-vj9pz]

A bit correction, Hiyori took the part time job bc there's an issue about her father's fisherman work (most likely health issue, I don't remember that well). During the toxic fan arc, her father already went to work and can send money to her for financial support. She only continued the trainee manager work bc she truly wanted to support Lip x Lip. I really like Hiyori childhood friend but the problem is he never apologized for making Hiyori insecure for wearing cute dresses. I know he never intended to but I'm reallg waiting for the apology but it never came. I got frustrated bc I really want him to be Hiyori's love interest

[@pintsizedpicasso3402]

RIGHT? Like, yes he explained that he didn't actually think she looked bad, but no apology for completely destroying her self-esteem! Even though it wasn't his intention it was still clearly HIS FAULT!

[@kmmk5022]

@@pintsizedpicasso3402 I didn’t like how none of the characters take responsibility for their actions and faced little to no consequences but instead are rewarded

[@efive850]

Agree with this so much. Exactly why I'm really excited for the Oshi no ko anime. It really shows the reality of toxic idol culture in the manga. Hoping the anime can do the same

[@nevibi9753]

I was really excited when honeyworks announced an anime with lip x lip and ascana appearances, I didnt expect them to also put focus on their manager! I can clearly see this is based on one of the songs the manager sings, but I hadnt noticed in the mv how toxic it was ! In the mv, the boys subtly expose the crazy fan and are clearly disgusted by her, but it was mostly on behalf of their manager. I never really noticed anything romantic in the mvs, it was mostly a wholesome friendship, so yeah, Id recommend watching their songs if you want more context and good music !

[@k.NightRae13]

Yes! Maybe the novels too! I haven't read the LipxLip and Hiyori novels yet, but as someone who already read the other ones, I must say that it helps add depth to the characters and there are significant arcs that occured where the anime left it. The anime is just where I started, but the music videos and the novels made me love HoneyWorks, tbh. Hiyori's original love interest in the mvs is more interesting too, and I'm sad that they already are not endgame, but he got replaced as well! HoneyWorks wants every first female lead in every generation end up with their childhood friends (Natsuki and Yuu & Kotaro and Hina). No problem with that tho, I love those pairs and I accept Nagisa.. I just don't like that Asuka was retconned XD. Aside from 10 cm Apart and the LipxLip movie, the anime had nothing compared to the music videos and novels. I love HoneyWorks, LipxLip and Hiyori, but I do agree that had the adaptations been more faithful to how Aizo and Yujiro handled the situation in the novels and music videos as you said, maybe it would be less toxic. I also understand that it may be because the story is still ongoing, but it's not the fault of the song composers and the novel writers lol. Heroine Tarumono just adapted what story it already has much as the previous projects did. They just made some slight changes that incredibly affected some dynamics the fans loved.

[@vivianlopez5202]

I didn't watch the anime nor I will. What have they done to my boys and my girl!? Cries in "Non fantasy" and "Yume fanfare" 😭😭😭.

[@moupurii6519]

I heard about this series from the music videos by Honeyworks that explained the plot WAY better than they did in the anime. I was excited to see her as a protagonist of an anime but I was also so disappointed by the way the story went ☹️. Hyori's original love interest was also a lot more interesting, he was an idol that Lip x Lip considers competition

[@alimirjana1858]

I was surprised by the conclusion too. Actually I am into the Honeyworks MVs and the anime almost did not add anything to those (referring to this arc) and what was added made it kinda worse? I think they could have expanded and have dealt with this arc in a more decent way. Btw speaking of idol anime, this is not a suitable example. My favorite idol anime of all times will always remain Idolish7. I wish more ppl watched it because it has some intriguing reflections about this whole "world"

[@alimirjana1858]

Also, I'd forgot one thing: I wished they didn't skip over the LIPxLIP family's struggles as they did, making the relationships with their relatives that simplicistic and flat. If I am not wrong Yuujiro was supposed to be the heir as the first son in a kabuki specialised family but the successor will be his brother and to get into the idol industry he had to face the fact that his family didn't understand. While Aizou was kinda mocked for his music related dream and he has a huge conflict with girls in general because of his mother and brother who had multiple partners and ended up neglecting him. (I have vague memories of these facts so correct me if I am wrong but their stories were something like this). I know there is the movie dedicated to this duo but they could have kept this aspect and explored it to give a more complex insight of the two

[@havyn88]

I found the entire situation to be really wholesome. Rather than shoving the problem under the rug, the MC actually made steps to mend her relationship. It also shows that the problem is not idol culture but the toxicity, that people can like idols without being toxic.

[@homogenized]

Anime Feminist included this video in their weekly roundup and I clicked on it immediately. I watched Heroines and HATED this plot line so much. I wish the show had shown Hiyori and the managers defending her job when the photos were made public. There was no logical reason for her job to be Some Big Secret IMO. Would that have made Chihiro (I think that was her name lol I got so upset by this awful plot line that I forgot her name - loved Juri though) react differently? I don't know. But I thought it was NUTS that she literally punches Hiyori in the FACE and then one episode later all is well and let's go to the concert together!! I also watch Degrassi and I just know that Degrassi would've handled this differently lol. Heroines has a great elevator pitch but the way they fumble the plot in the end was like... like the Falcons blowing the Super Bowl (I'm from Atlanta, I can say this lol)

[@TheAnimeTea]

Thanks for watching! I need to check out that article, lol. I really hate to put down series like this because they are so few and far between but I couldn't not address my disappointment of the ending. I'll be making a video on some underrated series that deserve more love to hopefully balance out this one. Thanks for your thoughts! Sorry I don't watch football so I don't know how to add to the football references 😅

[@kmmk5022]

@@TheAnimeTea I’m surprised that blue haired glasses girl didn’t get suspended

[@elemoi9986]

If you read the novels which published first before anime and manga, you can see the storyline is more different and connected all the dots in the MV’s. Personally for me, there are many moments in the novels I want to see it on the anime. Too bad that they changed a lot of things 🧎‍♀️it looks like another universe…

[@elemoi9986]

It surprised me that they announced Nagisa as Hiyori’s love interest because when I read the novel, Yuujirou was the one had more moments with her…

[@KuchikiRukia124]

I see you also read the novels! Yeahh right, especially after Hiyori's and Nagisa's MVs got published a few days ago, my hopes for Yujiro and Hiyori really start to fade... and what upsets me the most about it is that it seems like HoneyWorks decided to change the plot because of angry little girls online not wanting Yujiro to be in a relationship -.- This is soo not okay, this would have been the perfect plot to show people that idols are also just humans and fall in love too. I really hope some miracle happens and they don't abandon this plot point

[@biancasadventure]

I didn’t like this anime at all. The MC was cute but yeah the idols pissed me off, the whole friend thing really pissed me off and I was just disappointed. I wish I could get my time back 😅

[@kmmk5022]

Yeah Lip x Lip were very unlikable. They probably would of been better off as antagonists/tragic villains

[@amanimagra1114]

I had watched the MV's 2 years before the anime came out. I was obsessed with the songs, especially Hiyori's ones and Non-fantasy, they were so catchy and the art was super cute. I watched the anime two days ago because I had just remembered its existence lol. But yeah I personally wasn't watching for the plot (I knew it already), I just wanted to listen to the songs and see the characters I liked interacting with each other😭 I found it quite cringe at times, like the way Hiyori gave the most stereotypical anime speech at least 3 times per episode, and her "Stop fighting guys >:(" "Haa.... those two really won't stop fighting". It was really annoying. Anyways I'm not an Idol fan, I just watched this one because I had prior knowledge on it. It was quite good, not that bad, and cringe at times, but it was nice to watch characters I liked. It would've been a better conclusion if we saw Hiyori actually doing a track competition tho :(

[@m.m.mefuyayuki1550]

Hi, I just wanted to say that the anime is based off of HoneyWorks music. They are a group that makes mvs with storylines (either sung by voice actors that interpret the characters in the mv or by Vocaloids/virtual voices). The series is called "love series" and it dates way back from 2009. The characters in this story are a part of that series but they are actually part of the later generation of the story and not actually the center focus. I just really recommend for people to listen to the music or reading the LN instead of watching the anime. So many details were left out or replaced for the anime and it just doesn't do the original story justice. For example Hiyori's friend is actually not so bad in the mv. They did fight and Hiyori ended up being hurt but she felt extremely bad and guilty. She actually does redeem herself. Aizo and Yujiro actually have more of an ambiguous relationship closer to romantic love with each other than being potential love interest to Hiyori. Also they aren't bad people at all. The anime is just so centered around Hiyori that we don't get any of the other characters side. The entire story really revolves around multiple characters and their own story. Also there's an "idol series" which is like a sub story to the love series where the boys are part of it but it's mainly centered about an idol named Mona that is in competition with them and other groups (like Full Throttle for example, the other group of boys). So if they really wanted to adapt the idol part of the story into anime, they should have chosen Mona ! She's basically the one that started the series (LIP×LIP are part of it but they are more of a thing of their own tbh). Overall it makes more sense if you listen to the music or at least watch their older movies about the main characters of the love series. It's really a whole multiverse that was created over the span of a decade. Each characters that you see have their own songs and their own stories and so it makes it that this anime is more for the fan of the mvs than for random anime watchers. In any case, you should not consider this anime as it's own thing. It's more of an adaptation of a portion of a bigger story. So please go listen to the original series or at least the songs about them.

[@nevergonnagiveyouup1180]

*warning very long comment* Thinking about it now I wish if Honeyworks was gonna adapt the idol series. They should’ve adapted Mona’s story. Maybe it’s just bias since I relate to her and she’s my comfort character but Mona is a much likable character to me than Yujiro and Aizo. She has her flaws but in my opinion is more sympathetic . (Hiyori is my second favorite Honeyworks girl tbh). Honeyworks girls. Although there was one moment where I wasn’t gushing for Mona and that was her response to when Hiyori said what her friend did. Now on one hand she’s not necessarily wrong about the friend hurting. And it’s understandable why she’d say that considering Mona’s situation. She hated her sister because of feeling inferior (though Mona didn’t try ruining her sister’s career at all because of her feelings of inferiority. Instead Mona thought about dying. Ok this is a joke based off of one song. I don’t think she thought about this all the time). Anyways despite understanding why this character would say that. It was also not really the best thing to say in the moment as it pushed the wrong message. And I think Mona’s songs has some really relatable aspects. If you want the songs that show what I’m talking about. I recommend Jinsei wa Saikou no himatsubushi And Honto no watashi. Furthermore she actually has a manga that sadly is not translated in English apart from someone translating the first 8 chapters so I don’t know much of what happens. But again I find Mona a good protagonist in it from what I’ve seen. Since there is a manga. There’s also a bit more of a plot to base it on than just trying to adapt Mvs. Also a bit more to use for story conflict. Her debut. A rival idol she seemed to look up to ends up hating her and destroying one of her costumes for a tv show. That idol who hates her revealing the secret that Mona is indeed the famous sena’s sister online. (Found out this happened on the wiki) Just her working hard trying to make it as an idol. When she was little her middle school classmates comparing her negatively to Sena which is why Mona started wanting to cut off from her sister in the first place And internal conflict. Her internal hatred and jealousy for her sister. Her self hatred and her time of finding her negative qualities to be who she is that she doesn’t want to look at herself in the mirror. Maybe I’m hyping it up too much but I think she had a lot more potential for a series than what this show was. I feel like there was a lot more substance Sure it’ll be one of those rise to fame from being a newbie things. But I think it would’ve worked better. But then again I’m filled with bias of homework’s. As while I noticed there were some really problematic elements of this show I didn’t know it was this bad. Like I thought it was mostly good. But then I actually thought about what you said. And yeah it actually sucks for the most part.

[@nevergonnagiveyouup1180]

Also wished they did more with Mona in this anime. Happy she appeared. Unhappy she didn’t have a lot of screen time. When she did they didn’t use her character to her full potential. Like I’d love to see her rivalry with lip x lip. They hate each other. Also I’m actually very confused when in the timeline this takes place. With Mona’s conversations it sounds like this is after she resolved her conflicts. But it shows her being a new idol. She doesn’t resolve her internal conflicts about her sister according to the pvs until after she’s more famous and after that concert that she wears that pink dress she wore at episode 12.

[@nevergonnagiveyouup1180]

Ok I’ll stop bias gushing

[@PichuElric]

I started off the HoneyWorks idol series train with Mona as well, but Yuujirou and Aizou's backstories just spoke to me more, until Aizou became my comfort character. I personally think the anime should have chosen to show one story properly instead of parts of a lot of different stories. Yuujirou and Aizou are definitely sympathetic as well, but the story is about Hiyori, and we're never given reasons nor much redemption (wait, no, they do get redeemed a few times) for LIPXLIP

[@nevergonnagiveyouup1180]

@@PichuElric their backstories are discussed more in a movie. Right? To bad the movie isn’t translated and all-

[@bettygrace2098]

@@nevergonnagiveyouup1180 yeah I can't find the movie anywhere (　-̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥᷄◞ω◟-̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥᷅ )

[@itsmefm]

I was thinking about watching this show but I stumbled upon this video. I appreciate your point of view and lowkey your voice is soothing, so it made this an easy watch!

[@corndogonasticc]

I remember a few years ago. i came across one of the music videos based on this girl a few times, it slowly grew on me and became my favorite song. I wanted to know more of the girl (since one music video left this "to be continued" after finding out her crush is an idol. I really wanted to know more lol) but there isn't much at the time. I did come across a comment thread one time how there is an anime planned to be released, and an already existing manga- which i instantly tried searching for. but, theres no english translations at the time, and nobody so far gave attention to this work in the english community. I gave up waiting and searching then forgot about it eventually. which then the sequel music came out, but i forgot about the anime and manga completely existing so i never searched for it lol. Honest opinion, i'm sad how the series ended. I really wished it became something more than you know... just this.. like, i hope next time they have patience in developing the story in a wider sense than just sticking with the mvs. Hiyori deserve some love too 😭😭❤❤

[@Pelicanhorrorvideoshow69420]

Glad to know the honeyworks mv's are better than their anime adaptations 😅 There's some cute moments with these characters in one of them

[@PichuElric]

I'm also interested in what you think of Fruits Basket, since you're a shojo animanga channel. I read shojo haphazardly and love most shows recommended to me, but I feel like some parts of Fruits Basket are never brought to light properly, like teaching girls to be unconditionally kind is not healthy, that no will come save you if you're not heard, various things that rubbed me the wrong way that gets hyped up very high

[@nubai8351]

I love listening to your talking! Your voice is so calm and beautiful!

[@DadNeedsToTalk]

This make me sad cause like you I was very excited when I first watched this show but I fell off of it around episode 6/7 and to hear that it went downhill and she didnt even get to achieve her own dream is a bummer. This was a great video and I appreciate your thoughts on it.

[@CompSomAnichi]

Even the mv with the stalker friend kind of made me eh so not surprised that the anime didn't adopt it fully. Oh yeah in regards to the expecations of the "love triangle" - most of the MV's don't have the feeling that it would have been a love triangle. Also the stalker friend actually has a new song of hers and uhh, it's catchy but....considering her context it doesn't paint a good picture of her.

[@MariaLuiza-tb1li]

I love this trio, but I didn't watch the anime, I just follow them on the mvs of Honey Works, and about the two boys, they have waaaaaay more things on the mvs, one of my favorite music videos is Samishigariya about the blonde guy and his brother talking about people who are important to them (the brother about his girlfriend and the blonde about the dark haired guy ) 😭 I cry all the time

[@brendagomez8656]

New follower here!! Thanks for talking about shoujo anime, I love your content.

[@TheAnimeTea]

Thank you for following and watching Brenda! ✨

[@pomme2903]

Toxicity definitely not passed as an ok behavior. And the show was never meant to be a love triangle, that would have been quite bad actually. They're just a trio of friends, people who support each other basically. In the mvs she gets her own crush and they help her getting ready for her date etc, there's no romance triangle. And I think in the recent mvs she's close to getting into a relationship with her childhood friend ! Also the boys clearly hate that fan culture thingy, and it shows up a lot in the novels. Usatan is actually the only girl to respect their boundaries, she just likes to take pictures of Aizo in secret which tbf is pretty common for a 15yo girl. The problem is that usatan is a representation of a community of people in Japan which wear what they call Jirai Kei and a lot of the time, are idol fans and/or doutankyohi. Jirai Kei Girls are a huge part of the Honeyworks fan community. She's a very popular character in Japan as a lot of girls relate to her which is why she never really was seen as a bad guy even before for the anime, since she has her own circomstances and anger issues problems, and is meant to be a character Jirai Kei Girls in Japan can relate to and feel safe around, so a lot of people understand her. The anime is an anime for fans of the Honeyworks songs, not really for anime only newcomers. We all know usatan's way of thinking, and forgave her even before the show started because we know it ends well and she starts letting her true self out instead of hiding it, even at the end of the show hiyori is still a trio with usatan in it, just stronger than before. She actually becomes really protective of her friends now, as she starts trusting them. She didn't really trust hiyori at first because she finds it difficult to trust people. Usatan is a person who thinks she's better off alone and doesn't like getting close to people. A new usatan song was out recently, that shows usatan is now hanging out with her friends with the clothes she likes and having fun being herself :) The boys start enjoying idol activities too

[@kmmk5022]

What’s the point of them being idols if they don’t genuine love their fans, especially Aizou

[@juries7117]

@@kmmk5022 they wanted to be idols for their own personal reasons though (Aizou wants to sing while Yuujiro wants to be on stage)

[@alexisflyer9191]

"The anime is an anime for fans of the Honeyworks songs, not really for anime only newcomers." The best way to put it

[@kmmk5022]

@@juries7117 they could of just gone to therapy

[@kmmk5022]

@@juries7117 and the cops too

[@umii_ww]

I think it's really sad and disappointing on how this anime went upon well.. most of things. I love lip x lip with my entire being but I'm sure most ppl have only watched this blindly, without any background at all. That's why I always recommend watching the movie first before the series. (Which is hard to find translated, took me 2 years since its original release just to find one lol) It goes into more depth on Aizo and Yuujirou's backstory and gives you a different insight. Not just viewing them as "brats" or "annoying". One of the mistakes most ppl have when first watching this.. is thinking that it's a love triangle. This series isn't supposed to be romance. Lip x Lip aren't supposed to be male leads. A lot of people actually have various ships depending on their own interpretations. Famous ones being AiYuu and LipHiyo. There's also AiMona, HiyoMona, and the guy from ASCANA (Asuka) The anime series missed out a lot from what I'm hearing. (I actually haven't watched this one myself, so I can't really say how bad it is. I'm going off the reviews of other people.) I'd say this anime is catered more for people who were already Honeyworks fans before this compared to the new ppl who's just getting started. It really isn't good as a stand-alone. If people where interested into getting into the Idol series, I definitely wouldn't recommend them to start with this 😭😭 They should've just made a series that focuses on the idols and that one competition in "Yappa Saikyou" and then give Hiyori her own movie.

[@malaakghanem7901]

Where'd you find the translation of the movie? I wanna watch it so bad.

[@honeybee5261]

I feel like this show was mostly for people who have followed LipXLip universe 😅 because everyone has stuff that’s not in the anime. Unfortunately a lot of the anime isn’t newcomer friendly at all.

[@gayasuzuki895]

If you didn’t know already, this anime is based off of songs by Honeyworks, and I’d suggest checking them out instead ^^ I won’t be linking the whole series, but here are two that I know are the girl centric. There are other songs featuring the two idols, and actually, a whole universe around this, with other idol groups and all. I’d even suggest getting into honkeyworks’ other storyline’s if you’re into the romance genre ^^ kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKGspJ2wYtR_hbM kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJOZcnunnpWAmKc

[@korilakkumasoverture3338]

Off topic but I really love your hello Kitty shirt! super cute 💗

[@Latalie]

I’m so confused now, I watch a review on this awhile ago and they were raving about it but they didn’t spoil it. Now knowing how it ends, I’m so baffled as to why that review praised it so highly. I haven’t watched it yet because of lack of time, but now I’m glad that I didn’t since I would have just gotten mad about the bad ending 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@tobitimesthree]

wow i was so surprised to find this video! i've been a huge fan of honeyworks for years!! for me, i feel like the problem with honeyworks is that they are fantastic storytellers when it comes to one story spread out over multiple 3-5 minute songs, but whenever it comes to full anime or their movies they seem to stumble. i've always gotten the impression that they just didn't know what to do with the extra time despite having so much story to tell. i've never been a fan of the heroine tarumono plot even when it was just the songs because they present lipxlip as people to root for and be fans of when they're overall shown to be assholes and kind of terrible people, not even just to the protag here but also to other idols like mona where they actively screw her over. i wish they would have chosen other characters or stories to animate but they're really trying to build up the hype around their idol characters bc of the boom in popularity rn. i hope you give the music videos a try because honestly despite their continual stumbles in full length anime/movies, honeyworks really is a great series and even has some lgbt characters and it's great fluff for fans of romance. not this particular plot tho!!! :) edit to add i saw someone mention - honeyworks presents this anime as a romance between the main girl and the lipxlip guys but in the mvs they're actually hinted to be interested in each other which is why they kinda dgaf about her HAHAHA

[@TrueMonkeyNinja]

I really enjoyed the show and hope it gets a second season. I’m guessing they couldn’t not try redeem the friend because a lot of toxic fans are out there and might boycot the show or something as a result. But if we do get a second season, I hope we will get a love angle (though I’ve been enjoying the friendship with her and the boys), or have the idol she’s meant to get a crush on appear (from the original music video). More drama from her childhood friend making the guys realise they like her would be great too though LOL

[@oas.rimmee]

I have watch the first 3 episodes but topic aside, from now on I'm gonna use this video to make me fall asleep cause her voice is very relaxing to hear ☺️

[@lyolian]

When I first saw the show, I was shocked and like "omg wait they got an anime?" because I was a listener to lipxlip and honeyworks before that. Watching your video made so much sense to me because at some moments I was confused but I liked the group and music and stuff. Anyway, point agreed on that the idol toxicity shouldn't be something to just gloss over for small development since it's a serious issue 😭😭😭

[@toushi96]

If you want to get into something with "idols" that have a nice heroine I really recommend A3! There is an anime and a game (unfortunately eng version of the game is not available anymore, but everything is translated by fans and it's easily accessible!)

[@nkwon2811]

You made a lot of same points that I thought about when I watched this series. While I loved the song, I was disappointed with how heroine handled things with her friend. It really didn't solve anything, and honestly I feel like she should have addressed what she did wrong and end the friendship there or something 🤣.

[@OldFantasy]

I want to give it a try tbh since it's an anime original and ty for the review 💖

[@TheAnimeTea]

I think overall it’s a decent show with an adorable main character, just the ending upset me 😪 I hope you enjoy and that I didn’t spoil too much for you in the review!

[@OldFantasy]

@@TheAnimeTea dw I don't mind spoilers 🤗

[@PichuElric]

I'm really interested to know what you thought of the show!

[@popsocket6885]

I listened to the song's HoneyWorks has made for this series before it became a series, I didn't get the premise of the story mainly because I was only vibing to the music and not read the subtitles nor understand the story. When I saw an anime got released, I wasn't really interested of it, remember that I only listened to the music and not attentively know what its about. So i was just hysteric about it a normal corny shoujo anime until I saw this video. I never knew that THIS was the story was all about, even until watching this I never bothered to watch the anime knowing they're trying to make toxicity cute and treated the poor girl.

[@TheLoveMuffin13]

I ended up HATING this show because of how they consistently validated all the stalker behaviour. The fact that the boys had to apologize for what, going to school and talking to a girl??? They should have stood up for her and told the truth about her being a manager but they literally said the fans were right to harass her because they belong to them. It was so messed up how nobody ever called out the toxic fan behaviour. The friend was insane and did not deserve to be fogiven especially when she never felt in the wrong or apologized. Ugh so glad to find out other people hate this show too.

[@malaakghanem7901]

The show was enjoyable with all that crazy stuff aside. They should have either left it as a lighthearted slice of life or used the stalker side story as a lesson to show how damaging toxic stan culture is. Why Hiyori excused it is beyond me.

[@usaagima_8519]

Hii can you talk about Diabolik Lovers?? It's a hell of a ride...

[@okayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

Awwww man, this had such a solid premise too! I really do want to get more into shojo again but I just can’t stand how so many female protagonists are forced into this sorta… societally accepted woman’s role in a relationship (whether romantic or not) with a man. Woman has to be man’s caretaker, woman has to put her own passions and goals and interests to the side for man, woman can be strong but still always has to end up in a situation where she’s protected by man, etc. I want to get into shojo, I want to get into more series with female protags This shit gives me hives. Also, maybe this is the horrible cynic in me but somehow I’m not surprised that a series meant to sell idol music didn’t go with the message “maybe some devoted fans that spend way too much time and money on their faves should give up their fandom”

[@quopi7183]

Wait, this got an anime? I remember being so deep into the mv lore of Honeywork's music. Ultimately, the story line isnt fleshed out like another comment said, but i still remember the characters being likeable and not as bad as this.

[@violetiolite]

You know, I was reading the comments just to find out this anime was based on something from Honeyworks. And I kept scratching my head thinking "where have I heard about Honeyworks before..." Until I had a suspicion which was confirmed. Honeyworks wrote a lot of VOCALOID songs back in the day, including the extremely famous Suki Kirai which featured Kagamine Rin and Len. Which is do interesting because I was looking at a bit of the anime and looking at the little bears they have in the show was so strange because those are the teddy bears Rin and Len have in PV. Those have exited for so many years now! More than a decade. Never expected to find about what they were up to now like this! It's a bit of a bummer the anime has some serious problems.

[@katarinaclaes96]

Great video keep up the great work I'll check out this Anime and give it a watch. What's the name of this Anime?😁👍

[@lampyrid_garden]

This is gonna be a long one, so bare with me. I found out about this series due to Hiyori's MV. When I saw your review, I've had some doubts about watching it, but today, I finally did. So, here's my opinion. (No one cares probably, but I wanna ramble.) 1. I was really disappointed that they changed Hiyori's potential love interest(?). In the original MV, she had a crush on another idol who was in LIPxLIP's rival group. It would have been more funny and interesting if they went with the original story, but after reviewing some comments on here, it seems the VA for the blonde guy didn't work for them anymore? A shame, but it can't be helped. 2. The story was okay in my opinion. Nothing too crazy or exciting, but sometimes, a simple plot line works too. The boys are working hard to fulfill their dreams and Hiyori is too. Their stories just happened to overlap and because of that, they became friends. I love their dynamics and it's a breath of fresh air, not seeing this turn into a love triangle. 3. The boys are bratty, but they do show improvement during the anime. They show that they do have some nice qualities under their bratty personalities. 4. What I don't like about the story is the stalker arc. In my opinion, Chizuru got off without any consequences. They try to put everything under the rug with those "teary friendship scenes" but to put it bluntly, she's a stalker. The anime clearly showed that she wasn't very stable and obsessed with Aizo but they never addressed it properly. "It's for the fans" seemed like a ridiculous excuse, but I'm not an idol so I don't really know their mindset. 5. Lastly, I absolutely loved the appearances of other characters, especially Sena and Mona. They were in the first ever honeyworks MV I watched so they're very special to me. I got excited when I saw them. Mona and Hiyori being friends is just so wholesome, I wished they had more scenes. Overall, I think Heroines Run the Show is a nice anime. It's not the best anime of all time but I enjoyed watching it. It had its ups and downs, but that's normal for all anime out there.

[@eunac3037]

The thing about HoneyWorks is that the story is best told through the original MVs, an anime would have to exaggerate this and that to make it "make sense" (for an anime, at least) and "interesting".

[@AlexandraStubbs]

Aww to bad this series is not any good. And has a terrible message for female audiences. Abuse from anyone is never okay, don’t go back to the abuser.

[@TheAnimeTea]

It is sad that the series ended on that note, especially since I was considering recommending it to a younger audience because it’s a pretty wholesome series otherwise. Thanks for watching Alexandra!

[@kmmk5022]

@@TheAnimeTea like Hiyori needed to learn that people like Lip x Lip and Chizuru are toxic people and that she needs to have the self respect to just cut ties and get out of those situations and surround herself in a more healthier relationships. Quit her manager job and work at I dunno, a convenient store or something. Make new friends that that would provide her with a healthier support system

[@LuckyFoxLin]

As a Honeyworks fan, this anime disappointed me so munch lololol although, personally, I am glad this didn’t become a love triangle and I’m glad the MV’s aren’t taking it that way (that I last checked.) A lot of this show was fan service to HW fans where you go, “OH! OH! IT’S XYZ!!!” I heard this is getting a second season but I don’t know if I want to watch it. Maybe if it was one season that was 24 episodes and they fleshed out every relationship, it would’ve been better??? But trying to make the MV’s make sense while trying to fit in the huuuge universe is kinda impossible without you knowing everything about every character.

[@amanekaze]

Tbh, they could've had went with their own ways, but everything ends up messy afterwards. I much prefer if they had the same elements of Ensemble Stars. It doesn't have any romcom moments but just a main heroine being a producer to help the idols grow. This series is my favorite because it shows idols suffering with horrible treatment in the industry that not many anime talks about it (there are some, like Idolish7 for example)

[@yamadarlingg]

i highly suggest watching the songs’ MVs instead because as a fan of HoneyWorks’, they didn’t do too much justice to these characters. they have a lot more history and background than what the show suggests!! but again, opinions are opinions, and i totally respect yours and everyone else’s ^^

[@curiougirl]

I would love to get recommendations of where to start.

[@SerifSansSerif]

Just commenting for the algorithm. Got my sub this time. :)

[@peachiiskies6194]

Ngl this Anime is just based on mv if I'm not wrong(maybe I'm entirely wrong about this, who knows ?) I just enjoy their music andd the plot in the mv but connecting all of those plot in the mv is hard cuz pretty much there are like a bunch of stage screen time and flashback and prepareration and It's just hard to connect those so I think that's why the anime is just weird (I haven't watch the anime the only thing I watch is most of the mv and the plot and character in the mv I watch and pretty much there is nothing more about this that I know)

[@natsumie.williams3931]

I just recently learned that the song where people use for the anime filter is the idol fan girl's song. I have no idea what to feel regarding this discovery, because it's a bop but I just can't seem to like the character.

[@lilac.0464]

aw man.. when you first explained the plot, i was like, "yo... do i need to watch this?👀" It sounded so interesting! It's a shame there wasn't more to the plot.. There could have been so much more to this!

[@milkyway120]

The anime sucks and is awful at giving real character to the characters, but the anime is based off of Honeyworks MVs! Hiyori's songs are: Heroine Ikusei Keikaku and Heroine Tarumono LIPxLIP has some videos too, my biggest recs are Yume Fanfare, Romeo, Julietta, Samishigariya, LOVE&KISS and Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata there's a whole universe and the anime doesn't expand much on it!

[@milkyway120]

The anime sucks and is awful at giving real character to the characters, but the anime is based off of Honeyworks MVs! Hiyori's songs are: Heroine Ikusei Keikaku and Heroine Tarumono LIPxLIP has some videos too, my biggest recs are Yume Fanfare, Romeo, Julietta, Samishigariya, LOVE&KISS and Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata there's a whole universe and the anime doesn't expand much on it!

[@ForksandKnivesarenowhere]

This series had so much potential

[@waffleamv_]

As someone who waited 3 years for this anime to come out maybe I'm biased but I loved it

[@imsupershyomaga]

Im a really big fan of lipxlip and I was looking foward for the anime as I thought they were gonna explain the relationship of the two boys, but instead i got two bratty ppl with awful personality, they did them dirty frfr

[@lovelessbeloved6197]

Go see the music videos from honey works relating to this anime, you'll get the full story there and good music that co tains the story context and visual MVs

[@sameechaos1]

have you seen/read Princess Princess?

[@user-sn5by7sx4p]

You want to actually know that this wasn't the original story them change it The actual one the heroine , hiyori fallen love with an idol named asuka from ascana (which we already know from both mv and novel) And for some reason they change the story I actually liked the original which from novel I don't basically hate it but hiyori in manga is annoying to me I love her in novel The reason they change its due to ascana in hiatus start this year until now so I was seriously hate and having a high expectations that them (ascana) will appear in this anime for hoping their comeback but it as if they disappear from HoneyWorks universe Unlike kono sekai tanoshimikata(how LIP×LIP debut's movie) ascana in there

[@dropintheocean999]

I watched this entire series and completely forgot about it until I saw your thumbnail lol. I wanted to like it, isekai has set the bar so low for me. But, it was a dissapointment.

[@mri5064]

As someone who mostly has watched shoujo anime, idol anime was rarely interesting to me. Either it would be too kiddy or like this with the trope of normalizing toxic fan culture. But it is a trope that is prevelant in non idol animes as well. Either a student at a school works as an idol or one of the student is overly popular with the opposite sex. Those kind of shows would also breed toxic fan culture and it would often be portrayed as comedic and normal rather that wrong. Almost every shoujo anime I have watched had a scene where multiple "fangirls" bully the female lead until the male lead comes to save her. Even though toxic fan culture is huge, it felt very sexist to always portray the side characters as these shallow fangirls. I would definitely love to see more idol animes that show the ugly side of idol and fan culture, in brutal honesty without normalizing or romantisizing it. Right now the only one I can think of is Oshi No Ko and it isn't a shoujo series. Unfortunately, the good shoujo series that aren't toxic rarely get adapted into an anime.

[@nekochadechu]

Idolish7 depicts well the bad side of idol industry!

[@PichuElric]

Hiyori comes to their rescue too, it's a give and take situation, not just the mean guys saving her all the time

[@mri5064]

@@PichuElric Yeah, I haven't watched this one. I was speaking generally.

[@hitamitu]

@@nekochadechu yesss idolish7 is the series i recommend especially for people who love oshi no ko since both dealt with heavy dark topic (tho oshinoko is made for adult while i7 is for teenager so oshinoko can be really blatant with the darkness while i7 is so subtle you kinda need to rewatch/reread a couple time to realize the secret plot sometimes. just dont get me started with foreshadowing and symbolism in i7 or imma go apeshit lol)

[@Safio-nf4ed]

I do not really agree on the points you mentioned. First off I liked it being more slice of life than a romance with a triangle. The second point that her dressing up didn't take us anywhere within the story is due to it being more slice of life of her life with these idols and that was only one part of her personality. I understand that the deep friendship wasn't portrayed in a great way to an extend. However this show was really more about her life with school and the idol boys and not so much about friends and family. But there still could have been little hints. But most importantly I think the fact that Hiyori insisted in trying to talk to her was not bad. Liking these idols that strong made some ugly feelings for the girl. However she was not broken due to them and that's why she doesn't have to separate herself from them. Don't get me wrong; she did a lot wrong and she knows that know but it doesn't take as much time and effort to realize that for her as we see in the anime. I think you got her feelings wrong. She has two sides: 1. Loving Hiyori; she was not just friends with her to pretend or anything she actually liked her but her other side: 2. Toxic fan was also there. The reason she did not want to hear anything about Hiyori or lipXlip was because she knows that Hiyori is not a bad person and neither are lip x lip (we see that clearly of her fan love with letters etc). She felt way too bad for everything she did and think she was not worth talking to them again. But we don't see that side of her since she is not the main character and with the mixed-up anger she holds she cannot act as she really feels. Since Hiyori is that hood of a friend she knows that. We wouldn't understand. I understand that you wished for something else but I don't think saying you should rather not watch it is justified with the points you mentioned. It is not perfect but that does not mean it's bad and I hope entitling it not being worth produced. I'm glad that I watched the anime since there were many new situations I never saw with intresting characters. Not only the ones of the main characters. I hope everyone who does watch it, is able to enjoy it.

[@marianacarina2580]

Oh no, I was such a fan of this storyline in Honeyworks MV's... Why did they made it so toxic? Honeyworks has so much potential and they waste it like that.

[@maourazonica5945]

Oh right, I watched this series a while back and I'm glad someone made a video on this topic. Because fuck it, the two main idols' attitude during the start of the series was absolutely correct if their fans are these fucking creeps. They learned ALL the wrong lessons. Holy shit. One angle that I didn't consider was when you mentioned that Hiyori was also being toxic and harassing the glasses girl. I guess she'd just villainized herself so much that it didn't register when she was the one being harassed. I didn't support Hiyori's actions either way, but what I had in mind more was annoyance at Hiyori and how she's too good for this world and Glasses Girl didn't deserve her at all. The anime's framing didn't help, but I probably should've been more critical. She's done goofed, but maybe still deserves a happy and fulfilling life so long as she changes, and she was trying, but Hiyori wasn't helping. Not that I wanted her to go back to worshipping her idols, but I was thinking of it more along the lines of her feeling guilt about something that she *should* feel guilt about, and she deserves it. Props to main lead's voice actor though. I only really ever notice voice acting if it's really good, and the only ones I can think off the top of my head is the priest from Fate and Kumoko's VA. This is the only time I actually took notice of how cute a character's voice was.

[@AllyInReality]

Oshi no Ko does a great job showing the toxicity of the entertainment industry

[@pusheenqueen519]

I wish they either would have addressed the toxic fan thing with a better perspective or just cut it out entirely. Or maybe just have Chizuru feel envious and insecure and misunderstanding the situation but cut out her taking pictures, stalking, spreading around the photos, etc. Honestly I still like this show in spite of its flaws but I check out around episodes 5. The rest just feels unnecessary and problematic, to put it lightly.

[@jodeemorgan2572]

Who else, never knew that the music video, go turned into an anime ?!?!?!

[@NomadicWanderer11]

I’m surprised that the script of this anime even got the green light.

[@officialflikz]

I liked the show, it was pretty wholesome tbh, the story isn't that deep, it's based on two little music videos from HoneyWorks, combine with the main characters of the Lip x Lip movie, slap a couple more characters from the other honey works movie, and there you have it. the main characters weren't necessarily toxic, they were just realistic, two teenagers thrown into the world of Fame, they weren't happy with their lives, even the other idols called them out for their fake smiles, she made them happy, there's also a movie about those two that goes deeper into their story (she isn't present there) the one thing i didn't like, is they changed the ending, in the music video at the end they made a song for her and she appeared on the stage as the protagonist (wearing that purple dress that appears in the opening)

[@kirbybie]

“What was the point” WAS LITERALLY MY REACTION AFTER FINISHING IT

[@Neneidrc]

It isn’t meant to be a love triangle though. 😭??

[@La_Gat1ta]

I totally agree about how badly they handled the topic of the super obsessed fans and the idol character dudes also really ruined the vibe for me for the majority while I was watching 😭 I deadass only stayed for the heroin

[@shahanaparvin8325]

Honeyworks should have made a anime about akari and mochizuki or any other side couple. It's not like they haven't made an anime of the side couple. 10 centimeters was a anime they made which was a story about their previous anime which was about the side characters love story. I feel bad for akari and mochizuki their are the only couple from the first movie ( I have always liked you) who didn't get a anime or a ova or a short story about them. I think it would be better than heroine anime we got

[@yodarchernia9944]

I Got so angry at the resolve they decided on saying its ok because the stalker just loved them so much,Hiyori didnt deserve any of this. not only that but now honeyworks published a cutsey song about the stalker

[@daphnia9664]

have you seen jellyfish princess? it has such a unique plot

[@shemoww]

Damn they did my boys so dirty 😭😭😭 also I thought that Yujiro and Aizo are into each other cause they definitely hinted at that in the past lol

[@amandabernard8179]

I really like the idol anime shinepost. It is really good and I want another season.

[@menaangelfire9393]

To be fair, I watched this anime. I didn't pick up the message your trying to relay. How Ever I did pick up on the fact that some secrets aren't worth keeping.

[@EL-jq1sq]

Considering how romanceless this show was, and how her original love interest in the PVs turned her down cause he wanted to be an idol, I feel like maybe the reason this show feels rather toothless in its depiction of toxic fan culture around idols is that it sees no problem with the mindset that idols belong to their fan. From this point of view, the fake friend's only mistake might just be that the hubbub was based on a mistruth since Hiyori and her idol friends' relationship is purely platonic. That might be why she's so easily forgiven? But then again, I haven't seen the anime so I can't really comment on it

[@zam6877]

Thank you! I rather not watch such toxity...so tired of it

[@mariahbellaquizzagan1323]

May God bless you all 🙏❤️

[@33nyan.b]

The only thing i remembered bout this anime was that i really hated how they concluded the heroine and her 'rival's' conflict, i cannot like her rival 😠 but i loved the orange hair tho, she was really cool

[@enali703]

One good thing is Hiyori taught those brat to appreciate their fans but consider how toxic they are…I dunno man I really hope Mona doesn’t end up being like them in her own anime

[@anti894]

I loved this show and i absolutely loved the memebrs of lipxlip as characters but i got mad that hyori just told them to accept their fans that invade their privacy and shit

[@DelRae]

Why does the main girl have Iggy brows

[@Kyle-xy4cf]

i was actually a huge fan before of the original source , that being honeyworks and lip x lip, but yhea i can see now like damn, they kinda messed up

[@lewa3910]

Damn, another anime flubs the ending. This is me with wonder egg (unless somehow they actually do make another season of that).

[@oguubear]

I hate the part where her toxic friend literally outed her including the idols for hanging out. And surprise surprise those 3 r friend with each other. I was excited because i thought it would be a wholesome slice of life idols. I don’t like how the the ppl creating this to make them friends again. I give it a 5/10 since I like the parts when hiyori and the 2 idols were hanging out like friends.

[@konohamaru77]

Wait. What the hell. This one comes from the very cute lovey dovey highschool love story to...this? Honeyworks...really increase their game huh

[@whatteamwildcats4033]

I feel like idol culture and celebrity culture, particularly the aspect where fans feel entitled to be included or taken into account in private indivualds lives is weirdly normalized enough and I hate that this anime just adds to that.

[@StrohutMiku]

I love this anime for not turning everything to a lovestory. Literally made my day when it ended without a forced love triangle. The characters arent perfect, the way they handle things arent either... so its just pretty real.