Forum - View topicHeroines Run the Show: The Unpopular Girl and the Secret Task (TV).
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Stark700
 Posts: 11762 Location: Earth |
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Heroines Run the Show: The Unpopular Girl and the Secret Task (TV) Genres: drama Themes: idols, school Plot Summary: Hiyori Suzumi is a high school girl who becomes a manager-in-training for the high school idol unit LIP×LIP. Hiyori left her hometown to pursue her passion, track and field, by enrolling in Tokyo's Sakuragaoka High School. Looking for a part-time job in Tokyo, she ended up working as an apprentice manager for her classmates (and LIP×LIP members) Yūjirō Someya and Aizō Shibasaki. Apr. 7, 2022 (Thursdays; Crunchyroll) |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Episode 1
Now this was a fun first episode, I think a lot coming down to Hiyori being a very fun character. Favourite moments being like when questioned why a literature teacher would wear a lab coat, and the way she corrected her new employer getting her name wrong. She is a heroine with a lot going on, friendly, with flaws (although her eyebrows are only pluses), and doesn't bend on her wants of doing track with her needs of getting a job. Also, she didn't change when near the cute guys, rather than seeing their jerk aspects. Probably a strange comparison, but a first impression from the opening had me think of Pretty Boy Detective Club, probably in terms of that it might lean into cute boys like it did, with a personality defined heroine. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Episode 12 (finale)
I am a little disappointed in this show, I think from how it started in me thinking that Hiyori was a cool character, but then she became more 'appreciative' of the idols, and then it came across more like she was a the flawed character next to those two. I just did not have that much interest in the idol stuff, that I see as kind of toxic, the fake friendliness that creates parasocial relationships that are clearly unhealthy. The sort of funny thing is that the show has big examples of how the parasocial relationships are a real problem, with Chizuru. Who appears to be forcing herself into work that she might be uncomfortable with, to afford 'gifts' to send to her idols, which impact other parts of her life, as well as was apparently stalking them, and out of jealousy pretty much doxxed someone who was actually her friend. I will say that the last episode had me a little bit hoping that Chizuru could go to the concert she wants to, while at the same time I was thinking that her obsession with those boys and that culture clearly was not healthy considering what she did. And I think that the show was kind of saying that it was all positive in the end, the extravagant gifts to the boys clearly not needing them, it looked like her dolled up alter ego was being shown positively, and even that her doxing actually helped their careers. I don't think the show even questions the gross parts of the Japanese purity culture around the celebs, where it normalises not teenage fans to ask, but adult reporters to ask these teenage boys "who's girlfriend is she", as if they are asking if they did cocaine. Like, Jesus Christ these boys were not even allowed to have a normal high school life, and if asked if they have a love life to instead say all their fans are their girlfriends, and if they get too close to any random girl, they have to bow their heads and beg for forgiveness. Kind of normal for me, I didn't really get much out of the music, some of it sounded nice, just not much of an impact on me. Now, to further explain my disappointment, I kind of expected something a little different from the show. Considering its name, and the strong imagery in places like the ED, I thought that the main theme would be in the heroines (Hiyori, Juri and Chizuru) running the show, that is their relationship and being heroines accomplish the things. But I think in the grand scheme of the show, Juri is little more than a side character that didn't really add that much. And Chizuru's larger part only comes from how we found out late on that she sabotaged Hiyori, and we really only learn pieces towards the very end, like her room is covered in LIPxLIP) stuff. The show really mostly became the LIPxLIP show, and otherwise Hiyori, where half the time it is pitying her because she didn't make her sport event, she was bullied by another celebrity, or is hated by the school. The boys even kind of take pity on her in making her dress up pretty so that they can throw in the face of her friend that came to see their show and always gaslight her as not feminine enough. Granted, I do think that episode was probably be best one, specifically if it is one thing these boys have, it would be in areas of fashion and other ways for her to dress up, something more feminine for these boys. It did get revealed that the friend was a boy and so the whole story kind of resolved into drama, where this boy who arguably historically negged her, and jelly that she is friends with idols. There is actually in this show quite a lot of people acting mean because they want to be liked, and my favourite part of the start of the show was Hiyori telling off the boys for their nonsense. To summarise, the show actually start high on my list this season, but ended up falling quite a bit until one of the lowest for at least the days that I watched the new episodes. My rating will be Decent (6/10), pushed up for the parts that I did like, such from the start, but also mentioning that it has lower that I think really weakens it. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23772 |
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I think you make very valid points, DP. Like you, I find the whole idol culture thing kind of yucky. However, I'm a sucker for the "plucky heroine" trope and Hiyori fell into that category for me. It was also kind of interesting that Chizuru, who had been portrayed as a "good" character, for much of the series actually did something that slimy. You don't see that a lot. I'm with you, though, I would have liked to have seen more interaction between the three girls.
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