Action Heroine Cheer Fruits Episode 2 Review – “It’s Okay for a Normal ‘Roko’ to Try Being a Heroine”

This episode is a hit-or-miss depending on an individual’s tastes.

(Spoilers in this review) 

Misaki (the long-haired student council president) rounds up 4 other girls (including Kise and An) in order to produce a local heroine program/merchandise line in an attempt to revitalize their town. For now, however they’re continuing to just imitate the most popular heroine program.

Misaki’s best friend, Roko, spends most of the episode being too embarrassed to tell Misaki that she wants to help. But with a little prodding from Misaki and others, Roko gladly plays the role of the villain and the shab program is a success! Yet things just won’t go too smoothly – the girls lost their practice spot because of complaints from small-minded individuals and Misaki believes someone is pulling the strings. The last scene of the episode seems to imply Shimura Kanon, who scared Kise with her aggressive search for An, might be the one behind this setback.

For a Girls Club show, the series is moving rather fast. The girls performed three times already and they already have a costume designer as well as an audio technician. Some of the finer aspects are not really shown on-screen, but that’s to be expected in this sort of series. The activity which the series revolves around is only a vehicle at best – the main point of the show is demonstrate the girls’ characteristics and emotions as they develop as people during their attempt to accomplish a goal. I’m just a bit tired of seeing people complain that they don’t see the finer aspects of making music in K-On! and so on. That’s not a great reason to hate on a show.

The potential deal breaker for this episode is Roko, who was essentially the main character this week. Some people may find her inability to communicate her earnest desire to help her best friend to be frustrating. They may also not like how most of the episode was dominated by flashbacks in which Roko remembers how Misaki felt pained over costing her team a tennis championship by her own efforts and how people are talking poorly of her grandfather. However, said flashbacks were to establish how Roko wants to be there for Misaki no matter what and that she values Misaki’s feelings above her own (in other words, Roko is basically a matyr).  Others may see themselves in Roko and may find her character development in this episode to be engaging. Yuri fans in particular will appreciate her interactions with Misaki, but I wonder how much of Miskai’s words are actually sincere considering she talked An down by calling her cute. Maybe she wanted to guarantee Roko’s participation.

In other news, Misaki’s goal behind this local heroine program was revealed – as stated earlier, her grandfather was looked down upon as a previous governor of the district. Furthemore, the building he approved of is set to be demolished. It’s also revealed that the lady who talked to Misaki in the previous episode was her aunt, who points out that their district is the only one without a local heroine and this might be enough to save the building.

I appreciate how Kise’s body has not recovered from her tough practice to be a villain. Compared to the Amazonian and athletic An, Kise is a normal girl who only got into this for the sake of her sister. Of course her body is going to be beat for a while.

The green-haired girl, Mana, is also chasing after that green as evidenced by her constant talk about money. At least she’s honest and direct. She’s also skilled at costume work and was able to provide a practice space for the girls (for a time). The blue-haired megane girl, Genki, was introduced in the previous episode.

I’m interested in seeing Kanon’s motivations for getting in their way. It probably has to do with An. Everyone wants an An. As it stands, I appreciate the pacing of Action Heroine, which is rapid yet unrushed. I think there’s potential for great characterization for these girls as they struggle to revitalize their town. Those who love yuri shiptease ae the only ones who will be saying good things about the show so far, however, which is fair considering it’s nothing special so far (I for one am a little sad that we saw less of Kise’s funny faces).

As a side note, the OP is actually the real OP now! Last week’s OP was basically an OP featuring Kami Daioh.

I really liked the ED, but why is Misaki being shipped with An? Oh, wait, it’s because everyone wants an An.