Heroines Run the Show

I'm not going to sugarcoat it - I really hate the Japanese concept of idols. To me, it's nothing more than a façade that’s trying to deceive you by showing you perfect people without flaws. I’m not buying this because everyone has their imperfections, and I find the concept of idols artificial and fake. I can never be sure that the person I'm supposed to look up to isn't a complete idiot, and the idol concept is set up in such a way that I'll never actually learn anything about the idol’s true self. It’s all just empty marketing phrases designed to fool the masses. I also don't like the limitations that there are in show business. You have no official personal life or love life, you simply belong to the fans. An agency controls everything about your public persona, the people you work with, what you do, and where you perform. Forget about privacy, freedom, and your own personality – these things are inconsequential and need to be suppressed as much as possible. What you get instead is a gilded cage, emptiness, falsehood, backstabbing, and unhealthy competition. Plus, it has become a cult in Japan, the fans are aware of their status, and all it takes is one jerk and nasty things can happen. This is why I try to avoid anime about idols. I have no desire to be fooled by how everything is presented as an amazing dream factory. I got sick of VTubers from Hololive for much the same reason. I started noticing certain social-pathological phenomena that are present in the idol industry. I am all the more surprised that this anime caught my interest and even made it to the end. It’s mainly owing to the likable and exuberant protagonist. She is a bit of a goofball, but she’s just the kind of positive person that you want to have around. She seems to energize everyone around her. Hiyori is simply a nice girl who has no relation to idols, but she has to get the hang of things and runs into all of the pitfalls of the industry that I mentioned. The show doesn't present the concept of idols as a walk in the park, but as a place full of problems that can be dealt with. The principles of the business still apply, but at least it doesn’t make me completely sick. Even smug and insufferable idols can actually become pretty cool guys with the right influence. This show is so well written that it managed to blunt the sharpest edges for me. There were even moments that I quite enjoyed. Unlike Hiyori, I'll probably never have admiration for idols, but there are moments when some of them might at least earn my respect. This show earned it for the clever and entertaining way it presented the whole thing. 6/10 (24.06.2022)