Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines - anime review

Makeine (short for Many Heroines) is an anime from Studio A-1 that focuses less on the theme of rejection for student life and more on personal growth

75% of high school couples end their relationships after a year. Almost all of them break up during their final year of high school.

This is the opening of the story of Anna Yanami, a high school girl in love with her childhood friend—who is actually in love with an exchange student. Anna decides to step aside from this impossible romance and embrace the role of a "losing heroine." 

The entire breakup scene was witnessed by Kazuhiko Nukumizu, who was sitting a few tables away and felt sympathy for Anna; after the breakup, she sat at Kazuhiko's table and ate all the food she had ordered, despite not having a single cent to pay the bill.

Thus, Kazuhiko and Anna strike up a friendship in which she prepares homemade lunches for him to repay the loan he gave her during a moment of romantic vulnerability. Through this, Kazuhiko realizes how difficult young romance can be and discovers that there are other "loser heroines" within his circle of peers.

Lemon Yakishio is another "loser" heroine. She belongs to the track and field club and is attracted to her childhood friend, Mitsuki Ayano—who already has a girlfriend. It is essentially the same situation as Anna's, which is why both Kazuhiko and Anna sympathize with Lemon.

Chika Komari is another "loser" heroine. She is in love with the president of the literature club, but it turns out the club's vice-president also has romantic feelings for him. Chika, who is very shy, knows she is at a disadvantage since she is a first-year student while the vice-president is already in her final year.

Rumors are starting to circulate; given that Kazuhiko and Anna are having lunch together, it looks like they are a couple, but in reality, they are just friends and classmates—though something more might develop later on.

Things then seem to get a bit complicated. Mitsuki starts going out and spending more time with Lemon than with his girlfriend. He does this solely because he is inexperienced in relationships and decides to ask Lemon for her opinion, but this makes Mitsuki's current girlfriend jealous.

Personal comment

*Too Many Losing Heroines* is a 12-episode anime that lives up to its title. Kazuhiko’s school life was quiet until he found himself caught in a whirlwind of romantic situations; this leads him to gradually develop feelings for Anna, even though it sometimes seems that Lemon and Chika are also drawn to him because of his kindness toward them.

The anime focuses less on the theme of rejection and more on personal growth—specifically, the growth that comes from the sacrifice of letting go of love for someone you care about. All in all, it is a good anime with excellent animation. I really enjoyed the series' ending sequence.