English Dub Review: Heroines Run the Show: The Unpopular Girl and the Secret Task “My Childhood Friend”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Hiyori enjoys surprising Nagisa with her cute makeover, and it leads to some unexpected revelations. Meanwhile, Aizo and Yujiro are helping them both… maybe. Is that what “help” means?

Our Take:

Heroines Run the Show is a quirky and visually appealing drama series involving a country girl becoming a manger-in-training for a popular idol unit. At first, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this one since I’m not usually the type of person who loves everything idol-related. However, that all changed once I watched its first six episodes to prepare for its seventh. Once I got past Hiyori’s high-pitched screaming and the idols’ obnoxious behaviors towards her and each other, I found myself enjoying what the show offered in its comedy and slice-of-life nature. So, was its seventh episode able to impress me as much as its previous ones? Yes, it did.

“My Childhood Friend” occurs immediately after the last episode, “Producing Hiyori”, where Hiyori is visited by her childhood friend Nagisa. It was then revealed that Hiyori wanted to look cute to surprise Nagisa. After spending some quality time together, Hiyori gets a shocking surprise from Nagisa, who confesses his true feelings about her. Then, she seeks advice from her friends, who tells her to be honest with her feelings as well.

“My Childhood Friend” offers a relaxing slice-of-life scenario that sees Hiyori encountering her first true confession from someone she knew from childhood. Although, this is due to Aizo and Yujiro pressuring Nagisa to admit his love for Hiyori and his jealousy towards the idols. Last week’s episode showcased a flashback of a young Hiyori being called weird by Nagisa because of her wearing a dress. This episode reveals that Nagisa was saying that to hide his affection towards her.  

While it’s disappointing that Hiyori and Nagisa won’t be in a relationship anytime soon, it was nice to see these characters hang out without worrying too much about the idol-related stuff. Unfortunately, its narrative does stray into its romance cliches during specific moments. Despite that, “My Childhood Friend” is enjoyable for Nagisa’s character growth and the episode’s humor, mainly from Chizuru’s obsession with romance cliches. Is it enough for me to continue watching the show at some point? Absolutely, but only to see what else it has in store for Hiyori and LIPxLIP.