Since the first episode primarily focuses on Anna, it’s up to the next couple of episodes to depict the other heroines in greater detail. So here we are with Episode 2 being centered around Lemon. We begin with Lemon asking Kazuhiko for a favor while the latter is cleaning a gym storage room. Mitsuki had previously asked Kazuhiko to borrow some books from the literature club so Lemon wants to be the one to personally deliver the books. Kazuhiko suggests that Lemon should instead take Mitsuki to the clubroom. That’s definitely the better idea and fortunately, Lemon agrees as well.
As Lemon heads off, she and Kazuhiko discover that they’re trapped in the storage room, due to the door being locked from the outside. Lemon then gets delirious from the heat and she starts to take off her clothes to stay cool, completely ignoring the fact that Kazuhiko can see what she’s doing. This scene can be funny in how ridiculous it gets but it does feel cliche and an excuse to do some fanservice.
Eventually, Kazuhiko’s homeroom teacher Konami Amanatsu (Sumire Uesaka) finds the two and she takes them to the school nurse, Sayo Konuki (Chiwa Saitō). I got to say, this school sure has a weird faculty. You have Amanatsu-sensei, who appears to be a bit airheaded as she can’t remember what she’s teaching or who’s in her class. Meanwhile, Konuki-sensei seems way too interested in the interpersonal relationships of her students. When Anna visits the infirmary, Konuki-sensei assumes she and Kazuhiko are a couple and she leaves to give the two some privacy. Later, we find out that she has actually wiretapped the infirmary so that she can hear every conversation that goes on in there. I kind of doubt that she means anything nefarious here but this level of interest is more creepy than it is funny to me.
The next day, Lemon tells Kazuhiko ahead of time that she’ll take Mitsuki to the literature club. Anna decides to tag along to show her support towards Lemon. I love that Anna keeps mistaking the literature club for something else. It really shouldn’t be that difficult and yet somehow, Anna proves me wrong. Before Lemon and Mitsuki show up, we see a little bit of interaction between Chika, Koto, and the club president Shintarō Tamaki (Yūsuke Kobayashi). This gives further confirmation that Chika has a crush on Shintarō. Chances are, this show will expand on Chika’s plot in the next episode. I find it hilarious that Anna isn’t that sympathetic towards Chika’s situation compared to Lemon’s. Apparently, Shintarō and Koto are childhood friends so given that Anna’s lifelong dream to marry Sosuke, she is more inclined to take Koto’s side than Chika’s. It’ll be interesting to see how Anna goes from calling poor Chika one of the “homewreckers” to being one of her friends.
When Lemon and Mitsuki show up, Koto tries to recruit them into the literature club. Immediately, she assumes the two are a couple. This technically would be the perfect opportunity for Lemon tell Mitsuki how she feels about him and for a while, the scene makes you think that would be the case. But as you may have expected from a show subtitled Too Many Losing Heroines, it’s revealed that Mitsuki is in fact dating Chihaya, leaving Lemon completely friendzoned. As devastating as this news is, this show manages to make it really damn funny. The fake smile Lemon gives to Mitsuki, the cut to Kazuhiko and Anna’s reactions in slow motion, the zoom in on Koto’s face as she realizes that she screwed up. That got me real good. The aftermath is just as funny. Lemon decides to join the literature club and Anna puts on her head a “New Member” crown that Shintarō briefly showed beforehand (even though Anna isn’t even a member of the club). I love how defeated Lemon looks and how ironic it is for her to wear a crown as if she’s won something, when she just lost big time.
I’m amazed at how oblivious Mitsuki is here. You can argue that it’s on Lemon for waiting too long but it is stupid of Mitsuki to not tell her ahead of time that he and Chihaya started dating and not realize that him blurting it out of the blue would cause a huge scene. Even more unbelievable is him immediately after Lemon if she still wants to go shopping with him. Just how thick is this guy’s skull? For someone who reads a lot, he sure is bad at reading the room. Between this guy and Sosuke, I can’t help but appreciate Kazuhiko even more. Kazuhiko may think he has zero chance at love but out of any of the guys in this show, he’s definitely the least dense. At least with Anna and Lemon, he understands their feelings the best.
After that dumpster fire, Kazuhiko and Anna treat Lemon to a meal, under the guise of celebrating her recruitment into the literature club but really to cheer her up. Not sure what Anna’s reasoning is to take Lemon to the restaurant where Sosuke dumped her but Lemon does brighten up so I guess Anna knows what she’s doing. Unfortunately for Anna, she neglects to bring money again so now she has to cook more bento for Kazuhiko. I love how this is becoming a running gag in the show and that the show actually keeps track of how much money she owes.
Honestly, for a Lemon-centric episode, it sometimes feels like Anna is stealing the show. All of her whacky faces. All of her stupid remarks. There’s hardly a moment where this character isn’t charming. Also, out of the three girls, Anna so far has the best chemistry with Kazuhiko. It’s starting to become a conundrum, really. I really grew on Lemon after this episode and I have hopes for Chika when she gets her due but can either of them steal Anna’s thunder? It doesn’t seem very likely at the moment.
Watch Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! on Crunchyroll
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