Reviews

Writing this review partially to clear up something: there are some people who are confused because the series is listed as having 12 episodes, but there are only 7 if you try to watch it. This is because the original 12-episode Chinese version was converted into 7 episodes for the Japanese version, I think due to having unusual episode lengths or something. The series was also heavily edited in that process, which is why pacing in certain scenes might feel a bit strange.

Anyway, the review: For me, the show's main selling points were its animation and story. The animation is seriously good, with the show going all out with flashy fight scenes especially. As for the story, I had positive expectations because I'd seen its predecessor, To Be Hero. The story of To Be Heroine was clearly made with genuine passion and care, and without spoiling anything, the emotional parts really affected me. I was also surprised by how far the show was willing to go with its stakes, especially with its kind of school-life, cutesy art style. However, I will also say that the execution of the story could have been a lot tighter. I don't know how much was affected by getting trimmed for the 7-episode version, but sometimes things seemed abrupt or heavy handed. Especially after watching To Be Hero, a lot of worldbuilding and plot elements could have been set up more carefully or tied up more neatly.

I'd still put To Be Heroine above a lot of other shows. When watching it, you can really feel that it was made by a relatively young studio full of passion and creativity. Worth a watch.