Action Heroine Cheer Fruits: Complete Collection

Hinano City is a small and fading locale, not even possessing its own Action Heroine (a form of competitive celebrity entertainment). When a visiting Heroine cancels her appearance, Mikan Kise decides to cheer her crestfallen little sister by staging her own show. She recruits athletic action program fan Ann Akagi, and their earnest performance together garners the notice of Misaki Shirogane, who is determined to honor her grandfather’s legacy by restoring the city’s fortunes. As the group adds members, evolving from a solo copycat Heroine into their own unique, Hinano-themed team, they gain in popularity both locally and nationally. But through all the growing pains and self-doubts, Misaki’s belief that she’s cursed by bad luck may be the biggest threat of all. This series borrows from a lot of other material, obviously from idol shows (including anime titles such as Love Live!) and of course from sentai tokusatsu (team-special-effects based) shows. But it is distinguished by its relentless positivity and friendship vibe, even when each character is struggling with their own obligatory problems. The action is fun, if occasionally repetitive, and the story is breezy with some pauses for heartfelt sincerity. Also welcome is the more than token treatment of Genki Aoyama, the team member whose wheelchair is not what makes her one of the most interesting characters. Presenting all 12 episodes from 2017 in a Blu-ray edition, in Japanese with English subtitles, rated TV-14, this pleasant series is recommended. (L. Martincik)