I just finished watching the first episode of the newly airing anime series Mayonaka Heart Tune, adapted from the manga of the same name written and illustrated by Masakuni Igarashi. I have to say, this was the best among the anime that have aired their first episodes so far.
The premise is simple. Arisu Yamabuki, the son of the owner of a powerful conglomerate, is desperately searching for a girl who went by the name Apollo while streaming online years ago. The days he spent listening to her voice and talking with her on the phone created unforgettable memories. He wants to meet her again and...
He wants her to delete all recordings of him saying "I love you" to her to avoid having a liability once he takes control of the business empire. Wait, were you expecting something romantic? Not really. Arisu is an extremely self-centered and proud guy who is willing to do anything to achieve his objective. He even goes so far as to ask all the girls in his class to tell him "I love you" on the first day of school to try and determine if any of them is Apollo.
He even specifically enrolled into this school based on information Apollo shared back when she was streaming. Thanks to this determination, he manages to narrow down the real Apollo. It is one of the girls in the Broadcasting Club of this school. The issue is that, due to the passage of time and the recording quality defects, he is unable to determine which of the four is the real one.
The real one knows who he is and even left him a message at the end of the first episode, but she has a reason not to reveal herself to him at this point. However, she states that all her "I love you" messages at the end of the streams were genuinely directed at him and not at the other few listeners.
Arisu is determined to discover her true identity. At the same time, he wants to ensure that all four of them succeed in their dreams despite their flaws, so he plans to use his abilities and financial power to support them on their journey to becoming professionals in their respective fields.
The four girls are:
Shinobu Uzuki: A girl with long dark hair aiming to become an announcer. She has pronunciation issues which makes her a disaster for announcing.
Nene Himekawa: A girl with pink twintails aiming to become a voice actress. She is unable to read some complicated words.
Iko Kirino: A girl with short white hair aiming to become a VTuber. She does ultra-short streams of only a few seconds and does not really understand engagement.
Rikka Inohana: A girl with a long brown ponytail aiming to become a singer. She is the one who triggered the protagonist to find the Broadcasting Club.
I have no knowledge of the manga, so this is going to be a completely new experience for me. I am genuinely curious to see how my predictions fare against reality. However, since the manga series has 11 volumes and is still ongoing, I guess the mystery is not completely solved yet, and the anime is unlikely to reach that point.
Honestly, a small part of me wonders if "all four of them were Apollo" could be a possible outcome. The protagonist seems to hear parts of Apollo's voice in each of them, and I wonder if that is just him mistaking his memories or something else entirely.
This is definitely a must-watch, though, and I will eventually buy the manga once the anime series finishes airing.
