Mayonaka Heart Tune Ep.08 - Iko was so close to the kiss! Nene acting was good.

Episode 8 of Mayonaka Heart Tune returns to the format seen at the beginning of the series, seemingly starting a second round of episodes focused on specific heroines. Nene was the first to be featured back in episode 2, so we are back to her and the ongoing challenges of her acting career.

She joined the theater club to try and improve her acting, but she ended up being used as a target for criticism by the club leader, Oizumi, due to her poor performance. Nene is playing the role of a woman who was cheated on by her lover, discovered the infidelity, and was then asked to forgive the man. Interestingly, the club leader herself plays the role of the unfaithful lover.

This is a perfect reaction image with Nene going full open mouth realizing the two may have not been acting.

Honestly, they say this is bad acting, but I would absolutely fall if she said that with that smile.

To improve her performance, Arisu decides that the best way is for Nene to "experience being cheated on." With Iko’s collaboration, they set up a scenario where Nene acts as Arisu’s lover while Arisu secretly meets with Iko. Initially, I felt there was no way this could work since Nene would obviously know it was just an act.

However, after Iko starts pursuing him seriously under the pretense of acting, things get heated. A near-miss kiss between the two is only stopped by Nene’s last-minute intervention. While this solves her acting problem, I feel it may have caused some collateral damage. The girls are starting to become more conscious of the fact that they are all essentially in love with him.

I do not think the romance will become the primary focus during this first season, unless a second season is planned, which would be amazing, as there is not enough time to explore it fully. However, I am sure it will become increasingly prominent in the following chapters of the manga.

Nene was a great heroine in this episode. I really like how her more emotional side only shows when Arisu or the other girls are around. It demonstrates how much she trusts them, and the gap between that side of her and the meek persona she shows to others makes her extremely attractive. My favorite remains Iko overall, but it is hard to choose because the author did a great job of making all of them very appealing.

Iko also going for the 'i like you' attack and it's ultra effective! (to me at least)

Yes, Nene that's exactly how you respond to a cheating boyfriend asking to get back with you.

If the next episode follows the same order as the first round, it will focus once again on Iko and her Vtuber activities. What kind of problems will she be facing? I am not an expert on Vtubers, but I do occasionally follow a few personal favorites like Meimei Himari, so I am curious to see what they do with it.