Mayonaka Heart Tune

I am not going to pull any punches in this review. After seeing all of the episodes, I still think that this adaptation is absolutely awful and I feel really bad for the manga's author, since he surely must have been one of the first people to experience this mess. ===ANIMATION=== Let’s start with the animation, which was horrendous - characters were badly drawn in A LOT of frames. Mayonaka Heart Tune does not have a consistent character design. It feels like three diferent teams were working on this show at the same time, and all of them were heavily underpaid. Background characters often looked so deformed that, while watching this abomination, I was wondering who was brave enough to decide to release this anime in this state. Yamabuki has a different looking face in every scene (which was especially visible in episode 4), and the girls did not look much better than him: - Nene definitely had the biggest number of frames where her face was deformed – this might be an exaggeration, but I feel like her face only looked good when the studio was directly tracing her manga panels. - Rikka looked a bit better than Nene, but the studio also did her dirty - the animation of her head movements was definitely the laziest, and the perspective of her face was not conveyed well on many frames. - Iko was definitely the favourite character of the studio, since in many manga panels she was portrayed as an oversimplified, white creature. When that happened, she looked fine. Unfortunately, when they drew her in her normal state, she was far from perfect – this was especially visible in episode 3, which was mainly focused on her (long story short – she looked awful). - Shinobu had the most consistent design out of all of them, but even she had moments where her face was longer than it should be, or where she looked like a completely different character (this happened in both episode 10 & 11). The animation level went up a little bit for a single episode (the fifth one), only to go back to being atrocious from episode 6 onwards (there's a scene in that episode where Nene argued with Yamabuki around 18th minute and 15th second - if you're brave enough, check out how deformed her face is in that moment). Episode 12’s quality was a little higher again (for obvious reasons). So, overall, the anime looked „fine” for two out of twelve episodes – that’s not a good ratio. In one of the reviews that was published alongside my preliminary review for this show, someone compared this anime to „My Sister, My Writer”. While it was an overstatement, I can see why this person came up with this analogy. If that was not enough, then here’s a fun fact: this studio really liked reusing a certain scene where all of the girls were on the school roof – each and every one of them had their faces drawn in a terrible, nearly spooky way, but it seems that Gekkou „loved” this scene so much, that they reused it at least 4 times. I don’t know whether it was the lack of funds, or laziness on their end, but whatever the reason behind this decision was, Gekkou ended up disgracing themselves even further. Unfortunately, that’s not the end - there are even more issues with animation in this anime: - There's hardly any motion in the scenes - they are mostly static (still frames are used pretty often), and when there is some motion... it looks awful. I still have shivers when I remember the scene where Yamabuki was running up the stairs in episode 1. - Mouth movement was not synchronized with the lines from the voice actors much too often. Characters would open their mouths completely at random (examples: this happened with Rikka and Shinobu in episode 4 and with the red-haired Vtuber during a concert in episode 9). - I also noticed a few animation errors - Iko’s eye was moving slower than the rest of her face (so the eye got left behind for a second) in episode 9 and Nene’s black ribbons were painted pink (like her hair) in episode 8. It’s not like it absolutely ruins the experience, but it shows that there was literally no quality check before the release. ===VIBE=== We’re finally finished with the animation, next up is the overall vibe. The studio was not able to replicate the most iconic manga panels in the anime - while in the manga they look absolutely stunning, in the anime there's nearly no visual effects at all. It feels like nothing's really happening on the screen, when those moments are crucial for the story. Because of all of that, characters like Nene and Rikka "feel" different than in the manga. I compared some of Rikka's panels from the manga to the same moments in the anime and they were not "translated" well (example: the scene where she calls Yamabuki a liar in episode 2). Other girls are more acceptable, but they still feel bland in comparison to their manga counterparts. Yamabuki also does not leave the same impression as he did in the manga, but I will expand on this in a bit. Some of the scenes from the manga were cut from the adaptation and some elements were either censored or changed. Don't get me wrong - I am not saying that changing some things from the source material is a sin, and I think that there are a few changes done by the studio that were appropriate. I am not going to complain about the censorship of girls’ outfits, but removing some of the panels with Yamabuki doing his antics (for example, from episode 5) was not a good choice - even though most of those scenes were only used as a comic relief, I feel like his personality was toned-down a lot in the anime. That’s a shame, since Yamabuki from the manga is one of the most expressive (and enjoyable) main protagonists that I have ever seen. ===MUSIC=== Now it’s time to talk about the music in this anime: the opening is pretty mediocre - I feel like there was a big opportunity to do something interesting with it, since this manga is about every possible usage of voice in a career. The song from the ending was not that bad, but I don’t think that it fits this series at all. The rest of the soundtrack was... fine I guess? Some of the tracks were good, some were forgettable. The soundtrack was actually one of the few aspects of this production that were not straight up horrible. ===VOICE ACTING=== This review may sound gloomy, but there is actually one good thing about this anime: the voice actors were trying their best, and I appreciate it. They did a good job trying to portray the characters. Unfortunately, good voice acting is simply not enough to call this adaptation even "acceptable" and it does not save the show in any way. ===CONCLUSION=== Studio Gekkou absolutely failed to create a decent adaptation of Mayonaka Heart Tune. Kodansha made one of the worst decisions that they could possibly make, partnering with this studio to adapt the best harem manga that’s currently being published. I deeply regret that studios like Doga Kobo, Bibury Animation or Shaft (even with all of their quirks) did not receive the rights to adapt this manga. Even Project No.9, which I do not have a high opinion of, would be a much better choice for this adaptation. The most ambitious thing that the studio did was "trying" to do something with the lighting in some of the scenes (and even that did not work too well). Honestly, watching this adaptation every week was frustrating, especially since I know how good the source material is. I’m worried that many people might get discouraged from checking out the manga after they finish this anime, but to be honest, I wouldn’t blame them for that. By the way, the studio that's responsible for this adaptation (Gekkou) made one more anime that was airing during this season - "Yuusha Party ni Kawaii Ko ga Ita node, Kokuhaku shitemita.", which is a very mediocre isekai. I saw both shows, and I really feel like the fantasy one received more love than Mayonaka Heart Tune. The art style was more consistent and the studio even prepared an additional, special ending for a single episode (…

This romcom was really refreshing, mostly due to MC actually being somewhat different. A note before I go further: I didn't read the manga. And from what I heard this adaptation was not received positively from manga fans. So I will judge it simply from the anime only perspective. Animation and music: quite decent. Animation is industry standard, there were no bad frames or quality drop during the entire runtime of the show. Music was excellent, especially some memorable songs in the last episodes. Overall: animation is good and music is great. No further complains in this area. Characters: Arisu, who most people know and Yamabuki-kun, is really something. Instead of being shy, reserved and usual trash-tier MC or perfect, all favorite class rep like Chirose Yamabuki is something in between. He is somewhat of an oddball, has intelligence and charisma but the way he acts can come a bot of awkward. But when he sets his mind to something he gives it his best, and in this anime he really shines. Alongside him there are 4 girls which are your typical waifu tropes: Rikka (popular and confident girl), Uzuki (good-natured and caring girl), Iko (shy little sister girl) and Nene (typical tsundere girl). I really like how each of them get their time to shine and get some actual development. And the banter between them and Arisu is pure gold to watch. Overall - Arisu is one interesting MC and the girls are quite enjoyable to watch despite mostly being walking tropes of waifus. Story: It revolves around Arisu trying to find a girl from his childhood - a mysterious voice known only as Apollo. Problem is that all 4 girls here have a similar voice to that one, and because Apollo knows some rather private things that Arisu told during the live broadcast he made it his mission to find it and ask her to keep silent. Along the way however, he got attached to girls and decided until he finds Apollo he will try his best to let them shine as most as they can. it is a simple premise but it works very well. From here there are various situations that Arisu and girls find eachother and it is up to Arisu to give it his best and try to push trough the problems that may find themselves along the way. Suffice it to say, this is above everything else a love story. So interactions between characters are what will make it or break it, and for now it has been working fine. Overall: story has a simple premise and the events that happen along the way help the characters grow slowly but steadily. It is nothing major but it does not need to be in this case as the focus is on the characters themselves and not the story as whole. Overall grade: 10 from me, I really enjoyed it. Realistically, it is somewhere between 7 and 8. People who have read the manga may give it lower grade as their expectations were higher. But as anime only watcher this is where I think the show stands. I will recommend it to any romance and harem lovers, as the MC is really a breath of fresh air and acts very realistically. 2nd season is in the works and I will watch it for sure when it comes out.

This is just my personal opinion, but while watching Mayonaka Heart Tune (2026) this season, I couldn’t help but notice a clear influence from Go-Tōbun no Hanayome (2019), one of the most popular harem anime of recent years. This is probably because it relies on nearly the same set of character archetypes without much variation: the tsundere, the shy girl, the responsible one, and the one who gives off an air of maturity. Even the protagonist shares that same odd mix of eccentricity and awkwardness. However, unlike Go-Tōbun no Hanayome, the heroines in Mayonaka Heart Tune fail to leave a strong impression. Their stories are extremely dull, and I found it hard to feel even the slightest interest in them. The weakest point, without a doubt, is Rikka Inohana’s arc. In theory, music plays a key role in her development, but in practice it feels generic and uninspired, ultimately weakening what should have been a much more emotional conflict.

Duh..... *inhale, exhale Mayonaka Heart Tune — Just because it is a harem romcom doesn't mean its animation quality standard has to be insanely low. tl;dr. Manga fans are annoying and ungrateful; Micro expressions and background art are not important at all; Bad adaptations are better than no adaptations; TBATE & Uzumaki were not bad at all, either. Mayonaka Heart Tune (Tune in to the Midnight Heart) is the third adapted-to-anime series by Masakuni Igarashi after Mattaku Saikin no Tantei to Kitara (Detective These Days!) last year and Senryuu Shoujo (Senryu Girl) in 2019. The manga blew up after 5–10 chapters due to Igarashi-sensei's beautifully drawn visuals and how he turned the generic-looking main character Arisu Yamabuki into a competent and committed boy in hope for the success of the broadcasting club girls. The story brings you back to the good old premises of Nisekoi and Quintuplets, where Yamabuki is searching for the missing radio girl named Apollo he listened to during his middle school days. When Yamabuki became sure Apollo was in the broadcasting club in his high school, he realized that the journey of finding the voice of Apollo would be long because he would have to guess which radio girl he was looking for: Rikka Inohana, Shinobu Uzuki, Nene Himekawa, or Kirino Iko. Despite knowing the broadcasting club was meant to be all-female, Yamabuki wished to be added as a member. He realized the club's broadcasting quality was far from good, which affected their ability to attract listeners and showcase their talents effectively. Hence, Yamabuki offered a training program in his own style to improve the girls' talent while secretly gathering more information about Apollo.  Let's give a round of applause to the anime's sound production, music, and voice acting for their flawless execution. The plot of the manga feels over the top, and it is insanely hilarious. Any advice and training given by Yamabuki were unpredictable, often leading to unexpected and humorous situations that kept the girls on their toes. Even if they were all ridiculous to the girls, Yamabuki had infinite guts to practice his wild theories in front of them. Kudos to Yamabuki's VA, Rikuya Yasuda, for being an absolute 'giga chad' for 12 straight episodes, despite the fact it was his 'first' time doing a big role in a shounen anime. While the four heroines looked pretty and certainly waifu-able, their respective roles were not really why the manga was that good. However, thanks to Avex Pictures and INSPION Edge, as well as all the voice actresses, their respective roles feel much more alive. You know the seiyuus did their acting passionately when the anime published behind-the-scenes videos on its social media every week during the broadcasting. Props to Avex Pictures and all the music producers involved in the insert songs as well. Excited to listen to all the insert songs when they finally arrive on streaming platforms. However, when it comes to "Anime Adaptation," animation production has always been coming first, often overshadowing the importance of a well-crafted story and character development. To be fair, disappointing animations never really mean it is a bad product. But not-even-trying animations? This is what happened to this anime throughout the season, and a similar situation likely occurred with TenPuru three years ago (6.69 anime vs. 7.49 manga). What's with those flat microexpressions on each character? The directing was so stiff, and the coloring looked awful. Additionally, others have pointed out the poor body proportions that resulted from attempts to censor large breasts and navel scenes. Look, I am also often silent when it comes to anime censorship if they hide it properly (like Ruri Rocks, Bocchi the Rock, and 100 Girlfriends), but dear, Mayonaka's censorship looked so unnatural. To think that the anime's lead director had previously directed only one anime (Butareba). To think that this adaptation would feature an uglier crying animation than the infamous filler Boruto episode (not even the ugliest, though). This anime never failed to disappoint me. Even so, props to JUNJUN for the beautiful choreography during Rikka's karaoke performance, despite being poorly animated. In a decade where even trashy harem/ecchi romcoms were animated passionately, like Chiramune, 100 Girlfriends, and even Rent-A-Girlfriend, NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan somehow chose the opposite for Mayochu. It is an insane exaggeration to believe that manga readers desired high-quality animation, or sakuga, similar to that of Jujutsu Kaisen for a harem romcom title; however, it is also understandable that the unrealistic expectations of production committees, such as those for Oshi no Ko, needed to be called out. It is a shame that people tend to accept cheap productions like Mayochu, making The Beginning After The End and Uzumaki look like masterpieces. All in all, Mayonaka Heart Tune had one of the best sound productions out there. However, unless NBCUEJ brings up a better studio for a sequel, I couldn't recommend you enough to watch it, so please just read the manga. I just do not understand how the Mayonaka Heart Tune anime basically had everything but decent animation staff. I just couldn't defend this show that much and would personally be happier with no adaptation than bad adaptation. If you still want to try it and support these hardworking seiyuus and sound production, just minimize the anime and read the manga with the audio playing. Nevertheless, I am still truly hoping that all the special events run by this anime post broadcasting go successfully. If the anime truly receives a Cour 2, as previously rumored, the in-between animation and background art really need to be improved, because realistically, Gekkou will still be responsible for the anime adaptation.

As a manga reader, I’m honestly very disappointed with the show overall. The quality was really inconsistent throughout the season. That said, there were still some parts I liked—mostly the screen time for Iko and Nene. The story itself is fun for me, and the animation during those moments was good enough. I especially enjoyed Iko’s storyline, with all the VTuber elements—it was always entertaining. However, Rika’s storyline was a big letdown. In the manga, she’s my #1 favorite character. The art is beautiful when she sings, even without music, and her confident, teasing personality makes her really fun to read. But in the anime, most of her screen time just felt bad to me—it was the opposite of eye candy, and it really turned off. When she sings, the art direction focuses too much on background shots, her movements while playing guitar feel stiff, and the animation is inconsistent. All of this made those scenes quite disappointing for me. As for Season 2, if the quality stays the same, it will feel kind of misleading—like the anime was originally planned as a 24-episode project but split into parts. This seems to be a trend in anime lately, where studios do this to build engagement. But if the quality does improve, then that would be great for us. However, I don’t think they will improve it, since Season 1 didn’t attract many people due to its quality. Most anime that get improvements in Season 2 are already popular, like Hell’s Paradise or Mato Slave. From a business perspective, improving a less popular series doesn’t bring much benefit. Would it attract people to go back and watch Season 1? Maybe a few, but probably not many. On the other hand, when a series is already popular, improving Season 2 has clear value then people become more impressed and are more likely to buy merchandise or the manga. It’s not that I don’t want them to improve it. But thinking about it this way, I can understand why they might not see much reason to put extra effort into Season 2.

Everyone has their own unique voice, with some even using their voices for whatever occupation they may have. Those people's voices may be recorded as part of their work, and as anyone who has ever recorded their voice may tell you, the recorded voice sounds ever so slightly different from their real voice; thus, it may be hard to find the person behind that voice. I'm sure the casting director of the anime I'm reviewing today had an easy time finding the people who would fill out its cast, though. This anime in particular is based on what is arguably the best manga to be drawn by Masakuni Igarashi of "Senryuu Shoujo" fame, and due to how important sound was to its story, some kind of audiovisual adaptation could only elevate the story....at least, that's what fans of the manga may have thought. Unfortunately, this anime project was directed by someone with only one lead director credit to his name and produced by a small anime studio that was working on another project that aired in the same season. Still, I acknowledge that they did the best they could under these circumstances, and Mayonaka Heart Tune is certainly not without merit. Mayonaka Heart Tune, known in English as "Tune In to the Midnight Heart", begins when Arisu Yamabuki starts his second year at Furin High School, which was formerly split into two different schools, one for boys and one for girls. Now that it's all one big co-ed school, Arisu is set on finding "Apollo", a former radio personality whose broadcasts he used to listen to every night. His search lands him in the Broadcast Club, which is occupied by four girls who wish to use their voices for their future careers; Rikka Inohara aspires to become a singer, Shinobu Uzuki dreams of becoming an announcer, Nene Himekawa wants to become a voice actress, and Iko Kirino works toward becoming a VTuber. Any one of these girls could possibly be Apollo, but since Apollo refuses to disclose her true identity to Arisu, he decides that the best course of action is to help each of the girls achieve their dreams. The girls aren't too open to his desire to help at first, but as time goes on, their relationships with Arisu develop. The story for Mayonaka Heart Tune isn't too bad. It does a decent job at getting you invested in what's going on, as well as diverting some cliches. An example would be at the beginning of episode 3; a certain anime cliche that especially pops up in classic ecchi anime seems like it'd rear its ugly head once again, but the scene actually goes in a unique and amusing direction that can only go the way it did because of the kind of personality the main lead has. I wouldn't say it's the most unique story out there, as it's easy to see the direction the story goes in if you've ever seen a harem rom-com anime, but there is a decent amount of progress made from episode to episode in terms of the main characters' ambitions. It doesn't conclude in a particularly satisfying way, but hey, there's a second season on the way and several more chapters of the manga to read in the meantime; I can't complain too much. As far as the characters are concerned, they're decent, I suppose. Arisu is definitely the most entertaining of the bunch; his arrogant personality may be a bit much for some viewers, but he does have a genuine desire to help the girls, which I can appreciate. The girls themselves aren't quite as entertaining, but they can be relatable and each go through a reasonable amount of development in these twelve episodes. If I had to pick a favorite, it'd probably be Iko; while I don't have a strong desire to be a VTuber myself, I can relate to her occasional nervousness and have even found her quite endearing in almost every scene she's in. I also like Rikka a bit, although I'm not sure if it's her I like or just her story. Ah, whatever. You might have been able to guess by what I said at the beginning of this review, but the animation in Mayonaka Heart Tune is....not great. The characters' movements and facial expressions look awkward most of the time, and there are some scenes where there's a lack of animation where there should be some animation; it's just not a good look for the show. As I alluded to, though, the animation studio, Gekkou, was working on another anime that also aired in the Winter 2026 season (There was A Cute Girl in the Hero's Party, So I Tried Confessing to Her); if this studio is the one that will be working on season two, I hope they focus solely on it and make it turn out better than the first. That's unlikely to happen, but I can dream, right? Anyway, while the animation didn't turn out that well, I can take solace that they got the most important element of an anime like this mostly right: its sound. The opening and ending themes - "Tsuki ni Mukatta Ute" by Suisei Hoshimachi (a VTuber, like Iko!) and "Koe no Kiseki" by Soala - are very pleasant songs to listen to each week, and there are even a few insert songs that show off how good of a singer Momoko Seto, Rikka's voice actor, is! Speaking of voice actors, the voice cast is pretty solid, and they did a good job. If I had one complaint about the voice cast, though, it's that the voices for the Broadcast Club girls are a little too distinct from each other, which kind of ruins the mystery of which one Apollo could be; there are a few times we get to hear Apollo's voice, and she sounds a lot more like one of the girls than the others. Apparently, back when the manga was first released, there was a promotional video released where Ayane Sakura voiced all of the girls; getting her or another voice actress with a good enough range to voice all of the girls in the anime would have definitely made Apollo's identity more ambiguous. Overall, Mayonaka Heart Tune was certainly not a bad anime, but it's hard to say that it's the anime that the beloved manga deserves. The best way to experience the story may be to read the manga while listening to the anime's audio, but given the fact that I haven't read the manga yet, I can't attest to how good of a suggestion that is. I can say this for sure, though; we all deserve someone like Arisu Yamabuki in our lives - someone who will push us toward accomplishing our dreams, even when we've half-given up.

I don't like to leave reviews, but I feel like I need to clear things up for this one in particular, cause I've seen lots of debates between anime watchers and manga readers. So let's preface it: I am a manga reader. I discovered Midnight Heart Tune by accident and I was shocked by how good it is. It looked like Quintessential Quintuplets at home, but it quickly rose as something that I expected it would have left an impression, when the anime got announced. Even if I am a manga reader at heart, seeing my favourite mangas getting adapted always brings a tear to my eye and I am rarely disappointed by the result... This time I was very disappointed. Midnight Heart Tune is a comedy harem school romance, as we've seen many before, except this is among the rare ones with a very funny and charismatic main character, Yamabuki, that we all cheer to succeed, on top of the usual love interest girls. Each with a distinct personality, design and character story. Similar to Quintuplets, we have a mystery going on here, looking for the girl with the voice that Yamabuki fell in love with in middle school and, up until now, we still don't know who that is, despite all girls having equal chances. After this set-up, it's all about the character dynamics, comedy and each girl's story path. I can go more in-depth about each girl, but this review might already be too long. Suffice to say they are all very endearing. From the story point of view, the anime does ok, but that's to be expected. As others pointed out, some scenes were either cut or reshuffled, but nothing too dealbreaking from my experience. Now where this adaptation fails is in the presentation area. Animation is simply too stiff, lifeless and lacks dynamics. Not to mention you can spot animation errors and off-model frames throughout the entire season. Too many of those can take even the least animation snob like me out of the experience. Now i don't expect a school romcom to be animated like JJK or Frieren, but there is at the very least one checkpoint to clear, and this adaptation does the bare minimum to reach it. Quintuplets, Love is War, My dress-up Darling, Blue Box, Fragrant Flower, the recently released You and I are polar opposites... These all went above and beyond, despite them also being just school romances. This is an ANIME. "Animation" is the keyword. We want our favourite stories to be brought to life. We want the studios to take advantage of the strengths of the medium. A positive mention goes to voice acting and sound direction, tho. Those have definitely been the highlights of the season. Now, being a disappointing adaptation makes this a bad anime? My answer is no. It's a 6/10 at the end of the day. However, a mid anime might not be bad per se, but being unremarkable is going to hurt a lot more, when you were really looking forward to more people seeing what you also saw in that product. Midnight Heart Tune, to me, is not only a great story, but also an incredible work of art in each panels, and it pains me to see how the anime fails to capture the same magic. I was watching 4 other anime this season (Frieren, Oshi no ko, Medalist, You and I are polar opposites), that are still adapting their respective manga, and each of them passed with flying colors, so that's why it sucks even more that Mayonaka was just ok, cause i knew it could be on par with all of them. I didn't expect it to be a masterful anime, but a 8/10 would have been enough for me. Something that you don't feel embarassed putting next to the manga; something that you are not ashamed recommending to people; something you don't have to justify with "it's good, I swear!". I hoped we could see some merch of the girls, some Iko-blob memes on Discord, some discussions on how Bucky is among the best male MCs in romance anime... but sadly, that will remain a dream. Season 2 just got announced. I don't know if the animation studio or budget will change. I personally doubt it. I'm in this till the very end, cause I love Mayonaka, but I sure wish S2 will give it the flowers it deserves.

If you can overlook the animation quality, this series is a definitive must-watch. While critics label the visuals as "horrendous," they aren't nearly that bad, especially since romance stories rarely require top-tier production to succeed. The true strength lies in its exceptional storytelling and a refreshing protagonist who is both unique and genuinely funny. The main character’s personality adds a layer of humor that keeps the experience consistently engaging. Overall, it is an incredibly enjoyable journey that prioritizes heart and character development over flashy graphics. Don’t let the negative comments deter you; the narrative depth makes it well worth your time.

You got jabaited, aren't you? Hearing Hoshimachi Suisei did the OP, you are curious about the anime. Well, I did too, but the big difference is I read the manga (at least 3 chapters). Anyway. How did I find this? Since I regularly use a lot of manga apps, I, of course, stumbled upon this series on K-Manga. I read the first three available free chapters. I haven't read more than that, but this anime was announced, and I thought, yeah, why not watch it first and see if I will be more curious and read the rest. Appealing (Why did I get into the anime?) I read it! And since I'm a former Hololive fan who still supports the girls from the back, I always peek at their projects. Hoshimachi Suisei announced her project with the anime. Of course, I would be curious as to which song she will perform for the anime. Platform Aniplus Asia (Southeast Asia), Aniplus TV (South Korea), Bahamut Anime Crazy (Taiwan), Bilibili Global (South Asia & Southeast Asia), and Crunchyroll. The review; Plot/Story Arisu Yamabuki isn't your typical harem male protagonist. He is charming, self-confident, rich (not really, though, it was his parents who were rich), and everything else. One day, his favorite radio channel stopped broadcasting, and it broke his heart that he would never hear the voice behind Apollo again. Three years later, he enrolled in the school, based on the speculation that the person behind Apollo also attended the same school. He was right... Well, not 100% right. He found out that four girls from the broadcasting club have almost the same voice as Apollo. He was determined to find her again, but that's not all. While searching Apollo, he was given a challenge. Each girl has a dream, and as Yamabuki, Arisu doesn't like to see those dreams perish, especially those related to voice. Rikka Inohana. A girl who wants to be a singer. Shinobu Uzuki. A girl who wants to be a broadcaster/announcer. Nene Himekawa. A girl who wants to be an actress. Iko Kirino. A girl who wants to be the top VTuber. Those are the girls who are in the show/series. Character See, here is the thing, Arisu as an MC really captivated me, but at the same time. I HAVE NEVER SEEN AN MC THIS OVERCONFIDENT BEFORE. Seriously! This dude felt like a self-insert male character. No joke, sometimes it felt like Arisu was way too confident about his decision, but somehow the problem was solved. The girls? Meh, I guess they are alright. They are way too easy to control, though. It was kind of scary. Like Nene, Iko, and Rikka's solutions to their problems were just Arisu ragebaiting them. I'm not joking. 😂 OST/SFX Great job, Suisei! I knew I could count on you to make a good song. It has been a while since I heard any of your songs. But the MV that went with your song was not that great, I have to be honest. ED was alright. The OST and SFX were not so great. The inserted songs in the episode, though! I love it. At least, that was a good thing, right? Animation I don't know if I would trust this animation studio. This is the studio that also made "There was a Cute Girl in the Hero's Party, so I Tried Confessing to Her", or, apparently, shortened as Yuukawa. Both animations kinda suck. I've talked about Yuukawa's animation and how Studio Gekkou messes up with the background and character animation. Here though! Oh boy, I couldn't express how many animation errors there were in the anime during my watch. Like, seriously, I couldn't count how many times Arisu's expression didn't match his voice. There are also times when the animation was so choppy that it felt robotic. I might be sounding exaggerated, but I'm serious. I've seen a lot of mid animation. This is way below mid animation. Now I'm conflicted. I was planning to watch their highest-rated show, which is "Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again", but now I don't know if it was worth it or not. VA Two Thumbs Up! The conclusion; Enjoyable The story and interaction were the only things that kept me going. The animation always puts me off way too much. Worthable I feel like it's not worth it. I barely finished it. I don't even know if I want to continue the story through the anime. They already announced the second season. Delivery Not that great. OG Sauce Since I also heard the roar of the manga fans, I might continue the story by reading the manga. A huge might be! Overall 7/10 I did enjoy the story and interaction, but I don't know if I can recommend this.

Tune In to the Midnight Heart Ahhh THE harem anime of the season the concept of this anime is so similar to " The Quintessential Quintuplets " the MC is finding the girl from his childhood who kinda changed his life . although the anime has a good story line with the change that the four girls have similar voice to each other with different compation to persue a career using their voice in the future, and Arisu chooses to support all of them while slowly each of the girls falling for Arisu for his kindness while Arisu is dense enough to not notice anyone's feelings . The anime has the contrast of characters including the sort of fanservice romance anime fans seek for without showing alot of skin or suggestive dialogues, making the anime fun to watch also the fact that season 2 got announced is a sign that the anime has potential. TLDR; If you are a fan of harem anime this one won't disappoint you !

Mayonaka Heart Tune is definitely in the upper tier of the school harem genre. It features a unique protagonist who is sure to make you laugh, the usual set of anime girl tropes, and a twist to keep the story moving. While it has a lot going for it, it also falls short in some departments, suffering from poor animation and hit-or-miss comedy. Still, it is a good watch for fans of the rom-com genre and others looking to try it out. Starting with the story: it follows the male lead, Arisu Yamabuki, in pursuit of his goal to find the host of a radio show he listened to when he was younger. As fate would have it, he finds four girls in his school's broadcasting club, each reminiscent of said radio host. He decides to join the club to figure out once and for all which girl it is. While that is the show's premise, it is only introduced at the beginning and then slightly alluded to here and there before the show decides to focus on something else. In this case, Yamabuki helps each of the four girls make their voice-related dreams come true, and that is where most of the time is spent. While I understand that this time is needed to flesh out the characters and build relationships, I felt a lack of connection to the main overarching goal. In the end, there was no closure or progress—he was as clueless about who he was looking for at the conclusion as he was at the start. The pacing was okay, though, since the episodes almost all followed a simple structure: the main character helps one of the girls with a problem regarding her dreams, with a few episodes of the whole club doing things together sprinkled in between. Characters are arguably the most important part of a romance/harem anime, and this show actually did a quite good job. Starting off, we have the aforementioned lead, Yamabuki, who serves as both the protagonist and the gag character. He is basically a chuuni rich kid who strives to become the most perfect human alive, worthy of his esteemed family name. However, in this show, he is preoccupied with finding the radio host, Apollon, and acting as a magic genie to make the dreams of the broadcasting club girls come true. Speaking of the girls, they are all the standard tropes we know and love, but they still manage to be unique because their writing is so focused on their individual dreams. The girls are: Rikka, the aspiring musician; Shinobu, the aspiring announcer; Nene, the aspiring voice actress; and best girl Iko, the aspiring VTuber. Their relationship with one another is actually good and realistically portrayed, featuring great group dynamics. However, as in most harem shows, their relationships with the main character progress way too quickly, but hey, the whole concept of the genre is unrealistic anyway. In terms of art, it is definitely below average. There are tons of still frames, slow and undetailed facial expressions, a lack of fluid movement, wonky animation, and reused frames. It does a bare-minimum job but is simply outclassed by its peers in this department. However, the characters all look fairly unique, and I quite like their designs in general. Furthermore, I have to address the issue of the gag faces. Like many other shows, it uses a different art style for comedic purposes, but sometimes it feels like it is just there to cut corners since it mostly consists of low-detail faces. The sound production was hard-carried by the fantastic job the voice actors did. This anime is all about voices and voice-related dreams, and the VA performances certainly lived up to that. All of the main characters had fantastic voice acting that both embodied their personalities and showcased different sides of "voices" as a theme. The best performance has to go to Rikuya Yasuda as Yamabuki’s VA. He perfectly encapsulated the slightly chuuni maniac the protagonist was supposed to be. The odd way he pronounced words and the intonation in his voice added immensely to the character's comedic power. Furthermore, the soundtrack doesn’t do all that much. None of the background tracks are noticeable or memorable, and the general ambient sound production is basically nonexistent. However, I did really like Rikka’s songs, as well as the OP and EDs. As for my personal enjoyment, I’d say I liked this show. It was a fairly easy watch with a quite likeable cast. The episodes went by quickly, and I got used to the art style. While there were a few cringe moments, most of the comedy and story were decent. However, I wasn't left with much after watching this first season other than a wait for the second one to come out to finally (maybe) see some story progression. In the end, I’d say Mayonaka Heart Tune is a good show for fans of the genre and something I wouldn’t mind recommending to others if they’re out of ideas. It is a mostly safe anime, trying a slight twist on a proven formula. I think you'll know if you like this before even watching it. Since the show didn’t tie up any loose ends, I guess I have to watch the now-announced second season. I might also check out the manga someday if I have nothing else to read.

Mayonaka Heart Tune (Tune In to the Midnight Heart) presents a genuinely compelling idea that blends romance, mystery, and the world of voice-driven media into something that feels both modern and emotionally resonant. While the execution may not fully live up to its potential, the series still manages to stand out thanks to its concept, characters, and especially its strong auditory identity. At the center of the story is Arisu Yamabuki, whose search for the mysterious voice known as “Apollo” serves as the narrative backbone. This premise immediately hooks the viewer, as it explores themes of connection, anonymity, and the emotional weight carried through something as intangible as a voice. The idea that someone can deeply impact another person without ever revealing their identity adds a layer of intrigue that persists throughout the season, encouraging speculation and engagement. The setting further reinforces this uniqueness. By focusing on different voice-related paths—such as radio broadcasting, voice acting, music, and even streaming—the series gives each of its heroines a distinct identity. Characters like Shinobu, Nene, Iko, and Rikka are not just love interests; they represent different facets of self-expression and ambition within the same thematic space. This variety helps the show feel fresh, especially within the crowded high school romance genre. Arisu Yamabuki himself is a divisive but ultimately entertaining protagonist. His overly confident and somewhat eccentric personality often borders on absurd, yet that’s precisely what makes him memorable. His interactions with the girls frequently lead to comedic moments that feel organic rather than forced. The humor in the series, while not always consistent, often stems from these character dynamics, giving it a charm that keeps the tone light even when the story touches on more emotional themes. One of the anime’s strongest aspects is its sound design. The voice performances are exceptional, bringing authenticity and depth to each character. Whether it’s an emotional monologue, a broadcast segment, or a musical performance, the series consistently delivers high-quality audio moments. This attention to sound elevates key scenes and reinforces the core theme of communication through voice, making the experience more immersive. The mystery surrounding “Apollo” is another major strength. It provides a clear narrative thread that ties everything together, encouraging viewers to form their own theories about which character might be behind the voice. This element of uncertainty keeps the story engaging, even when other aspects begin to falter. However, the series does struggle in several areas. The most noticeable issue is the animation quality. While not outright bad, it is often inconsistent, with stiff character movements and occasional off-model designs. This becomes especially apparent in scenes that rely on subtle emotional expression, where more fluid animation could have enhanced the impact. Pacing is another significant weakness. With multiple characters and storylines to juggle, the anime often feels rushed, moving quickly from one moment to another without giving enough time for deeper development. As a result, some emotional beats don’t land as strongly as they could have. This also ties into a broader issue: the show tries to balance too many elements at once. Romance, comedy, mystery, and character development all compete for attention, and while each is interesting on its own, the lack of focus prevents any single aspect from reaching its full potential. Additionally, while I haven’t read the original source material, it’s worth noting that a large portion of the community has expressed dissatisfaction with the adaptation. Many viewers feel that important scenes and character moments were either rushed or simplified, which may explain some of the pacing and depth issues present in the anime. The humor, while often effective, can also be inconsistent. There are moments where jokes land perfectly, driven by Arisu’s personality or the cast’s chemistry, but there are also instances where the tone feels slightly off, interrupting the emotional flow of a scene. In the end, Mayonaka Heart Tune is a series filled with strong ideas and memorable elements, particularly in its concept, characters, and sound design. Even with its flaws in animation, pacing, and focus, it remains an engaging watch that offers a unique perspective on connection and identity in a voice-driven world.

Amazing!! It's rewarding to follow Yamabuki's journey with the four "Apollos," each with a dream and facing difficulties in achieving it. Yamabuki emerges as a light for the protagonists, serving as a helper, accompanying them and helping to make their dreams possible. For me, the best characters are Rikka and Nene. Their development with the protagonist is good, and it's funny to see the moments when Yamabuki gets excited about his family. I think the anime is weak in terms of animation; I believe it would be better to change the studio. I also think there was a lack of focus on the character Shinobu; she had fewer scenes than the other three characters. I hope to see more of her in the second season!! I highly recommend watching this anime; it's a great, well-developed romantic comedy that blends the difficulties of becoming a professional in niche fields that utilize voice acting.

Romance manga absolutely has to be drawn by comedy authors. Igarashi Masakuni-san is a manga artist with a unique charm, formidable skill, and a very distinctive personal style. After getting to know him through last year's Mattaku Saikin, I went back and watched the anime adaptation of his earlier work Senryu Girl, and now with this Mayonaka, I'm increasingly convinced that his command of the three pillars—theme, comedy, and romance—is unmatched in the current manga world. Take any one of them individually, and it might not be the absolute best, but when you combine all three, it's undeniably top-tier. Budget issues? Only shallow viewers would fixate on such a harmless, minor flaw. Besides, the production team has done the absolute best with the limited resources they had, packing the direction with plenty of clever touches. Watching the four heroines take turns teasing the male lead, only to be outmaneuvered by his slick moves—all while laughing out loud—that's what a true harem romantic comedy should be. The only other series that earned this level of praise from me before was Knojo Mo Kanojo

Finally something new, where the MC is actually good and there’s an actual story. The MC is genuinely great, which is rare for romcoms. Usually you get a weak, cringy, awkward protagonist, but here it’s the opposite. The harem characters are all enjoyable, each with their own distinct characteristics. The story itself feels fresh. At least for me, I’ve never seen or heard anything similar. It follows a guy who, as a kid, used to listen to a girl’s radio stream. She suddenly disappears, and he makes it his life goal to find her—this girl he knows as “Apollo.” The only things he knows are her voice and her interests, and eventually he figures out the school she might attend. While searching for her, he meets four girls who all have a similar voice and similar interests to Apollo. He decides to help each of them achieve their dreams while continuing his search for her. There is a problem though, and that’s the animation quality. It’s kinda mid and feels static at times. In some scenes, the drawings are actually bad—like one where a character’s eyes are super asymmetric and pointing outwards. I still enjoyed it a lot. I hope it will get a better animation for season 2 (which has just been announced).

It's a sweet but surface-level romance, and even though there’s a not-so-obvious mystery beneath it all, it almost feels irrelevant because it isn’t compelling enough to carry the story on its own. The characters are all flawed, but in a charming way, and the story is at its best when they’re pushing themselves to grow and achieve their dreams. Arisu is a good example of this; he’s my least favourite character and comes across as a complete narcissist, yet he’s also the most compelling. Beneath all that arrogance is someone genuinely committed to helping Rikka, Nene, and Iko achieve their dreams, supporting them unequivocally even when they lack the confidence to believe in themselves. The soundtrack accompanying Rikka’s storyline was another beautiful touch, and I would love to see the series return for a second season.

I'd like to dedicate the 8 stars of this review to Inohana Rikka. For about four months I had been putting this show off purely because of my post-TQQ-trauma alongside the depthless pit that this genre has become ever since Oregairu ended. Finishing this show has healed something vast and indescribeable inside my chest and given me hope that maybe Japan might just be able to pull off a comeback. Anyways a few positives and negatives. The positives. Inohana Rikka. Shinobu is pretty cool too. The characters actually having an outspoken dream is a simple and easy to follow plot foundation that allows them to develop in a sensical way It never really outshines beyond what is necessary and I find that to allow some much needed breathing room so kudos for not flashbanging me over and over. Also Inohana Rikka. The negatives. Unfortunately, our dear main character has Asta-syndrome. I love Asta, but I don't love Asta when he screams into my ears like he's paying rent inside my head. Some of the potential-Apollo candidates (not Rikka) have some interesting quirks that really like to edge the boundary between "kawaii" and "oh dear goodness please skip 15 seconds ahead", and our Nino Nakano version 2 is truly not living up to the GOAT legacy. Overall, pretty good. However, I will come back to this review and edit it to a 1/10 if Rikka (or Shinobu, I guess) doesn't win.

The second season has been confirmed, so all we can do is hope for a satisfying continuation and that some of the shortcomings from the first season will be addressed. Mayonaka Heart Tune is another school-based harem romcom that doesn’t differ significantly from other anime in this genre. We have a male lead and several female characters whose archetypes fit the genre. (popular and confident girl/ caring girl/shy girl/ tsundere girl) In the first episodes, they’re gradually introduced to us, and the MC helps them solve their problems. At the same time, the main plot begins to unfold. Arisu Yamabuki is looking for a girl named Apollo. However, he only knows her voice, and from the clues he has, he’s deduced that she should be at the school he’s about to attend. The anime manages to keep us in suspense at first, so we don’t know which of the main female characters is the Apollo he’s looking for. Unfortunately, this is true only for the first half; in the second half—especially in the final episodes—this plotline is completely abandoned, and the story focuses solely on the relationships between the characters and the individual girls’ goals. So we can only hope that the second season will properly return to this plotline. The second minor flaw is the character of Arisu Yamabuki. Don’t get me wrong. This character is the main reason to watch this anime. He’s very entertaining and often goes over the top, but at the same time, he doesn’t come across as annoying to the viewer. In later episodes, however, he does calm down a bit. Yes, his catchphrases and personality are still there, but compared to the first few episodes, there aren’t as many of them, and they don’t have quite the same spark. And so, the series moves from comedy toward romance. The voice acting is fine, but it didn’t really make much of an impression on me. Which is a bit of a shame, considering that all four main female characters are involved in voice-related work—singing, dubbing, commentary, and vlogging. The best of the four are Rikka with her singing and Shinobu, who, however, was given the least screen time. The animation is okay-ish. Overall, it’s average, though slightly below average in places. You can often tell that it isn’t very polished or detailed. Still, most of the time it’s watchable.

I don't know why I loved this anime but I fell in love with it. I'm a sucker for comedy romance and this just fits the spot that TQQ left when it finished. From another person's perspective there's nothing distinct about the anime, the art is mediocre, the plot is generic and used but damn it just reels me in and I don't know why. The comedy is solid, nothing too amazing but not bad that it's corny and unfunny. As for the story itself its a guy finding the voice of the girl behind the radio show he used to listen to in middle-school, classic girl already set in stone that the mc is gonna marry but ooohh who will it be between these girls, classic trope but the characters themselves are likeable and not like you only cheer for one person you almost always cheer for all of them because they're all amazing characters. This is definitely a good watch if you also have a void left in you after TQQ and even so if you just like comedy and romance in general this is something i'd recommend

I genuinely don't know why I enjoyed this THIS much. Good Stuff: MC is literally an inspiration. The Guy's great, he barely hesitates (unlike other Romcom MC's) and is just about goated in every other way. Female MC's are a really nice blend of personalities and every one of them is good, suprisingly. I've never watched a romcom where no character wasn't mid or even bad, but this is one. The only thing that I can complain about is the animation. Looks very standard, in a bad way, and is a bit wonky at times. But it does have its charm.