Koeharu!
Koeharu! (声春っ!) is a Hinatazaka46 drama. It aired from April 29, 2021 to July 1, 2021.
Information
- Episodes: 10
- Broadcast Network: Nippon TV, Hulu Japan
- Air time: 00:59
- Running time: 23 minutes per episode
- Theme song: Koe no Ashiato
Synopsis
Nineteen-year-old Hinowa Meiko is insecure about many things, but especially about her terrible speaking skills. Her only solace is a popular weekly manga she likes, "Tear-colored Chronicle” (Namida-iro Senki). When she learns that the manga will be getting an anime adaptation, the dream she had always buried deep within her heart of voicing the lead character of the series drives her to enroll in Kirameki Voice Acting School. On her first day she arrives at school late, but is helped by the bright, cheerful Tendou Mana. She also learns that the girl who bullied her in high school, Amagasaki Amane, is attending the same school. To make matters even more complicated, it turns out that all of her schoolmates, all with distinct personalities, also live in the same dormitory as her. Will Meiko be able to fulfill her dream of making it into the anime adaptation of Tear-colored Chronicle?
Cast
- Sasaki Mirei – Hinowa Meiko
- Nibu Akari – Tendou Mana
- Watanabe Miho – Amagasaki Amane
- Kanemura Miku – Tsukikawa Yukina
- Kawata Hina – Honda Tae
- Takamoto Ayaka – Harukaze Chizue
- Matsuda Konoka – Koshino Mari (Maririn)
- Kamimura Hinano – Kusama Airi
- Ushio Sarina – Ruuna (Handkerchief’s Voice)
- Tomita Suzuka – Rubie
Others
- Hirano Aya - Iwao-sensei
- Yamadera Koichi - Headmaster Odawara Genmai
- Takenata Naoto - Kinkakuji Enjo
- Toda Keiko - Baachan
Episode Guide
| Episode | Name | Plot | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Shape of a Dream(夢の形 Yume no Katachi) | Nineteen-year-old Hinowa Meiko (Sasaki Mirei) lives her life with many insecurities, but there is one far above the rest: her terrible speaking skills. She is shy and struggles to talk to others, with her voice becoming quiet and filled with stutters. However, she is able to speak quickly when discussing a topic she is passionate about. After learning that her favorite manga Tear-colored Chronicle will be getting an anime adaptation, Meiko is encouraged by her grandmother to enroll in the Kirameki Voice Acting Academy. It has long been Meiko's dream to voice the main character of the series, Tya, should it ever be animated. On her way to school on the first day of classes, Meiko witnesses a delinquent push over a row of bicycles and walk away. She hurriedly rights the bicycles back into their parking racks, but as a result she is late for school. She tries to enter the classroom quietly, but is caught by her new teacher, Iwao. Just as she is being scolded for her tardiness, a classmate named Tendou Mina (Nibu Akari) stands up for her, and says she saw Meiko picking up the bicycles from the classroom window. Iwao accepts this reasoning and begins class. Afterwards Mana cheerfully introduces herself to Meiko and the two become friends, learning that they even live in the same dormitory, the Doremi-sou. Meiko meets the third-year student who serves as dormitory mother, Harukaze Chizue (Takamoto Ayaka) and her fellow roommates: Tsukikawa Yukina (Kanemura Miku), Honda Tae (Kawata Hina), and Kusama Airi (Kamimura Hinano). Soon after, Meiko learns that a girl who bullied her in high school, Amagasaki Amane (Watanabe Miho), also attends the school and is in her class. Amane comes from a wealthy family that owns a series of ryokan inns, and immediately chides Meiko for enrolling in a voice acting school when she has so much trouble speaking already. She even takes it as far as involving the headmaster, Genmai, telling him that Meiko will be a disgrace to the school. Genmai acknowledges Meiko's weak voice, and arranges a competition in the gymnasium between Amane and Meiko: whoever can crack an egg and separate the white from the yolk will pass. Amane completes the task in only a few seconds, while Meiko struggles to crack the egg at all. After many tries, she is able to crack and separate the egg successfully. Amane is eager for Meiko to be expelled for failing the test, but Genmai congratulates both of them. He explains that although it took her longer, Meiko didn't give up, and perseverance is the key to becoming a successful voice actress. Angry, Amane storms out of the gymnasium while Meiko's knew friends and roommates congratulate her. | April 29, 2021 |
| 2 | A Less-Than Worthy Opponent (好敵手未満 Koutekishu Miman) | Meiko is becoming friends with all of her roommates, particularly Mana. One day the group begins discussing the manga Tear-colored Chronicle, the series that motivated Meiko to apply for Kirameki Academy in the first place. Mana reveals that she too loves the series, and it is also her dream to voice Tya. Upon realizing that they share the same goal, Mana declares that she and Meiko are rivals. In class, a questionnaire is given to the students asking them to describe their strengths. Meiko and Mana both struggle to answer: Meiko's insecurities about her voice has have hurt her confidence, while Mana has her own troubles. Mana was once the teenage national kendo champion of Japan until she was in a car accident, hitting her head and ending her athletic career. Mana's grades were good, and she had many college opportunities open to her, but while recovering from the injury she began to read manga and fell in love with the idea of voice acting. She struggles to reconcile her past identity as a famous athlete and straight-A student with her unconventional dream of becoming a voice actress. | May 6, 2021 |
| 3 | The Outward Appearance and the Inner Contents (外見と中身 Gaiken to Nakami) | Airi begins to see Meiko as her role model since both girls have trouble expressing themselves, and Meiko pursues voice acting despite her speaking troubles. Later, Airi is scouted by a modeling agency and offered a job, but she is unhappy because she does not want to be valued by her appearance alone. With encouragement Airi decides to take the job, but remains a student at Kirameki Academy. | May 13, 2021 |
| 4 | Admiration and Envy (憧れと嫉妬 Akogare to Shitto) | Meiko, Mana, Amane, Airi, Yukina, and Tae attend the audition for the new sister group of the idol duo "Maririn and Rubie". Yukina dreams of becoming an idol, but surprisingly Tae is chosen instead. Yukina and Tae argue, even as Tae accepts the position and moves out of Doremi-sou dormitory. Tae debuts as a member of the new group Chocola Chocola, and later makes amends with Yukina. | May 27, 2021 |
| 5 | Giving up is Important(諦めが肝心 Akirame ga Kanjin) | One year has passed, and it is time for students to think about their plans after graduation. Chizue, who has also been attending Kirameki Academy classes as a third-year, struggles with finding a voice acting job. Meiko learns that her grandmother fell down and is in the hospital. She rushes to the hospital, but when she arrives her grandmother is doing well and has even gotten a new boyfriend. Surprised but relieved, Meiko returns to the dormitory to learn that Amane is contemplating quitting her family's ryokan inn business, but Meiko convinces her not to. At the end of the episode, Chizue decides to quit being a dorm mother and focus entirely on voice acting. | May 20, 2021 |
| 6 | Graduation(卒業Sotsugyou) | Meiko learns that the anime adaptation of Tear-colored Chronicle has been cancelled. She meets Tanabe Masami, an art student who is working on an anime, and offers her and her friends' skills as voice actresses for the production. Meiko becomes highly involved in helping Masami, but despite this Masami only assigns her a minor role in the voice casting. Upset, Meiko seeks comfort with her friends. Unfortunately, she then learns that all of her friends have already received professional job offers from voice acting agencies- everyone except her. Devastated, she runs away from the school. | June 3, 2021 |
| 7 | After a Setback (挫折の先に Zusuetsu no Saki ni) | Meiko has quit voice acting school and is now working as a janitor. She receives news that Genmai, the headmaster at Kirameki School, has passed away. She attends his funeral, where she reunites with all of her friends. Together, despite the past drama, they decide to all voice in Masami's unfinished anime project. | June 10, 2021 |
| 8 | I Want to Choose (選ばれたい Erabaretai) | Meiko, Mana, Amane, and Tae are invited to audition for the role of the protagonist in the rebooted Tear-colored Chronicle anime. They are invited by Kinakuji Enjou himself, the author of the Tear-colored Chronicle manga. They also agree to take part in a documentary he is filming to chronicle the audition process. Airi and Yukina have not been invited, but Genmai reveals he had asked them to pre-record a video promoting the anime. The other girls see this video and are encouraged- except for Tae. She decides that she will not participate in the audition after all, as she wants to focus on being an idol in Chocola Chocola. Meiko, Mana, and Amane advance to the second round of the audition. | June 17, 2021 |
| 9 | I Can't Choose (選ばれない Erabarenai) | In the second round of the audition, Meiko is pitted against the talented Maririn from the earlier-introduced idol duo "Maririn & Rubie". Maririn is talented, and Enjou is a fan of hers. Meiko tries her best despite the challenges, and eventually she, Mana, and Maririn are selected for the final round. Amane is eliminated, but is determined to continue auditioning for voice roles. To everyone's surprise, Chizue is selected for the role of a minor character. | June 24, 2021 |
| 10 | Spring Voice!(声春っ! Koeharu!) | Before the final audition, Enjou accidentally reveals that he has already decided Maririn will play the role of protagonist. Still, Meiko is determined to see the audition to the end and participate in the final round. The final round begins, and while Maririn and Mana begin to promote themselves, Meiko realizes that despite her dream, she is not best suited for the role. She decides to withdraw. In the end, Mana is chosen for the role of protagonist. Maririn and Meiko are chosen as secondary characters, and the anime begins production. | July 1, 2021 |
Trivia
- The cast members came up with their own anime character designs for the in-universe anime Jelly-Jelly Fish.
- The drama includes references to the previous Hinatazaka46 drama DASADA.
- The two leads of the drama, Sasaki Mirei and Nibu Akari, also serve as double centers for the music video and live Hinatazaka46 performances of Koe no Ashiato, even after the drama finished airing.
