435th G-View: Dropout Idol Fruit Tart

The best way I can describe the following anime is that it is a “Girls’ Club Melting Pot”. The interested can find out what I mean as we take a look at Dropout Idol Fruit Tart.

Alternate Title: Ochikobore Fruit Tart (Japanese)

Genres: Comedy, Idols, Music, Yuri

Number of Episodes: 12

G-Rating: 11/10

Plot Summary: First-year high school student Ino Sakura heads to Tokyo to pursue becoming an idol. She teams up with fellow Nezumi Dorm residents — unpopular former child actor Roko, musician Hayu, and model Nina — to form the new idol unit Fruit Tart. These dropout idols get back on their feet and enter the world of show business to prevent their dorm from being demolished.

Left to right: Hemo, Hayu, Ino, Roko and Nina.

So what did I mean by “Girls’ Club Melting Pot”? Well, the show is an amalgamation of other Girls’ Club (Cute girls doing cute things) series covered on this blog over the years:

• The cuteness of HaNaYaMaTa (Same author)
• The Yuri comedy of Yuru Yuri
• The ecchi X moe combo of Hinako Note
• The “low budget” local idol motif of Locodol

I dare say Fruit Tart is a spiritual successor of each of these excellent series.

Let us go over the cute local idol stuff first. The girls each have color coordinated costumes with cute patterns and each girl represents a fruit. They have their rough start but come together to do what they can to save the Fruit Tart brand despite their manager, Miss Hoho, barely having enough money to afford the necessities for success (That and she is a big spender). Minor spoiler but as the show progresses it becomes about more than saving only their dormitory from closing down. Besides singing, dancing and other known idol activities the girls participate in some charity work to help promote their brand. This of course rewards them with more than just money as viewers will notice over the course of the show.

As far as drama goes there is not much. There are emotional moments of the girls supporting each other but at times leading to a South Park like “emotional speech followed by a (harmless in this show’s case) joke to break the mood” setup. Fortunately the setups are well implemented in that they feel more like “chill pill” jokes than “mood breakers”.

Trust me. This is a tame example. There is some borderline Rated R sexiness here ala Hinako Note.

Moving on the sexiness and humor, as mentioned in the sexy tights image of Ino above the show blends moe and ecchi similarly to how Hinako Note did. Almost every main girl and woman get to show off their solid to super sexy bodies. Size does not matter. Expect to see sexy interactions between the ladies alongside cute ones. Many of the jokes, yuri or otherwise, would fit nicely in Yuru Yuri/feel like they came from Yuru Yuri. As with all comedies the show will either have you on the floor like me or it is not what the viewer looks for in their humor media. Also because Fruit Tart’s parent company is called “Rat Productions” there are several references to a certain global media conglomerate that may one day take over the entertainment industry.

Being a colorful anime the presentation is very colorful also. From the ladies’ bodies to the various effects on the show (including occasional skinny cone bodies for some reason) everything looks lovely. The soundtrack is delightful with nice/amusing Insert songs from Fruit Tart and their rivals Cream Anmitsu. The OP and ED are fun to listen to also.

Let us briefly go over our five heroines:

• Ino is the very spirited protagonist determined to become an idol. She will do all she can to support her teammates and fans on and off stage.
• Roko is a 17 year old former child star who physically looks the same years later. Her mental growth is debatable. She likes to rightfully criticize Miss Hoho’s many poor decisions and remarks.
• Nina is a timid former model around the same age as Roko. Has the opposite complex as Roko.
• Hayu is former musician who strives to be the “cool one” but her mannerisms have the opposite effect. Not uncool. The theme of the show.
• Hemo joins the group near the second quarter of the show. She is initially thought to be the “cute one” but quickly shows her true nature. No, she is not a mean-spirited yandere. Not really.

Each girl has a running gag either related to their complex or a specific condition.

I will leave the side-characters for readers to discover on their own. Personally only dislike two girls but I have a feeling viewers will find a favorite or two. Even though I do not care for two girls in particular they have their moments (one or two). Basically the cast is excellent overall.

Hemo’s hearts in her irises are not a “lovey-dovey” effect, they are part of  her eyes.

Now on to the usual main event. Rather than say which girl likes which I will sum it up the following. Every girl or woman either has a teammate or rival they have a crush on or a type. They like a girl or girls in general. For most it is obvious who they have the hots for while some viewers will have to pay attention during the quick profile rundown during commercials. Each girl in the cast appears in the episode title and to preview the next episode.During commercials they have a few seconds to introduce themselves so depending on the translation pay attention to their profile of some girls to learn what their type is and/or who they are in love with. Again for most their love is obvious but some viewers will have to check out the commercial profile.

I suppose the only nitpick I have is the show having one of the most “lure” finales of the season. I mean come on. Oh well. Nothing many Girls’ Club fans are not used to.

Overall Dropout Idol Fruit Tart is one of my favorite anime comedies of 2020. Most of the cast are cute, sexy and hilarious. The ecchi is on point for a moe show, the presentation is colorful and the songs are fun to listen to. There is plenty of humorous and sexy yuri to be found but like in every comedy the viewer’s enjoyment depends on their sense of humor.