In the solid lineup of autumn 2019, we would like to introduce Stand My Heroes: Piece of Truth. Based on the hit mobile otome game, Stand My Heroes tells the tale of Rei Izumi (this name is original to the anime, but in the game, the player can give her whatever name of their choosing), who is tasked by Japan’s Ministry of Health and law enforcement to create the ultimate narcotics unit, STAND. A good number of candidates happen to already be in law enforcement, and there are others that are in the business world who can still contribute to the story. It’s within her duties to convince these candidates to join STAND. So, what is it about this anime that’s so appealing? Let us tell you why you NEED to watch Stand My Heroes: Piece of Truth!
Great Female Lead
As a female lead, Rei is a genuinely great character. She works in a respected position as an investigator and has the right motivations for it. Thanks to her mysterious immunity to drugs (don’t try to knock her out with ammonia, it’s not going to work!), she’s the perfect officer for the responsibilities put onto her. She can make mistakes and is never afraid to ask for help, and when something goes wrong, she’s willing to own up to it. Rei is both relatable and admirable, which are the foundations of what makes a main character.
Ensemble Cast
Coming back from the original game is its huge ensemble cast of young men that Rei interacts with to join her cause. While many of the male characters represent archetypes in otome games, they organically work in the context of the story. You have one character that is a male tsundere, another that’s friendly, one that’s just a total jerk, and you have another who’s generally nice but do something to hurt his friends or family, and you just flipped his switch. While many of the personalities have been done before, this anime does a great job of fitting them within the confines of the story, and in relation to their roles.
Returning Seiyuu Cast
Since Rei was voiceless in the original game, Misato Murai, a relative newcomer to the world of anime, is given the task of voicing her. However, the cast of the original game who played Rei’s love interests are back to resume their roles for the anime! Tomokazu Sugita is back as Itsuki Aoyama, Yuuki Kaji plays Haru Natsume, Daisuke Namikawa is playing Shun Imaooji, and Natsuki Hanae is back as Koutarou Yui. Tomokazu Sugita is famous for the roles of Hideki in Chobits, Bankotsu in Inuyasha, and Yan in Robihachi. Many of you reads likely know Yuuji Kaji as the voice of Eren from Attack on Titan, Phoenix Wright from Ace Attorney, and Sound of Sonic from One Punch Man. Probably the most experienced of the bunch is Daisuke Namikawa as his career dates back 30 years! One of his earliest roles is Al from Gundam 0080, and has gone on to play numerous roles in the long-running mech franchise. Beyond that, you likely also know him as Leon in Garo Honoo no Kokuin and Manabu Itagaki from Hajime no Ippo.
Final Thoughts
We’re not sure how big of a problem drugs are in Japan in comparison to, let’s say, Colombia, but it’s very rare we get to see any Japanese media that portrays its equivalent to America’s DEA. Due to that rarity, this anime is in a unique position to take some creative liberties on how they can go about it. Some of the characters that Rei has to interact with are those from the world of business who can operate as informants, and you don’t see those qualities portrayed in the media in general. There are some other qualities nthis series borrows from other nations’ media such as consulting a crime novelist as a profiler, which has been explored in ABC’s Castle, and the 80s hit, Murder, She Wrote. So if you’re looking for a kind of anime that can balance fresh qualities with familiar ones, then that’s more or less the ultimate reason why you NEED to watch Stand My Heroes: Piece of Truth.
Author: Justin "ParaParaJMo" Moriarty
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