YMMV / Confession Executive Committee

• Adaptation Displacement:
  • For the western fanbase, it's the music videos that upstage the rest of the franchise, since it's the most readily available compared to most of the other adaptations' No Export for You status. While the music videos did come out first, the light novels are the main source of the story as the series goes on, but most haven't read them or know who some of the characters in there are. So when they do show up in the videos, people get confused.
  • With the release of the Heroines Runs the Show anime, this is seen with many general viewers thinking it's an original anime with no knowledge of the music videos, light novels or even the previous anime movies. This led to some confusion since a lot of seemingly important side characters are left to the wayside with the anime giving little indication that their stories are told elsewhere.
• Alternate Character Interpretation: Koyuki may not be as oblivious to the Love Triangle as initially perceived. When Kotaro gets on his case for making Hina cry after the former rejects her confession, he dodges the statement entirely in the movie, only focusing on warning Kotaro not to regret his decisions in love and pointing out his crush on the girl. The movie also makes it look like he actually understood the weight of Hina's words, but chose to act like he mistook her.
• Base-Breaking Character: Chizuru inspires some arguments among the third generation fandom. While she is genuinely a good friend to Hiyori most of the time and fans so enjoy her soft-spoken personality and dynamic with Hiyori and Juri, some people can't forgive how petty she was for exposing Hiyori's manager job and leaving her at the mercy of a group of angry Julietas because she thought Hiyori had sullied her oshis' reputation, up to the point of getting in a fist fight with her. A third group loves her precisely because of how bitchy she can be, especially because of the contrast between that arc and how nice everyone else is.
• Broken Base:
  • Fans often debate how much Karen is to blame for the second half of "Assertion of the Heart". On the one hand, after Arisa stood up for her and became the new target of the girls' bullying, Karen didn't come to help her as Arisa did in the past, which makes her come off as an Ungrateful Bastard. Her awkward smile when she mimics Arisa ignoring the bullying also makes her come off as malicious. On the other hand, seeing as that Karen was bullied nonstop until Arisa came along and her tormentors turned on their target in a snap, some fans found Karen's reaction sad, but understandable, as she was afraid that they'd just go back to bullying her. They also point out that the fandom at large forgot that Arisa herself ignored Karen's bullying until she had her revelation mid-song. For what it's worth, when we next see Karen she feels quite awful about the whole incident and is revealed to admire Arisa regardless.
  • Koyuki getting a love interest after the release of the "Tokyo Winter Session" PV. Even on the comments section, there was some infighting; those who were happy that Koyuki finally found a lover, those who were irked that the series seems determined to pair everyone up, and those who were just confused at the person's appearance at all, given they were never present in the PVs nor most of the adaptations until "Winter Session"^note She makes an appearance in the light novels, but translations are few and far between, and they're not even published in some western countries.
  • The inclusion of the Virtual Johnny's Project idols as major side characters in the Idol Series, with one of them eventually becoming Hiyori's initial crush in the Love Series. It's sparked a Fandom Rivalry with Japanese Johnny's fans, as they'd rather keep Asuka and Kanata separated from HoneyWorks and treat them as virtual personalities under the Johnny's brand. HoneyWorks fans are a little more tolerant, as they still don't treat them as fully HoneyWorks characters but also don't mind that they play more than just cameo roles. That said, there was an audience who was disappointed that they were Adapted Out for the equivalent of "Heroine Development Plan" in Heroines Run the Show.
• Captain Obvious Reveal: It didn't take long for fans to catch on that the mysterious "Chuu-tan" was actually Chizuru even before it was revealed in Heroines Run the Show, given that they had similar color schemes, similar-sounding names, and the fact that everyone but Chizuru had a character song but "Chuu-tan" was able to get one ahead of her.
• Cliché Storm: It has all of the hallmarks of a typical shoujo romance story— misunderstandings, love triangles, confessions going awry, one-sided love, etc.— and it does so in a very by-the-book fashion. The adaptations are accused of this way more than the music videos proper, in part due to their Adaptation Expansions adding in more worn out romantic scenes to fill the time.
• Covered Up: "Rodeo" was originally the coupling track of CHiCO with HoneyWorks' Cherry Blossoms Dance at Dawn Today single and performed by CHiCO and sana, but it's far better known by its LIP×LIP cover. invoked
• Ensemble Dark Horse: "Chuu-tan" (aka Chizuru Nakamura), whose song "可愛くてごめん/Sorry I'm Cute" exploded to the point where the song is the single most viewed video in the entire HW channel.
• Fridge Brilliance: The "Romeo" comic has Ken explicitly go to the first year hall to try and chat up girls. Going by his wistful reaction when talking to Kodai and that that particular year was when Aizo entered Sakuragaoka, he was probably making up an excuse to check on his little brother.
• Harsher in Hindsight: The ASCANA boys, in their limited appearances, hoped to be on the same stage as Yujiro and Aizo and aspired to become legitimate idols. Out of universe, their efforts would not pay off; they were retired as characters when their seiyuu got the chance to make their idol debut instead, leaving them with only two years of active time.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight: In both Sena and Midori's introductory song "Friday's Good Morning", they wish that they could meet each other on a Sunday as well instead of their usual commute. Their very next song together, "Sunday's Secret", has them get together on that exact day, and properly begin their courtship then.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • The coincidence of Koyuki being played by Natsuki Oosaki in the stage play, when his entire arc centers around Natsuki Enomoto, his one sided crush. Likewise, Koutaro (her brother) being voiced by Natsuki Hanae is pretty chuckle worthy.
  • Since Confession Executive Committee shares a universe with the rest of HoneyWorks' music videos, Akechi appears as a cameo in the video for "Nostalgic Rainfall", concerning a girl who falls in love with her teacher at Sakuragaoka, reunites with him years later, and is implied to finally start making steps with him at the end of the video. Years later, Akechi's second character solo is pretty much "Nostalgic Rainfall" but from the teacher's perspective, as his later love interest is a former student of his he reunites with 5 years after she graduated.
• Ho Yay:
  • Many fans see Haruki's tense relationship with Akechi-sensei, as depicted in "Inokori Sensei", as a form of UST, despite the fact that Haruki quite explicitly mentions Miou as the person he loves. Natsuki even teases Miou with the possibility in the "A Solution for Jealousy" expansion.
  • In the second novel, the narration mentions that Souta never took notice of Koyuki until he got his Important Haircut, and had his breath taken away when they looked each other in the eye.
  • Yu gets a little bit with Koyuki too. In Yu and Natsuki's "Precious Story" episodes in HoneyWorks Premium Live, Koyuki manages to tell Yu that he's in love with Natsuki; the way he words it, however (simply saying "boku no koto suki") makes Yu think he's confessing to him and gently lets him down.
  • Yujiro and Aizo generate most of the Ho Yay in this series:
    • Romeo: MUSIC VIDEO MAKING is filled with it. The interview video catches Yujiro and Aizo play fighting with them in a slightly suggestive pose after falling, Aizo calls Yujiro's childish side "cute", Yujiro himself accepts Aizo's water bottle and drinks from it (with the female staff Squeeing and considering the gesture an Indirect Kiss), and he happily sleeps on Aizo's shoulder on the ride home. Not to mention them blatantly kissing each other on the neck.
    • The PV for "Dream Fanfare" has there be a lot of on-stage touching between the two; chin grabbing, deep hugs, and singing to each other to uplift themselves as well as their audience.
    • In "Samishigari Ya", Yujiro is compared to Arisa in terms of the emotional support and care Aizo and Ken respectively get from them. Both in the same song are described as "sometimes sweet" but understanding, and the scene in "Saucy Honey" where Arisa catches a cat is replicated with Yujiro catching the one Aizo was chasing. Yujiro first appears in the video when Aizo sings "ai wo shitteru", using a form of "love" that can encompass romantic to platonic love.
    • When Yujiro twists his ankle on stage in "LOVE&KISS", Aizo picks him up, which normally wouldn't count as this trope...if it wasn't a Bridal Carry.
    • A collaboration with a crepe company had merchandise that coupled all of the characters up with their love interest or most important person. Yujiro and Aizo are one of only two same-sex variations (the other being Sena with her sister, but even then Sena has one with Midori anyway).
    • Even their HoneyWorks Premium Live appearances don't change this. One of their illustrations, for example, features Yujiro (dressed as a vampire) eager to bite down on Aizo (dressed as a werewolf)'s neck, and cradling the pouting boy's head for easier access.
    • Heroines Run the Show lampshades it, with Mona surprised that the boys had gotten into a love scandal with another girl rather than each other.
    • One HoneyWorks interview in 2023 finally rips off the band-aid and explicitly has the group label one early LIP×LIP song, "Hitsuyo Fukaketsu", as a sort of "love song" between Yujiro and Aizo.
  • Chiaki and Akechi have a very close relationship. The former's death weighs heavily on Akechi, and in "Love-Hate Majority" one of them talks about how they loved every moment they spent with the other, using "aishiteru" rather than "suki".
• Les Yay: In "Assertion of the Heart", Arisa struggles over whether or not she should stand up and defend a classmate who is being bullied. The lyrics make it sound like she's trying to confess.
• More Popular Spin-Off: The Love Series isn't hated by any means, but the Idol Series is leagues more popular than its older counterpart, with videos involving the characters generating more buzz on average than their Love Series counterparts.
• OT3: Over the years, it's become surprisingly common for Hiyori to be paired up with both Yujiro and Aizo, both romantically and platonically. Their friendship starts off rocky, but they clearly come to care for one another (and the boys especially start defrosting around her), and the love-hungry fans can spot some Ship Tease in the novels.
• Padding: There is a lot of it in the adaptations. The first movie adds in "A Solution For Jealousy" and some scenes with Haruki and Mio, but they don't really affect the main plot in any substantial way.
• Ship-to-Ship Combat:
  • It's pretty tame so far, but there has been some debates on whether Setoguchi Hina should end up with her crush Koyuki, or with her childhood friend, Kotaro.
  • The same deal could be said of Arisa, as her two top ships consist of her and Shibaken and her and Karen.
• Tear Jerker:
  • Mio's and Haruki's respective solos, "First Love Picture Book" and "Goodbye, Our Mutual Unrequited Love" — which depicts a story of two people who like each other very much, but because neither had the courage to confess until they graduated from high school (after which Haruki actually moved to another country), their romance ended before it could even start. The fact that the two songs have a sad, melancholic tune (contrary to HoneyWorks' usually upbeat style) makes things worse.
  • "Senpai." is this when it gets to the end of the song— Hina reveals that she never truly told Koyuki how she felt about him up to his graduation and leaving, and at some point realizes that Koyuki doesn't see her as a romantic option and was in love with someone else (Natsuki). She recognizes that she still loves him, but she decides to finally let go. It's such a bittersweet reflection of feelings that it rivals "First Love Picture Book" in tone, but not in tempo.
  • "Do You Hear Me" is one long, sad mourning song about Chiaki from Haruki, sung by the voice actor for his child self. He basically tells him that he misses him and hopes his brother can hear him from the afterlife and that he now has people he loves with him.
  • "Tokyo Autumn Session" is a song that deals with the pains of maintaining an intimate relationship in the face of other, challenging priorities. But while we see Yuu/Natsuki and Akari/Souta finally managing to find a time for each other, Mio and Haruki remains apart. It's made even more disheartening when the scene in which Mio and Haruki wistfully reach out for an empty space beside them is immediately followed by the other two couples going on a date.
  • The end of the PV for "1% Lover", once we see how his real-life Instagram covers it. Instead of text, he just posts a blacked out image. He must have been very heartbroken to have the usually dorky and energetic boy do away with saying anything at all.
• Values Dissonance: While Kotaro/Hina is still a decently popular ship within the fandom, a handful of fans have taken caution when shipping it, as their coupling while Natsuki and Yu are still together would make it a very awkward case of dating their sibling-in-law. In Japan, while the idea is not easily accepted, dating an in-law is still legally viable because they are not blood related kin.
• Viewer Pronunciation Confusion: The Full Throttle4 member IV's stage name is pronounced "Eve"; not "four" as would be implied by Roman numerals or "Ivy" as it's phonetically sounded out.