What do we get when two dorks fall in love? A weird yet adorably wholesome story. The Dangers in My Heart has finally arrived and it delivered a premiere that was oddly cute. Like any other romance anime set in a school, it introduces the main couple in the first episode. What makes this series different from the others is that we will be following the story of two airheads who have an interesting chemistry together.
Beauty and the Cringe
The two main characters that we’re going to spend the whole season with are Kyotaro Ichikawa and Anna Yamada. Ichikawa has a severe case of chunibyo (8th-grade syndrome) wherein he constantly has internal monologues about everyone’s ideals which do not align with his. He’s that one emo kid at the back that people barely talk to because he has a world of his own. His cringe-ness went overboard when he revealed his desire to kill Anna Yamada, one of his classmates. He despises Yamada as she is a sweet and charming girl who’s very popular in class and a lot of guys idolize her. On paper, both seem to be living entirely different worlds.
While Ichikawa is trying to gather intel on his target, he sees Yamada stuffing her face with snacks in a library, comically running it down with her assignments, and failing to absorb the situations she’s in. From there he discovers that Yamada isn’t actually what he thought she would be, and before he realizes it, she’s already a danger to his heart.
The Dangers in My Heart Premiere Overall Thoughts
Overall, The Dangers in My Heart series premiere was simple and cute. Its oddness obviously comes from its characters which I don’t really mind. Alternatively, it’s quite funny how these two dorks salvage the situations they are uncomfortable with by doing peculiar actions. Animation-wise, it’s nothing of a grand spectacle compared to the likes of other shows which already premiered this season like Jigokuraku and Tengoku Daimakyou: Heavenly Delusion, but it’s decent enough for a school slice-of-life story.
The aspect of the show that was cut above the rest is the voice acting. Shun Horie perfectly manages to hit the right pitch of his voice when playing a character who’s on the verge of puberty. Ichikawa is constantly having internal monologues, but his performance is consistent all throughout the episode. As for Hina Youmiya, aside from her super adorable cat sounds and munching, she’s doing Yamada justice. Her soft voice clearly conceals the character’s goofiness but when it’s time for Yamada to unleash her true self, she delivers just as right.
I also find the show refreshing in some way. Being set in middle school, we rarely see narratives about kids who are at the doorstep of puberty – trying to adapt to the changes in their mood and body. Ichikawa as a character is also well-written. Despite him being a chunibyo and all, I think everyone can relate to him to some degree. Yes, he might be a bit off to an extent but his awkwardness isn’t entirely exaggerated. While there is still a lot of romance shows to air this season, I wouldn’t say right now that I’ve found my top favorite but it’s definitely a show worth keeping an eye out for every week.
The Dangers in My Heart premiere screenshots via HiDIVE
©Norio Sakurai (Akita Shoten) / Boku Yaba Production Committee
