6 Reasons To Watch: The Dangers in my Heart

Casper

April 1

#1 Romance with an atypical couple

Kyoutarou Ichikawa is an edgy little bitch. He's an awkward kid without any real friends and who doesn't fit in any social circles at school. Privately he fantasizes about being "the creepy kid" that everyone is afraid might one day snap. In reality he's a quiet weirdo that everyone just kind of ignores. It's not what you'd expect from an anime called "The Dangers in my Heart" and that's deliberate.

PHOTO: Ichikawa testing his boxcutter to scare a classmate.

Ichikawa is particularly resentful towards his classmates Anna Yamada, because she is his polar opposite in many regards. She is cheery, popular, and very talkative. The kind of person who becomes the center of attention anywhere she goes. Worst of all, she is using the library where Ichikawa reads his edgy books as a refuge to gorge on snacks. Yamada is completely addicted to candy and so each day she finds new ways to be a thorn in Ichikawa's side. Yet the more they interact with each other, the more Ichikawa struggles to actually hate her.

He gets dragged along in her silly antics; easily convinced to do stuff he normally never would. Certainly not with any other classmate. At first it's annoying, but soon Ichikawa starts to enjoy these weird moments with her. It's not long before he comes to a terrifying realization: this is love. He, a creature of seething hatred, is feeling love.

PHOTO: Yamada Anna fixing her hair while basked in the sun.

Romance anime live or die based on their star couple and The Dangers in my Heart certainly shines in that regard. Ichikawa and Yamada are both very endearing once we get to know them. Their personalities are fun, they have interesting chemistry with each other, and their story does a great job of drawing you in. I also much enjoyed how their relationship develops over time. Their mutual interest in each other builds up steadily, with many cute moments scattered around where you can clearly see a potential romance draw closer.

There are also setbacks, of course. Often a frustration in other romance stories, but here they always felt very believable considering the characters involved. One of my favorite episodes was one where Ichikawa becomes tempted to slide back into his old behaviors. He begins to freak himself out over imagined scenarios painting Yamada as a bully merely making fun of him. He becomes irrational and tries to act cold towards Yamada, causing her much distress in return as he won't explain himself.

PHONO: Hana catches Yamada and Ichikawa acting awkward with each other.

What makes those moments land is that they aren't treated as disposable, episodic chapters. Progress is permanent and any setbacks are issues that the two of them have to work on. They don't get magically resolved at the 21-minute mark so another issue can replace it in the next episode. In doing so, The Dangers in my Heart ends up feeling uniquely storydriven. The plot and characters are always moving forward, whereas many other romances try to ride out a comfy status quo for as long as possible.

#2 Incredible sense of pride

Character development is of course a key component in this. In that regard, The Dangers in my Heart had a similar appeal for me as Nagatoro. You got a lonely geek who uses disdain for others as a coping mechanism, meeting an outgoing girl who inspires them towards self-improvement. Though Yamada is much too sweet to employ the level of teasing that Nagatoro often would.

PHOTO: Ichikawa runs into Yamada at a McDonalds.

Getting to see Ichikawa grow over the course of the anime is an amazing transformation, which made me incredibly invested in his character. He starts to stammer his way through conversations at first, but steadily works his way towards being able to talk normally with a few people. He becomes more proactive and involved, more conscious of other people's feelings. And anytime that progress in punctuated, it made me want to scream. I felt actual pride in watching him.

#3 Kensuke Ushio soundtrack

I would get banned off AniList if I neglected to mention Kensuke Ushio's involvement. The phenomenal composer behind scores such as that of Liz and the Blue Bird, Devilman Crybaby, and other favorite anime of a certain moderator who knows where I live.

PHOTO: Hana and Yamada sharing earbuds in the library.

Jokes aside, there's no denying Ushio's talent when it comes to musical scores. His work throughout The Dangers in my Heart is characterized by its broad variety and strong contrasts. There are slow piano pieces both cheerful and melancholic, but also energetic songs that mix in electronic touches. Sometimes a song can be both. Starting tender and slow, before swelling to punctuate a high point in the anime. It's incredible stuff.

Some songs are literal contrasts. In that they are unambigiously meant to be counterpoints to one another. The most obvious of course being the respective themes for Yamada and Ichikawa, which I both enjoyed. Yamada's theme is one of my favorites in general. It has a Katawa Shoujo-like feel to it that I appreciated a lot.

#4 Eye (and ear) for detail

A quality that really elevated The Dangers in my Heart is that it goes the extra mile to work in neat details. It's already a nice-looking series from a visual perspective, but its the little touches we noticed that added so much excitement. And those are not always strictly visual in nature.

PHOTO: Ichikawa fails to hide a girly manga behind his book.

One that most are certain to notice is the hair. Anytime there's a first-person shot from Ichikawa's perspective, his hair is actually in the way. A nice inversion of the usual trope, where artists will put hair in front of a character's eyes but then still draw the eyes anyhow. At other times you may be able to catch extra jokes hidden in plain sight or important clues to the plot tucked away in the background.

An auditory detail I was really fond of were the heartbeats. During scenes with romantic tensions, there's often a firm heartbeat immersed in the ambience. It comes out really well when you have a headset on and it makes those scenes feel so much more intense.

#5 Incredible supporting cast

While Ichikawa and Yamada are perfectly entertaining on their own, The Dangers in my Heart also has a lively support cast to back them up. In fact, I was with how many side-characters came dangerously close to becoming favorites of mine.

PHOTO: Ichikawa and Yamada on a field trip with friends.

All of Yamada and Ichikawa's friends are amazing for entirely different reasons. Moeko is a cheeky schemer, Adachi constantly tries (and fails) to be a loverboy, while Yoshida acts as a voice of seriousness when everyone else goofs off too much. Then there are acquaintances like Hara, who has a fascinating romantic subplot of her own. Or a certain rival that I don't want to spoil anything about.

If I did have to pick a favorite though, it'd have to be Ichikawa's sister. Kana is a few years older than him and eager to egg her brother on as he finally starts coming out of his shell. A bit of a busybody as family tends to be, but with incredibly sincere intentions. What cemented my fondness for her was actually the ED song for season 2. It opens on shots of the protagonists as kids, including Kana holding her little brother when he was still a baby. That sincere joy in her face really spoke to me and had me delighted whenever that same love shone through in the actual series.