©Norio Sakurai(AKITASHOTEN)/Dangers in My Heart Committee
No one who has come this far should be surprised by what I am about to say. I could throw you for a loop and object but I'm not sure what the point of that would be. I loved this last part even though it was exactly what I thought I was going to get. There were no major changes or overthrows. Instead, we got what had been a long time coming, and it seemed like the right solution for the setup we had last week. There may be more climactic ways to solve this problem but that's not what I'm here to talk about. I'm here to talk about what we have and what we have is really good. If I haven't made it clear already, The Dangers in My Heart is currently one of my favorite anime of all time.
The series ends exactly where it began, in the library where these two ended up crossing paths. It's fitting to know that these two are very different now than they were at the start of the series—especially Kyotaro. It's funny how he explains his entire character arc on the show but that in itself proves how far he's come as a character. We go from someone who is very quick to give up and retreat within themselves to someone who stands up and sacrifices their immediate happiness for the person they like without completely giving up that happiness. If anything, he's proven to Anna and himself that he'll be fine without her around because he's grown as a person over the past year. But that doesn't mean he no longer wants anything to do with her. It's because he's gone through all this growing up that he realizes that he doesn't necessarily need her to get by anymore. It only reinforced how much he liked her. He wants to be a part of her life because he wants to, not because he needs to—and that's a lesson I feel like even a lot of adults today struggle with.
Looking back on it, I wish we had gotten a little more of Anna's perspective on things but her character was also very clear. Although she is in many ways a quirky beauty, she is also easily misunderstood by those around her. People know she's a hard worker but they don't understand the internal struggle she faces, the pressure she puts on herself to grow up, and the struggle to find what it means to be mature. In many ways, she had to make a mature decision here, putting her love life on hold for her professional career—but she only decided to go on this trip because she was insecure about his relationship with Kyotaro. Despite all the progress these two have made and even though it's clear they like each other, she's still afraid of losing it—or she's worried that something bad will happen if she not next door.
Anna realized how much she had grown and it helped her appreciate the effort she put into everything. It's fitting that the climax of this episode is him confirming her choice to audition by saying he loves her. And it makes sense that Anna confirms Kyotaro's hope to be a small part of her life by saying that he is the most important person to her. These two have finally reached the point where they no longer have to fear much about each other or themselves. I mean it's not that simple, these two are still teenagers and there's a lot more to deal with—and I like the subtle hint of Kyotaro wanting to go back to his studies to prepare. prepare for the high school entrance exam. There will be a lot of external things that will test these two but I think they have finally reached a point where most of their internal struggles have been satisfied and they are now officially together as a couple. , they can be more open to each other in love. their support to address those external efforts.
The lighting, soundtrack, and perspective direction are all top notch—but you all know this. The show went above and beyond to portray the ups and downs of being a teenager perfectly. I know there will be more manga material at this point and I'm very curious about what a potential third season will be about their married life. However, I'm also more than satisfied with what we have. Thank you all for taking this journey with me as I get to experience this journey with Kyotaro and Anna.
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The Dangers in My Heart is now streaming on An.