The Dangers in My Heart

Episode 12

When I first read the synopsis for The Dangers in My Heart, I thought we were getting something a little bit darker and more suspenseful since the premise was about a boy who seemingly contemplated murder. That wasn't the show we ended up getting at all, as it became very clear from the beginning that Kyotaro is just a chunni who uses monologuing and misdirection to hide the fact that he's probably very lonely and depressed. Anna's introduction into his life was the perfect counterbalance to that because, over time, her innocence and seemingly random presence slowly chipped away at the usual defense mechanisms that he would put up to justify why he didn't deserve to be happy. This final episode of season one finally gives us some insight into why he seemed to be going to middle school with that mentality. While this season doesn't end with any romantic climax, I think it does a solid job of rounding out Kyotaro's character arc.

So we find out through context clues and the occasional comment here and there that Kyotaro was a very sociable and incredibly bright student in elementary school. He had friends and even won a couple of awards. However, the friends he made ended up going to private—and probably more prestigious—schools than him. Even though they all said they would keep in touch, we all know that sometimes it doesn't always happen. It's possible that Kyotaro wanted to reach out to them but might not have felt he was good enough because he went from feeling capable one minute to feeling like he wasn't deserving the next. Upon entering middle school, some students got weirded out by him reading a psychological murder book, and suddenly he decided that it was easier to make that his entire personality than to start over from scratch with new people.

Kyotaro is always hiding something and putting himself down unless something is certain, which is something he seems to share with his sister. However, because his sister seems a bit older and probably a bit more carefree, she seems more willing to give people space if there is at least a chance rather than a guarantee. I love how she could piece together that this wasn't just a one-sided relationship between her brother and Anna, so she gave them the ability to get closer in her sisterly way. I love the added detail that she left behind the little keychain that Kyotaro had gotten for her so that he matches with Anna, which was the original intention he was too embarrassed to go through with. Now the two are wearing their feelings and connection to each other out in the open, something Kyotaro has always wanted to do deep down but was too afraid to do. He was able to be able to form a relationship with Anna until he did that.

The last few minutes of this episode were all about coming out. Anna seems to be the first person who didn't flat-out reject Kyotaro's interest and has progressively shown interest in learning more about him. He wants to expose everything and express how thankful he is that she accepts him, but I love Anna's response to him. Kyotaro was never very excited about coming to school until he met Anna, but Anna points out that he's the one who had to go to school in the first place, so he's probably a lot stronger than he gives himself credit for. I was nearly in tears as they embraced at the end, with the beautiful ambient soundtrack in the background and the gorgeously drawn facial expressions. This show reminds me why I love slice-of-life comedy romance so much because when it's done well, you end up walking away with a strong appreciation for the little things in life. I am so happy that season two has already been announced because you can bet that I will be eager to talk about what the next school year has in store for these two awkward teens.

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The Dangers in My Heart is currently streaming on HIDIVE.