English Dub Review: Convenience Store Boy Friends “March”

It’s finally over.

Overview:

Mashiki is awake, but her treatment will require her to go far away. Mishima makes some personal decisions and works up the courage to finally confess.

Our Take:

Mashiki’s health is finally addressed, specifically the treatment she’s been trying to put off. Her hesitance in getting it comes from the fact that she’d have to be pulled out of school since she’d have surgery in Tokyo. This would’ve been more impactful had there been anything leading up to it. We know of Mashiki’s illness’ existence, and we know she’s been dreading telling people about her illness, but any information about treatment comes out of the blue. It almost seems to have been thrown in last minute to create more conflict.

We finally hear the story of the Mermaid Prince… in the last episode. Mishima passes it on to Mashiki, and it inspires her too. According to Mishima, the story itself, not just Mashiki’s sister, is the thing that inspired to keep swimming, so you think we would have heard it beforehand, instead of just snippets. The way the series set it up, it seemed like Mashiki’s sister was the real catalyst and the story was a physical memory of her, but now it seems like the story itself has importance. While I’m glad the story managed to inspire Mashiki, this seems to be a plot point that’s brought up far too late.

Why we had to get a comedic ‘truck passes by and the audience can’t hear the important thing’ moment during Mishima’s confession of all things is beyond me. This show teased Mishima’s inability to confess for twelve episodes, and then we aren’t even allowed to hear it.

In general, Mashiki and Mishima’s romance is the slowest out of the main characters, and to compensate that we get a rushed ending. It’s kind of infuriating, actually.

Anyway, the last episode, this show’s over! I won’t miss it.