English Dub Review: Convenience Store Boy Friends “April”

A convenience store romance.

Spoilers Below:

Mishima runs all the way to the convenience store and triggers a flashback.

Honda and Mishima, two best friends, go to school together after Honda sleeps over. The Club Recruitment Festival is today, and they get heckled by the handicraft club. They’re saved by two members of the student council. Mishima heads over to a convenience store, where he ends up standing next to a girl who seems familiar. He realizes that she’s a friend from his childhood, and in both of them panicking, she knocks over a display. He helps her clean up, and in thanks, she buys him a popsicle. Having watched the whole thing, Honda teases him, congratulating him on finding her again.

The next day, Mishima spots the girl in the convenience store again but is thwarted by Honda. He insists he’s not interested in relationships. Later, Honda is criticized by their class rep, Mami, for neglecting his duties as a class rep. Mami leaves and runs into the girl from the convenience store in the hall. She recognizes the girl as Mashiki, and they bond in the library together. Mami heads over to the convenience store, where Honda teases her for liking shoujo manga. She thinks he’s picking on her, but Honda insists that he likes her. Flustered, Mami runs away.

Overview:

It’s…not very impressive so far. The writing is pretty bland, and that’s not because of the dub– the concept itself is very dryly executed. There’s nothing wrong with it, but there’s nothing particularly good about it either. Two best friends chasing their love interests and hopefully, it works out. Problem is, the show doesn’t offer nearly enough initial investment to get us to care about the budding romance. Why should we care? The story doesn’t seem to be giving us anything to work with, aside from some pining.

It probably doesn’t help that the Honda and Mishima, and Mami and Mashiki have more chemistry together than with their assigned love interests. Significantly more. What a real shame.