English Dub Review: Harukana Receive “Believe in Me”

It’s impossible for the Demon Lord to be this cute!

Overview (Spoilers below)

We start this week with a training montage, courtesy of Demon Lord Kanata, in hopes of raising our dear Haruka basic stats. An armor upgrade, with less fabric included, is part of the course in preparation for the awaited PVP match against the Dynamic Duo. Via random encounter with Best Girl Ayasa (yes, I have chosen!), Haruka learns about Kanata’s and Narumi’s past. We also bare witness of Kanata’s trauma regarding the issue and how it has been affecting her ever since.

The following match was a curb-stomp in the Dynamic Duo’s favor, but it is obvious that Haruka has leveled up under the Demon Lord’s tender care. “Wall Ayasa” does her best to stop their challengers’ advances but taken by surprise by Kanata’s receive and Haruka’s Ultimate Genki Mode, Narumi failed to respond in time and end up losing the match, as per the agreed winning conditions. The drama is cathartic as well as funny when the Dynamic Duo passed a raincheck on the promised ice cream that was their wagered prize.

Our take

I must admit that the drama in this chapter was superbly handled if a tad rushed, and the character development was well done. Haruka managed to make me laugh once or twice with her trolling Kanata and her childish antics. Also, seeing Kanata blushing so badly at Haruka’s shameless exhibitionism was hilarious. Surprisingly, the sports side of the equation for this show is handled really well and I managed to learn a couple of things I didn’t know before (I double check with Saint Google just in case). Despite the fanservice, I had found myself quite entertained so far and I look forward to more of this.

Regarding the drama between Narumi and Kanata, I can understand the latter’s fears regarding her dragging her partner down with her shortcomings (imagined or otherwise) and the former’s mishandling of the situation. I think that Ayasa said it well, they both needed a new voice to make them understand what their issues were and why it was dragging their down.

Also, did Ayasa admitted being interested in Narumi in a more sexual way? Her attitude regarding Narumi’s and Kanata’s conflict is incredibly mature and selfish at the same time, but I can hardly fault her for it. By the way, I don’t remember if I said this before, but I love the dubs on this one. The voices felt so organic to each character that it is quite enjoyable to listen. Finally, I may be imagining it, but the animation for the chapter was more both beautiful and fluid than the last chapter, and I could feel the energy in each action taken, especially during the match. Also, the music score was always in tone with mood and it was more than one occasion that it made me wish to be on a beach playing volleyball.