English Dub Review: Cardfight!! Vanguard overDress: “Runny Porridge”

Overview: When Yu-yu (James Higuchi) suddenly becomes sickly, Danji (Josh Meredith) makes it his mission to take care of him and nurse the young cardfighter back to good health. 

Our Take: Unlike Danji’s version of the warm breakfast it’s named after, this episode is simple and nourishing enough for what it is, albeit a bit mundane. While not as hard to swallow as his porridge, it does have some odd flavors nonetheless. 

Truthfully, when you break it down to its bare minimums, this episode is just Nurse Danji taking care of sickly Yuyu, after catching a cold from his match with Tohya. And I mean every aspect. From Danji getting him food, medicine and other nourishment from a store to him feeding Yu-yu and checking his temperature. If that is what you have been dreaming of, then your wish has certainly come true with “Runny Porridge.” If not then there are still some good aspects you can take away from this episode.

It’s very much a simple slice of life entry that shows more of Danji’s kink in how he loves to take care of and spoil Yu-yu like the sweet little prince he is. As if we didn’t already know that to begin with. The cheeky berating throughout on Tomari’s part on the men in Danji’s apartment is fun, not to mention Danji’s exaggerated distress for Yu-yu’s wellbeing. What isn’t as much and more eye rolling than anything else is Megumi’s conspicuous jealousy of how much affection Yu-yu gets from Danji. All jokes aside, it seems quite obvious that Danji isn’t interested in men and that continued pettiness on Megumi’s part is just starting to get irritating as a result. 

Another minor story thread that is somewhat oddly woven in is that of the aftermath of Yu-yu’s victory over Tohya. I say odd because it’s done in such small increments with short lived scenes that result with him getting his excitement and enthusiasm for Vanguard back without any sort of development whatsoever. It’s especially weird considering the episode long arc he got within the last episode, regarding how it even started in the first place. Here’s hoping that we can get some meatier scenes as to how that change occurred for Tohya within the next episode or so rather than leave it with that minimal character work put in. 

Cardfight slows down a bit with a more mellow romp that has more of Danji babying Yu-yu like den mother which has its charm in and of itself along with some decent humor. However, I do question whether the entire episode needed to be dedicated to this humdrum plot. Weird handling of Tohya’s arc aside and annoying Megumi traits aside, it’s enjoyable for what it sets out to do.