English Dub Review: My Senpai is Annoying: “And Then, It’s Christmas”

Overview: Futaba (Risa Mei) stresses over what to get Takeda (Patrick Seitz) for Christmas and if she even should in the first place.  

Our Take: And then, it’s Christmas. And then, just like that, we have a festive reason for Futaba’s adorable bashfulness that made us all fall in love with her in the first place. Like clockwork, whenever Takeda enters the mix of a situation, we can count on Futaba stumbling her way through. The difference here being she chooses to take the first step, playing a more active role than usual when she’s around Takeda. Because of that, there is a satisfying sweetness in watching her get flustered in deciding which tie to buy Takeda for Christmas and working up the courage of when the right to give it to him is, if at all. The result, albeit predictably so, is made better with Takeda’s gift of a scarf. It brings the plot full circle with him returning the kindness that she gave to a child that had lost hers. 

It also shows just how much Takeda cherishes Futaba with how contemplates showing his appreciation for a nice comedic end. Also, while this doesn’t take away from the X-mas themed episode as a whole, one little oddity to note is that there is a lack of music in this entire episode. It was notable throughout the whole romp but tended to stick out with certain scenes that would have greatly benefited from it. One key moment being when Takeda gave Futaba his gift with nary a piano, violin or any chord to be heard, which would have the quintessential icing on the cake in that moment. 

Another great romance that is arguably just as enjoyable as Futaba and her senpai’s, if not more so, is that of Kazama and Sakurai’s, which get its own brief moments of development. One that, similarly to Futaba, sees Kazama take his own step forward in his growing feelings for Sakurai with her starting to realize more and more how he feels and become more playful with him. An aspect that is a classic heartwarming quality of why this genre is so nourishing that also extends to this couple, allowing for a perfect holiday centric installment.