English Dub Review: SING “YESTERDAY” FOR ME: “What Is Love?”

Overview: Haru (Jill Harris) invites Uozumi (Aaron Campbell) on a date but things soon go awry when Morinome (Michelle Rojas) gets sick and he must take care of her. 

Our Take: Uozumi’s newest admirer, Haru, finally gets her own time in the spotlight and we understand how difficult she is with human connections. Haru lamenting the passing of her dad, whom she had a close relationship with, is a compelling pain and grief. It is a sorrow that strongly enforces how she closes herself off emotionally from people to avoid being hurt by them, also making it easier to move on to somewhere else at a moment’s notice. It is a deeply relatable human issue that gets to the core drawback of letting someone in. Haru’s distant relationship with her mother and even her humorous, cheeky line to Uozumi about being weary that he might unravel the mystery that she is smartly develops her isolation. 

Haru’s being upfront about her true feelings for Uozumi is refreshing in getting it out in the open. Despite his recent strides in taking risks, Uozumi continuing to struggle with low self-esteem depicts the realistic and difficult nature of change and how it does not come overnight. At the end of the day, it is about the baby steps which is reflected well in Uozumi going on a date with Haru. It also reiterates how Haru still remains empathetic and cognizant of his complicated relationship and lingering feelings for Morinome, as well as his own personal issues, with her trying not to set expectations. 

Change does not come easy. Which is doubly the case for Uozumi and Morinome in how they worry about and take care of each other while each is sick. With Morinome being bedridden, possibly because of him, it causes him to be late for his movie date with Haru. This feels like an especially low blow, considering it was Morinome but also understandable in that she was ill. A complicated issue of love indeed. What makes it even more raw is when Haru gets the truth about why Uozumi was late. Of course, she is royally pissed off, understandably so, showing how Uozumi’s honesty ain’t always the best policy and can indeed backfire. Haru’s friendship with her manager adds an intriguing new layer to her in having a caring adult in her life to look after her, like when she needs to vent about family issues or boy troubles, in place of her mother, who is less involved. 

It’s smart how there is a microscope put on Haru’s feelings showing how deep and complex they are. The complexity of her feelings is brilliantly constructed in her not being to help that she has expectations for Uozumi, as a result of how much loves him, and yet can not blame him too much considering she told him that and went in with that notion. Her taking a leap of faith, deciding not to run away from how she feels and revealing personal details about herself to Uozumi creates a wonderfully sweet and spontaneous moment of progression in allowing herself to be vulnerable but stronger as a result. 

With Uozumi promising to take care of her if she gets sick, it makes me look forward to more intimate heartfelt moments as the two grow closer and that, hopefully, he will have some Kleenex and chicken noodle soup on hand should she ever need it.