English Dub Review: Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway: “Future”

Overview: Yoshida (Alex Hom) spends his final moments saying his goodbyes to Issa (Bradley Gareth), but most importantly, Sayu (Jill Harris), as she prepares to take the next step in rebuilding her life.

Our Take: Having never formally stood up to her mother, this finale finally gives Sayu that special closure and a path forward. Yoshida’s words and her apology for running away makes for a simple yet endearing reconciliation for their mother/daughter relationship.

 Yoshida will never forget Sayu as she tries to make their last night together a memorable one, if you catch my drift. The throughline in this episode that works wholeheartedly well is how committed they are with how determined he is to the memory of her, even without sex. 

Issa and Yoshida’s final words are the overly polite back and forth you would expect from these two, with the arduous and ham-fisted idea of Yoshida and Sayu’s encounter being a fated one prevalent once again. While it has definitely gotten old and poorly done to death, it is handled better here than it has been all season with a bit more subtlety and thought-provoking prospects that makes it more compelling.

Sayu and Yoshida’s departure is every bit the lovefest that has been established between these two in promising to be better for one another, taking gratitude in what they have learned and how they have grown from each other. However, she does him one better in being plain about her feelings for him. Of course, he still denies his feelings for her, pushing her to live her life and move on. One of the best aspects of Sayu is her newfound resilience and seeing how that applies to being in love with Yoshida, dedicating fully to him and pushing back against his incessantly nice nature. It makes for a genuine act of love that is commendable and a strong place to leave them, for now.

For all his niceties, Yoshida gets a moment to sincerely miss Sayu and what she did for him, in all her caring, cooking and chores. It is a sweet and gratifying scene that brings his passion for her to the forefront, similar to her. 

With how much struggle has led up to Sayu living as a normal teenager, it would have been nice to get a bit more than just a montage. However, it is a warm sentiment in her properly earning the ideal family and friend connections she sought after since the beginning of her journey. 

It closes up Yoshida’s feelings with Gotou without much fanfare with her feeling like a bit of afterthought here too in just being another transition during the quick takes. Yuzuha gets a nice progression in becoming a more dependable worker after her many screw-ups that puts a smile on my face. With Yoshida’s work life maintaining the same status quo with her, Gotou and Hashimoto, him not making any promises to wait for her feels like little more than a formality. His chemistry with Asami was maintained with a wondrous effect in their continuous playful friendship. A dynamic that has evolved in him, even taking time away from his friends and dedicating it to help critique her writing. Asami, following her dreams in becoming a writer, is an amazing conclusion to her struggles in cementing her own identity separate from her parents’.

In nostalgic late night, street-lit fashion, he reunites with Sayu, strongly hinting at their classic happy ending together. While it offers nothing groundbreaking and there are narrative shortcomings regarding character endings, it is an overall kind, pleasant finale for Sayu, Yoshida and the majority of their friends and companions as well.