English Dub Review: My Tiny Senpai “Can I Give You a Big Hug?”

Overview:

Shinozaki and Kurusu have to give their presentations for the new hire competition.

Our Take:

Both Shinozaki and Kurusu are feeling the pressure as they approach the day of their presentations. Kurusu is feeling it a lot more than Shinozaki because she feels like everything she does has to be perfect to impress the director. Shinozaki asks Katase to help ease Kurusu’s mind, which she manages to do successfully.

When it it time for the presentations, we only get to see Shinozaki’s. However, he’s not actually the one giving the presentation. It goes well, but neither he nor Kurusu actually win. They still got noticed for their hard work, and they each receive an excellence award.

There’s a lot to like about this episode. The main thing is that Kurusu becomes a much more likeable character. The director puts a lot of pressure on her to do her best and win, so this makes Kurusu be much too hard on herself. She can’t draw well, so she’s worried that the image she adds to her presentation will disappoint the director. Instead, the director apologizes for pushing her too hard and another member of the department helps Kurusu make a new image. The post-credit scene between Kurusu and Yamagishi also adds to her charm.

Katase continues to show her caring nature, and not just towards Shinozaki. She talks to Kurusu because Shinozaki asks her to, but it wouldn’t be out of character for her to do so anyway. It’s also hilarious to see Katase get jealous when she thinks a bunch of women are swooning over Shinozaki in a costume. With just one episode to go, I hope there’s at least one more touching scene between Shinozaki and Katase. That wasn’t really the focal point of the episode, but I hope the series closes out on a high note more in line with its main focus.