English Dub Review: Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You “An Awful Birthday”

Overview:

July 1st, 2030. Manga editor Nishino Mizuho is having the worst 27th birthday ever. The manga she’s in charge of will be ending. However, she recalls her adolescence when she saw a group of high school students having fun. 10 years ago, during her second year of high school, Mizuho had four childhood friends who she grew up with in a residential neighborhood known as Koigahama Highlands…

Our Take:

One thing that might be annoying is how often COVID-19 is referred to as “the disease.” Is that a bad thing to say? If so, that’s new to me, and it took me out of the episode. Since the series takes place in 2020, I have a feeling it will be referred to a bit. The next few episodes of this are going to make or break how I enjoy this series I think.

What was refreshing was seeing two confessions happen in the first episode. Mizuho confessed to her crush Saito, and her childhood friend Kizuki confessed to her. But of course, she thought he was playing a prank on her but by the end of the episode, there’s no way she doesn’t know exactly how she feels. It was also nice to see that Kizuki wasn’t “friendly” with his rival Saito. They’re both on the swimming team together and Kizuki told him to stay away from her.

The concerns I have are that Kizuki is acting a little toxic but he is a high schooler and is trying to get his feelings across. Plus all of Mizuho’s friends are guys and at least one of them also has a thing for her, and one of them wanted to marry her when he was younger so I’m not ruling him out either. I don’t hate reverse harem’s but maybe it’s because that wasn’t what I was expecting. But it’s the first episode and there’s a lot of things that could happen from here on out. The episode did start with Mizuho in 2030 and it didn’t seem like she was married or anything so it suggests a sad ending if we even get a conclusive ending.