English Dub Review: KOWLOON GENERIC ROMANCE Episode 1

Overview

Based on the Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Jun Mayuzuki. The story follows Real estate agents Reiko Kujirai and Hajime Kudo who work in the nostalgic Kowloon Walled City. As they spend more time together, Reiko’s feelings for Hajime grow, until she makes a strange discovery at his desk…

Our Take

Set in a reimagined Kowloon Walled City, Kowloon Generic Romance follows Reiko Kujirai, a real estate agent living and working in a city suspended between nostalgia and mystery. Alongside her brash but thoughtful coworker Hajime Kudo, she navigates daily life in a place where the past seems to linger in every corner. Though their personalities sometimes clash, the two gradually grow closer as they share routines, conversations, and quiet moments exploring the city’s hidden charm.

While life in “2nd Kowloon” seems ordinary on the surface, there’s a strange sense of unease in the air—an undercurrent suggesting there’s more beneath the city’s tightly packed buildings and vintage atmosphere. Between the looming presence of cutting-edge technology and the subtle oddities in everyday occurrences, Reiko begins to question what’s real and just a comforting illusion, and it only gets crazier as the credits roll, revealing one hell of a twist…

Overall, for the first episode, Kowloon Generic Romance shines thanks to its richly textured setting, mature leads, and blend of sci‑fi intrigue with some attempt at a romance. For those of you who don’t know, the Walled City of Kowloon was an influential, densely populated, urban block in Hong Kong that was eventually demolished in 1993–94 due to health and safety concerns while the region was still under British rule. Despite its demolition, Kowloon has left a lasting impression within popular culture, with it’s distinctive designs and architecture inspiring everything from dystopian future films like Blade Runner and various cyberpunk anime to video games and recent martial arts films like Twilight of the Warriors. Even Stephen Chow’s movie Kung Fu Hustle was influenced by his childhood memories of Kowloon, with “Pig Sty Alley” being modeled after it. Based on historical photos and documentary footage, the anime captures the city’s spirit brilliantly—its shadowy corners, vibrant yet worn aesthetic, and close-knit community feel like a character unto themselves, even as this version is an artificial corporate recreation. Without giving away the deeper twists—especially with how the first episode ends—I’m genuinely hooked to see where it goes next!