English Dub Review: Aharen-san wa Hakarenai “Running Away From Home, Huh?”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The Aharen siblings meet Futaba and the boys, and then Eru and Ren decide to show Reina their gratitude.

Our Take:

An unusual relationship between boyfriend and girlfriend can lead to some unexpected yet humorous circumstances.  However, this week’s episode shows that a sibling relationship can be just as offbeat, if not complicated.  After spending so much quality time with Raido and Reina throughout the first few episodes, the show now sets its attention on the Aharen siblings, Ren and Eru, who have been making multiple brief appearances so far this season.  It has been only three years since I watched the first season of Aharen-san, but if I remember correctly, I found as much amusement with the Aharen siblings as I did with Raido and Reina’s slice-of-life shenanigans.  Even in their minor supporting roles, the brother and sister duo bring plenty of heart and humor to convey the show’s oddly comforting tone.

This episode happened to be no different, as the Aharen siblings are caught in a difficult scenario when they confront some familiar grade schoolers.  We all remember Futaba, the young girl who gets easily jealous of someone getting close to her friend, Akkun.  Well, she’s back, and just like the other characters, Futaba remains the same person as she always was in season one, for better or worse.  This is one of the show’s running gags that provides plenty of chuckles through Futaba’s stubbornness and envy, especially when she’s overprotective of Akkun.  But at the same time, it did make me wish that Futaba would just calm the heck down and not declare someone her enemy due to a tiny incident.  Besides that, the moments involving Eru teaching the boys to skateboard easily emphasize the awkwardly offbeat nature of the character, similar to Reina.

In addition to the comedy, the episode didn’t lose sight of the siblings’ heartfelt bond, mainly in the second half when they attempt to show their gratitude towards Reina.  Unfortunately, Eru still didn’t approve of Raido helping them out, causing a little argument between her and Ren.  It turns out that despite Eru’s appearance as an adult, her “younger sister” vibes show that she still has some growing up to do if she wants to prove her independence.  The best she can do to show her gratitude toward Reina is just be herself, serving as the episode’s message.  In short, “Running Away From Home, Huh?” further emphasizes the humor and heart originating from the Aharen siblings, as the show has done for Reina and Raido.