English Dub Review: With You and the Rain “Rainy Days”

Overview

Based on the Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ko Nikaido, this gentle story begins on a rainy day when Fuji, drenched and heading home, comes across what she believes is an abandoned dog holding an umbrella and a cue card that reads, “Please take me home.” Unable to resist its odd charm, she brings the mysterious little critter home, unknowingly inviting a whimsical new presence into her life.

Our Take

This time around, we get a unique slice-of-life anime that delivers a peaceful, quietly whimsical story centered on Fuji, an independent novelist whose solitary life takes a charming turn when she takes in what appears to be a stray dog, though it’s a Tanuki, a raccoon dog from Japanese folklore. Communicating through handwritten notes and pre-made cue cards, which gave off Wile E. Coyote vibes. The Tanuki adds an element of surreal humor to an otherwise grounded narrative.

For the first episode, Fuji’s interactions with her new housemate strike a gentle balance between heartwarming curiosity and subtle comedy, offering the kind of slow, comforting storytelling that’s increasingly rare. While the animation leans fully into a calm, rainy-day aesthetic and avoids flashy visuals in favor of warmth and subtlety, it allows the quiet moments to breathe.

Overall, for the first episode, this anime is a tender, comforting watch. It doesn’t aim to shock or thrill but rather invites you to settle in and simply exist within its soothing world. While the anime’s charm shines through its quiet moments and unique premise, it does suffer slightly from Crunchyroll’s lack of integrated English subtitles for written-on-screen english text, which would’ve greatly benefited a show so dependent on visual reading cues, which is why I also had to watch the subbed version to know what her new pet was writing down. Other than that, it’s a good start to something this weirdly wholesome.