English Dub Review: Hana-Kimi “It Can’t Be Helped”
Overview:
Mizuki wants to dance with Sano, but Nakatsu jumps in and asks her to partner with him.
Our Take(Spoilers):
It’s always crazy to me how most shows could have a lot of their issues fixed by just having a simple conversation. I know that it feels like I’m beating a dead horse when it comes to that, especially with this show. Sano could say something to Mizuki, and most of their issues would be wrapped up. The only problem I can think of is that he might be worried about her thinking he’s some sort of creep for keeping it a secret that he knew or something. I think it would make the story a whole lot more interesting if Mizuki knew that Sano knew and they worked together to try and keep her secret.
One legitimately interesting thing was seeing how the Umeda family interacts. As we’ve learned already, Rio is technically Nanba’s aunt even though she’s younger than him. They get along well and show the rest of the group the proper dance steps. Rio’s main problem is that she wants it to be a secret that she’s an aunt because, in her eyes, she’s too young to be an auntie. I can understand that, but the whole family seems to have found the fountain of youth. Her mom and dad look amazing, and so does the school nurse Hokuto.
The main problem of the episode comes in the form of who is going to dance with who. Mizuki would of course prefer to dance with Sano, but Nakatsu jumps in first to claim Mizuki as his partner. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, Mizuki feels like she has to say yes. I know with the whole gender secret thing it adds another wrinkle to things but the way Nakatsu’s feelings have been handled so far is slightly problematic.
I was hoping that Julia would become Nakatsu’s main love interest and this wouldn’t be an issue but of course Julia left. Nakatsu’s behavior isn’t great regardless of the circumstance but it’s even more of a problem because of the same-sex implications. It’s not wrong to be gay or to have feelings for someone. But up to this point Nakatsu hasn’t asked Mizuki if she’s gay (I know it’s hard to follow) and I don’t think he’s asked himself. So perhaps he thinks that since Mizuki is willing to dress in drag for a school function that means they’re into it. But that’s a hell of an assumption to make, I like the dude I just wish he would think a little more.
