English Dub Review: Convenience Store Boy Friends “November”

Two entirely different home lives.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

This episode was a drastic improvement from the last episode, which was quite frankly a mess. We’re back to one of the main couples, Mami and Honda, and their growing relationship.

Honda has grown a lot from the first episode. Based on the titles of the episodes, it’s been a couple of months since he first admitted that he likes Mami, and he’s grown a lot since then. He’s still energetic and kind of nosy, but he’s learned what Mami’s boundaries are and tries to embrace them. He tries to encourage her in his own way, and in return, she’s more comfortable with him.

We also find out more about his home life, and how it’s very strained. He doesn’t like going home and often stays with Mishima to avoid that. His mom is never home, due to working unusual and late hours. A constant point of contention in Honda’s life is also that his mom always listens to his stepdad, who Honda doesn’t trust. His stepdad hasn’t even been on screen, but still acts as a looming, omnipresent authority figure. Honda’s home life is routinely miserable, so he tries to spend more time with Mishima and Mami.

Unfortunately, Mami’s parents are extremely strict, and they don’t think highly of Honda. Mami wants their relationship to succeed, but she also can’t defy her parents. She throws herself into her studies, explaining that if she proves that Honda isn’t a distraction, that they might approve of him. Honda is understanding about this and tries to give her space, but being personally miserable means that he needs a distraction. He intellectually understands that Mami isn’t available and that she wants their relationship to continue, but he also is forced to focus on his less than stellar home life as a result. He ends up being extremely frustrated and accidentally projects his feelings on Mami’s situation. In the end, that makes Mami hesitate, and she says that she doesn’t think they can work out.

Our Take

All in all, this is a tragic episode. Honda is no doubt trying, and he has no doubt learned, but external factors are stressing him out considerably. Both him and Mami want their relationship to succeed, but things out of their control is making it a lot harder. A real shame.