English Dub Review: Harukana Receive “This Is How I Feel”

The volleyball club heads into the Okinawa Qualifiers with their sights set on the Nationals.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

It’s time to get serious – the volleyball club begins their quest to reach the Nationals. But first, they’ve got to get past the Okinawa Qualifiers. There’s only one problem: only one team can move on, and the final battle will be between Emily and Claire, and Haruka and Kanata.

Our Take:

It’s a new school year already! Things are moving fast for the girls of the beach volleyball club. It seems like Akari only joined the club yesterday, but she’s already going to get her first experience with a tournament. (Not playing, just watching, though.) The real challengers of the tournament will be two teams: Emily and Claire, and Haruka and Kanata.

The club is practicing as This Is How I Feel opens. They’re waiting on Akari, who is ostensibly picking up the chart which will show the bracket for the qualifiers. When she discovers that only one team from Okinawa will advance, though, she struggles with this knowledge. Having just found the comforting friendship of the club, Akari is very concerned that this new setback will tear the whole club apart. Since it’s the girls’ final year in high school, this is their last chance to compete in the Nationals. Being such a sweetie, Akari decides to give the girls her graduation gifts in order to show her appreciation (and support for both teams!). This is a very nice moment for Akari. Even though the episode isn’t focused on her, she still gets some good development here, showing how much she’s already come to value the friendship she’s found in the volleyball club and its members.

Before leaving for the qualifiers, the club members make a pact. No matter what happens, they’ll give it their absolute best and see what happens from there. Round one is a breeze, and the show skips over it with a line of narration. Personally, I would’ve liked to see the first round, but with all the volleyball seen so far, I suppose long-time viewers won’t mind skipping straight to the matches that matter. In the second round, Emily and Claire quickly best their opponents. However, on the other side of the beach, Haruka and Kanata don’t find their match up so easy. They’re playing the Aragaki sisters, who have some history with them. Haruka and Kanata take the first set alright, but the opposing team steps it up (incorporating topspin!) in the second set. Even all their tricks and strategizing can’t quite overcome Haruka and Kanata’s chemistry, though. They win the match… but this means they’re going up against Claire and Emily in the next game.

This week’s dub was fine for the most part. It had some good lines, like Akari’s, “Oh, c’mon, seriously?” after being asked for another hair accessory gift. Also, Maya’s hilarious quip: “I thought I spotted an awkward totem pole wandering around the beach!” In terms of criticism, I find that all the supporting side characters, from Maya to Aragaki, sound alike and are hard to distinguish.

Episode nine of Harukana Receive sets the stage for a showdown between club members. By itself, it wasn’t the most exciting set of games ever played, but it does solid groundwork for what’s to come in next week’s episode while also showing how close all the team members have become. Let’s just hope their bonds will be intact after the final match of the qualifier.

Score
6.5/10