ANIME/FILM REVIEW | Finding Love & A True Self in "Dangers in My Heart" Film
There’s no better example of polar opposites than Kyotaro Ichikawa (Shun Horie) and Anna Yamada (Hina Yomiya), the main duo of The Dangers in My Heart. But in the two seasons of the anime that aired in 2023 and 2024, viewers were treated to their heartwarming journey towards love. With the original manga just wrapping up, it’s a good time to catch up with Ichikawa and Yamada, and one quick-fire way of doing so is to watch The Dangers in My Heart: The Movie. And for a compilation film, it surprisingly does a good job with showing the hows and whys of the overall narrative.
Shoving two seasons’ worth of material into 100 minutes is no easy feat, as a lot of context can be lost from the original works. Fortunately, what this shorter version of The Dangers in My Heart is able to do is gradually show the love between Ichikawa and Yamada blossom. From Yamada’s first visit to the library and a scary incident with a basketball to a Christmas date and the school trip to Kyoto, the big moments from Shin-Ei Animation’s (Crayon Shin-chan, Teasing Master Takagi-san) adaptation of Norio Sakurai’s work are shown with plenty of love and care in just about every frame of this film. (Granted, some of the best humor of this series is put to the side in favor of the romance, but beggars can’t be choosers.)
The main focus of this film is a concert performed by Kana Ichikawa (Yukari Tamura), whose band is about to perform a song Kyotaro wrote. Each line in the lyrics focuses on a key moment in his growth as a person, as well as how his love for Yamada blossomed the closer they became. Yes, it can be a bit cheesy, but what love isn’t? And watching these memories unfold again on the big screen will have your heart filled with plenty of warmth and your face grinning from ear to ear.
Of course, most compilation films aren’t without their flaws. In two places, montages of both the Christmas date and the Valentine’s Day episodes play. While the mood of the moments aren’t lost, these two parts felt more like an AMV hastily made than something a big studio would carefully piece together. It took what were key moments of The Dangers in My Heart, and shed them of what made them a joy to watch in the first place.
Be that as it may, The Dangers in My Heart: The Movie still tells the original story fairly well. If anything, it’s a good watch for those wanting to catch up on what could be an incoming third season (something that is hinted heavily at in the film’s first few minutes). However, if you’ve never watched the original version of Anna and Kyotaro’s romantic journey, then this film also serves as a taste test for those who are still curious to check it out. To those in the latter category, after you watch this film, seriously go back and watch the whole series.
FINAL GRADE:
English subtitled version observed for review. Promotional consideration provided by Scott Barretto of AMC Networks. In theaters February 16th & 18th! Click here for more information!
