Norio Sakurai The dangers in my heart is a charming romantic comedy and slice-of-life manga that has been running since 2018. The dangers in my heart was adapted into an anime back in 2023 and ended its second season in 2024. With the launch of The Dangers of My Heart: The MovieShin-Ei Animation's hit adaptation is officially back with an anime movie that recaps the first two seasons, while also featuring a long-awaited moment that manga fans have been dying to see animated.
For fans of the series (or newcomers looking to sink their teeth into an anime love story with surprising emotional depth), HIDIVE has brought the film to North America for a limited screening just days after the film's domestic release in Japan. The Dangers of My Heart: The Movie is only playing in theaters for one more day, so be sure to get tickets for the February 18th dub screening ASAP.
Watch The Dangers in My Heart: Season 1
The Dangers in My Heart: The Movie recaps seasons 1 and 2 in one beginner-friendly movie
Anime recaps are hard to pull off. More often than not, they feel like awkwardly stitched together montages that barely have a coherent story and pull off at awkward points. The Dangers of My Heart: The Movie sure has some issues, but aside from one particular scene that didn't land in the last act, I really forgot I was watching a recap 20 minutes in. By focusing almost exclusively on its two main characters, The Dangers of My Heart: The Movie is surprisingly beginner friendly.
Fans of the anime will likely be disappointed by the omission of the anime's slice-of-life and more comedic moments, but it results in a film that flows well from scene to scene without feeling too awkward. There are a couple of montages dedicated to building up Kyotaro Ichikawa and Anna Yamada's relationship, but they're so well paced that you wouldn't even know they were summarizing episodes worth of story unless someone told you you were watching a recap beforehand.
Art direction and soundtrack really shine. Some scenes are framed from Ichikawa's perspective, resulting in first-person views that put you in his shoes. The characters are animated fluidly, and the film's color palette and character fashion sense really stand out in a fantastic way. If there are any issues animation-wise, it's the poor use of CG during the film's intro and closing concert, and an overuse of bloom at times. The score is strong throughout, with soft melodies that feel perfectly at home in the genre, but the real kick off musically is the music of in-universe band Primary COLOR. The main theme, Tsuzuku, is particularly fantastic and wraps up the film's ending perfectly.
The film picks up the pace of the Anime to make Ichikawa and Yamada's relationship the heart of the story
Condensing 25 episodes of an anime into a 102-minute film is no easy task. Of course, anyone who isn't Ichikawa or Yamada has basically no character development in the movie. The support role is very poorly defined. This is rarely a problem, as the film does a good job of simply focusing on its romance, but there is a scene near the end where Ichikawa reflects on the fact that he's made friends and grown out of his shell that just doesn't land, because as far as the film goes, none of this was actually seen.
However, this is hardly a major issue, as The Dangers of My Heart: The Movie makes the right call to make Ichikawa and Yamada's relationship the heart of the story. Anime romances have a bad habit of feeling too slow burn and dragging out love stories, though The Dangers of My Heart: The Movie is wonderfully concise, building their relationship and growing their characters with each scene. It's a testament to the film's strong source material that the character development still lands with the same emotional depth and charm found in the manga and anime.
Ichikawa's growth from an insecure loner definitely hits harder in the anime and manga where you can see his gradual development, but his romance with Yamada honestly works a little better in the movie thanks to the tight pacing. There's less teasing and more emphasis on actively building towards the end of the film, which sticks the landing in a way that few anime romances actually do).
The Dangers of My Heart avoids the pitfalls of anime romances with an ending that actually commits
By far the best part about The Dangers of My Heart: The Movie is the fact that the story is actually willing to commit to its romance. Far too often, anime romances drag things out with constant teasing and relationships that ebb and flow too much to feel concrete. Confessions and kisses are often saved for the end of the series (if they happen at all), resulting in unsatisfying arcs that simply drag the story out too much.
The Dangers of My Heart: The Movie doesn't have this problem at all, thanks in large part to a new scene at the end of the film that adapts Karte 127 from The dangers in my heart manga. Ichikawa and Yamada's relationship feels fully developed and fleshed out, making their big moment at the end of the film land with a lot of weight. Knowing that there is more story to come and that the manga continues to develop its romance makes the ending tougher: there is still more to see once The dangers in my heart Season 3 will eventually air.
The Dangers of My Heart: The Movie isn't perfect, but few anime recap movies are. Even with its problems, The Dangers of My Heart: The Movie does justice to its main attraction: Ichikawa and Yamada's love story. The two have a genuinely charming relationship, and watching them slowly fall for each other and grow alongside each other really captures the excitement, awkwardness and fun of young love. Whether you're already a fan of anime just looking for a refresher, or looking for a new series to pick up, The Dangers of My Heart: The Movie is a good movie with a lot of heart.
- Release date
-
2023 – 2024-00-00
-
Hurry Horie
Kyotaro Ichikawa
-
- Satisfying romance arc
- Fantastic soundtrack
- Strong art direction
- Beginner-friendly summary
- The supporting role is poorly developed
- CG animation is sparse, but rough
