English Dub Review: Aharen-san wa Hakarenai “Time for the Summer Festival, Huh?”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

As Aharen and Raido’s friendship continues to fan the flames of Ms. Tobaru’s imagination, the festival season arrives, with the taciturn duo and their friends heading out to enjoy the fireworks.

Our Take:

I feel like the first week of summer is a perfect opportunity for specific anime shows to showcase episodes involving festivals. The latest episode of The Greatest Demon Lord introduced some festivities to celebrate the academy’s milestone. So, now it’s Aharen and Raido’s turn to get into the festival spirit.

This week’s episode starts with Ms. Tobaru being invited by Ms. Miyahira for lunch, only to be joined by Raido, Aharen, and Oshiro. If you’ve seen the beginning of the show’s fourth episode, you will know what happens to Tobaru next. If not, then allow me to elaborate: she was overwhelmed by the “romance” between Raido and Aharen, causing her to faint and have nosebleeds. Then, Raido and Aharen attend the summer festival with their friends Sato and Ishikawa. While there, they encountered another series of misfortunes, such as competing in game booths and getting lost. Futaba is also at the festival, but she got separated from her father, so Raido helps her reunite with her dad.

The only highlights I could easily find in this heartfelt and whimsical episode are Ms. Tobaru and its conclusion. Tobaru is admittedly comparable to Raido, in which both of them have only one facial expression on their faces. However, they also express other emotions internally. In Tobaru’s case, she expresses her excessive passion and excitement in her mind whenever she sees Raido and Aharen together.

The episode showcases more of Tobaru’s personality in a single storyline, with her having lunch and attending the festival with Ms. Miyahira. I enjoyed “Isn’t That Overdoing It” because of Tobaru’s uncontrollable condition, so it’s no surprise that I liked this episode because it expanded one of its best running jokes. Tobaru’s romantic fantasies and Katelyn Barr’s expressive vocal performance are enough to make me bust a gut when Raido and Aharen aren’t around.

Another moment I thought was cute was its conclusion, which sees Raido and Aharen watching the fireworks. Raido helps her see the show properly due to her short height preventing Aharen from watching specific events. After that, Raido offers his hand to Aharen to take her back to the others, which she accepts while blushing. It was a nice little piece of development that signifies their friendship blossoming more than before.

Overall, this episode offers a solid set of festivities for me and its viewers to enjoy. Tobaru still makes me laugh with her romantic obsessions (and her condition), and the festival plot has some lovely moments that warm my heart. It would be interesting to see if Raido and Aharen will grow to be more than just friends by the end of its season.