English Dub Review:The Dangers in My Heart: “Karte 18: Yamada Likes Me”

Overview

As the student rep, Kyotaru faces the unenviable task of delivering the graduation speech. Now he’ll need a dose of confidence and a little help from Anna to pull it off.

Our Take

This time around, Kyotaro is chosen to read the farewell speech at the graduation rehearsal. Despite his initial nervousness and inability to project his voice, he is encouraged by Anna’s hopeful gaze to give it a shot. Feeling disheartened, Kyotaro receives vocal training advice from Anna. By sheer coincidence, the two accidentally witness Haruya being confessed to by a girl, which motivates Kyotaro to muster the courage to stand on stage confidently, even after knowing that Haruya has the hots for Anna.

This is important because the moment Kyotaro’s inner self reassures him about self-love, it effectively works as it’s a well-written message about how loving oneself is equally essential for healthy relationships. And in combination with this, the suspenseful school speech, and the emotional music culminates in something all the more impactful.

Overall, this episode brilliantly shows Kyotaro’s progress as a character, from overcoming public speaking fears to realizing mutual feelings with Anna. With supportive friends and family, especially his sister Kana, all of it fell into place while being grounded in reality. And given the big twist at the end, what direction could this go next?