[Anime A-Side] Dangers In My Heart Is Back - These Opening and Ending Credits Are…

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(Edited)

The first 12 episodes of this series were some of the coziest I’ve seen in all of the years I’ve been an Anime fan. They also began with a somewhat troubling premise that immediately became wholesome and the two lead characters grew fast on me. Until the series is complete, I won’t be reviewing the entirety of it but instead will be writing about my thoughts on the new credits and how they compare to the originals. Welcome to my second A-Side.

(Source - HiDIVE Official Promotional Art)

First Opening

“Shayō” - Yorushika

The moment I heard Suis’ voice and N-Buna’s guitar strumming, I was on board. Yorushika has been one of my favorite Indie J-Rock acts for going on four years now. I’m glad they are getting used for more Anime soundtracks.

This opening reminded me heavily of the opening for After the Rain with how much of it felt like a fairy tale. One core difference was how both showed the main character’s depression. In this one, it was more up front with how Ichikawa’s entire world was a mess of dark clouds and destroyed landscapes; there was also a scene of him falling and being caught by Yamada’s hair. Her being kind to him and spending time with him was something that he wasn’t used to but his growth as a character because he wanted to change was where this was less of a fairy tale romance for me.

Second Opening

“Boku wa...” - Attrayo

This was almost a better opening for me than the first one was. It had a similar vibe to the music but also showed Yamada’s own depression with Ichikawa being the one that was happier this time. The visuals were less fantastical and more grounded in the reality of the series instead. It also was very dynamic with quick cuts between scenes of them as individuals apart from each other making the moment the piano picked up and their mad search for each other that much more powerful. Then the 3D dance number happened. I enjoyed it the first time and saw exactly what they were going for but it felt so out of place with the rest of what the opening was doing. It also didn’t feel synced well enough with the music, making it somewhat distracting for me.

First Ending

“Sū Sentimental” - Kohana Lam

A common complaint that I saw amongst my internet anime group was how almost overly-sexualized this ending was in the first half. Yamada was not her current self but an older looking, almost ethereal version. I think that was intentional and was a brave choice by the animation studio. She was shown to be torn between two different worlds in the series proper: a magazine and television celebrity and then the awkward, somewhat clumsy and always hungry her. I loved how much of this ending showed what average people saw her as versus what her close friends and Ichikawa were shown. That's a key distinction which I hope gets addressed in a more serious light later on. I can relate to that sentiment (not as a pretty girl but as a man who shows one side of himself for work and another side for his companions). The music was also very pleasant and somewhat mirrored the opening. If one were to play both tracks together at the same time, I’d bet they’d become something new and wonderful.

Second Ending

“I Can Even Love My Loving Self” - Kohana Lam

Now, this ending was something special and the core reason I decided to write this entire post. Rarely in Anime or any other media do they show the history of the couple before they get together in the style they presented here. They then showed the differences their relationship brought upon their lives.

Instead of having a recap of the first cour, Karte 13 just continued from where Karte 12 ended. I was a bit concerned about that. Rarely do split-cour series like this show the restraint to not exposition dump or do a “Previously on…” bit. Instead, they saved that for the second half of this ending. Color me intrigued. This ending mirrored the general presentation of the first one and brought back the same musical artist but now showed maturity and growth in the studio along with the characters themselves. I loved this ending much more for how simple the direction was changed from the first one without it being jarring.

The watercolor memories in the first half brought upon a trance in me. The moment Yamada and Ichikawa moved towards each other set in motion a passion in my heart and seemed to bring both characters back to life after being trapped in their memories. At least that was my interpretation (as someone who hadn’t seen beyond Karte 13 at the time of this writing). This was no fantasy. This was a future in which they both were hand in hand heading towards with only tomorrow in sight; they were still children after all and reality arrived after the end credits rolled for me.

My Closing Thoughts

All four openings and endings felt like a complete package, complimenting each other and telling a unified story. I don’t see this very often. The last two Anime that did something similar for me were Anohana: the Flower We Saw That Day (in relation to the compilation film and original series) and Your Lie in April. Both of these series were not happy ones. That somewhat scares me now with where this series could go by the end. Please let this end happily or at least in a satisfying way.

What were your thoughts on this cour’s opening and ending compared to the first two? Leave your comments below, reblog, vote and share if you enjoyed this content. Thank you for your time and have a wonderful night.



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9 comments
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Openings and endings of anime shows tend to carry the anime up even a bit better.
As they are more often than not the first and last part of the anime episode, it could easily be a tag for the anime.

Most times people skip these parts of an episode, but if they're that good, then they may become iconic, separately and sometimes even more than the anime itself ..

For example, Unravel from Tokyo ghoul and Blue Bird in Naruto...

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Can you imagine an Unravel edit for the first opening to this? I can. It would be tonal whiplash once you got past the first episode or so but also could have been very much a nice way to illustrate Ichikawa’s internal struggles with his self image. I wonder what the ending to that version would be, though 🤔

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I prefer the 2nd season OP and ED but it's not to say 1st season was bad. I like the show even if I had a rough start appreciating Kyo's character but it's a breathe of fresh air having a slice of life romance and no overpowered protagonist harem. Their concerns aren't even alien given how this is what coming of age drama teens go through which is so damn relatable. The ending would just probably be an open ended but happy tone, just something to give the producers another season to continue if sales go well.

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(Edited)

Outside of some really funky character designs and faces in certain scenes (was an issue in the first season too), I honestly hope they do release more. This studio is one I’d like to see succeed because they’re nailing it for the most part here. I did some typo fixes and tightening up of the structure a bit on my original post, but this was mostly unchanged. I’ve gotten fully caught up niw and honestly appreciate the new characters, especially Anna’s dad and her model friend. This part of the show is quite a bit more interesting for me than the first part was with some of the directions it seems to be heading. I thought the English Dub was pretty good but only the original Japanese language is currently available for season 2. I may rewatch the first in the original language now only because of some of the jokes that weren’t translated 🤣

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I love the second opening. And guess what, I do not know about this anime but that second opening made me add it to my list of animes to watch. Good luck to me.

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I haven't seen this anime yet and I don't understand where it's going, but let's hope it doesn't have the ending of AnoHana or Your lie in April 😲

The OP and the ED are a fundamental part of the anime, as little as it may seem, they give another level to the story.

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If that ending occurs, oh Lordy Lordy. It shouldn’t go that way at all but random genre shifts are all the rage these days after all. 🤣

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