Slice of Life Romance Animes have too much that leaves to be desired upon; it's romantic antiques whether the character is in turmoil or whether the significant other is deeply affectionate with you or not, playing with these feelings of yours in the suspenseful romantic tone of a 12-episode journey of figuring out what love really means to a person. They may get the partner in the end or not, but one thing is for sure: after many obstacles they've faced, whether from the main character’s mental battles or a couple of people covering the way, it ultimately leads to a conclusion that may be satisfactory or not for the main character. These days, however, sadly, this trope has been overdone to the point where the trope has become the very thing that's destroying the genre. In recent slice-of-life romance animes, they apply this trope with a little gimmick offered in to gain interest, whether the female interest has “glasses” or the main protagonist is a “shy loner." These tropes are interesting in an idea sense, but ultimately, the poor execution ruins the novel idea presented. Repeat that trope every season, and you'll get a result where slice-of-life romance anime are not as respected as other forms and genres in the anime scene.

With that in mind, what does The Dangers in my Heart have that's unique from an abundance of romance slice of life anime with gimmicks? not much on paper. When i watched season 1, I wasn't really impressed by it other than how people rated the series on MyAnimeList and thought it was some recency bias. But watching season 2 of the series really made me realise that this series is truly different from the similar animes in this genre. ***

Now what is the gimmick this series offers?

Nothing.

It basically offered the barebones vanilla take of an overused trope, yet it feels far more unique and better than the animes that were trying too hard with the trope. One thing this anime stands out more than other anime within this genre is how it treats its characters. These characters are pretty generic when you look at them on paper: a shy loner male protagonist and a hot, popular female protagonist, yet the show adds more perspective with these characters, motivations for why they want to do the things they want to do, the openness of their thoughts without holding themselves back from acting, and most importantly, letting these characters feel like they're real human beings. What the characters are doing in the show is nothing special, given how crazy anime can be sometimes, yet it's that non-specialness that gives the show its charm. How these characters think, act, and their demeanors mimic the awkwardness of a young adolescent without being so cartoonish that it becomes annoying. ***

Another aspect of this is the story's progression. Normally, these kinds of animes with this trope tend to get stuck in a scenario that unfortunately most don't get out of, most notably the “will they, won't they? ” trope. This series has that trope, but it plays in a way that doesn't dumb down the audience and lets us show that they will inevitably be together at the end. Even the side characters around the series are convinced that these main characters will be together. With that in mind, the true endgame of this series shifts from “will they get together? ”How and when will they get together? ”. The audience knows that these characters really like each other without any red herrings, and now we see in the series how these characters fully come and face each other, showing that they like each other.

One of the biggest flaws with these “will they, won't they? "The trope is that there will be moments where it's obviously going to be the confession scene, albeit in a more unrealistic way, yet it doesn't happen, and the trope just keeps dragging on. With this series, it respects that trope and uses it in a way that shows how a kid in adolescence really reacts. Gone is the overexaggeration replaced by an accurate impulsive actions with actual consequences, accidental words spilling out to protect one's self, actually giving in to an intrusive thought drama that you get to be hooked on. Characters’s demeanor and how they approach each other fully sell the idea of them being viable romantic partners, yet the distance they have together because of the doubts they have in their minds fully shines on screen, and full-blown attempts at a confession and subtle, desperate romantic sequences are downright a more realistic take than most animes within this genre. ***

There are still moments in the show where certain sequences are just there to add spice for the audiences, and that's unfortunately at fault with the demands of audiences in this subgenre of anime. The Dangers in My Heart proves that putting forward a proper telling of an adolescent slice-of-life romance story is still effective storytelling over an overstuffed gimmicky subgenre. ***