The Dangers in My Heart: Season 1 Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

The Dangers in My Heart: Season 1 Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

The Dangers in My Heart is a compelling romantic-comedy with a unique take on the genre. Created by Norio Sakurai, The Dangers in My Heart explores an unconventional romance and the quirkiness along the way. The series features animation produced by Shin-Ei Animation (A Couple of Cuckoos, Teasing Master Takagi-san). The theme music is performed by yorushika (opening) and Kohana Lam (ending).

The Dangers in My Heart features production by Akihiro Sotokawa (Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World, The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today), Hiromi Ōtsuki (Protocol: Rain, Battle Athletes Victory ReSTART!), Ikumi Hayashi (Pui Pui Molcar, Kamisama Kiss), Kazuki Endo (Protocol: Rain, Battle Athletes Victory ReSTART!), Kōta Tanaka (Requiem of the Rose King, BEASTARS), Sang Jin Lee, Youichi Kurashima (Grand Blue Dreaming, Do It Yourself!!), and Yūko Matsui (Dark Gathering, Sonny Boy). The Dangers in My Heart: Season 1 begins the comedic journey. Featuring the voices of Shun Horie and Hina Yomiya, The Dangers in My Heart is a compelling romantic series with a twist – while also exploring the slice-of-life genre.

Kyōtarō Ichikawa (Shun Horie) is an outsider at his school and doesn’t seem to fit in with anyone. Kyōtarō often daydreams of ways to cause a classroom disruption and he wants to be a strong, independent student. Kyōtarō might be described as “emo” by some.

Yet even despite these overwhelming tendencies, Kyōtarō falls head-over-heels for Anna Yamada (Hina Yomiya) – after all, opposites attract. Anna is considered one of the most beautiful girls in the school. Despite the two being on the opposite social spectrums, could the two have more in common than meets the eye? Romance could be in the cards. What is beneath the surface of Anna Yamada?

Where would the series be without the characters? The Dangers in My Heart is all the more entertaining because of the fun cast of characters on the series. Kyōtarō is a strange nerd and someone who simply doesn’t fit in with the popular kids in the same way as someone who fits a stereotypical role in these social classes. Instead, Kyōtarō is a bit of a lone outsider and someone who spends a lot of time just thinking up strange fantasies in his head.

On the other side of the spectrum, Anna Yamada appears ordinary and like someone who would fit every checkbox for a typical “popular kid” in school – yet despite these qualities, Anna is also someone with a quirkier side that doesn’t fit into an ordinary checkbox. There is more to her than meets the eye. The unique counter-balance between these characters and their goofiness together is something that adds charm to the series.

These types of characters are far more compelling than average characters without something more unique beneath the surface. The series is all the more relatable as a result, too. It is great to see for a slice-of-life anime series – something more grounded while still exploring both the romantic and comedy genres through the characters.

The character designs by Masato Katsumata (The Quintessential Quintuplets ∬, TenPuru) are one of the greatest elements of the series. The designs are excellent and add to the quirk charms of the series in a significant way. The designs are a bit cartoonish and over-the-top in some respects but still grounded enough to work well for the slice-of-life genre. Katsumata did a solid job here and the results work.

The animation impresses in spades and certainly fits the quirk sensibilities of the production. The series art direction by Masaki Mayuzumi (Blood Lad, Sasaki and Miyano) is a clear highlight and it makes the production all the more creative looking. The team of animators did great work here and created a colorful, vibrant, and engaging world for the characters to inhabit. The characters are animated in compelling manners – the animators highlighting their quirks.

The cinematography by Kentarō Minegishi (Modest Heroes, Yuki Yuna Is a Hero) and Yūichi Takezawa (Nyanko Days, Is the order a rabbit? BLOOM) is beautiful and a sight to behold. The cinematography provides lush visuals for the series. The visual flourishes are a step above. Minegishi and Takezawa capably handle the world of the series and the colorful aesthetic the characters lives.

The score composed by kensuke ushio (Liz and the Blue Bird, A Silent Voice) is a highlight of the series and adds a lot to the anime. The score is charming and breezy. The music adds so much to the series sense of wonder. It takes a fun score to lift up a production and add something special to it. This is certainly a score that works well with highlighting the whimsy of the concept and of the characters.

Written by Jukki Hanada (Beyond the Boundary, Sound! Euphonium), The Dangers in My Heart is an unusual romantic comedy slice-of-life drama. The series breaks expectations. The writing reflects something different in regards to the romance: the characters might seem different but some similarities exist, too.

Directed by Hiroaki Akagi (Teasing Master Takagi-san, A Couple of Cuckoos), The Dangers in My Heart is a charming and worthwhile spin on the romantic-comedy genre. Director Akagi is a gifted director who understands the genre and has approached the landscape before with Teasing Master Takagi-san and other series. The Dangers in My Heart is certainly going to appeal to audiences who enjoy lighter and charming anime fare over some of the bleaker and action-packed series that exist out there.

The Dangers in My Heart: Season 1 Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks, The Dangers in My Heart: Season 1 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high- definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The Dangers in My Heart looks incredible in high-definition. The colors "pop" with outstanding clarity and detail.

The series background animation shines especially bright on the presentation with the little intricacies of the art work being well displayed. The encode quality impresses, too. Sentai Filmworks continues to do a great job with providing a well-balanced presentation. The transfer is free from egregious banding and compression woes.

One of the great things about the physical format is that Blu-ray provides superior presentation quality when stacked up against streaming video platforms. The Blu-ray disc provides a superior experience – showcasing a transfer with better compression and higher bit-rates. Video enthusiasts who want the best, accept no substitutes, will find this a great benefit of the release.

The Dangers in My Heart: Season 1 Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The release capably presents the outstanding sound direction of Noriyoshi Konuma (A Couple of Cuckoos, Days With My Stepsister). The sound design is impressive and the stereo audio imaging helps the series to feel more exciting on the whole.

It is nice to see both the original Japanese language audio and an English dubbed option on the release. Sentai sometimes opts for the Japanese language version only, so it is nice that English dub fans have something special to appreciate about the release, too. The English subtitles on the release are also noteworthy and are free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

The lossless encoding makes a significant difference in the quality of the presentation. Streaming video services only provide lossy (non-lossless) audio encoding. For audiophiles who expect the best for the experience and for their dedicated home theaters, Blu-ray remains superior to any streaming video platform. The lossless audio allows for extra detail to come through on the encode – with dialogue sounding great alongside a crisp and enveloping sound design.

The Dangers in My Heart: Season 1 Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Web Previews (HD, 9:46)

Clean Opening Animation (HD, 1:32)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Unfortunately, The Dangers in My Heart has an average supplemental package and it doesn't have a more robust selection of bonus features. A more in-depth supplemental set would have potentially added extra value to the box-set and it could have made the release all the more appealing for fans. Audio commentaries, making-of featurettes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and cast/crew interviews would have gone a long way to improving the supplementals. Even some art galleries of some sort may have done the magic trick.

The Dangers in My Heart: Season 1 Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Dangers in My Heart: Season 1 begins the romantic-comedy on a strong note with great characters and a fun premise. The series explores the characters in a compelling way and anyone who has ever felt like an outsider who doesn't fit in will find something to relate to with the series. The Blu-ray release has a lackluster extras package, though. On the bright side: The Dangers in My Heart has received an excellent high-definition encode and lossless audio. Fans won't want to miss the release. Recommended.