Mangaka Mizuho’s manga series gets canceled—on her birthday in 2030, no less. She then reminisces about her youth. Now it’s ten years ago, and she’s a second-year in high school. Is it a flashback? Is it time travel? Beats me. She had four guy friends: Kizuki, Airu, Shugo, and Shin. You kind of get the sense that they all probably like her, but Kizuki’s the one who flirts with her the most aggressively and repeatedly. However, Mizuho has a crush on a senior named Saito. The four guys throw her a surprise birthday party, and Kizuki seizes the moment to ask her to be his girlfriend. The next day, some girls ask Mizuho to pass on some cookies from them to Kizuki. She does so that night at the pool (why?), and he’s visibly disappointed to learn they aren’t from her. He proceeds to confirm that she doesn’t see him romantically, then pins her to the wall in the shower and kisses her, saying he thinks she’ll fall for him. I certainly hope not.
So what’s going on here? I have no idea how the 2030 prologue is supposed to relate to the 2020 body of the episode. My esteemed colleague Laura has read a couple volumes of the manga, and…she couldn’t give me a clear answer either. Not that it matters. The harem here is totally forgettable—except for Kizuki, who I wanted to punch because it’s creepy how aggressively he pursues Mizuho despite her lack of interest. I don’t have any experience with romantic relationships, but I feel like it’s common sense that pinning a girl to the wall and kissing her moments after she explicitly says she’s not interested in you is Wrong. Mizuho can’t save the show, because she doesn’t have much of a personality herself. I was bored throughout the episode. Also, it’s 2025 and we’re still using those flat, undetailed, colorless silhouettes for background figures instead of properly illustrating them all? Feels lazy, bro. Anyway, I’m NOT falling in love with this anime, and I can’t think of any reason for anyone else to watch it.
Anyway I’m Falling in Love with You is streaming on Crunchyroll, but seriously, don’t bother with it.
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