Review of Rumbling Hearts

(This review will have spoilers.) Rumbling Hearts is a very old anime by now, and when comparing it to a lot of anime that have come out since then, it seems a bit dated. That is not to say the anime is boring, but rather, a lot of the pacing and developments in the story can be seen coming a mile away. Sadly, therein lies the problem: while the conflict that arises is indeed predictable, the responses from the characters can only be considered obnoxious and pathetic. This leaves the viewer quite bored towards the end of the series, after the same characters behave the sameselfish way episode after episode. The main issue of the story is the way in which the cast of characters responds to the love triangle between the three main characters. During high school, best friends Mitsuki and Haruka both have developed a crush on a boy called Takayuki. However, Mitsuki only developed this love after she deliberately became friends with Takayuki in order to help Haruka break the ice between the two so she could confess to him. Although this is a major source of conflict in the story, Mitsuki seemingly announces her feelings to Takayuki out of nowhere. This is foreshadowing of Haruka’s selfish nature that will cause the implosion of the love between Haruka and Takayuki. Soon after this secret confession the love between Haruka and Takayuki blossoms beautifully. It can be argued that if this story became focused on Mitsuki's development as a person experiencing the pain of jealousy and loss, then this story might've been much more adored than what it resorts to being: a story about betrayal. While waiting for Takayuki near some telephones, Haruka is hit by a bus while she was attempting to contact Takayuki, who was running late. This accident leaves her in a coma where it is uncertain if she will ever wake up again. Meanwhile, Takayuki begins to feel guilty, as he was late to the rendezvous because Mitsuki was holding him up. Mitsuki gained wind that he was on a date with Haruka, and begins pressuring him to buy her a present due to her birthday, when in actuality she was jealous of the date he was going on with Haruka. Right away, the poison in the story is administered and has a displeasing effect on the viewing experience. While Takayuki is in distress over his failure, Mitsuki seizes this oppurtunity to seduce Takayuki, only seeing Haruka's accident as her key to victory for her love. Instead of questioning the validity of Mitsuki's feelings, or whether or not it is the right decision to make in such a situation, he gives into Mitsuki when she throws her body in his arms. This is only the beginning of the toxic events that begin to unravel. The story continues until it reaches the main center of conflict which is Haruka's awakening. The couple attempt to hide their relationship from Haruka, but it begins to devolve into mistrust and uncertainty. Instead of addressing the situation head on, the characters constantly brush off the weight of the circumstance, only leading the emotions to boil over until brash decisions are made, like Mitsuki sleeping with her best friend or Takayuki going for days ignoring Mitsuki. The characters almost refuse to act like adults and share accountability for the relationship. Conflict after conflict only leads to recurrences of anger and self-hatred. While it is understandable the show has a duty to be entertaining by way of creating interesting conflicts, the story tries to convince the audience subconsciously that the illegitimate love between Mitsuki and Takayuki is valid, if only because they got together when Haruka was in a coma. While the writers have no responsibility to preach morals, the lack of dialogue on the topic of betrayal causes a feeling of bewilderment to arise in the viewer while the series concludes. The question of whether it is truly acceptable to betray a promise and trust between best friends is completely ignored for the themes of acceptance and self-improvement. This leaves a sense of dissatisfaction, as the ending while beautiful only contradicts this message to reaffirm what it has been trying to communicate the entire show: a love gained through opportunity is not wrong, and worthwhile if you need it to survive. While this message is not terrible, the story contradicts this sentiment towards the end of the series. While Takayuki sees Haruka and the feelings he possessed so long ago begin to reignite, Mitsuki finds the strength to let go of their toxic relationship and pursues growing as an adult. Haruka, being feeble and timid her whole life, finds a burning desire to grow stronger for Takayuki's sake and works hard to heal after for him. But as the final episodes come, Haruka's feelings are betrayed by Takayuki for a final time, and all the progress that the characters have made is undone. And by the end of the anime, it only seems that Haruka grew as a person throughout the whole series, while Takayuki and Mitsuki resign themselves to their relationship, as they admit that they could not persevere alone, and not only love but need one another. While this is a very romantic idea, it completely diminishes the improvement of the characters, as they worked so hard for the sake of progression but ended up staying with each other to protect themselves from suffering alone. Ultimately, Rumbling Hearts is a product of it's source material, and by design it is meant to possess various endings. However, the ending the writers choice to use when adopting this concept can only be described as hopelessly romantic.