Review of Rumbling Hearts

*SPOILERS INCOMING* More like Rumbling Farts, am I right? Comedy genius, I know. But in all seriousness, this is a great romance anime. Just the first two episodes alone were absolutely fantastic. Main character, Narumi Takayuki is confessed to a girl by the name of H̶a̶r̶u̶h̶i̶ Haruka Suzumiya. Haruka was introduced to Narumi by her best friend, Mitsuki Hayase, and when Haruka confesses her love for Narumi, they immediately hit it off. I’m truly shocked at how quickly the romance in this anime progresses. This anime accomplishes more in just two episodes than what most romance shows can do in twelve episodes, twenty-four, hell even forty-eightepisodes. Which is another perfect example of why Kimagure Orange Road is a god-awful romance anime! Man, oh man, I always find some way to punch that anime in the gut.

Don’t you just love watching an anime where it takes an entire season for the characters to actually hook up, acknowledging the fact that they’re in a relationship and hold hands for the first time? Maybe even kiss for the first time? It’s so fulfilling to watch, sure, but Haruka and Narumi’s relationship blossoms so quickly that they’re French kissing in episode one, and by episode two they’re fucking! Unprotected sex, as well. Don't we all like it raw? However, while waiting for Narumi to show up for their date, one day, Haruka is tragically hit by car, and the aftermath is gruesome. Once it’s revealed that Haruka was the victim, the music cuts in with impeccable timing and my jaw dropped when this scene happened. It reminded me of the scene from Hunter x Hunter when Killua threatened to kill Sadaso and Hunting For Your Dream by Galneryus came on at the perfect moment. For Rumbling Hearts, it was just so… unexpected. It was “almost” an entirely wholesome love story. And there was no OP or ED for the first and beginning of the second episode, by the way. What an amazing but also upsetting way to end an episode like that. An extremely bold decision. And I respect that.

Haruka survives the accident, but she ends up in a coma as a result. The show does a three-year time skip where Narumi and Mitsuki start a relationship and Haruka is pretty much forgotten with time. That is, until she wakes up. Things get very complicated after this point, and it would be difficult to explain what happens. In my opinion, the rest of the show is not as strong as the first two episodes and slowly teeters out after a while. However, the whole thing is rather impressive for a romance anime and the ending is heart-warming.

My thoughts on Narumi as a character are mostly positive. Despite being only fifty minutes of content, I loved seeing his relationship with Haruka develop at the beginning of the show. After the accident with Haruka, Narumi became a nervous wreck, until he starts a relationship with Mitsuki. He gets a job working at a family restaurant and everything is normal. Mitsuki is also a bit of a nervous wreck, as well. Pre-time skip she was the big swimming star of her school, but eventually quit and got an office job. When she isn’t at school, she’s with Narumi and they also make a good couple. Haruka, the girl I prefer more than Mitsuki, is a sweetheart. Sorry for not being an unbiased party, dawg. Haruka is in the hospital for the vast majority of the series and is the quintessential reason for the conflict and drama between the characters. When she awakens, she handles the situation quite well for someone who got caught up in a traumatic accident and lost three years of her life. There are other characters like Akane, Haruka’s little sister. Pre-time skip Akane is pretty enjoyable and fun to watch, but post-time skip Akane is a lot more bitter and stoic after her sister’s accident. Completely understandable. One last character I’ll briefly mention is Daikuuji. She’s… peculiar. She has the tendency of having these crazy, unhinged outbursts and telling people to step in cat shit. That insult is oddly specific and also questionable. She is hot, though. Blondé hair with nice tits. I just love the entire concept of this anime and the character dynamics. It’s all so good.

The visuals themselves are not the show’s strong suit. Early 2000’s anime have the habit of being a tad ugly. Not all, but many. For a story like this, the visual department and animation is not completely important. This was very refreshing to watch, and I know I’ve been saying that the past few times, but it really was. I’ve not mentioned the music because it’s one of the weaker aspects of this anime. It’s not bad in any way, just nothing substantial and worth mentioning. My scores:

Story: 8/10
Art: 6/10
Sound: 5/10
Character: 8/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall: 8/10