[Seong Chan-eol’s Comics] I hesitated to recommend it, but 30,000 moviegoers leaves me saying ‘Give it a try’: 「The Dangers in My Heart」

To be frank, this is one of my current favorite comics, but it’s one I avoided writing about for a while. It’s wildly fun and genuinely heart-fluttering, but the barrier to entry is high. If even I, a fan of the series, felt that hesitation, I wasn’t sure how many readers would go along with it. Still, I have to write about it now. The animated film has opened in South Korea and surpassed 30,000 admissions, so this seems like the right time to introduce the original. It’s Sakurai Norio’s 「The Dangers in My Heart」.

「The Dangers in My Heart」, commonly abbreviated by Korean readers as "Naemawi," is a slice-of-life story about middle schoolers Ichikawa Kyotaro and Yamada Anna, who begin to develop feelings for each other. It puts a slight spin on a familiar rom-com pairing: an awkward boy and the girl everyone admires. Ichikawa is deeply negative and prone to chuunibyo-style delusions, while Yamada is energetic and sometimes achingly oblivious. From that slightly off-kilter "model student and gal" premise, 「The Dangers in My Heart」 weaves a narrative in which the two characters complement one another and grow together.

That hurdle shows up immediately. Early on Ichikawa, for reasons the story explains, reads books about brutal murders and even feels murderous intent toward Yamada. He doesn’t just brood like a typical teenager; he indulges in violent fantasies about real people, which can be hard to accept on a reread. And true to a writer who often leans on provocative gags, the author also occasionally depicts Ichikawa masturbating; that kind of depiction is not common in the rom-com category and is bound to divide readers.

But once you get over that initial hurdle, it becomes clearer why the manga is popular and so beloved. First, it stays true to its core. A rom-com's job is to capture those sweet moments between a boy and a girl convincingly, and in that department 「The Dangers in My Heart」 fully delivers, piling on the kind of sweetness that gives readers a figurative toothache. Ichikawa, who tries to keep his distance at first, gradually gives in to Yamada's antics and draws closer; the story uses a boke-and-tsukkomi dynamic (one character acts wildly while the other reacts) to generate laughs. In that process, the two who grow closer begin to recognize their true feelings—something readers already suspect—and the story naturally develops into a proper romantic comedy.

Because the story is told through Ichikawa’s perspective, a reread reveals subtle cues to Yamada’s feelings—quiet, distant expressions or sidelong glances that show she is thinking about Ichikawa. Those touches make it more than a comedy: the series convincingly shows the romance from both sides.

Here a second barrier appears. The series takes the relationship seriously enough that the two start to consider their futures, and at times—even though they are middle schoolers—the depictions feel excessive. It’s not only situational; even as a fan, I felt that, once Yamada begins working as a model, the author emphasizes her physical features. Thinking of the character as a middle schooler makes those depictions uncomfortable. Emphasizing a female character’s attractiveness is unfortunately common in male-targeted rom-coms, but drawing a middle-school character this way made me uneasy. It’s hard not to compare it with 「The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses」, which I introduced before and which portrays a similar middle-school first love with a modest, sweet tone.

Still, despite those discomforts, 「The Dangers in My Heart」 is a tightly written romantic comedy. It makes you laugh while capturing the future anxieties, social relationships, and the thrill and unease of first love from a middle-school perspective. In particular, Ichikawa’s exam pressures and Yamada’s work in show business are woven naturally into their relationship’s development, showing that the series works well as a coming-of-age story. Those strengths are why even I, despite all those caveats, still want to tell readers to give it a try. The original manga, serialized since 2018, has been published through volume 13 so far, and the anime aired two seasons followed by a compilation-style theatrical film, 〈Theatrical Film: The Dangers in My Heart〉. Both have received positive reviews, so give it a shot if it fits your taste.