Shojo Reflecting The Times: ‘Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You’ Episode 1 Review

It’s the year 2020, and Mizuha is having the worst 17th birthday ever. Her parents forgot it’s her birthday, she still can’t seem to get close to the senior she likes, and all her school trips and tournaments are canceled thanks to a new disease going around. She’s convinced she’ll never have the kind of youth she’s always dreamt of…until her childhood friend, Mizuki, suddenly asks her out. Here’s a mostly spoiler free review for the first episode of Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You which will premiere on Thursday, January 9, 2025 on Crunchyroll. A big thanks to Crunchyroll for the early access!

“An Awful Birthday” The very first episode of Anyway, I’m Falling In Love With You begins with an adult Mizuha out in the big city, contemplating her adolescence after seeing some students walking the streets. She thinks back on the start of an awful birthday that she had as a teen when she was much more carefree. The audience is transported back to the morning of July 1, 2020 when she wakes up on her birthday–one that everyone seemingly has forgotten. On her way to school, she’s greeted by her four childhood best friends, whom she’s known all her life. She mentions all four boys are partially her siblings as they walk their way to their local high school where they are all second year students. These childhood friends are the bespectacled Shuugo, the influencer Airu, the blonde and quite observant Shin, and the youngest of the grou…