A guy realizes his crush deserves better than his obsession, so he pulls back, and she spirals trying to figure out why he stopped chasing her. The whole show lives in that gap between what they're actually feeling and what the other person thinks they mean. It's a romance that moves because two people are finally paying attention to each other instead of their own fantasies.
Wataru is madly in love with his classmate Aika, and he keeps pursuing her without losing heart, dreaming of the day his feelings are returned. Then one morning he wakes up and realizes something brutal: he's not good enough for her. The logical choice is to back away, keep a proper distance and stop pestering her with his crush. Aika notices the sudden shift, and it catches her off guard. Confused by the change, she jumps to the wrong conclusion: does he actually hate her now? What unfolds is a romantic comedy of errors. Two people read the same situation from opposite angles, both convinced their feelings are one-sided. Wataru thinks he's moving on. Aika thinks she's being rejected. Sometimes the biggest obstacle to romance is simply the gap between what you feel and what the other person hears.
Streaming The Dreaming Boy is a Realist legally, as of the last catalog refresh. Availability changes by region.
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