The Spring 2022 Preview Guide

Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove it. r=1-sinθ

Yukimura and Himuro are both graduate students working in the same lab and a prospective couple. However, despite feelings that seem obvious to their lab mates, the pair insist on scientifically quantifying "love" in order to empirically prove their attraction to one another. Their quest expands beyond their own lab and into their college's natural science department.

Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove it is based on Alifred Yamamoto's manga and streams on Crunchyroll on Fridays.

Richard Eisenbeis
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While this may be a season premiere, it sure doesn't feel like it—though that's not to say our characters haven't changed since we last saw them. The first season ended on an exceedingly high note with our main couple achieving the scientificly perfect romantic kiss. While the data for said kiss may be lost, the emotional effect on Yukimura and Himuro is all too evident. The two are more driven than ever to not only prove their “love formula,” but assert their love for each other through it.

The thing is, the perfect kiss has given the two a bit of an ego—after all, it was the single most romantic moment of their (romantically inexperienced) lives. Up until this point, Yukimura and Himuro have studied the love lives of those they had access to—e.g., Kotsuke's love for his 2D girlfriend and Kanade's unrequited love for her teacher, but the only truly reciprocal relationship they've been able to use as a reference point is their own—which neither are sure is “love” in the first place.

Enter Chris and Suiu. Our newest eccentric pair of scientists are a couple made up of a submissive yet passionate man and an extremely sensual and provocative woman. Not only have they been in a long-term relationship of four years, they are as into each other as Gomez and Morticia Addams. Threatened by a couple so obviously in love, what should be nothing more than a gathering of samples turns into a contest between the couples to determine which is more in love based on oxytocin levels.

While this makes for some of the worst science the two have been involved in, it shows just how desperate Yukimura and Himuro are—and how inexperienced. They completely forget that their goal is to simply prove that they are in love, instead of being the most in love couple in the world. While data from Chris and Suiu is important, it is not the baseline for romantic relationships. They would need to do a similar experiment with much tighter controlled variables and a sample size of hundreds to establish that. However, this doesn't stop Yukimura and Himuro from giving into the irrational fear that Chris and Suiu might be the baseline. And should they fail to match up to the lovey-dovey pair, then they would be forced to choose between their feelings and the scientific truth to which they have devoted their lives. The whole situation is both good character-building and solid setup for comedic moments. And hopefully, after cooling down a bit, they'll be able to realize this and continue on with their scientific exploration of love.

Lynzee Loveridge
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It's been about two years since we last saw Ayame Himuro and Shinya Yukimura attempt to quantify their feelings for one another and honestly, I feel a little bad that this show has to compete with a somewhat similarly-themed (but immensely more popular) Kaguya-sama. Like that show, we have a primary couple that has caught the doki-dokis for each other but will not outright admit it. Himuro and Yukimura are dead set on gathering evidence to support their feelings, leading to smooching under the pretense of science.

The show has about one joke in its roster and the animation, both in terms of movement and color design, is a little lackluster. Science Fell in Love instead rides purely on charm and for the most part, I'd say it's successful. Himuro and Yukimura's awkwardness isn't overplayed; it could have easily devolved into "oh god get on with it already" but neither party is in denial and despite not putting a label on it, both are also enthusiastic about the relationship's romantic progression. They want to kiss and cuddle and thankfully the story finds ways to let them even if its under the guise of a scientific pretense.

The introduction of Chris and Suiu also helps shake things up. The saliva-obsessed "courtesan" and her lovestruck English boyfriend make for a fun counter to the less confident couple. I mean, I could do without the glittering, highly-detailed spit but since this episode centers entirely around the fluid and how to measure different hormones in it, I can let it go. Also glad to see the "edutainment" aspect return in order to teach us all how elaborate scientific equipment is used (and how your dryer is just another version of a centrifuge).

Science Fell in Love is a cute show. It's not going to do anything amazing, but there are worse ways to spend your time than with a group of dorks fumbling through their romance.