Even in an isekai, the cat distribution system finds a way.
Though I Am an Inept Villainess Ep. 3
Ah, it’s the episode where Reirin wins Leelee over for good. Essentially, Leelee tries to torture our inept villainess through non-violent means — well, as non-violent as a curse can be — but much to the court lady’s dismay, the eternally positive Reirin takes everything in stride. As a result, Gayou blackmails Leelee. Either commit murder or be reported for stealing the hairpin. Welp, this is why you never make a deal with the devil.
Leelee later tries to kill Reirin, but she only manages to chop off a few strands of hair before Shin-u intervenes. Reirin, however, covers for her court lady, thereby sparing the girl’s life. She knows how badly Leelee must have suffered under Keigetsu, so she has no choice but to bear that responsibility. Can’t avoid it when you have that body. Fine, but it’s still a little too soft-hearted for me.
I binged both seasons of The Pitt, and there’s a subplot where a doctor gets caught stealing drugs from a patient. He goes through rehab, so now he’s back. He tries to make amends with everyone, but the senior attending doctor has this to say (paraphrasing): “I’m glad you got help for your addiction, but I’m not sure I want you in my ER.” And I think that’s fair. Pitying someone is one thing. Trusting them, however, is a different hurdle altogether.
Leelee has been through shit. There’s no question about it. But so have a lot of people, and yet they never cross a certain inviolable line: murder. Do I think Leelee should be executed for attempted murder? No, but if I were in Reirin’s shoes, I wouldn’t trust the girl again. Leelee can’t even argue that it was either her or Reirin. Kill Reirin and she gets executed for the crime. Don’t kill Reirin and they accuse her of stealing. Maybe stealing is also punishable by death, but if you’re fucked either way, then why choose to kill? It won’t spare you. And yet, Leelee made that decision anyway. I wouldn’t trust someone like that ever again. Her decision-making is tragically flawed. She’s just lucky Shin-u stopped her from doing any damage.
Ah well, Leelee is undyingly loyal to Reirin now. Not only that, Reirin wants to know who’s been manipulating the poor girl. I’m curious to see what she can do in Keigetsu’s body, though. Speaking of the devil, Keigetsu continues to reap what she has sown. Also, the prince regrets that his actions may have led others to try and lynch Reirin. Bro, you stuck her in a cage with a lion.
A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even Ep. 4
Elizabeth and her crew arrive at the capital and immediately begin expanding the business. Mireille admits that she’ll be too busy to continue attending to Elizabeth’s daily needs, so it’s about time they bring on an employee or two. Here is how the exchange goes down:
Elizabeth: “Then, how about we try hiring at the Merchants’ Guild?”
Mireille: “No, I’m not sure I would feel good about hiring a stranger to be your attendant.”
Elizabeth: “You make a fair point. I’m a refugee from the kingdom. I can’t let that secret get out.”
Mireille: “How about a slave?”
Oh. And she says it so casually too. Don’t want to leak secrets? Just get yourself a slave! Funnily enough, the average anime villainess is not villainous at all. At least our “livid lady” is giving us a good reason to despise her.
The best part is when they go slave shoppin’. Take notes, kids… y’know, in case you need to buy slaves in the future. Elizabeth stops by a rather shady operation. They can’t even afford proper lighting! How am I supposed to peruse the “merchandise” if it’s dark and gloomy? More importantly, the slaves are all locked up. You don’t want slaves who are caged in such horrible conditions. You want free-ranged slaves! Like the ones at Cedric Commercial Firm. See? What a friendly, inviting name. And unlike the other slave-selling operation, this one gives their products an education! You’re buying premium people, people!
As a result, Misha the catgirl joins the team. Other than that, the rest of the episode is ho-hum. Elizabeth makes connections in the capital. She also bumps into the murderous nun again. This time, Tida is also a gamblin’ nun. Ain’t no vice too sinful for this woman of the cloth. Finally, Elizabeth’s father tasks a lady named Rosaria with taking over Elizabeth’s former responsibilities. Back in the empire, our up and coming, child labor employing, bandit-killing entrepreneur — now also a slave owner — reiterates to Lucas her desire to destroy her former kingdom.
The Forsaken Saintess and Her Foodie Roadtrip in Another World Ep. 4
A dungeon has appeared out of nowhere, and the adventurers’ guild thinks this is an ill omen in line with all the recent spates of monster attacks. I think it’s funny how this show still tries to maintain some semblance of a plot. All of the other cooking-focus isekai anime are mainly about the food. Instead, this show insists on giving us basic-ass dungeon exploration. The group walks a few steps, then encounters a single monster that they can kill in one hit. Rinse and repeat. Eventually, a winged cat literally falls into Rin’s lap. Luckily, her survival skill lets her know that this is one of the few wild animals she can’t eat. Phew!
Only towards the end of the episode do we get to see any cooking, and the show manages to confuse me a bit. Rin needs tartar sauce, which she starts by boiling and mashing up eggs. Huh? I don’t make my tartar sauce with boiled eggs. I eventually realize she’s making gribiche sauce… which is kinda like tartar sauce, I guess? Since anime tends to have such a hard-on for European culture, Japan probably thinks this is how it’s done. Anyway, Rin serves up chicken nanban to the crew, but replace chicken with cockatrice. It’s funny how a cockatrice is supposed to be this serpent-like creature that just happens to have a rooster head. But here in anime land, it’s pretty much all chicken with a snake-like appendage that magically goes away after you murder it.
Again, the rest of the party still grimaces at the thought of eating vegetables. Funnily enough, the winged cat, now named Gomamiso, shows them up. Cats are supposed to be obligate carnivores! Out of everyone in the party, Gomamiso is the only one with a good excuse to abhor veggies!
The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power Ep. 5
The Sanchez sisters are each undergoing separate trials. Carolina is redoing her aptitude test, whereas Flora has to prove that she can still become the saintess. Well, what are the results? Carolina still doesn’t have arcane power, but she has divine power. As you might have already guessed, especially if you’re not a complete idiot, Carolina’s mere presence alone confers massive benefits. You could even argue that Celestia has only been successful up until now thanks to her… wait, Carolina is how old? This is anime, so she’s probably a teenager. How did the kingdom manage before she came along? Was it her mother who died in childbirth and passed her powers onto her? Ah well…
As for Flora, all you need to know is that she failed her test. This failure, however, confirms her worst fear: she needs her sister back. As a result, she’s probably cooking up an evil scheme to drag Carolina home with the help of the evil archbishop. How do I know he’s evil? I mean, look at his “humble” abode. Only an evildoer would park his ass in a dark and gloomy church. Good guys pay their electric bills! Anyway, since they don’t really need Carolina to do anything — they only need her nearby — you can easily imagine them kidnapping the true saintess and imprisoning her in a dungeon somewhere. Just gotta keep her alive. A cruel potential future in a show that has mostly been pretty light-hearted.
The rest of the episode has Carolina undergoing a crash course in harnessing her divine powers. After all, if Gilbert doesn’t get well soon, the throne goes to Edward, who seems to absolutely abhor the idea. As a result, we get to see Carolina discover that she has powers, learn to use said powers, then cure Gilbert of his malady which has stumped everyone else within the Malcosias Empire in half an episode. Naturally, she aces her first attempt. I would quibble with the show’s pacing, but… eh, I’m not sure if drawing this out would make this generic villainess show any better. All we need to know is that Gilbert is healthy again, aaaaaand he might have fallen for Carolina.
Ugh, don’t give me a love triangle between the brothers. Besides, Edward is the first non-family member to ever show Carolina any kindness, so I doubt she would even give Gilbert a serious consideration. He better nip his newfound feelings for her in the bud. It’s already bad enough that Flora is scheming with the evil archbishop to screw Carolina over. I don’t need extra sibling drama on top of that.
As always, what makes or breaks a villainess show for me is the heroine’s ambitions. The villainess is always going to be super talented in some form or fashion. It’s what she chooses to do with those talents that interests me. Carolina now knows that she can probably sustain an entire kingdom on her own. She can certainly heal all those who are afflicted with formerly incurable illnesses like Gilbert. So what will she do from here on out? Could she perhaps go on a pilgrimage to share her gifts with others? Could she bring comfort to the sick and needy? The worst case scenario is if Carolina is content to stand behind Edward. This would make her little different from a trophy wife. As a wise uncle once said, “With great power comes great something something…”
All Works Maid Ep. 6
Everything Melody does is completely accidental. She puts the entire kingdom to sleep only because she was trying to put The Dark One — now an adorable puppy — to sleep. When the dog was being difficult, she amplified the spell of her lullaby, not realizing that it would affect more than just the puppy. Then we get a dream sequence where she gets to chat with… the previous saintess? I think that’s who this lady is. Anyway, she thanks Melody for doing what she never could. Melody could’ve easily destroyed The Dark One, but she quelled the beast’s dark mana (born from dark emotions) instead! But despite being a genius in so many areas, Melody becomes a pure ditz when it comes to this specific topic. Me? A saintess? Teehee, I’m just a maid!
Basically, the final boss of the game has been defeated. All this reminds me, however, is that there are still so many more good deeds Melody could do, but she’s too busy washing her master’s underwear. Yeah, yeah, she tamed The Dark One, but it wasn’t like she was trying to. If The Dark One hadn’t foolishly sought her out, it could still be wreaking havoc out there.
In the second half of the episode, Anna-Marie meets up with Luciana to suss out if the latter is a reincarnator. Obviously not. Luciana is just a normal girl. All of the clues clearly point to Melody. Who made the protective dress? Melody. Who prevented Luciana from going down the evil path like in the original game? Melody. But Anna-Marie is just as dense as our heroine, so the only “substantive” conclusion she comes to is that the story is no longer obeying the script of the original game. Good lord, why are you people so dumb? Why are all of you so dumb?!
