I’m in Love with the Villainess – 09 – Claire the Clement

Thanks to Rae buying Claire time to set up an extremely magical ray spell the two are able to defeat the chimera before it can hurt anyone. The battle requires that Claire trust Rae to keep the monster away from her while she’s a relative sitting duck, and that Rae trust Claire not to accidentally hit her with the spell. Rae’s trust in Claire goes without saying, but that Claire trusts in Rae now says a lot about how far they’ve come. They even high-five each other!

But then there’s still the matter of the masked mystery man. He confronts the girls, stating he’d hoped the chimera would kill as many nobles as possible. While this reveals his affiliation with the commoner movement, it doesn’t say much else about who he is or why he took this particular roundabout way to try to attack them. When he tries to stab Claire, Thane swoops in and gets grazed. The blade is poisoned, but Rae is able to heal Thane without any issues.

With the Aurousseaus arrested the mystery man vanishing, and the angry mob dispersed, everything is wrapped up on this one evening … which is honestly fine with me. I’ll be honest: I watch this primarily for the cute interactions between Rae and Claire, not magical combat or political intrigue. The show almost seems to acknowledge that when it’s announced the movement has gone quiet. This leaves what is to happen to Lene and Lambert.

One thing is clear, despite her head maid and oldest friend Lene betraying her as part of a plot to do harm to the nobility and even holding her at knifepoint, Claire has no desire for Lene or the Aurousseaus to die for their crimes.

Yet execution is the indicated punishment. So when she and Rae are given an audience and asked what reward they want (and even Claire has to admit Rae’s valiant look is on point), Claire asks for the execution sentence to be commuted. When the prime minister voices his doubts such a thing could be done and the king is ready to go with his opinion, Thane once again steps in to offer his two cents.

Claire and Rae can only say that the Aurosseaus have done for the kingdom justify leniency, but it’s a matter of scale. Thane presents an alternate argument that proves more persuasive to the king: if he truly desires more of a meritocracy, he should put his money where his mouth is. The king then decrees that Lene, Lambert, and the Aurosseaus shall be exiled from the Bauer Kingdom.

Not long after exiting the palace, Claire and Rae celebrate in jubilation at the same time. When Claire takes exception to Rae “copying” her, Rae starts to dance with her, and eventually Claire’s scowl turns back into a joyful smile. The next time the two see Lene, she and Lambert are headed out of the city for good. Rae calls her over to say her goodbyes and also provide some recipes that may help her with her money situation.

Lene thanks Claire and Rae for being the ones to save her and her family from execution, (although the Arousseaus have also disowned Lene and Lambert), and apologizes for what she’s done. At first Claire lets her go without saying a word, but then calls out Lene’s name and says she’s not saying goodbye for good, because she’s certain they’ll meet again someday.

After that final exchange that brings a smile to Lene’s face, Rae can tell Claire just might need a hug. When she refuses one, Rae gives her one anyway. While this is iffy consent-wise, it turns out to be the right move, as Claire needs a few moments to have a cry over everything that’s gone down.

The whole part about Lene and Lambert being incestuous lovers ends up being neither here nor there. Since so little was explored about it, it probably could have been left out of this entire mini-arc, as wanting to save his beloved sister (in a non-incestual way) would have been a perfectly adequate motivation for their treason.

As for Rae, Claire’s opinion of her continues to improve the more time they spend together. Knowing as we do that Claire returning her feelings isn’t necessarily Rae’s end goal, it is good to see them getting along more often. That said, the preview for next week suggests Rae’s about to have some female competition for Claire’s affections.

The Dangers in My Heart – 11 – Remote Control

Ichikawa and Yamada’s date went so well and they made such big strides in their budding relationship, but what fresh villainy is this? Ichikawa in an arm sling, between Sekine and Loverboy and with Loverboy’s groupie across from them? In hindsight, I loved how random and vicious this stinger is, but in the moment I was anxious as fuck.

It’s a classic “How’d I end up like this?” story, which coninues by rewinding to the start of Ichikawa’s family trip to Akita. His frustration over having to share a room with Kana dissolves when he remembers his promise to photograph the snow for Yamada. But in the process of doing so he slips and falls off a damn cliff and at the very least sprains his arm.

He sends a selfie to Yamada as a gag, but she almost immediately video calls him, genuinely concerned about his arm, and relieved that he’s okay. I know that concern is genuine because a.) it’s been established she’s crazy about this little guy and b.) she called him so fast she forgot she was in Casual Evening Mode with her sports bra and glasses.

When she learns he’s returning home early, her thoughts turn to hanging out with him as soon as he’s back, but the two lovebirds are interrupted when they notice Kana, whom Ichikawa thought was dead to the world, is awake, and catches a glimpse of Yamada. She says she’s cute, and he says she’s “just” a friend from school. Kana is amazed she wasn’t some streaming thing.

Yamada wants to know what Ichikawa told Kana, and he’s honest: “that we’re friends … he guesses … for now.” The for now part is enough to cause Yamada’s heart to overflow, granting us one of her cutest faces to date. She then asks if they can talk more, and Ichikawa goes into the hall.

Yamada proceeds to ask Ichikawa to do things while she does them, from taking a drink to looking out the window to admiring the moonlight. It’s a tried-and-true method for feeling closer to someone you adore. Even if you’re far apart, the part of them in your heart feels closer than ever. She also has the shoujo manga in her lap, turned to the page where the boy says “I want to be with you. I wouldn’t be otherwise.”

Before heading back, Ichikawa decides to buy an Akita dog keychain for Yamada. Kana tries to let Ichikawa down gently by telling him girls are more than just their looks, and Ichikawa assumes she’s telling him not to get his hopes up with a girl out of his league.

For all their differences, Ichikawa recognizes in Kana the same tendency to try giving up on what she really wants before it hurts that he has. But now that he has something, someone he wants, he’s not willing to let it go. Not yet. Hopefully, not ever!

The next day Ichikawa heads out to meet up with Yamada, both to return the red scarf he borrowed and to give her the dog keychain. Instead, he ends up startled by a dog, who is attached to a leash, which is being held by Yamada in full-on Adorable Athleisure Mode.

Even after they made plans, she suddenly worried about his arm and decided to head his way instead. She decided this so quickly and with such a strong desire to see him as soon as possible, she neglected to consider the possibility they might’ve missed each other. But it’s all good; luck was on their side, and they were able to cross paths.

They head to the park with her Corgi, Wantaro, and Ichikawa suddenly gets cold feet about giving Ichikawa a non-food gift. Does this kid not remember that extended sequence bathed in blue light where he and Yamada were holding hands like old soul mates?

No matter; he is punished for his lack of faith by being given a bottle of green tea that’s already open by Yamada. My first thought was that she already took a swig, making it an indirect kiss. And while Ichikawa felt a bit like Yamada was remote controlling him over the phone the other night, she ends up following the commands he meant for Wantaro, including, most importantly, “paw.”

Yamada sits close beside Ichikawa without letting go of his hand, then reaches over him to retrieve the red scarf. Ichikawa put it in a bag so it would stay clean. Yamada blushes, tightens her grip on his hand, and admits that she actually wanted him to keep it, but then thought he wouldn’t want it.

His eyes opened by her honesty, Ichikawa exhibits his own, accepts the scarf, and offers her the dog keychain after all. She is so goddamned happy to get a gift from Yamada that she jumps up and does a little frolick. Before parting ways, she asks him about his first shrine visit of the year. He says he’s going, but doesn’t say it’s with his family, so she assumes the two of them will go, and will message him the time and place later.

From then on, Ichikawa and Yamada message each other every day. He may feel like it’s getting to his head that he can’t stop reading and re-reading her messages, the fact is she’s doing the exact same thing. If he’s a big embarrassing dork, so is she! And that’s perfectly fine!

What isn’t fine is Ichikawa heading into a FamilyMart to buy a drink, only to be ambushed by Loverboy, his groupie, and Sekine. It’s awkward as hell, especially since Sekine pretends not to know “Ichihara.” When Loverboy realizes it’s the boy who was with Yamada, he presses him for her LINE.

In an extremely telling moment, Loverboy orders the groupie to grab him a coffee, and the groupie blushes and obeys without hesitation. It feels so different, and so wrong, compared to when Ichikawa and Yamada were obeying each other on the phone call and in the park. Loverboy doesn’t seem to respect or even care about the groupie. He’s just using her because he can.

Sekine also excuses herself, leaving Ichikawa and Loverboy alone, but remains in earshot behind a wall. This is a test, and Ichikawa best not fail it. Loverboy drops the nice guy act, and things get transactional. “Ichihara” will give him Yamada’s LINE, and in exchange, he won’t tell anyone he got it from him. Ichikawa says he won’t tell him, and Loverboy asks why.

Ichikawa could tell him way, but Loverboy doesn’t deserve that much, and it isn’t really his business at all. So Ichikawa tells him he’s not telling him because he simply doesn’t want to. Before Loverboy can say another word, Sekine interrupts and asks Ichikawa to walk her home. When Loverboy offers to go with her, Sekine says she’s good … because she and Ichikawa are friends.

Sekine is clearly impressed with Ichikawa’s resolve. He passed the test and protected Yamada. But she says he should be straight with Loverboy next time about why. When Ichikawa protests, Sekine takes his hand in hers, and he recoils from her, and says, out loud, that he likes Yamada … he “thinks”.

For dramatic and comedic effect, Sekine takes a beat, then walks away and yells with a fake echo “I know…know…know,” then remarking that it’s “absolutely super obvious.” When they reach her door, he thanks her, and she teases him by asking if he wants to pop in. This Sekine girl man … she’s alright.

Having just been thoroughly messed with by another girl, but also given the validation he needed (note at no point did Sekine say he shouldn’t pursue Yamada, as it’s likely just as clear to her that Yamada is crazy about him), Ichikawa wants to hear Yamada’s voice, so he calls her. I loved her little nervous reaction before picking up (I love all her reactions, really).

He wishes her Happy New Year before she can tell him, but hastily hangs up when Yamada says Sekine has arrived (Yamada unknowingly walked her right to where Yamada and the others were having a sleepover). Bathed in moonlight, Ichikawa vows to someday tell Yamada that he likes her.

What a glorious slow burn this has been, with incremental progress from episode to episode providing a steady stream of good vibes. What began with a chuuni dork with delusions of edginess outraged an invasion by the class idol has now come to point where that dweeb is on the cusp of confessing to that idol … whom he’s learned is also a dork.

Ichikawa has done so much for Yamada thus far. First out of decency and kindness, then out of his growing affection for her. Now there’s one more thing to do: the most important thing, the thing that will end their beginning and begin their story together in earnest.

That’s asking a lot. It means putting himself out there after so much time as the safe but lonely hedgehog. But he doesn’t have to fear. He’s got this! He can, should, and must confess to her. The only question is will he, and before the season ends? Or will she be the one to confess first?

Jujutsu Kaisen – 42 – One Mahito, Two Mahito

As voices from the past go through Yuuji’s head as he wanders Shibuya Station in search of another battle, a half-burned Nanami also shambles along, both in the station and in his Happy Place: a pristine Malaysian beach. When he finds a huge mass of transfigured humans, he pounds them all into jelly, and then Mahito shows up, just moments before Yuuji does.

Unlike countless humans he’s transfigured and used as tools and weapons, Mahito actually gives Nanami a relatively clean and quick death, perhaps in deference to their previous fights. But yeah, that’s the end of Nanami Kento (RIP), whose last words to Yuuji are “Take it from here.” Yuuji is certainly game, but he’s also a hothead, and Mahito knows exactly what buttons to push to throw him off balance.

A battle against Mahito is a battle of millimeters, so any adverse change in balance can get one killed. Fortunately, a Yuuji apparently healed and energized by Sukuna’s brief awakening manages to keep up with Mahito’s grotesque nonsense, enduring being pushed against one wall by another wall made of flesh, and Mahito even leaning in for a kiss only to shoot his mouth out like a deadly blade.

Mahito knows Yuuji has a kind heart, and uses un-transfigured humans to trick him, delivering a blow that stuns him. Meanwhile, we learn that several hours ago Mahito split himself into two, with one going down into the station and the other prowling at street level.

While the former is the one fighting Yuuji, the latter encounters Nobara, who is eager to kill him for Yuuji’s sake. Mahito has other ideas, like dragging Nobara’s lifeless corpse before Yuuji in hopes of breaking his brain for good. One can simply never underestimate Mahito’s level of unhinged depravity.