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With the older shows I’m currently covering for the blog, I’m feeling pretty content. Still, I do feel I should squeeze in something current to the blogging lineup so let’s experiment a bit before the midseason. I’m giving Hamefura a tryout since, aside from liking what I’ve seen so far (I’m up to Episode 3), it happens to be among the few shows guaranteed to air through the whole Spring season (old news apparently but I somehow missed that…).
Do pardon the Quickie format for the next couple of posts. This isn’t a blogging priority just yet and I want to caught up ASAP.
- I’ve grown very indifferent about isekai anime and its shorthand but this show seems to be doing it better than most. Details such as Catarina ignoring dining etiquette and eating like a modern day teenager actually affects how some view her.
- Catarina getting all the boys and girls? I dig it! Maybe Maria really will fall in love with her.
- The A part with Mary (Miho Okasaki) is cute. I just really like watching her shyness wither away in Catarina’s company and using Catarina’s gardening hobby as a set up is smart.
- Technically, Catarina has the ulterior motive of gardening to improve her magical aptitude but that ends up in the back of her head. Her befriending Mary feels genuine. She actually admires Mary’s green thumb and when her crops improve, she readily tells her friend she’s more than welcome to visit again.
- Finding about Mary’s family troubles at the end of the A part is a little weird. Too expository for my liking. I do however approve that Catarina finds out later. It goes well with Catarina’s feelings being genuine. There’s no sympathy or pity angle, she just wants to be Mary’s friend.
- Mary being another rival character in Fortune Lover undermines Catarina’s dilemma a teensy bit. Our protagonist should have all the death flags. That said, I did chuckle at how much less violent Mary’s involvement in the original story is compared to Catarina’s.
- Alan and Mary being betrothed and Catarina accidentally derailing their romance feels more downplayed than it should. Hell, Alan accusing Catarina of “seducing” Mary straight up vanishes by the end of the episode. I hope this isn’t the last we see of this. It’d be pretty funny if the two compete with each other for Catarina’s heart much like Geordo and Keith are.
- Oh Alan, you shouldn’t have let Catarina pick the challenge. At least it’s a neat way to involve the tree climbing gag again. Watching Alan gradually grow close to Catarina was charming too.
- The resolution for the B part could’ve been better. Like, have Catarina convince Geordo to play the piano and reveal that he flat out sucks at it. That would make a stronger case to Alan that he shouldn’t compare himself to his brother, certainly more so than Geordo having a fear of snakes and he doesn’t.
- To be fair, the bit with the paper snake isn’t half-bad, especially when Catarina imagines using it during his “route”.
- Not sure why the real snake is censored…is Catarina sure that’s a snake?
- Seems like Geordo is the only one Catarina doesn’t actively try to interact with differently.
- I’m wondering what Geordo sees in Catarina. None of her new quirks have perturbed him too much. Then again, they are also like 10 so perhaps I shouldn’t speculate too much just yet.
- With how everyone in “Fortune Lover” are flocking over to Catarina, I’m curious how Maria’s role will play out. I can’t imagine she’ll have the same impact on everyone when she meets them.
All in all, this is a fun episode. I like both Mary and Alan but I must admit that I’m leaning towards rooting for Mary…and probably all the ladies for that matter.
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Thanks for reading!
Watch My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! on Crunchyroll
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