From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad's Been Reincarnated!

Episode 3

Clearly, what every aristocratic teenage boy truly pines for is the heart of a middle-aged man (in a woman's body) – at least that's what the third episode of Bureaucrat to Villainess would have us believe! Kenzaburo's paternalistic charm mixed with Grace's... well, grace, succeeds in endearing almost the entire cast of eligible student council bachelors to his not-terribly-successful-at-being-a-villainess feminine persona.

Perhaps it's the middle-aged-dad in me, but I couldn't stop laughing during this episode, and that includes chuckling at the deliberately terrible dad jokes unleashed by both pun- obsessed “swords master” Richard (who indeed should never be permitted to speak in public), and Kenzaburo, who can't help but show off his elite punning skills. Kudos to whatever poor subtitle translator had to adapt so many Japanese puns to English. Make sure to stay for the post-credits next-episode preview for another concentrated blast of impressively virtuoso groan-worthy punning.

It's not only Richard whose affection meter leaps multiple points upwards – “guardian” Auguste is similarly taken by Grace's apparent empathy and compassion towards all nature, stemming from Kenzaburo's childhood love of hunting stag beetles. When Grace rescues a large, rare beetle and sets it free, Richard's rapid gain of affection points leaves him practically orgasmic.

Prince Virgile, meanwhile, is supposed to be Grace's fiance, but admits he's never felt any romantic feelings towards her – until she shows off her newly-acquired accountancy skills (I knew that fateful Abacus from last episode would be important), and seemingly tries to give heroine Anna all of the credit for balancing the student council's books. Virgile assesses potential wives in terms of how useful they will be to the country, quantified by the mental image of their stock rising or falling on a graph. His perception of Grace's stock rises faster than a Viagra-fueled member at a swinger's cruise.

Kenzaburo's plan to get Anna to teach both the stuffy, intellectual Lambert and the mischievous Lucas how to use the Abacus succeeds only in proving that yes, indeed, tsundere characters really are pushovers if manipulated correctly, while also raising Lambert's love flags for Grace. We are truly heading for some kind of unholy harem ending here, with Kenzaburo going full Katarina Claes and entrancing not only every male romance-able character, but Anna too. Mostly Anna, I think, considering how she describes Grace in her letter to her parents…

Bureaucrat to Villainess continues to be both completely loopy and utterly adorable, with silly gag after silly gag, all with perfect setups. I particularly liked the (extremely) brief sparring scene between Auguste and Richard, that immediately cuts away to Kenzaburo remarking “Man, what a killer action scene,” while the viewer sees almost nothing. What a fun way to lampshade that this show, although it looks good, likely doesn't have the resources to produce intricately coordinated, extended action sequences. It's also hilarious to me that this world's currency is merely “muhnee.” Such daft touches really make this show an absolute treat to watch.

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