From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad's Been Reincarnated!

Episode 7

What turns a person into a “villainess”? Is it genetics? Society? Parenting? For Grace Auvergne, we already know she began as a sweet, caring child, but something about her upbringing forced her to adopt an aloof, critical character. In this episode, we meet her father for the first time – Duke Leopold Auvergne – and he really doesn't seem like the kind of guy to parent a monster. Although he's more than a little out of touch with his fifteen-year-old daughter's tastes (buying her a kiddie rocking horse as a surprise gift), it's clear he's a caring man who has perhaps been a little too distant from Grace's upbringing. He's only now returned from a two-month work trip, so meets this new, post-concussion version of Grace for the first time.

Kenzaburo fully empathises with Leopold's parental struggles – at 45 years old, he's Kenzaburo's junior by seven years, which understandably makes him feel a bit weird. By helping Grace's father save face in front of his servants, and also joining in his secret pastime of Beyblade battling – sorry, “spinning tops,” Kenzaburo helps Grace and her father become closer. It's very sweet. No matter how serious and responsible a career a man has, it's important for them to also pursue frivolous pursuits – as a confirmed geek, Kenzaburo is fully aware, and encouraging, of this.

We learn that Leopold was from less prestigious noble stock, and essentially “married up” into the Auvergne family, adopting his wife's surname. So far, Grace's mother has appeared only in cameo during the opening and closing credits. Does Leopold's desire to keep his hobbies secret from his wife suggest that perhaps she's very strict, and the likely cause of Grace's villainess development? I fully expect the show to explore this soon.

The second part of the episode returns to the Magic Exhibition storyline, with Grace and Anna finally demonstrating their mutually supportive magical skills in front of an audience – not before Richard and Auguste show off their Pokémon Sword and Shield schtick again. This show really does love a pop culture pastiche, and Richard still loves his terrible puns. We don't see an awful lot from Kenzaburo's family in this episode, but his daughter does ruefully comment that her father's “mademoiselle moves” are getting sharper, plus she's able to help the climactic battle scene by changing summoned beast Orion's magical affinity to Kenzaburo's order. It's a nice touch that when Orion is set to “fire,” Anna can support Grace with her wind, and when Orion is set to “ice,” Grace can use him to support Anna.

Everyone is, of course, extremely impressed with Grace and Anna's teamwork, but then there was no chance this exhibition mock battle would end in anything other than their total victory. In a hilariously unexpected touch, what looks to be a brief side plot about Anna's anxiety over weight gain from overeating turns out like a scene from How Heavy are the Dumbbells That You Lift?. Yes, Anna wanted to diet, but Grace told her how happy it made her to watch her enjoy her food (Kenzaburo is an inveterate over-feeder of young people, it seems), so her solution was to stuff her face and then engage in intensive cardio and strength training. Anna is now so swole she can't fit into her school uniform. The side effect of piling on muscle is a massive increase in stats, though!

With everyone in the cast glowing purple sparkles as their affection points rise in worship of their impeccable blonde non-villainess, finally Kenzaburo cottons on to the existence of affection meters. His deadpan expression confirms the poor guy has no idea what to do with this realization, which only adds to the hilarity. I love this daft show so much.

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