Love Tyrant

Episode 4

Has Love Tyrant already run out of steam? Maybe it's too early to be making harsh judgments, but the previously unstoppable comic pace of the series slows to a distinct crawl this week, as it strikes out for elements no one was asking for it to have before: emotional moments and an ongoing plot.

In spite of its newfound ambitions, this fourth episode still sticks to the two-story format, and the first focuses on she of the shielded sister-complex, Yuzu. A flashback explicates how Yuzu ended up being introduced to her half-sister and object of affections Akane, then spends an unneeded amount of time letting her ruminate on her unrequited feelings. Guri's new Kiss-Note-phone lets her use a compatibility app to fan some flames, which leads to a confrontation with Seiji where Yuzu effectively reiterates all the issues we already knew she had.

The play for emotion in this segment goes on way longer than necessary, and it's played far too straight for a series that was happy to be a full-on parody until now. As with Akua's brother-complex last episode, Yuzu's feelings aren't resolved so much as pushed aside, and the final 'gag' for the episode (that Seiji and Yuzu might actually be more compatible with each other than they are with Akane) falls flat because of how expected such a turnaround is in harem shows played straight. It's the sort of 'twist' you expect Love Tyrant to make fun of mercilessly, not embrace!

The second half of the episode is marginally more interesting, but unfortunately no more funny. At least it impressively plays with the audience's expectations, starting with Seiji and Guri resolving to assist in the romantic requests of a seemingly random girl named Shikimi, who turns out to be the last of the 'main' girls in the harem alluded to in the opening credits (we also saw her spying on the group at the end of the last episode). Where the first half of the episode felt padded out in Yuzu's emotional pleas, this half drags out its reveal past the point where it was actually surprising. Shikimi's true appearance and sadistic personality is a decent shock for those who weren't expecting her to be in disguise, but it's a lot less interesting when the back half of her introduction is just cutting to samey scenes of her using sexual violence to torture Seiji while the other cast members work their way up to finding them. Ending on a 'To Be Continued' is less an engaging promise of an interesting ongoing plot and more a threat of prolonged pain while we wait for the show to get back to the comedy that it's actually been good at.

It's really patience-testing how much this episode's pace slows down to deliver such an uncompelling narrative. I mentioned before that when the show paused its comic assault on the senses to deliver exposition or appeal to the audience's emotions, the entertainment value suffered, and that weakness is on full display here. Yuzu's 'confession' in the first half is so unremarkable; it's the same mixed-up feelings of jealousy and inadequacy you've seen articulated in many other harem anime, played utterly straight for way too long. The Love Tyrant I enjoyed for the first few weeks would add an amusing twist or punchline to these proceedings, but there's nothing here this week.

When the episode shifts to Shikimi's introduction, it continues to be bereft of humor, playing out the characters' interactions in the most banal way possible to emphasize the 'shocking' revelation. Unfortunately, even after Shikimi's true colors are revealed, there's no comedy to be mined, as the show switches instead to pure fanservice. Love Tyrant already proved that it knew how to generate humor from ridiculously romantic violence with Akane's yandere tendencies, so why is this other character just pandering harder to masochists? It doesn't help that the show's mediocre production values aren't exactly up to delivering the sexy elements in the first place.

Maybe I come across like I'm being too hard on this episode, so admittedly it wasn't all bad. For as generic and flat as its newfound infatuation with actual plotting is, it was at least interesting enough to hold my attention throughout the episode. The fake-out way of revealing Shikimi was impressively clever, and despite the uncharacteristic dearth of jokes in this episode, there were still a few good gags that landed, like Guri inexplicably riding on Seiji's shoulders, or her use of Akane as a Seiji-seeking device. Sadly, there were also a few painfully unfunny jokes, such as the reveal of Yuzu's 'body double' at her real school (it's a guy in a dress), or the just plain awkward scene of Yuzu being approached by a skeevy guy at the river. The humor was the best part of Love Tyrant from the beginning, so just phoning it in like that damns the show overall.

Hopefully this was just a transitional episode for Love Tyrant, as it explored the established character dynamics and tried its hand at a unique way of introducing a new character. Shikimi's induction into Love Tyrant continues next week, and I'll be grateful if the addition of our other cast members infuses the situation with some comic life, so the show can get back to doing what it does best: making us laugh.

Rating: C-

Love Tyrant is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.