Love Tyrant

Episode 5

The previous episode seems to have been an off day, as Episode 5 of Love Tyrant opens with more jokes in the first five minutes than the fourth had in its whole runtime. All the characters coming together to save Seiji from Shikimi gives this story a serious momentum boost, finishing that previously-dragging plot thread on a strong note that lays the seeds for future stories well. Oh, and Seiji dies in the middle and spends the rest of the episode in Heaven talking to God.

Yes, the reckless absurdity that made the first few episodes of Love Tyrant so much fun returns in full force this week. Akane engaging in a super-powered fight with Shikimi employs both characters' weirdness for full comic effect. It's really interesting to see them play off each other here, giving them so much more to do than when they were only interacting with Seiji. It also speeds up the delivery of backstory and plot to this show, and unlike the dry snippets we got last week, expanding on Shikimi's motivation is actually interesting in this case. The reveal that Shikimi is Akane and Yuzu's cousin crystallizes Seiji's girl-troubles more by affirming that he's mostly found himself wrapped around one big, seriously messed-up family.

But even the dynamic delivery of these family funtimes can't compare to Guri's later entrance and resolution of the situation. Nothing will prepare you for the ridiculous crab costume she appears wearing, and her initial rapport with Shikimi works wonders in showing off her lovably dumb side. That strong dynamic entry transitions into probably the first dramatic moment that really lands in the series, as Guri, a love-obsessed angel who would previously pair anyone and anything, turns down Shikimi's request to add her to the harem. Guri may not know what love is, but she can tell that Shikimi doesn't have any of it. Is it a dumb, easy, cliché moment? Of course it is, but it works because it fits just right for this dumb character in a dumb story. Unlike the previous episode's dramatic misfires, this attempt succeeds because it feels like it knows exactly what it's trying to do. It also effectively establishes Shikimi as a villain for the foreseeable future, which genuinely surprised me (I was expecting her to get added to the harem for just a slight tweak to the status quo), so that's another point in its favor.

Now back to that whole thing with Seiji dying. Our nominal harem hero is abruptly summoned to Heaven, where Coraly (whose momentary appearance in his true angel form provides one of the best gags of the episode) guides him to go talk to 'Kami', ruler of the realm and Guri's father. The extended conversation in God's living room actually has plenty of jokes all its own (enhanced by the ambient absurdity of the situation), while also doing its best to provide character and story progression. We can laugh at the notion of Guri as Heaven's future ruler for the same reason that Seiji dreads it, and there's an effortless humor to God as a Hawaiian-shirt wearing deadbeat squabbling with Tiara about how he cheated on his wife. The show pushes the envelope even further when Satan--er, 'Maoh' shows up and professes his desire to have Guri rule Hell instead.

It's this joyful irreverence that made Love Tyrant work in the first place, and Guri's function as the heart of all that fun puts her in the center of this ridiculous conversation, even though she isn't actually part of the scene. Seiji interrupts the dueling deities' argument to point out that, in the time he's known her, Guri doesn't really 'want' to do anything; she is who she is because she has fun in the moment of whatever she's doing, then immediately moves on to the next thing she wants to do. Love Tyrant is at its best when it does the same.

Lest we forget about Guri catalyzing antics on her own, there are also a couple cuts backs to the Earthly realm as our hapless heroines panic about how to revive their cadaverous crush. Akane's Sleeping-Beauty-kiss attempt nets the other best gag in the episode (those slurping noises!) while Guri's remarks about getting Akane back to her old self help sell what Seiji's saying about her in the Great Beyond. It all comes together in the end, as Seiji's spirit returns to his body just as Akane's running out of knives to stick in Guri's head.

This episode proved that Love Tyrant can pull off emotional investment and an actual storyline so long as it remains true to its dumb, fun self while doing so. Getting all the characters involved is definitely one aspect that assists; this moresome is at its best when they're all bouncing off each other. Remembering to make jokes helps immensely too, since it prevents the otherwise plot-relevant bits from feeling like they're dragging on too long. Love Tyrant's sense of humor is its best asset so far: when it's on-point, the whole show just clicks. Last week may have been a cautionary tale about what happens when Love Tyrant takes itself too seriously, but this episode, much like Seiji, came back to life in a most amusing way.

Rating: B+

Love Tyrant is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.