My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! X

Episode 10

This story arc that we're going through is an adaptation of one of my favorite novels in the series…and I'm starting to get the feeling that it actually worked a lot better in novel format. That's not to say that this isn't good, but some of the moments that come across as leaps of logic or astounding density feel less so when we've got more words to fill in the gaps. Chief among them is the fact that only Catarina and her mother are truly operating under the assumption that Keith ran away – we learn this week that her father is actively pursuing information about Keith's kidnapping, and that the Magical Ministry has been aware of the high likelihood that Keith didn't leave home of his own volition from the start. Catarina believing Keith's note is one thing, and we know her mother will take any opportunity to blame her least favorite child for anything. But everyone else who knows Keith and is aware of what went down with Catarina's kidnapping before ought to be at least questioning the veracity of that note, and really only Larna and Raphael seem to be. Sora gets an out on this one, because he's the newest addition to the hare-, er, cast, although given his own role in Catarina's abduction he perhaps shouldn't get that pass. But when Larna finally tells everyone that Keith's been kidnapped, Geordo is just as shocked as Catarina, and that feels like a bit much. He's known Keith as long as Catarina has, and furthermore sees him as his chief rival – he knows Keith wouldn't just run off and give up the fight. He's also not a jerk and is a little (okay, a lot) brighter than Catarina, so none of this is coming across as particularly well-plotted here.

Despite that, there are a lot of good, small moments to take note of. Raphael gets major points from me for wanting to tell Catarina right away the truth of what happened to Keith, because there really aren't any good reasons not to – she's already out looking for him, and the situation is urgent. We also finally get a better idea of why Alexander the Hound Bear hasn't been much help: he has to be within a certain proximity of Keith (or whomever he's tracking) to really point people in the right direction. When the group reaches the spectacularly unsubtly named town of Noir (“black”) on the equally unsubtle border of the lawless country of Lesabre (“the sword”), Alexander is swiftly able to point Larna to the exact house where Keith is being held. He really is a combination of magical tool and scent hound, more exact the stronger the smell. (He sniffs the air before pointing, a good reminder that he's guided by scent.) Of course, if Alexander knew that Catarina was the closest person to his target he might not have been quite as forthcoming – she and the bear have a very adversarial relationship, possibly stemming from her initial feeling that he's not that cute. After she covered him with burrs, she's lucky he points to where Keith is at all.

Meanwhile Geordo and Sora are more or less making it clear that they're still aiming for Catarina's heart even though she's incredibly preoccupied. Geordo does admit that this really isn't the time, fortunately after he buys her the weird trinket, because you don't have to be familiar with the books to realize that's going to be important. Sora's convinced himself to take a backseat because not only was he complicit in her kidnapping, but he's also as far from her social status as it's possible to be – and honestly, allying himself with Mary isn't a bad approach to take, because she's once again proving herself to be the most formidable contender, having enlisted him to stop Geordo from taking advantage of the situation. Everyone's still being very supportive of Catarina, and her natural ebullience aside, we really can see that she's struggling with Keith's loss – the little ways she's reminded of him are touching and at least a bit heartbreaking. Even if you don't want them to be endgame, Catarina and Keith have been together for most of their lives at this point, and she really depends on him in ways she didn't even realize until he was gone. That she has a nightmare about him as he's being tormented also suggests that they're very closely linked – my sister has been saying since season one that she thought the anime was biased in Keith's favor, and this episode doesn't do anything to really disprove her theory.

Now they know where Keith is most likely being held. The bear's got the scent, Larna's making her preparations, and Maria's revealed that there's definitely dark magic involved. Larna seems to think that they can afford to wait until morning to go save him…but judging by the twisting of Catarina's hands, I wouldn't make any bets that she's going to be content to sit back and wait for the dawn.

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My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! X is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.