The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess

Episode 4

Continuing from last week's episode, Euphie is dealing with what seems to be an impossible task. All her life, she has had a strict set of expectations placed upon her. While it had been hard for her to live up to them, she always knew where the goalposts were and how close she was to reach them. Now, there are no expectations of her whatsoever. Sure, there is a plan to rehabilitate her name, but that will happen with or without her doing anything. She is truly free for the first time in her life, which terrifies her.

Euphie wants nothing more than the safety—the surety of purpose—that comes from someone else making the big decisions. She begs Anis to order her to act the way Anis wants her to—that way, Euphie can at least cling to the identity of a noble who follows the orders of her lord. However, Anis knows that this would be counterproductive to Euphie's growth. Whether the former queen-in-training likes it or not, she is free to live her life and now has to decide how she will live it.

This all culminates at the end of the episode when Euphie decides to go with Anis to confront the dragon. She knows that fighting a dragon is a life-or-death matter—and that Anis is risking it all for her dream by going. On the other hand, Euphie has no reason to fight the dragon. However, one of her few personal wants comes through at that moment: she doesn't want Anis to die. Going along to support Anis in the battle is the first choice she has made for herself in her entire life—and is another major step for her on the road to becoming her own person.

The other side of the story is focused on Algard. If people have placed all their expectations on Euphie, they've placed none upon him. He's serious and works hard, but he is nothing remarkable. In another age, he would be welcomed as a fine, if average, king. Unfortunately, he has spent his life in the shadow of two much more talented women—Anis and Euphie. Often growing up, he'd hear people wish his sister wasn't a woman or wasn't as eccentric as she is—which he interpreted as people saying he wouldn't make a good king. His being paired with a perfect lady like Euphie was probably also seen by him as a public rebuke—that her competence was to cover for his own incompetence.

His feelings of inadequacy have twisted him into a young man filled with envy and jealousy—determined to show he is better than his sister and ex-fiancé no matter the cost. He's already allied with his family's rivals and publicly embarrassed his father's allies. In this episode, he even goes against a royal order, determined to show the world he has what it takes to be a hero and king.

And while his father is willing to give his son this chance as an olive branch of sorts, it's all for naught. Despite it all, Algard neglected to account for Anis and Euphie in his plans. No matter how fast he moves, the two broom-mounted young women will make it to the dragon long before he does—and potentially steal the glory that, from his point of view, should have rightfully been his. So even should Anis and Euphie defeat the dragon, the enemy they have left at home is far more dangerous—especially since neither is aware of the danger he is quickly becoming to both of them and their kingdom.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• Anis giving up the throne to Algard likely enraged him even more—as if she was saying he couldn't become king unless she dropped out of the race herself.

• I wonder if Algard knows he is being used by his father's enemies—that he is setting himself up to be a puppet king.

• There is something about a person who knows their reason for being. It's both intimidating and awe-inspiring—so it's easy to understand why Euphie feels the way she does.

• Anis doesn't follow the rules and doesn't expect those under her to follow the rules, either.

• Ilia seems to hate her parents for raising her to be nothing but a bride to be used to strengthen her family.

• Man, do I see myself in Anis sometimes. I am absolutely one of those people who will talk your ear off about things I am passionate about. I mean, I basically did just that in the review above.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.

---

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.