Wolf Girl & Black Prince

Episode 7

Kyoya, there are two words you might want to familiarize yourself with: "I'm sorry." To be fair, if episode 7 featured that much character growth, there wouldn't be much drama left to fill the five or more episodes remaining. The cherry on top of Kyoya's brutal Valentine's Day behavior came last week when Erika overhears him say he never cared about her. (Lies, all lies!) This week, Erika seems to have finally woken up and gotten the message: a relationship with someone who professes not to care about you is a bad idea.

Kusakabe is there to step in and Erika is willing to try a relationship on the rebound. (This show seems like a crash course in multiple types of bad relationships.) She wants to fall in love with Kusakabe, she knows he's a kinder person, and she doesn't want to lead him on, but that's exactly what she does for a full month until White Day, their first big solo date together. Suffice to say, she recognizes Kyoya still has a hold on her, even though the few interactions they've had over the past month cement him as the jealous, callous jerk she recognized she needed to get away from.

Wolf Girl & Black Prince episode 7 lacks much of the humor that makes the show so compelling. Without Erika or Kyoya reacting comically to their S&M situation, the show can only highlight Kyoya's worst side. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, as we need to see why Erika has finally had enough (temporarily).

The biggest problem with this episode is how wrong it gets Kusakabe. Maybe I'm only imposing too much reality on the series—and in doing that, the myriad problems with the Kyoya and Erika relationship stand out more as well. However, realistically, women should get a bad feeling about Kusakabe too. From the start, he had the potential to be clingy and obsessive, even if he can appear like a perfect boyfriend for a time. He may not be ill-intentioned, but after having no friends and finally realizing the girl he likes doesn't like him the same way, it's just not normal for him to smile and wish her the best with her (abusive) boyfriend. If he really is the sweet, supportive angel this show has now made him out to be, then Erika really is dumb to let him go.

Still, what's bad for Erika is good for the viewer who enjoys watching her and Kyoya's messed-up relationship. Kusakabe appears to be the ideal boyfriend, but if every episode were about Erika dating Mr. Impossibly Nice, there wouldn't be a show. If there's anything good to say about her falling back into the "Wolf Girl and Black Prince" routine, it's that this time, she puts her foot down and demands that Kyoya be open about his feelings for her if they're ever going to progress. She doesn't think to demand an apology, and Kyoya doesn't deign to offer it. Still, at least it's a sign that Erika will continue to fight for some respect in their relationship, even if that respect is buried beneath a mountain of sadism.

Rating: B-

Wolf Girl & Black Prince is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Amy is a YA fantasy author who has loved anime for nearly two decades.