English Dub Review: Love Tyrant “Nothing… x There’s Just Something Wrong With Me…”

The stage is set and the tsundere romance shall soon begin.

It’s a Yuzu episode… meh. I know that is starting off very harsh but this week’s episode felt very uneven, to say the least. It just left me wondering should this be part of Love Tyrant or some other romance anime? Let me reiterate. Throughout the series, we’ve seen the love square of Guri, Seiji, Akane and Yuzu blossom in their various directions. Last episode we got a declaration of love rivalry between Akane and Guri (which was the running joke of the series but this is the first instance where it was a clear plot point that shifted the narrative) but now with the build-up of the previous episode it’s Yuzu’s turn to declare her love for Seiji.

In the aftermath of the gang freeing Akane from her mother’s control, Akane is now swooning with even more unhindered love for Seiji but the love train stops dead when Shikimi gets into their class posing as a student. Shikimi clearly states her objectives for being there, following Akane’s mother’s orders and make sure Seiji doesn’t hurt Akane and to have her own brand of fun and stir drama up within the lovers. Her major stir this episode was pushing Yuzu’s buttons and getting her to realize that she might be starting to feel feelings for Akane and Seiji too. Now as Yuzu’s feelings are boiling over in her confused state, Akane is trying desperately to get along with Guri so that Seiji will initiate a kiss with her and Seiji is just trying to keep everyone from not fighting while helping out his school’s play production.

Just from that basic summary alone, the story feels very loose. It is like we’re being forced to watch retreading of past plot points and gags again but only this time it leads to more character development. In most other circumstances, I would be happy with character development, especially from Yuzu and Akane who admittedly had compelling scenes for the character growth. However, with Guri and Seiji they felt very stale, which I more expect from Guri rather than Seiji. He is supposed to be the “regular guy” the one that is supposed to offset all the wackiness with his thick-headed understanding of love and bumbling every chance he gets to make him look like the stereotypical nervous virgin. After a while, though that stereotype wears thin and the joke becomes more transparent leaving a guy who is more a spineless coward towards conflict rather than the sweet guy who through his simple niceties won these girls’ hearts. I find it disappointing that as the episodes go on Seiji is becoming more and more passive just trying to please everybody which in one perspective could be viewed as his character flaw, a means to show what Seiji has to overcome to make his final decision. On the other hand, this also just makes Seiji come off in a negative light which I feel is more indicative of the show’s greatest weakness against it. Guri.

I have made it abundantly clear Guri’s LOL random humor can get grating but I’m not speaking about her weakness in a comedic sense or even a love rival sense. As an indicative character in the proceedings of this anime, she is not important. She is like how she puts it in this episode, the third wheel in the romance square and a third wheel in the narrative. This is because the show is clearly not focusing on Guri in any great capacity. The show doesn’t even write it that she most of the time helps to reach the solution of issues. If anything, the last episode where she spoke those love speeches to Akane and Yuzu’s moms was her biggest contribution to any big narrative point. Love Tyrant becomes the story of Akane, Yuzu, and Seiji with Guri puttering about in the background doing her own thing.

After last episode’s fun and well-written sections this episode pales in comparison and even on its own I don’t feel the polish that there was in the other episodes. Or maybe that is backward me saying that. It isn’t that the series isn’t polished but by episode 9 everything has been polished enough to reveal the cold hard truth. That the Love Tyrant shouldn’t be about the Love Tyrant and the show suffers every time she appears.