English Dub Review: Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?, “No One Mentioned That Pauline’s Getting Married, Did They?”

 

 

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Pauline is suddenly kidnapped and forced into an arranged marriage with one of Mavis’ brothers. The non-kidnapped members of the Crimson Vow set out to rescue her. 

Our Take

Pauline getting kidnapped suddenly at the end of the last episode was a decidedly sharp turn. I had said this might indicate the show would take a more serious tone. I was envisioning a more complex plot. While this isn’t a high level of complexity in the least, this episode does represent a more concerted effort.

As soon as the remaining members of the Crimson Vow return to their inn, a letter from one of Mavis’ older brothers reveals that he is getting married to Pauline. This is a semi-competent plot twist and one that involves multiple main characters at that. 

We turn to Pauline, recalled to her family home where she encounters her vile stepfather with the viscount of the town. The marriage is purely a political one, one so important that the viscount is even holding Pauline’s mother and younger brother hostage to get her to agree to it. Not only that, but Mavis’ father is also agreeing to it to split the Crimson Vow apart and bring Mavis home. Thus, we have two characters who must be liberated from their tyrannical parents.

We’ve been appraised of how Pauline feels about her family’s situation in previous episodes. With that knowledge in hand, one would think Pauline would concoct a scheme to subvert her captors and exact revenge on them. Instead, Pauline unexpectedly concedes to their demands. She does go to the effort to ensure her mother and younger brother are safe,  but she makes no effort to save herself from this dilemma. Given how subtly conniving she can be and the amount of animosity she has shown in the past, it’s pretty surprising for her so subservient like this. This felt like a betrayal of character at first. 

She does eventually come around to properly rebelling. Only when the rest of the girls storm the manor and create a distraction, donned in obnoxiously silly sentai uniforms no less, is Pauline afforded an opportunity. Apparently, this distraction was so convincing that every single guard in the manor had to go outside, leaving Pauline’s stepfather and the viscount alone in the mansion. Strangely convenient, but a chance that Pauline and her mother take full advantage of. And by full advantage, that means conjuring a magical ice spear and brandishing a knife. Seeing these ladies just suddenly out for blood is unexpectedly hilarious.

Then Mavis’ father appears and turns this whole situation into a familiar chain of cliches. He cannot determine who is right in this situation and decides it should be settled through a duel. He also calls out Mavis to come home and decides that matter should also be settled through a duel. There are duels and obviously, the girls win because Mile is overpowered. 

This episode has a decent plot, but unfortunately, said plot eventually dissolves into more tired humor and cliches. Said plot did present chances for character moments for Pauline and Mavis. Pauline more or less received hers, although it was riddled with missed opportunities for her to develop further. Mavis, on the other hand, just spent all of her allotted time reiterating things she had already said before. Both girls could’ve stood to make a firmer stand against their parents. Not only would this solidify their motivations more, but it would also definitively put their pasts firmly behind them so that we could stop coming back to it. 

There was some effort put into this episode, which is a good thing. Hopefully, the rest of the episodes also contain some effort as well.