Busou Shoujo Machiavellism – 08

「彼氏彼女オネエの「事情」」 (Kareshikanojo onee no, Jijou)
“His and Crossdressing Her Circumstances”

What’s this, filler? In my Busou Shoujo? It’s more likely than you think. Ok, tongue in cheek shock at parody devolving into backstory chats aside, Busou Shoujo isn’t actually all that bad when gearing down into story nitty gritty. Yeah we may have postponed another ridiculous fight, but the show more than made up for it with the weekly humour. Satori playing tit for tat, the tsundere duo going head over heels—literally—and Tsukuyo proving her presence leaves something to be desired. And Warabi? I think the results speak for themselves.

To be fair, it was about time we got something on Nomura’s background. Learning he’s an orphan and was taught by a sword obsessed old man certainly explains a lot, although it’s notable the mammoth scar gracing his backside remains unspoken for—well, at least for Rin. I fully expect the scar’s Empress-related history to come out once Tsukuyo’s stamp is out of the way. Hilariously too for me, Nomura’s history is the very thing which solidifies Rin’s flowering infatuation. Besides nonchalantly outdoing Rin’s own melancholy past—a subtle swipe at the usual “tragic” protagonist—Nomura shows himself to truly be a caring man, not pitying Rin or openly sympathizing, but building her up and injecting confidence. He likes her as she is already is, and once our pint sized cutie is ready to let go of her anchor, he will be there. It’s true friendship I tell you, even if some actual romance remains a possibility. Considering Mary has a different interpretation of understanding though and refuses to cede the bad boy to best non-Satori girl, I have a feeling Busou Shoujo’s love scene will remain entirely one sided. How else are we to keep the harem shenanigans going?

The interesting bit, however, is how the final Sword Tsukuyo enters the picture. Our little loli tried talking with Nomura—and failed in a cute way—implying she wants an understanding or arrangement with him, although what it is remains unclear. Obviously Nomura will fight her, but I doubt Tsukuyo chooses violence as a first response given her demeanour and actions until now. The setup likely involves whoever is masquerading as Satori’s masked subordinates, as a few girls have already expressed shock and Tsukuyo clearly understands something is up. Considering Masuko is one of those “girls” and given this episode’s title, I bet all of them are guys, and the reasoning for their deception is what has Tsukuyo worked up. Certainly would not put it past Satori to play yet another trick, plus it could easily provoke a fight if Nomura stands up for Satori in a conflict of unnegotiable morals. Just think then, stamps all collected, five girls tamed, and only the Empress left to put in her place. It’s a reasonable conclusion for this crazy little story.

With the tragic backstories out the way—well, most of them—and the seasonal allotment of bathroom jokes exhausted, it appears Busou Shoujo is ready for the endgame. We have one Sword left, an Empress to confront, and plenty of sexual tension demanding release. I honestly don’t know how the final arc will play out, but I’m eager to find out. With only one man and five—six?—girls in play, someone is destined to lose.

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