「主人公の実家にお邪魔してしまった…」 (Shujinkou no Jikka ni Ojama Shiteshimatta…)
“I Visited the Heroine’s Parents’ House…”

If there’s one constant you can bet on this season, it’s that Hamefura will be here to help us keep our sanity. With just under half the season down we’re now out of introductions and right into the romcom conflict phase—or would be if this were any other romance story. When it comes to the Bakarina you cannot be sure of anything, and with Maria now firmly (if unintentionally) in her grasp, the otome game shenanigans can begin in earnest.

As many probably could’ve guessed with Maria’s plot co-opting last week, our blonde heroine isn’t going to be the immediate downfall of Katarina. Thanks to some coincidental and hilariously ironic intervention, Katarina has not only avoided two key doom flags, but now also solidified her assumed rival as a part of the burgeoning Bakarina harem. And if you thought that harem was in name only, well, best reconsider those opinions. While true that Maria’s backstory and Katarina’s intrusion are a little streamlined and set up for the sake of bringing the two closer together—who knew farming and baking would be a match made in heaven—it’s still quite nice seeing how wholesome the whole event was; Maria’s circumstances were quite humble and realistic for the material, and Katarina never really went above and beyond what she already does for the sake of contingency. Also the hilarity of Keith willingly going along with the whole thing because you fully know no one is going to weasel in on his romance territory.

What’s Maria’s new conquest status does hint towards though is the future, because right now everything Katarina was expecting has been thoroughly defenestrated. With her having twisted bullying into Bakarina rabubrabu and entirely prevented her male counterparts from falling head over heels for that patisserie charm (Geordo for one certainly isn’t switching allegiances anytime soon), there’s precious little which could seemingly throw a wrench into the proceedings. For all intents and purposes Katarina has now won the game, so the question is what comes next. Will a new rival appear to assume the place Maria has vacated? Or will some personal circumstances—or the ubiquitous romance misunderstandings—come up to interfere with the slow and steady. Plenty of options to chew on as we await next week’s delicatessen, but one thing you can be sure about is that the Bakarina will not disappoint.

At least if mama dearest leaves her in one piece.

Full-length images: 18.

16 Comments

    1. I don’t get it. Great in what way?

      It’s a good anime to pass time, but seriously, its character development is mediocre and its plot is too formulaic. Some other light novels in the same genre, such as Kondo wa Zettai ni Jamashimasen! (今度は絶対に邪魔しませんっ!) or The Villain Daughter Enjoys Her Seventh Life as a Free-Spirited Bride (Hostage) in a Former Enemy Country (ループ7回目の悪役令嬢は、元敵国で自由気ままな花嫁(人質)生活を満喫する) are much better. The light novel 婚約者は、私の妹に恋をする, of which the tone is more tragic, is even epic and the story is deep. I wonder why it was Hamefura that got animated.

      The Suffocated
      1. Likely down to popularity and tone. To my knowledge Hamefura is one of the more popular works of the sub-genre so it makes sense why we’re getting an anime of it right now. Plus romcoms are a safer bet for investment than more serious stories a lot of the time as there’s more room for error.

  1. I thought it was really deep how Keith was the one to intervene when the town girls were talking to Katharina (image 22). He is an actual illegitimate child of a noble so it felt like he has outgrown his personal demons just like Alan has outgrown his inferiority complex. Really nice touch.

    Ya boi Sam
    1. Agreed, that was a nice “show, don’t tell”. I think the effect could have been even stronger had previous episodes revealed more about his circumstances in the original game (and how they would have affected Katarina’s family too).

      Keith and Alan must be my favorite male members of the harem. They’ve probably grown the most when compared to their game counterparts.

      Mistic
      1. Spot on, mate. George and Niccol weren’t that much analyzed at the beginning so they are a tough reference to compare between before and now. Niccol did show some progress in terms of paying less attention of what others think about his family(he used to get mad as a child) and focus more on how much he cares about his family instead.

        Ya boi Sam
  2. Couldn’t stop smiling. Another feel good episode.
    Bakarina not realizing that the girls “like” her in exactly the kind of way she was talking about lol.

    Though I expected Maria’s mother to either hate her daughter or briefly feared that she would try to commit suicide (that rope) for having an illegitime child, but apparently those rumours were false, after all. What happened to the father then? Either died or was dumb enough to believe the rumours.
    Bakarina commoner outfit, so cute.
    Either way, Keith best boy, so far…

    boingman
  3. Shed a tear this episode.

    Kinda wished more harem protagonists are at least like Maria. I mean, someone you can root for. Obviously they don’t compare to Bakarina.

    All hail Bakarina!

    theirs
  4. For all intents and purposes Katarina has now won the game

    Not unless she can figure out how to get out from under the fiance who wants to consummate their relationship without losing her head. That’s still lurking and only Keith seems to openly recognize the risk.

    He doesn’t seem the type to want to share her with a harem, so this gaggle of folks who want her for herself she’s built up are now the risk.

    Dave K
    1. Oh definitely, the comment was more regarding having overcome the risk of Maria usurping her place. In terms of the initial game conditions she has won, but the challenge is now dealing with the situation her changes have created.

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