Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai! – 10

「魔法少女は負けられない!」 (Mahou Shoujo wa Makerarenai!)
“The Magical Girl Will Not Lose!”

Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai!’s tenth episode directs attention to the state of mind Jahy is in as she gets used to her life on Earth. Although she constantly basks in her own hype as she keeps preparing to steal back her giant mana crystal, her motivation begins to falter as soon as she starts to think about what keeps herself and Kyouko inspired to keep going.

One key detail that Jahy has been carrying throughout recent episodes is her anxiety about possibly she’s losing a part of herself if she isn’t setting her goals entirely towards reclaiming the demon kingdom. If she becomes so integrated with humanity that she comes to enjoy working for the Barkeep, will she become so powerless that she won’t be able to take on Kyouko?

Or even worse, will she even be able to regain the part of her that makes her feel strong and powerful? At most, she can feel empowered when she fishes for compliments from Kokoro, an actual child, or ask to hang out with Druj so that she can butter her up. Because she hasn’t been able to amass as much of her past strength, her most positive strides come from gaining emotional maturity and feeling empathy or altruism for those who suffer as much as she does on this forsaken planet.

The Barkeep’s pep-talk might’ve helped Jahy open up to the possibility of liking her job, it’s Jahy’s encounter with Kyouko that causes her some brief emotional distress. After attempting to drop a plant on her head, she hears Kyouko out when she explains that she wishes to carry the burden of those around her by gathering all of the mana crystals.

Even if Kyouko is visibly excited about carrying everyone’s misfortune, Jahy finds less interest in reveling in Kyouko’s bad luck and more interest in questioning whether she could ever share that same level of drive. Part of it might be the guilt of seeing Kyouko genuinely want to help those around her, but I can see Kyouko’s drive be what helps light a fire underneath Jahy to place more effort in gathering mana crystals for more reasons than merely becoming powerful again.