Busou Shoujo Machiavellism / First Impressions

「妖しき刃「眼目さとり」」 (Ayashiki ha, Tamaba Satori)
“The Dubious Sword, Satori Tamaba”

I got to hand it to Busou Shoujo, it’s certainly found its groove of late. The situations have become increasingly ridiculous, but hilariously so. Last time was all about that harem infighting and tsundere torture tactics, but this week? Giving the audience what they really want. I swear the grin never left my face from start to finish, this episode was comedic perfection. Whatever this show is doing it can keep on doing it, because I’ll be damned if I’m not loving every moment.

This week of course the true star was Satori. Not only did she prove as crazy as the foreshadowing suggested, but the girl actually spent the whole half hour naked. I’ll be damned if I haven’t found a new favourite character, and no it’s not because of that wonderfully svelte form—ok, maybe not entirely. Those eyes and voice, the deliciously menacing face, the clinical sociopathy, it’s a character living up to the expectations if I have ever seen one. And don’t even get me started on the hints of tsundere—or is it yandere, unclear at this point—bubbling under the surface. As with the harem tropes, Busou Shoujo abused the naked cliché for everything it was worth here, having Satori distract Nomura in the best manner possible while Nomura admits manliness at times is a difficult burden to bear. The best part though? Nomura also getting into the spirit of things and cold cocks the girl. Twice. Just wait until the tsundere sisters find out about that.

Interestingly, however, Busou Shoujo also upped the intrigue. Satori’s masked blowhard is the obvious curiosity given Warabi’s shock, and we also lack an explanation for Masuko’s assistance with the whole midnight roofie exchange. Surprisingly there’s something else amiss, and it has been brewing for a while by all accounts. Satori certainly could have another scheme under her (nonexistent) belt, but I’m hesitant on that given the girl has basically been won over by the true swordmaster. If she withholds her stamp I’ll be surprised, but with Masuko in possession of the stamp card, who knows? Could be an Empress plot too—god knows she has some—but that’s likely a battle for later after Nomura proves his worth. Plus we also have Tsukuyo’s imminent appearance to deal with, and you can bet she will not like her bathing company. I honestly don’t know what’s coming—unless miss blow darts is actually a Tsukuyo plant—but I can predict Rin and Mary will keep the journey lively. With Nomura actually caring for our pint sized cutie, the harem infighting just acquired a whole new degree of severity. Stick around boys and girls, this party is just getting started.

Full-length images: 17.

 

Preview

22 Comments

  1. In hindsight I probably should’ve figured the only way this fight could’ve ended was Nomura fighting fire with fire, lol. That said, I found it both fascinating that Nomura chose to slap Satori over save the data, and very consistent with his character. Given his self-espoused love of freedom I didn’t think he was actually that seriously interested in his building harem or dating any of the girls in it, and sure enough he was more concerned with getting retribution for their sakes before mending his own relationship with them. I suppose, though, that this characteristic of his is what is making the girls fall for him in the first place. XD

    I forget if the anime actually said this, so I’ll be careful: Show Spoiler ▼

    Presumably Tsuyuko already knows Nomura, Satori, and Warabi are in the girls’ bath given how good her ears have already been shown to be, so whatever she plans to do there she’s planning with that knowledge already in place. It… might be in her best interests to keep her eyes closed and rely on her ears though, as I’m not confident that Nomura’s going to put his clothes back on fast enough (Warabi’s probably going to get an eyeful regardless).

    PurpleBomber
    Reply

    2. Wow that explains a lot actually, and yeah the anime hasn’t stated it yet; guessing it’s coming next week.

      @zztop
      I’ve been thinking so for a while now, her eyes are always closed and she focuses on hearing. Combined with her dull eyes it points towards blindness.

      Pancakes
      Reply

    1. With the way things seem to be going, we probably won’t get into it again until Kirukiru gets more involved again. Feels like they’re keeping the issue from mixing too much with the pass-stamping shenanigans.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

    2. Probably depends on where the inevitable Empress fight fits in here. I’m guessing the show is saving the Empress showdown for the grande finale, so we might have some more background information in an episode or two.

      Pancakes
      Reply

    1. And those adorable eyebrows! I dont know what they’re called but they add to her lolita charm

      it’s called hikimayu. it’s practice of plucking ones eyebrows clean and draw fake eyebrows.
      and in reality for some people may not find this as adorable as in anime.

      PsyId
      Reply

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