(L) The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior

[FlareKnight]

This episode really made me think about what's up with Pride's situation. Are her past life and game memories fading as time goes on or were they always rather jumbled? I suppose it's possible that the game was just really bad at going into depth on the backstories or she was the type of person that sped through the flashback stuff .

If nothing else, this is the first time that her game based knowledge seemed rather tricky to make use of. I suppose a factor might be with the game setup itself. Presuming the story picks up within a few months to a year before Pride was brought down and killed...I suppose everything we've seen has just been background and flavour text. Possible that the only stuff Pride can grab from are those brief moments when Tiara gets these guys to talk about the worst day of their lives and what Pride did to them. I suppose in that sense it's impressive that she's doing as well as she is. All the more so with Gilbert if he never appeared at the age Pride has known him at and instead at the extreme of an old man and child.

But it does seem like living the day to day life as Pride is letting Pride's memories of her previous life fade a bit. She instinctively knew that Gilbert and Stale cooperated in the game, but the details were fuzzy. Probably should have written some of this down...

Kind of funny that Stale was so upset all the time about being called similar to Gilbert and that seems to be turning to to be just fine. Two guys giving their all for the girls they love. No wonder they look similar at times.

I get Gilbert being pissed at Pride's father though. He's been watching the woman he loves fade away for years. Pride just had to beg her father several times to get Stale permission to see his mother. The rules can be overturned if Pride asks hard enough. No wonder he was focused on pressuring her. He really didn't have time to waste.

Thank goodness though that Pride realized a dictator probably wouldn't take a week to put a law into effect . And geeze, OG Pride was a top tier scumbag. There's no reason to be such a dirtbag considering how much she got out of that law. But she just wanted to see others suffer whenever possible.

I sure hope Pride has a plan here. Really hope that in the game a healer was discovered that could solve all their problems. Be nice if it was say Tiara, since it would give her something to do. Maybe it'll be Arthur? Maybe his power is actually way more useful than he thought and he just needed to think about using it for healing others and not just growing plants. I mean people and plants are both living things right? It could be a character we haven't met yet, but it'd a whole lot faster for recruiting them to save Marianne if they already knew the person in question.

[scififan]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Good guy? He's a would be human trafficker with a sob story.

I was referring his past interaction with the Pride. His behavior was fishy, and Pride is cautious around him. Now, he does crazy thing to save his love. Pride doesn't play along this time, but she still tries to help him.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

This episode really made me think about what's up with Pride's situation. Are her past life and game memories fading as time goes on or were they always rather jumbled? I suppose it's possible that the game was just really bad at going into depth on the backstories or she was the type of person that sped through the flashback stuff .

Her memories have always been suspiciously partial, and unlocking suspiciously fast when the right trigger was applied, but it could be because she hadn't played that game in a while. (She was obsessed with the game series, and it's not her favorite opus in the lot.)

[Ghostfriendly]

Pride, having allowed mental enslavement and the kidnapping of Stale for his superpower, now has the temerity to reject a superpower registration act on grounds of human rights. Such impudent idiocy that I'm barely less amused than disgusted. The author may think, if they thought anything, that human rights are not possessed by (dark skinned) criminals. Human rights are owned by the guiltiest human being.

Maria immediately establishes herself as a Poe-esque beautiful invalid of the lowest type, passively willing to die while praying for her male lover's happiness, and Anh Minh is quite correct in his estimation of Gilbert. Pride and Stale's 'dynamic entry' was absolutely ridiculous, as is the brazen use of glasses as a fashion accessory rather than a visual aid. As ridiculous as worse series, but absurdly toothless, this series is a train wreck I can't yet look away from.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Ghostfriendly

Pride, having allowed mental enslavement and the kidnapping of Stale for his superpower, now has the temerity to reject a superpower registration act on grounds of human rights.

Pride has never been the final arbiter. She's not the queen (yet), and even if she was, how much power rests in the office vs some vague council that votes on stuff is entirely dependent on what the plot demands.

[Ghostfriendly]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Pride has never been the final arbiter. She's not the queen (yet), and even if she was, how much power rests in the office vs some vague council that votes on stuff is entirely dependent on what the plot demands.

Indeed Pride doesn't have full power but she is abetting and assenting to the aforesaid crimes rather than opposing them as with the superpower registry, or even thinking of them as unacceptable. If you're writing a story about good and evil then you need to demonstrate an understanding of these concepts rather than putting some cherries of mercy on an unacceptable heap.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Ghostfriendly

Indeed Pride doesn't have full power but she is abetting and assenting to the aforesaid crimes rather than opposing them as with the superpower registry, or even thinking of them as unacceptable. If you're writing a story about good and evil then you need to demonstrate an understanding of these concepts rather than putting some cherries of mercy on an unacceptable heap.

She was able to oppose the registry because it didn't already exist. She wasn't able to oppose Stale's kidnapping because it's a long-standing tradition. She tried to help him escape, but even that would only have resulted in some other kid getting kidnapped instead. What else could she do?

[zeross87]

some people watch anime way too seriously.

[HandofFate]

I think Pride's spotty memory is a lot more realistic than other 'found myself in a game' scenarios where somehow they have photographic walkthrough memory of every little detail of the game.

Its been many years, she's not gonna remember everything perfectly. I have a bunch of super favorite games I loved 10 years ago. I wouldn't be able to remember every single detail if I was pressed for it.

I know the 'special ability' registration has a lot of grounds on abuse. But honestly, from a country standpoint, I can see why a country would want a database of ability users in their kingdom. Its a very important military asset. Don't see anything wrong with it, just that evil Pride totally used it in the worst way possible.

[Strahan]

Yea, the information itself is neither good or evil. What matters is how it is used.

[scififan]

Pride remembers Arthur's "useless" ability not only working on plants, but it can also heal people.

Gilbert, to showing his gratitude to Pride, kisses Pride's hand, knee, and pulls and her sock. Such a weird humor....

Pride realizes if Gilbert is dead, he could become Tiara's husband. So, she makes sure he will protect the kingdom either way.

[Frontier]

Stale's never liked Glibert, so I'm not surprised he's willing to gut him right then and there, with no care for Marianne or her situation...but no matter what Glibert did, he and Marianne are Pride's subjects, and she can't just write them off .

Can I just mention how amazing Pride looks in that uniform? She should wear it more often .

I love how everything is so serious with Marianne's life hanging in the balance but we can still get a cute scene of Pride covering her ears when Arthur's dad yells for him .

Oh snap, older Stale! And he's hot! And voiced by Kouki Uchiyama! Gilbert can apparently age up other people too! Although I wonder if this is foreshadowing another time skip where everybody is older .

Most people had figured Arthur's ability had more to it, but the ability to "heal all of creation" is a pretty big deal, especially once it cures Marianne, and the implications of what he can do with it is enormous. But for now, let's just focus on the sweet reunion of the two lovers .

Glibert did everything for love, but he still committed heinous acts against Pride and the kingdom...and yet, someone like him who could possibly outlive all of them could still be a great benefit to the kingdom, and Pride can't ignore that. So better to turn his guilt into a reason for him to keep serving the kingdom loyally for the rest of his mortal days .

Dang, I did not expect the loyalty kiss fest on Pride from Gilbert. Her hand is one thing, but he was kissing practically everywhere on her leg. And Marianne is just taking her man kissing the leg of another woman in stride. Poor Pride, Stale, and Arthur though .

Figures Stale and Arthur would be open and honest with each other, especially all the resentment and frustration Stale feels towards Gilbert and what happened. But what matters is that the two of them hash things out and be the Sword and Shield Pride needs, and don't dwell on what they can't do but focus on what they can achieve. And it's a cute and sincere moment between the two bro's .

It's kind of surreal to see Tiara happy seeing Gilbert and Marianne together knowing that Gilbert was her love interest in the timeline where Marianne died. But she can also see through Stale's bluster and dislike of Gilbert and get to the root of the problem, even if she skewers her brother with the truth .

Aw, it was an engagement party for Gilbert and Marianne! I'd love to see the wedding !

Next week: Val returns! And he doesn't look too good .

[zeross87]

Pride in uniform is soooo kakoi !

[FlareKnight]

Whoa Stale, chill out man . Have a seat and go watch the very compelling flashback story for a bit. Pride might have to watch out or who knows what Stale will do for her sake without her realizing it. Admittedly I get that he's disliked Gilbert (despite being really similar to him) for years, but not really the time to execute the guy.

Leading up to the OP I was still on the point of "ok, Pride you might want to deliver some good news eventually." I mean it's nice that he and his dying fiance are forgiven for his actions but...the dying thing is probably the bigger issue to tackle first.

Ok, Arthur is our ticket here. Makes sense. If everyone just presumed his powers would only work on plants and didn't try to push him to take it to another level...I could see that being the case. A bit surprising that no one considered that he could heal more than just crops. Maybe they did test it and he just wasn't old enough yet to tap into that part of his ability?

Plus that's a great skill to have. Combat skills and healing talents. Talk about the likely main love interest of that game. Has the combat skills to match up against Pride and incredible healing talents. Absolutely elite!

Also...love his Dad yelling at top level to get his son over there immediately . The one time your parent yelling your name not being a bad thing .

Nice that Pride did pause to think about the consequences. There's no going back from that. Knowing he has that power will put a completely fresh spotlight on him. Could force a split in whether he should be focusing on being a knight or lean fully into the healer side of things. Plus he'll probably see a lot of dying people if he's asked to heal over and over again. Stale made a fair point. There's a lot he could do if he made full use of his ability. And there's always the question of whether it's right to put himself at risk fighting with a power like that.

But smooth move on his part that he was cool with it. Even if he said it before she told him what was up. She already changed his life (in various ways) so he'll follow her to whatever end. And for him there's no question. He is a Knight and that's the path he'll stay on. Even if life gets complicated in the future.

Wow, things got a bit wild after the whole vow thing . Credit to Gilbert for being serious about what he's doing here. And the looks from Arthur and Stale just compounding her shame !

The Stale and Arthur friendship is great. Really nice when rivals get along as well as these two do. And good on Arthur being the older person here and helping Stale both vent his frustrations and remind him that he's not doing this alone. Stale has done a lot, but Arthur has his role to play in this too. So Stale can lean on Arthur for the things that Arthur is better suited to handle.

Tiara really is a sweet girl. Will of course never quite be as hardened as she probably was in the original storyline since she had to be in that case. Just pure goodness in being happy for Gilbert and Marianne. Nice to see her having a chat with Stale on their own since it shows where their familial relationship is at.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Whoa Stale, chill out man . Have a seat and go watch the very compelling flashback story for a bit. Pride might have to watch out or who knows what Stale will do for her sake without her realizing it. Admittedly I get that he's disliked Gilbert (despite being really similar to him) for years, but not really the time to execute the guy.

Leading up to the OP I was still on the point of "ok, Pride you might want to deliver some good news eventually." I mean it's nice that he and his dying fiance are forgiven for his actions but...the dying thing is probably the bigger issue to tackle first.

Ok, Arthur is our ticket here. Makes sense. If everyone just presumed his powers would only work on plants and didn't try to push him to take it to another level...I could see that being the case. A bit surprising that no one considered that he could heal more than just crops. Maybe they did test it and he just wasn't old enough yet to tap into that part of his ability?

I don't think he ever dealt with crop blight or anything like that. So all they noticed was that the plants grew up a bit better.

[Alchemist007]

I kind of like the scenes with just Stale and Arthur.

[Frontier]

Congrats to Arthur! Winning a tournament to see who gets to become an Imperial Guardsman, but most important of all...Princess Pride's guard! And you can tell it means so much to Arthur that he gets to stand by Pride's side. Although Pride is kind of oblivious that the knights were so fervent to be her personal guard, but hey, if it means increasing their salary, all power to her .

Is that Hiro Shimono and...Daisuke Ono I hear as some of the other knights ?

Oh hey, Val! He's back, and worse for wear since the last time Pride saw him. I honestly didn't expect the fealty contract to be so agonizing though. Val loses control of his body and is repulsed whenever he shows hostility towards Pride, and she has total command over him. It's kind of frightening .

But Val isn't out for revenge, he didn't even want to see Pride again, but the command that he turn to her when he most needs help forces him to turn to her for aid when two kids, Kemet and Sefec, get kidnapped by human traffickers. And whatever Pride feels for Val and what she put him through with the fealty contract, she can't just let two kids in the kingdom get treated in such a way .

Jeez, Val can't show violence toward anyone but he can be violent to everything else, especially when he's working through complicated feelings. He's also very skilled, but he can't do anything with those skills .

Val acts like he doesn't care about the kids, they were just orphans who followed him around thinking he would protect them, but despite everything their time together made them grow into a precious part of him, and made him feel and care for another for the first time in his entire life. So much so that he just doesn't know how to process or vocalize his emotions because they're so foreign to him, or truly say how much he cherishes Kemet and Sefec. Tiara could see he was in pain and Pride was able to get him to finally realize he'd found a family and wants nothing more than to protect them. Junichi Suwabe really out there turning in the most agonizing performances of 2023 .

[scififan]

The girl is the psychiatrist/counselor this time. The preview shows she is going undercover personally.

[FlareKnight]

Geeze Val is all kinds of messed up. Even the concept of considering something precious is so utterly alien and unpleasant to him that it's driving him insane. His life has just been that absolutely empty. Consciously he's more than aware of his desire for material things or revenge. But the idea of processing his attachment to something and someone else is almost too much to handle.

Props to Tiara. Even though obviously Pride has to resolve this since she's the main character, she was the one pushing and throwing the questions out there that got the ball rolling. Still not sure what the future of her in the story will be. But I'll give this one to Tiara. Even if she couldn't hold her ground, she still could pick up on the feelings under the surface.

In the end it's time to save some lives.

Also just another episode of Pride being blind when it comes to attention directed her way. So caught up in her worries about what she might become that she can't see how beloved she really is. Had to be quite the trial for Arthur to overcome all those competitors .

[Alchemist007]

She's trying to fix this ne'erdowell but his vocabulary and interpretation of feelings aren't obvious to Pride right away. He's not a psychopath but masquerading as hard as he can as one.