(L) Endo and Kobayashi's Live Commentary on the Villainess

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

I can't blame the dumb couple for taking things a bit lightly. It's just hard to treat the situation in the game the same as if it was happening in their world and to them. There's still an emotional gap. They like these characters and want them to be happy, but there's still that wall between their two realities.

Yeah, for us viewers the real world and the Magikoi world are on the same level, but to Endo and Kobayashi it's just a game they can interact with for some mysterious reason. We see the characters move and display various emotions but all Endo and Kobayashi see are sprites and CGs.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Yeah, for us viewers the real world and the Magikoi world are on the same level, but to Endo and Kobayashi it's just a game they can interact with for some mysterious reason. We see the characters move and display various emotions but all Endo and Kobayashi see are sprites and CGs.

They don't even have any voice acting too, it seems like .

[SamCurt]

(This is about Episode 6. I apologize for the delay.)

Endo and Kobayashi's plan would only work because Sieg is the rare good prince in an otome isekai--otherwise princes (especially those engaged to villainesses) tends to be rather flawed.

Spoiler for What's not in anime:

The most important that's not in the anime (nor in the manga) is an epiphany she had when she first arrived at the Academy: That what Bruno was correct about people in Siegwald's station can't afford showing bias, but she's actually an exception--together with Artur (Artur is the future high priest, so he's generally not seen as a subject). She does realize Sieg's genuinely lonely at this point, but have no clue what to do.

[Frontier]

The Witch of Yore is still haunting Lieselotte with her insecurities and doubts regarding Sieg loving her, and the only solution Sieg can come up with is massively turning on the charm to Lieselotte, to the point of becoming an outright flirt. And poor Liese has no idea what to do with that. Though Baldur's taking notes for himself. Fiene, watch out !

Who is this masked woman prowling at night? Why, it's Elizabeth! Out to recruit Leon, the last capture target, into the Anti-Witch of Yore Squad! Which ordinarily would seem difficult, but it turns out that Elizabeth and Leon actually have history together .

So Leon was the son of a noble, only he was also the son of his mistress and was only adopted into the family because he was the only son available, and he was judged by aristocratic society for it. And Elizabeth saw what he was going through and went out of her way to mess up those stuffy nobles and drag him away so they could talk and open up by real people. And Leon's eyes were immediately drawn to Elizabeth's bare legs, like a true man of culture .

Elizabeth may not like being called the Fae Princess, but when she's practically a Disney Princess with her mouse sidekick .

Elizabeth and Leon had a surprising amount in common, particularly their hatred for their own families and their aristocratic society. Leon hated them for dragging him away from his mother and being so cold and harsh to them, while Elizabeth hated them for denying her the chance to be with the man she loved. And that shared hatred and having to masquerade as proper nobles let them bond as Elizabeth took Leon under her wing and trained him in deadly magic and skills .

Kobayashi was wondering if there was anything romantic going on between Elizabeth and Leon, and the moment when he took her mask off felt surprisingly intimate, yet he kind of killed the mood by comparing himself to Elizabeth's dead husband. Either Elizabeth isn't quite over Augustus yet or she doesn't think it's right to have feelings for another man yet, but I wonder if these two addressing their relationship will be the key to bringing Leon into the fold ?

Liese is giving Sieg the cold shoulder! Although I think any girl would think all the attention and closeness Sieg is foisting on Liese would be a bit much, though Liese jumping out of the carriage to get away was pretty amusing. I can imagine a few different scenarios where Sieg might ravish her hair .

Poor Liese...she's deluded herself into thinking Sieg is only being so caring towards her out of pity for making her faint, but no matter what she thinks about how Sieg feels about her, the one thing she feels 100% is her love and devotion towards him, and she will not abide by the Witch of Yore insulting her man like that. And Lieselotte actually stands up to and fends off the Witch of Yore herself! The power of love is an amazing thing, especially coming from a Tsundereally-Pissed of tsundere who is happy to tell off a Witch because of how awesome her prince is !

Liese and Sieg have both dealt with anxieties, jealousies, and insecurities regarding themselves and their feelings for each other...but they finally open up and confess their feelings, recognizing their strong and mutual love for each other. Liese knows he loves her now! And nothing beats a deep, romantic, embrace between the two lovebirds as they finally make it official !

Sieg and Liese aren't the only couple embracing and making progress, as Endo and Kobayashi fall over each other in the real world. Things are looking good on that front too .

Although I don't think the Witch of Yore is quite done yet...

[Kanon]

Fiene and Baldur made some good points when they discussed the fact Liese's love for Sieg is so intense it's turned into worship, making it very hard for the two to start a relationship. Ironically, it is precisely that that enabled Liese to temporarily overcome the Witch of Yore. No one is allowed to insult her precious prince.

Endo made it sound like Liese turning into a tsungire was a good thing but it really isn't
Thankfully the dere came back full force a few minutes later and Sieg finally managed to properly convey his feelings.

The Witch of Yore obviously won't give up that easily, but I feel like Liese can't be her host anymore since she's overcome all of her insecurities. I'm guessing she's going to try to possess Fiene instead.

[FlareKnight]

I was thinking that Sieg's approach might be a bit problematic at the start of the episode. Understandably it is fueled by desperation to keep Lieselotte safe. But I felt like it was too strong compared to his normal behavior until now. With how delicate her mental state is right now too much and too little affection might be problematic. No surprise she managed to twist his care escalating as him pitying her. The change in behavior combined with the Witch's interference is a powerful combo.

Thankfully...it didn't matter in the end . Honestly Kobayashi and Endo's push to have her hang in there made a bigger difference than Sieg's over the top showing of affection (which actually hurt more than it helped). In the end she mostly resolved the issue on her own due to the Witch pushing it too far. Without Sieg actually showing more interest in someone like Fiene and giving the impression that he might abandon her...insulting him would really only ever blow up in the witch's face.

Not that it isn't good for Sieg to express his feelings. But honestly he just needed a much more level-headed and earnest approach with her. That did quite a bit of good work and glad it worked out.

Now to see how things play out in the coming conflict. Still have the mystery with the Actor and the grudge that the Witch has. The couples all seem in solid shape though.

[Alchemist007]

It was nice to get a bit more definitive with the prince and Lise.

Originally Posted by Kanon

The Witch of Yore obviously won't give up that easily, but I feel like Liese can't be her host anymore since she's overcome all of her insecurities. I'm guessing she's going to try to possess Fiene instead.

I suspect the same, but I would also think Fine will kick her ass a lot faster . Maybe in the process or afterwards we'll learn more about that other guy outside of the game and how he plays into all of this.

[Frontier]

Kobayashi is now left in charge of the Broadcasting Club with the third years moving on! Although with Endo willingly taking the brunt of any problems she faces, the club may as well get turned into their little love nest. That's what their seniors think already .

These two have Magikoi on the brain (at least Kobayashi definitely does) so what better thing to dramatize for the school festival than Liese and Sieg's confession scene? it also gives Kobayashi a chance to gush about how much she loves Endos' voice and how much she'd love to hear him as Sieg! And if he's going to be Siegwald, then the only person he can have as his Lieselotte is Kobayashi...even if he's still unsure how Kobayashi feels about him .

Liese herself is on the warpath, readying her battle wear for the ball and the Witch of Yore's attack. She'll even wear a tracksuit if it means being fully prepared to battle the Witch to defend her beloved prince! Of course, while Liese would rock that track look...maybe she could dress just a wee bit fancier? Especially when her beloved waxes lyrical about how beautiful she'd look dressed up. He's even got Fiene blushing at how over-the-top his affectionate words are .

In the end, Lieselotte chooses to wear the dress of the royal guard, both for the symbolism behind it on several levels, because she'd look amazing in it, and because men love a woman in uniform .

Yeah, I can't say I'm surprised they rejected the idea of using a niche Otome game that's basically the club couple confessing to each other as their play. It's bad enough Endo hasn't even confessed yet, they gotta make everything all about their romance ?

I guess we now have a fifth ship, with Liese's little sister Cecilie falling in love at first sight with Fabian and swearing her life to protecting and being with him. It's also the first time she's ever been super passionate about something. Those two kids look adorable together !

The Riefenstahl's are a passionate bunch! When they love someone, they love them hard. Liese hasn't just been nursing a love since she was five, she has an absolute love for Sieg that she'll have for the rest of her life and she's not afraid to say it now! It's enough to get Sieg to put the moves on her in front of her brother, who just leaves them alone because he's a cool dad now .

Oooooohhh...She finally called him "Sieg!" The feels !

I guess they couldn't resist making Kobayashi the murderer in the broadcast clubs' mystery play. I mean, any excuse to have HanaKana play a bad guy. And it was so effective that more guys are into Kobayashi, not that Endo will let them anywhere near his girl .

Oh hey, Sieg's mom! I didn't think we'd get another MILF so close to the end. Seems like she's been shipping Sieg and Liese since the beginning and tried to get Sieg to bear with Liese's awkward behavior when she turned tsundere .

Kobayashi's sister is as much of a hottie as ever and still meddling in her sisters' love life. She confirms Endo is in love with her little sister and it seems like she knows more about Kobayashi's feelings than Kobayashi is willing to let her share...

So we've got Kuon stalking Kobayashi, everybody getting ready to fight the Witch of Yore...and Fiene eating meat. You do you, Fiene .

[stray]

They sort of fast tracked Fabian and Cecile but I liked how they dealt with everything else. Next week is going to be big.

[SamCurt]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Kobayashi is now left in charge of the Broadcasting Club with the third years moving on!

I wonder how common this (i.e. club presidencies being handed over half a year early)? Some other anime I watched treat that as unusual, but I saw no surprise on Kobayashi here.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by SamCurt

I wonder how common this (i.e. club presidencies being handed over half a year early)? Some other anime I watched treat that as unusual, but I saw no surprise on Kobayashi here.

I've seen passing over of club duties happen a few times in anime as the 3rd years start transitioning away from school.

[stray]

Really? In pretty much every anime/manga/VN I can think of the 3rd years phase out in October or so (festival time) and basically stop going to school altogether in January. Unless the club is especially magical like Houkago Tea Time or something and everybody comes in even though they don't have to.

For the record though most of the broadcasting club members are anime original. People called them bakcouple but it wasn't specific to the others in the club.

[Kanon]

Yeah, third years always leave the clubs early. I'm fairly sure it's how it works in real life. At some point they need to study for their lives and have no more time for clubs.

Anyway, looks like we're entering the final phase of the story.

[FlareKnight]

Holy smokes Cecilia is one proactive kid ! Though it does seem like this runs in the family. When they lock in on a target they just go for it! That bloodline could probably stand to ease up just a bit. But they definitely don't do things in half measures.

It was pretty obvious that Kobayashi has feelings for Endo. But obviously this episode just further locked that in. Don't need incredible skills to read between the lines here. The sister is obviously worried that Shihono would suck at confessing her feelings and/or giving hints at how she feels. Which is certainly on point since Endo is only further falling into the belief that she just likes his voice.

I suppose it is fitting that the girl who loves Lieselotte so intensely would herself be pretty bad at expressing her romantic interest in someone.

Originally Posted by Frontier

So we've got Kuon stalking Kobayashi, everybody getting ready to fight the Witch of Yore...and Fiene eating meat. You do you, Fiene .

The prep scenes were really good. I suppose with how Fiene is maxed out the only thing she really does need to do is fuel up . Total action hero right there. Just give her some meat and she'll be fine.

[SamCurt]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Though it does seem like this runs in the family. When they lock in on a target they just go for it! That bloodline could probably stand to ease up just a bit.

Well, without this trait I kind of doubt whether Fiene could have been conceived in the first place.

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

It was pretty obvious that Kobayashi has feelings for Endo. But obviously this episode just further locked that in. Don't need incredible skills to read between the lines here. The sister is obviously worried that Shihono would suck at confessing her feelings and/or giving hints at how she feels. Which is certainly on point since Endo is only further falling into the belief that she just likes his voice.

These days, Shihono is some of the most mysterious character in Tsunliese, we have a good grasp with her personality, but not her background. She calls herself an otaku, but it seems in otome isekai the word "otaku" doesn't necessarily imply any degree of nerdiness (compare: in Hamefura, Katarina is nowhere close to nerdy, but Acchan is to the point of potentially neurodivergent), so (at this point) it's hard to guess whether she doesn't know how to say it, or she just lacked the guts. It's clear she knows there's mutual attraction between the two.

[stray]

Hmm... they definitely expanded things a bit from the LN though I can't really talk about how until next week, though the anime original stuff does feel like a big improvement. I sort of thought Cecille and Fabian might get shortchanged but they had a few nice moments this week.

[Frontier]

It's the Festival of Gratitude and everyone is in good cheer and in preparation for the battle against the Witch of Yore! Including Endo and Kobayashi who are now more invested than ever, complete with everything they need to fangirl/fanboy over the events !

Lieselotte and Fiene look great in those pure white dresses! Not to mention that smile on Liese's face is utter beauty! Also Art looks so different when he's in full priest mode that I thought he was a different character for a second. Not that he wastes time with the ladies when he's off work and at a party .

I live for cute Smol!Liese flashbacks! Turns out her hair curl comes from Sieg's mom, because she based it off a hairstyle he told her he found cute, which is super adorable. And we got to see how the Queen adored Liese to the point of giving her Liese's iconic hair flower, meant to symbolize her love for Sieg (since it was his symbol) and as a ward against evil. Which is very appropriate under the circumstances .

I wonder what the significance is of the story of the God Kuon sacrificing his life for his human love and the effect that had on the Goddess Lirena...did Kuon sacrificing himself make him reincarnate as a human, Kirise, who is trying to find his lost love in the human world? I wonder also what else might've happened to the Goddess in her grief .

Fiene's got a lot of anxiety still, but Baldur is always there to support her and have her back. Although it seem that both have memories of past routes where Baldur died. Kind of wonder what's up there .

Everyone looks nice dressed in all their finery, but nobody cuts quite the figure as the royal couple, especially Liese in full Royal Guard regalia. She even has a hair-curled ponytail! Although I love how both of them are just basking in the joy of dancing together, and Sieg is enjoying the romantic mood, and then Liese has to get his mind back on track. Let your man enjoy the romance for a bit longer, Liese !

I thought Cecile was straight up stalking Fabian, but apparently she was (somehow) part of the security team with her dad and his soldiers. It was nice to see how sweet Cecile and Fabian are on each other though, these two kids are so cute together .

Hey, Leon actually showed up! That's more than I was expecting. I guess seeing Fiene as the spitting image of her mother in her same dress inspired him to make an effort, though he had to put on a "masked mage of justice" act to pull it off. What a goof...but it's still appreciated .

You know the Witch of Yore has arrived when she's blanketed the TV screen in her darkness...I wonder if that's genuine magic or just some really effective graphic work in the game ?

We've got the full Reverse Harem team together! And they're a pretty effective fighting force, working in-tandem and with Endo and Kobayashi's direction! Especially the couples !

I get why Liese wanted to resolve this on her own...but running straight towards the thing trying to possess you solo is never a good idea. And then the thing they'd been trying to avoid from day one happens as Liese gets possessed by the Witch of Yore, consumed as she tries to declare her love for Sieg one last time. Oh no !

[Kanon]

Two episodes left and I still have no idea how the real world and the game world are connected. I hope the answer to this mystery will prove to be satisfying.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Two episodes left and I still have no idea how the real world and the game world are connected. I hope the answer to this mystery will prove to be satisfying.

The only thing I can speculate on is that Kuon reincarnated as the actor Kirise and is looking for his human love interest and thinks it's Kobayashi. Whether that explains why Kobayashi can interfere with the game or not is another matter.

I'm also starting to wonder if the Goddess became the Witch of Yore out of jealousy.

There's also the question of how Fiene and Baldur have New Game+ memories or recollections.

[FlareKnight]

I hope they have enough time to resolve the game/reality connection and give a satisfying conclusion. Really cutting it close now.

No shock that things haven't gone perfectly. Changes will lead to changes. Plus a few elements easily can throw off what was probably a narrow victory in the reverse harem route. If in that route Liese was less fired up then that alone could make the difference. No running off by herself in that case. Plus Fiene is playing more a support/background role instead of up front as the lead character. Since her character arc in this story has involved wanting to step back and let Bal protect her. Her lack of main character drive to get stronger might have left a gap in their firepower.

Either way it will be interesting to see what happens. I think the actor being the God Kuon seems pretty likely. Though doesn't yet explain why he recognized Kobayashi or her connection to the game world yet. So will see how this all comes together.