(L) Ladies versus Butlers!

[Bonta Kun]

Spoiler for ep 9:

wow if I'm getting this right Aki actually come out straight about that bride thing with Tomomi when they were younger?!
He wanted her to his bride?
When have you ever seen a male lead be so straight forward about such thing.

Well is a very good ep considering the basis of it, to be honest these "dates with someone following" eps can be rather lackluster for the most part.
They stalking element kinda takes away from the actual date(even if thats supposed to be the desired effect) and ends ups just being nonsense with some sorta stupid outcome at the end but this was certainly a little different.

also what the hell kinda movie did they watch?!

[Shiroth]

Spoiler for Episode 09:

Very enjoyable episode, as expecting going by last weeks preview.

Even though it was a Tomomi themed episode, i couldn't help but find Selnia's over the top jealously the best part of the episode (as expected, i'm sure :3), though it was very nice to see different sides from Tomomi for a change, especially with how hard finding out Hino choose her when they were kids. Talk about a powerful scene, and her deep blush was a nice bonus to an already impressive scene.

Other things to mention:

-Oh god sisters.
-What the hell film was that?
-Dressing room scene was very nice, even if it was random but who cares!
-Selnia is a dance dance pro.

Looks like battle begins between the two next week, and it also looks like Diachi revives a love letter from a girl. That should be interesting to see how it'll play out.

[ReddyRedWolf]

I have to say Selenia here has the advantage even if Tomomi has the childhood friend card. That's just it a childhood friend which is more of a childhood bully really. Akiharu may have thought as a kid making Tomomi his bride but that was years ago. He has changed and matured but Tomomi upon meeting her again hasn't.

It is said first impression lasts but the impressions after the first that is what is important.

[Mentar]

It should be noted that this is the first show in _ages_ in which I find myself on the fence in a main character triangle setting. And that SO LATE. Which in itself is already quite an achievement.

In the past, the best case usually meant that I had a preference for someone, but wouldn't be sad if the other one made it. This time I find myself truly torn. Both Selnia and Tomomi have their respective strengths and flaws, and - to top it off - this time even the male lead Akiharu is definitely non-wimpy and just an overall nice guy.

Selnia's forte is that she is a honest tsundere. What a curious combination. Yes, she's got a flaring temper and is terribly vulnerable to Tomomi's scheming. Yes, her pride goes above what's good for her. But at the same time she is able to take a step back and realize when she's out of line. Also, she's really volupterous and with lots of social standing. What I want to know how much of her interest in Akiharu is fueled by competition spirit with Tomomi, and how much of it is genuine. Part of it definitely is... but the extent remains to be seen.

Tomomi is the girl with the best insight in the situation and the brightest head to boot. Based on her reaction - particularly the uber-moe deep blush at the end - I'm inclined to believe that her interest in Akiharu is genuine and less motivated by pure rivalry (which still undoubtedly remains). She is going to fight an uphill battle. Akiharu genuinely fears her - with good reason - and always suspects foul play even when she doesn't intend any. Also, there was the cruel scene where the drunk Akiharu categorically denied her any form of sex appeal, while he was very susceptible to Selnia's worldly goods. (As a side-note, he was unnecessarily mean. IMHO Tomomi might not be luxurious, but she's nicely rounded in all the right places)

For Tomomi to win, she needs to convince Akiharu that all teasing notwithstanding, she genuinely likes him. This means that she'll need to keep her dark side in check. I don't believe that he will be threatened and coerced into a linkup with her.

For Selnia to win, she will need to keep her "honest" route and fend off the Tomomi suppressive fire without blowing her lid too much. If she can properly establish that she REALLY likes Akiharu, she has several real advantages.

Most likely we won't see any conclusive ending anyway, but I'm really glad that the show is developing JUST the right way.

[Jarppa]

Originally Posted by Mentar

I
Most likely we won't see any conclusive ending anyway, but I'm really glad that the show is developing JUST the right way.

Yep ongoing light novel series never has real ending, just option to more seasons

[DragoonKain3]

Girl who cried wolf indeed.

Second stab to the heart as well, as Aki is talking in past tense about how he used to want to be Tomomi's bride. Meaning, not anymore... T_T

Ganbatte Tomomi! Your kind has seen through worse and won; don't lose hope.

[Manic]

eh
for me Selnia's love interest in him has been genuine. From the beginning she has had grown more interest in him and then he beach episode seemed to seal the deal a bit for me. I never had the impression she was in any sort of competition with Tomomi besides fighting for his services.

Tomomi on the other hand up till this episode viewed him as a possession of hers, and when she feared she might lose him she jumped into action. She had said so herself she felt nothing all episode and just hates to lose. So until this point it was just her not wanting to lose to Selnia. This of course changed when he told her at the end he wanted to be her bride. So while fueled by competition she will now actively pursue the feeling she had at the end.

To be honest tho i never liked Tomomi and she has alot of ground to make up. Selnia has the greatest advantage if she ever learns to be honest with herself.

[Farix]

I've often wonder if Tomomi's actions of Akiharu was the result of her fondness towards him. I think her relationship with Selnia is in much the same vain. Much of Tomomi teasing and harassment of Selnia isn't necessarily spiteful, but allows for Selnia to more straightforward by fully express her true self instead of hiding behind the walls of decorum and "nobility".

Unfortunately, Tomomi has backed herself into a corner as she doesn't know how to relate to others, especially those that she is fond of, outside of the teasing and harassment. That makes it very difficult for the other characters to take anything from her at face value. At some point, Tomomi is going to have to break through her own wall that she has built up around herself. That's not to say that she won't stop teasing people around her, though it may be more playful and less apparent cruelty.

[dreamingxashley]

Originally Posted by Mentar

It should be noted that this is the first show in _ages_ in which I find myself on the fence in a main character triangle setting. And that SO LATE. Which in itself is already quite an achievement.

In the past, the best case usually meant that I had a preference for someone, but wouldn't be sad if the other one made it. This time I find myself truly torn. Both Selnia and Tomomi have their respective strengths and flaws, and - to top it off - this time even the male lead Akiharu is definitely non-wimpy and just an overall nice guy.

Selnia's forte is that she is a honest tsundere. What a curious combination. Yes, she's got a flaring temper and is terribly vulnerable to Tomomi's scheming. Yes, her pride goes above what's good for her. But at the same time she is able to take a step back and realize when she's out of line. Also, she's really volupterous and with lots of social standing. What I want to know how much of her interest in Akiharu is fueled by competition spirit with Tomomi, and how much of it is genuine. Part of it definitely is... but the extent remains to be seen.

Tomomi is the girl with the best insight in the situation and the brightest head to boot. Based on her reaction - particularly the uber-moe deep blush at the end - I'm inclined to believe that her interest in Akiharu is genuine and less motivated by pure rivalry (which still undoubtedly remains). She is going to fight an uphill battle. Akiharu genuinely fears her - with good reason - and always suspects foul play even when she doesn't intend any. Also, there was the cruel scene where the drunk Akiharu categorically denied her any form of sex appeal, while he was very susceptible to Selnia's worldly goods. (As a side-note, he was unnecessarily mean. IMHO Tomomi might not be luxurious, but she's nicely rounded in all the right places)

For Tomomi to win, she needs to convince Akiharu that all teasing notwithstanding, she genuinely likes him. This means that she'll need to keep her dark side in check. I don't believe that he will be threatened and coerced into a linkup with her.

For Selnia to win, she will need to keep her "honest" route and fend off the Tomomi suppressive fire without blowing her lid too much. If she can properly establish that she REALLY likes Akiharu, she has several real advantages.

Most likely we won't see any conclusive ending anyway, but I'm really glad that the show is developing JUST the right way.

I agree with all of this, especially about the first part... Im not a big fan of love-triangles even though the really well-written ones are good... and even less a fan of harems; the only exception being Shuffle.

At the end of the current ep, I was so expecting Tomomi's evil-face, but the ultra-cute blush was just that. I loved it.

[Waven]

Spoiler for preview:

Ye I agree with you guys, Tomomi is at a grave disadvantage and will have to work really hard if she's sticking to this idea. To tell the truth I expected her to have better results after the but the only gain was for her to confirm her feelings, she didn't move anything in the Akiharu department, she's still the same in his eyes which pretty much is her main problem here of course. Not that it matters that much because as you guys already pointed out there won't be a definite ending (at least for the anime) which is a pitty since i thought "childhood friend" vs "tsundere first girl shown" was quite the nice archetype matchup

[Manic]

i sorta predict from now on we will see tomomi trying to either change her personality or fake one so she can one up selnia, but will eventual lose out

[Ashlotte]

Am I the only one that laments the fact Flamehearts dancing wasn't animated? I can only imagine it being the pinnacle of funny and erotic what with both bouncing drills and boobs...

Ah well I got my Pina fix and Flameheart being far too cute...very satisfying episode!

[velvet nightmare]

Originally Posted by Manic

i sorta predict from now on we will see tomomi trying to either change her personality or fake one so she can one up selnia, but will eventual lose out

i don't see how she can fake another one

she's already faking her current one, making up another one would be trying to juggle 3 personalities, that's a bit much for the depth of this kind of series


havn't read the light novel or anything but i don't see how she can win either, it's either that or an open end (highest chance)

[FlareKnight]

With that opening scene you'd wonder why Tomomi would be worried about her figure. Anyways the start kind of reinforces the difficulties that she is going to have. The invitation is seen as an evil plot luring him to some terrible demise. Then the outfit gets little reaction. Think it's got to do with him cataloging her into the plotting childhood friend category. Ironically if he didn't have that kind of past with her I think he would appreciate her looks a lot more. He's already got this image of her and her biggest challenge is getting past that. Guess this shows traumatizing people really does have some kind of karma attached to it.

Watching that first part of the date really made me feel bad for Tomomi. I don't think there is much reason for Drill to be following them around feeling worried. Sure Tomomi was blushing at the end due to what Akiharu felt in the past. But the issue is that he referred to it in the past tense. Not to mention acting like it was a crazy thing to want to be with Tomomi. Well suppose having that kind of embarrassing event happen would influence your attitude toward someone. Tomomi is in a pretty tough spot there. She has to stick to holding back her darker side and constantly doing that to have a chance. At the end I somewhat expected her to be hurt after hearing the past tense. But perhaps she didn't really catch anything beyond wanting to be her bride.

Tomomi still has some time though since Selnia is still figuring out her feelings. Not yet honest about how she feels. Though it's more like she knows and yet is unwilling to try and understand them yet. At least she wasn't coming up with ridiculous reasons for her actions.

But damn the stupid sisters make my head hurt.

[Cinocard]

Originally Posted by Jarppa

Yep ongoing light novel series never has real ending, just option to more seasons

Anyone thinks the sale will be good enough for the second season to be opted? To be honest, I don't think the fan-service quality has been high. It has good characters compared to other harem anime, but the deal may not lie there.

[Nukerjsr]

Originally Posted by Farix

I've often wonder if Tomomi's actions of Akiharu was the result of her fondness towards him. I think her relationship with Selnia is in much the same vain. Much of Tomomi teasing and harassment of Selnia isn't necessarily spiteful, but allows for Selnia to more straightforward by fully express her true self instead of hiding behind the walls of decorum and "nobility".

Unfortunately, Tomomi has backed herself into a corner as she doesn't know how to relate to others, especially those that she is fond of, outside of the teasing and harassment. That makes it very difficult for the other characters to take anything from her at face value. At some point, Tomomi is going to have to break through her own wall that she has built up around herself. That's not to say that she won't stop teasing people around her, though it may be more playful and less apparent cruelty.

I think Tomomi's actions mostly come from her character. Because as Akiharu pointed out, she wants to be number one at just about everything. Even with her relationships with other people, she has this need for control. Selnia has that wall of "nobility" and "elitism" to herself, but as the series shows, you can really buy that Selnia really wants to keep her family name strong and unharmed.

This episode for me really cements why I love Flameheart. She's a great balanced, honest tsundere who's actions don't fly too far off the handle and who has more purpose to her life other than going for so-and-so. She's really adorable with how her hair spins and how she takes compliments. She's still ladylike even when being all huffy and annoyed. I really felt for her when she had that defeated face on the DDR machine. Her following was more entertaining.

Concerning Tomomi, I like how there's a bit more understanding dimension with her character with that intro. And the way she blushed heavily at the end was very nice. Finally, we can see some sweetness with her. I'm still a bit annoyed how she talks...it doesn't feel too human. Does anyone else think it sounds a bit too scripted or high-minded? The date personally, I felt was kind of bland just because Tomomi did all the talking and I felt like we didn't explore much between the relationship between her and Akiharu during that time until the end. (But I am wondering if that was the point...)

That hurt me too for Akiharu. As great as he is, I feel like he isn't saying enough. I don't want him to fall in the trope of the bad harem protagonist. You know, where he's just a golem and all the girls are doing all the talking and he's just dragged around like a big dog. He's not expressing his own opinion, just the same thoughts like "Jeez, this is annoying. S-sorry! This is pointless. Why am I in this part of the store?" I really liked how he was suspicious on Tomomi's actions though, that really gives him great marks.

My opinion on "Who I want to win..." have to give it really to Selnia, because that love between them feels real. She doesn't really know how to react and is suspicious, but it doesn't come off all that much as creepy. She honestly doesn't get it, but that helps her in a more realistic way. It's hard to give Tomomi sympathy because while I see the possibility there, Tomomi intentionally did all these bad things and pressured Akiharu. It'd be nice to see some of this flung back at her just because Akiharu KNOWS her for the conninving things she has done and it would be silly to ignore them if it came down to love time.

There were only two things that annoyed me in this episode. Xebec is just...bad with animating breasts. Okay? God, Tomomi's and Selnia's keep shrinking and enlarging constantly. Can't they be consistent with this? It kind of makes me wish the girls could think of something more than breasts. Because if you are designed by Takami Akio, you are going to have a curvy ass no matter how your body looks.

And that scene with Pina and Mimina...what was the point of that? I probably wouldn't of been as annoyed with it if it weren't for Pina's VA...who was giving me haunting reminders of Mika from Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu who was annoyingly perverse and had similar features.

But I have to really give credit to this harem/fanservice series because it's really good. If it can bring out this much psychological questioning, that means something.

[Nosauz]

Originally Posted by dreamingxashley

I agree with all of this, especially about the first part... Im not a big fan of love-triangles even though the really well-written ones are good... and even less a fan of harems; the only exception being Shuffle.

At the end of the current ep, I was so expecting Tomomi's evil-face, but the ultra-cute blush was just that. I loved it.

this weeks episode just completely made tomomi into a she devil, there was nothing that really felt redeeming about tomomi and aki's messed up relationship, and as he akiharu has stated tomomi to him has no sex appeal. What's frustrating is that out of ALL the girls drill head ojou sama is the most grating and most annoying character, even reverse trap diachi is much more entertaining than drill head. Ugh, this is just, I'm at a loss for words.

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Nukerjsr

But I have to really give credit to this harem/fanservice series because it's really good. If it can bring out this much psychological questioning, that means something.

Definitely have to give this series credit. Didn't think it'd bring out this level of character analysis. They've done a nice job making an interesting main trio. Can actually get interested in how things might develop heading toward the end.

[velvet nightmare]

Originally Posted by Nukerjsr

Concerning Tomomi, I like how there's a bit more understanding dimension with her character with that intro. And the way she blushed heavily at the end was very nice. Finally, we can see some sweetness with her. I'm still a bit annoyed how she talks...it doesn't feel too human. Does anyone else think it sounds a bit too scripted or high-minded? The date personally, I felt was kind of bland just because Tomomi did all the talking and I felt like we didn't explore much between the relationship between her and Akiharu during that time until the end. (But I am wondering if that was the point...)

her 'high-mindedness' is part of her false character, through her interactions with selnia, she is condescending in a 'polite' way, and hence the artificiality to her character. ie, saying something nice, but is actually an insult

and yeah that was the point of the date, was for her to do the talking and leading to see if anything stirred within her. so we're left with the cliff hanger as to whether or not the blush actually means something or not.

Originally Posted by Nukerjsr

That hurt me too for Akiharu. As great as he is, I feel like he isn't saying enough. I don't want him to fall in the trope of the bad harem protagonist. You know, where he's just a golem and all the girls are doing all the talking and he's just dragged around like a big dog. He's not expressing his own opinion, just the same thoughts like "Jeez, this is annoying. S-sorry! This is pointless. Why am I in this part of the store?" I really liked how he was suspicious on Tomomi's actions though, that really gives him great marks.

you have to remember with his interactions with tomomi that they are at this point quite familiar with each other (personally i doubt that's possible IRL given the time gap but what the hell) so you won't get the back and forth squabbling (ie. romance) that you would get with selnia. i have a feeling the exploration into their further relationship will be very subtle

Originally Posted by Nukerjsr

There were only two things that annoyed me in this episode. Xebec is just...bad with animating breasts. Okay? God, Tomomi's and Selnia's keep shrinking and enlarging constantly. Can't they be consistent with this? It kind of makes me wish the girls could think of something more than breasts. Because if you are designed by Takami Akio, you are going to have a curvy ass no matter how your body looks.

for you to be commenting on this, they've done their job. lol

Originally Posted by Nukerjsr

But I have to really give credit to this harem/fanservice series because it's really good. If it can bring out this much psychological questioning, that means something.

i think you mean depth of the characters,and yeah aside from the sisters (who by the way solidify themselves more and more as retards with each passing episode) isn't really all that bad as far as a harem is concerned. but i do agree, if they push the seriousness a bit more, there would really be something worth watching, but that might change the whole thing altogether, so take it as it is.

[Wrath88]

In addition, Akiharu's gotten kind of accepting of his situation. I'm sure we all recall the 'GO TO HELL!' in ep 2, but the story can't progress with him constantly in that state. Still, if he suddenly changes too quickly, there's less premise for continuation. So, character development&shorter story vs. longer story&less character development?