A most fascinating episode, yes.
I’m sure most want me to skip the first three scenes and get to the big one but patience ladies and gentlemen. We must build up to it.
So we joined Rae playing chess against Dookie Prince as she’d little choice but to accept lest she risk making a scene. She impressed with her skills but Dookie still won. Again ever the observant Prince he noticed she held back and wanted a no holds barred rematch in the future. Rae was like “Damn it. More Dookie Points.” As usual she used her hours of playing the game from her past life to her advantage. In this case multiple playthroughs of the chess minigame.
Ever the wonderful, prideful beauty Claire refused to accept Rae’s dominance and challenged her to chess. Unfortunately Rae easily figured out her playstyle and toyed with her for those delicious reactions. Mayo Prince and his entourage spotted them and stepped in to help Claire who was like “Thank you but I was just about to use that strategy”. After noticing Rae’s game he invited the duo along with Misha to play a game of Poker.
We learned in this scene that Misha and Mayo were childhood friends and she still had a crush on him as was made clear whenever Mayo complimented Rae. Alas it would seem she’s not a Harumin. We’ll see what happens as the story progresses.
By the way. As always despite my politely asking for no spoilers people INSIST on dropping hints. Not my longtime fans, mind you, just others. Whether they know they’re spoilers or not I don’t know but the point of my coverage is to enjoy watching a Yuri fan going into these shows BLIND! I ask again.
NO. MORE. SPOILERS! NO HINTS ON WHAT COULD HAPPEN WITH CHARACTERS OR EVENTS!
Anyway, where was I? Oh right. Rae’s goal was once again to relish Claire’s reactions until she noticed Mayo cheated thanks to the dealer being his homie. Her poor attempt to hide her anger amused Mayo. Misha took that reaction well.
Since we had scenes with two of the three Brothers Prince naturally the third one had to get some screen time too. Rae heard something and guided Claire toward the sound. It was Frosty Balls playing the harp. As mentioned last episode she’s aiming to follow his route because Claire was the most involved in that one. The goal here was to listen to his song till the end. However, Claire did the one thing players going for his route shouldn’t do, interrupt him before he’s done. Señor Bolas Frios got sensitive about it because he felt it served no purpose in his goal to become king.
Hearing that Rae invited him to play the King Game to “test” his ability to rule. Rae enjoyed herself in the first round but Rounds 2 and 3 were rigged to get Frosty and Claire to show some intimacy. First it was a head pat and then a kiss. Ol’ Chilly Nuts didn’t obey the second command as Claire quietly looked somewhat disappointed. Frosty had a feeling Rae only tested him to see if he would eventually notice the orders were unjust for a king and I assume in a cold romance route way he too complimented Rae’s cunning. Actually Rae just wanted to see Claire adorably gush over a head pat from her crush. Remember this for the next scene.
And here we are at last. THE SCENE of the episode.
Normally in big or important scenes I provide an OG style reenactment that’s half fun and serious but not this time. This scene must be seen with your own eyes and ears. What I can do is commend the show for bringing up several topics that could fill up an entire episode yet this scene summed up their importance in a few minutes:
-My best friend is gay and I want to understand her.
-Prejudice against homosexuals just because of their preference. This one I kinda felt because a reaction from some rando toward Vill’s advances on Komari were, in short, “Ew”. I bet you my bottom dollar every time people like that see the exact same scene in a het harem they’d laugh or approve the honi hottie leaping on the “innocent” lad.
-How would you react if your het crush accused you of the same thing you accused your homosexual acquaintance of doing?
-Does gender matter when falling in love?
-If your goal is to help make the love of your life happy, can you yourself truly be happy if their happiness does not include you? Are you really satisfied simply staying by their side, never having your feelings reciprocated?
This was the struggle Rae faced more than once, including now with Claire.
Rae thought maintaining a status quo among her homies and Claire was the right call despite enduring the pain from the strong possibility of Claire never reciprocating her feelings like other girls in her previous life.
As she tried to keep her composure some of the jelly Mayo fangirls from earlier scoffed at her gayness and thought the Brothers Prince’s interest in her was like that of a wild animal to be tamed.
To everyone’s surprise Claire stepped up and put the mean girls in their place. Lene explained to Misha that it wasn’t Claire defending Rae but her realizing she was wrong for judging Rae and took out her self-anger on the mean girls who deserved it. Afterward Rae hoped Claire didn’t legit hate her and was thankfully assured all was well thanks to glorious tsundere power. #ClaireIsLove.
I actually had more to say about stuff such as people, my own perception on Yuri and other things but felt it best to keep it simple. I am just a fan now. No longer a (jokingly) self-proclaimed Yuri ambassador.
Again good balance between fun and serious. That’s the way. Great episode.
By the way I was immediately intrigued to see how this very important scene was dubbed. Happy to report that apart from some differences in dialogue delivery here and there the core of the conversation was nearly identical. Let me put it this way. They said gay. Kudos.
The Yuri Empire 
Another Great Episode!
As someone who’s watching the dub, the english voice actors are killing it!
Excited for more!
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An excellent EN dub indeed.
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One of the most important thing about that scene is this: there is no way in hell that it is up to the audience’s interpretation. I’m looking at you, Bandai-Namco.
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Corporate BAMCO old farts. The writers and fans know the truth but we already went through all that.
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Claire’s Evil Laugh Count:
Chapter 1: 11 Ahahaha 4 Aara
Chapter 2: 1 Ahahaha 1 Aara
Chapter 3: 1 Ahahaha 1 Aara
TOTAL so far: 13 Ahahaha 6 Aara
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As yes, this scene. I was wondering if they would leave this scene in the anime or not, given Japan’s… history with such things. Pleasantly surprised they did. It says great things for the future. Assuming the show does well and doesn’t suffer stupid reactionary backlash that scares the corpos. I hope that is the case
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Fingers crossed.
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Fun episode!
Games can reveal a lot about your personality and so we got a peek at how the princes’ are. Funniest part is super serious Thane going along with the king game, at least until he figures out Rae is just messing with him.
Oh wow I already read the novel previously but the whole convo with Rae being gay, I forgot about that! Still it was nice and we also got more info on Rae’s past as well on earth.
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More impact to those who can relate, like some of my besties.
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I can barely think right now. My heart is so full! I think Misha and Lene are finally noticing Rae’s antics aren’t exactly as happy fun teasing as she presents them to be. She honestly wants Claire to be happy, even if it’s with Prince Gloomyguts (i can’t Remember his name). It’s hilarious, in a sad way, that Claire and Rae are a lot alike, in this sense. It never even occurred to them that this type of love was a possibility. Claire, because of her upbringing, and Rae, because of her lived experience. Rae is just enjoying being around Claire and telling her she loves her, because even if nothing comes of it, at least she gets to say it out loud.
I love it when Yuri moves into LGBTQ content. I just hate seeing Rae hurting herself like this. She’s “The Gay Friend,” and anyone who’s been in that position knows what it’s like. You smile on the outside, laugh at off-color jokes, and pretend to be grateful when your friends keep pointing out girls to you, while inside you’re a bundle of nerves, just waiting to explode.
I also LOVED it when Claire showed those “mean girls,” that she is the only Alpha Queen Bitch on campus. While she was only doing it to assuage her own guilt, it still felt good. (I would have poured a whole beef bowl on them instead of tea, but Claire is a lot nicer than me.}
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It was really great to see the conversation in tact! it’s one of the more memorable scenes in the LNs I read so far(but there are a lot of really great moments!), and sets the tone for what the story is really going to be like very well.
I’m loving this adaptation, and I look forward to more ReiClaire moments~
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Reason number 2 that I love this series, and why it became a hardcore contender for AOTY 2023 as soon as it was confirmed for a fall release: Serious discussion of LGBTQ+ issues, like we saw this episode.
Although, Claire could make a good argument for being uncomfortable about Rae personally, not just lesbians in general. It’s kind of a weak point for this scene. Maybe we’re supposed to read it as “I was fine with you being weird about my bullying, but I’m kinda uncomfortable with actual attraction.”
Prince Grumpypants gets a slight boost in name memorability to me because he shares a (user)name with a jerk I used to know.
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This was a great episode on so many fronts!
To start, it was fun to see some of the dynamics of the princes and how completely uninterested Rae is about them. I think her trying so hard to lower her favor points with them doing the exact opposite adds a fun layer of comedy. It’s not bothersome precisely because we know she has no interest in them and nothing will come of it.
Misha’s reaction to Prince Yu praising Rae isn’t surprising, but I wonder if eventually she’ll experience a shift of her own should she realize the Prince isn’t into her like that? I kind of liked the interactions between her and the other maid who’s name escapes me. Should be interesting to see in time. but yeah, not quite Harumin.
I admire Rae for being so willing to help Claire potentially pursue a relationship with the ice prince. I think it speaks to just how deep her love for Claire is, when she’s willing to let her go to someone else if it’s what she really wants, despite her feelings. That’s not an easy thing to do and is incredibly selfless.
Which brings us to our next scene. We got to see that this kind of action is the norm for Rae in how she deals with her crushes/unrequited love. She’s always taken the standby and wait approach, which is the understandable approach, but also more painful than you realize until you’re already too deep. I can relate to her there, because while it might actually hurt less to just confess and potentially be rejected then move on, it’s very scary to take that leap, and so the safer option is more ideal.
Finally, I’m so impressed that they actually went that far in discussing LGBT issues. That’s not something we often get, even in the gayest Yuri we’ve had thus far. They weren’t afraid to say gay, which is awesome. To further explore the prejudices and present deeper discussions on sexuality and orientation was just the icing on the cake. This was a great achievement for Yuri and all LGBT anime, and I hope that more will follow the lead in not holding back. This show gets better and better every week!
Also, I’m glad to hear the dub is doing well. I guess just another way they are surpassing the norms. Great to see Claire may be softening every so slightly too.
P.S. I’ll always consider you an important Yuri Ambassador. =)
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As expected, how they adapted that scene exceeded expectations. It is somewhat apparent that the game was used to illustrate Claire’s prejudices, especially her homophobia and why her reaction is wrong. However, I do feel sympathetic towards Rae/Rei given that she is not able to get the person love her back (besides the prejudice over having a preference for girls in society).
This is something that is brought up on Mastodon with all the antis going at this show and dunking on Yuri anime in general because it doesn’t have a male protagonist. I think this is contributed by the raising intolerance of queer people from the right and far-right (also they also oppress other minority groups as well). I don’t listen to them, and besides, shows/manga with a male protagonist, well disinterests me, especially those het harem anime. Besides, I prefer shows and stories with female protagonists and a mostly/all female cast.
At the end of the day, I think this episode brings home the point that Claire is prejudiced with her classism and homophobia since she is basically a villainess, but she will someday see the light fully and change her ways with the work of Rae. Claire will get there eventually and defrost, but at least punishing those two girls for showing their prejudices against Rae is a start on the road to redemption.
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much respect for Rae’s selfless love. Rooting for the villainess to “become gay” and fall in love with her 😀
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Ganbare Rae!
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For a Yuri anime, this show has balls. (Sorry)
I haven’t seen such an upfront discussion of LGBT discrimination in anime since Bloom Into You. Japan still has a long way to go, but maybe they’re getting there. I just hope that Claire actually falls in love with Rae, the whole “my love for you is pure and I just want you to be happy even if you don’t reciprocate” trope is played out in Yuri. Let lesbians have a happy relationship with each other.
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It’s all good.
It’s a subgenre of the “loser bestie” trope in romance anime. It’s not exclusive to Yuri. Just here it hit harder than usual because they went deep into the discussion.
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Rae loves Claire so much she tried to be her wingman. It would be nice if Claire reciprocated Rae’s feelings but she is well aware that such a option is highly unlikely, so she’s fine being by her side for as long as possible. After what Claire gave those groupies a taste of her wrath, however, things might change, I hope. Since Rae’s the kind of character that would hide her pain behind laughter and jokes, I’m rooting for her. She deserves happiness too. At least Claire doesn’t hate her outright anymore.
I liked how Misha brought the topic up. I’d like to think she did that to help Rae out a bit, or at least have Claire put herself in Rae’s shoes, if only for a moment.
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It’s a tough challenge that Rae will hopefully overcome in her quest for love. Claire has shown signs that maybe she isn’t as straight as she thinks. That and she’s slowly warming up to our heroine.
Good point about Misha. She isn’t a Harumin (yet) but she’s a pretty cool friend.
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I’m anticipated something like this will happen since the first episode. That Rae is not gonna pursue Claire more than she is right now. Because she seems to support Claire with that guy. I had 2 possibilities in mind that, she’s going to be vague about it, or just straight up telling us what’s up. It’s not just as long as you happy I’m happy too, we have a glimpse of reason. She’s been hurt before. I gotta say it hit close to me. I did the same thing when I was a schooler. The show also saying what many, many many Japanese people are afraid to say. It’s to label themselves. Because it’s easier to say “I like girls” (our preference) than to announce what we really are. Just like Anis did in MagiRevo. But this show is going all the way with it and I’m really happy about it. The mainstream anime watchers are malding over it because the show is quite popular, and that’s just added bonus.
The way I see the show is going to be different now. Like I said, this is the start of it. For me the story start right here.
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My last ep for the time being, and it sure was a good one!
Fun and games to start the ep and then that surprisingly serious discussion in the dining hall later on. Definitely a lot to take away from that scene.
Preview for the next ep looks really exciting! Looking forward to watching it in the not too distant future.
On to the next show to check out!
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A lot was said about that scene here, in the source material and its impact in Yuridom, especially by people who could relate. Truly an important episode and much appreciated.
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