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[series:4775#628] | ||||||
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(Six episodes watched): This scenario might easily have been a silly and mostly vapid comedy, but here it is being taken seriously and done as a drama. And I like it. Critically, we get to know and like Rishe as she explains the situation she is in. She was framed by Crown Prince Dietrich purely because he had taken a liking to another woman (how many times has that happened in anime?). Whereas the first time it happened Rishe was shocked and almost heartbroken, it has happened so many times that now she just announces that she understands and accepts Dietrich's decision and walks out of the crowded room. She has become an independent woman who has explored all sorts of different professions. She has learned how to make a life for herself rather than rely on a husband or anyone else. But she keeps getting killed after five years, and would like to break out of that pattern. And if she marries the man who keeps starting the wars that lead to her demise (and recently killed her in person), maybe she can. Perhaps she can persuade him not to start a war this time around. All sorts of possibilities leap to mind, and I am curious about where this will go. This is definitely the first new series of the Winter 2024 season that strikes me as one that might just be truly good. Episode two, however, wasn't quite as fun. Rishe agrees to marry Prince Arnold, who claims to be madly in love with her. I wish she would ask him what exactly about her attracted him. Part of the marriage contract is that Arnold may not 'lay a hand' on Rishe, which is kind of like saying they are not really getting married at all. She vows that she will laze around and do nothing, but we all know that she is a highly dynamic woman who would not let time go to waste. She suspects Arnold is plotting something but cannot figure out what. The two go to the capital city of Galhein where Rishe befriends a lowly maid who was being bullied by her seniors. Apparently in the previous loops things reached a critical point when Arnold killed his own father and assumed the throne, so Rishe hopes to prevent that from happening. So, a good deal happens but it didn't seem as intriguing as the introductory episode one. Hopefully, a lull to do things that need to be done even if they are not all that exciting. In episode three Rishe reorganizes the staff of maids who serve her (she was once a maid herself, remember). Her engagement to Prince Arnold is made public, and not all are happy with it. The Prince only becomes more and more intrigued by her, though exactly why remains unclear. She doesn't seem to hold a grudge that he once killed her, and is far more interested in learning things and fixing problems than in romance. Again, not as good as episode one but better than episode two. From her past loops Rishe knows who capable and trustworthy people are and seeks to cooperate with them in this one. She seems to have some sort of plan to prevent the usual war from breaking out which requires the help of the Aida group, an eccentric band of travelling merchants who she joined during the first loop. But she doesn't dare tell them the full story and their leader is not inclined to assist; it almost seemed as if he had some sort of ESP and was vaguely aware of their contacts in an alternate timeline. Arnold learns of Rishe's meetings with him and insists that he be included, which is awkward. Arnold has a younger brother, Theodore, who he warns Rishe to avoid. Theodore gets a word in and suggests that he is here to help Rishe and she must trust him. The story at this point was seeming complex enough to keep me interested but not as good as I had hoped it might be after watching episode one. Theodore shares a shocking revelation about Arnold's past with Rishe (he once killed his own mother), but of course in some ways she knows more about him than anyone else could. Rishe really, really wants to recruit Aida, though why is not clear and it seemed a waste of (TV) time to me. While this series began with an exciting and intriguing premise, subsequent episodes did not manage to maintain that excitement. It seemed to have drifted from the critical question of 'how will Rishe break out of this time loop?' into more pedestrian, day-to-day stuff like how will she deal with Arnold's younger brother, who she had never met in any previous loop. It's hard to see how stuff like this will matter in the long run. In episode six Theodore attempts to abduct Rishe but he is no match for her and his plot falls to pieces. I was frustrated by the absurd sequence where Rishe escapes and in the process knocks something like a dozen guards unconscious using only the hilt of a knife so that none is permanently injured. Then Arnold and Theodore make up, with a confusing argument over which of them had intended to 'disappear' for some inexplicable reason at some point in the future. I had once entered this show onto the short list of Current Favorites, but all of a sudden I was thinking 'should I continue watching it at all?'. I was halfway through the season and still there was no sign of Rishe's plan to put an end to the loops. I decided to keep downloading and saving the episodes, but stopped watching them. Last updated Saturday, July 27 2024. Created Sunday, January 14 2024. | ||||||||
