© Izumi Okido/Jun Hayase/KADOKAWA/”I want to be a bad girl who will go down in history” Production Committee
Jane is an interesting villain. At first, she seems devoted to Liz, only because Liz accepts her for who she is, freckles and all. Because of this, she didn’t like Alicia from the beginning – because Alicia had always positioned herself against Liz – and later seeing Alicia made Liz lose control of her emotions. It is hatred that penetrates to the bone. But while all of Jane’s actions seem to be her own, it’s all called into question here, and we can’t help but wonder: how much of Jane’s hatred of Alicia is her own, and how much of it is due to Liz herself The magic produced by negative emotions?
At least in this episode, it’s clear that Jane wasn’t really at fault for what she did to Carol. If what we saw with Jill (not to mention the group of girls in the last episode) is any indication, anything approaching free will is completely thrown out the window when Liz’s full power is brought to bear on someone Arrived beyond the clouds. Liz is ruining Jane’s life and neither of them knows anything about it. Jane is just a pawn in a game that no one realizes they’re being played – and the person who shows real kindness to her isn’t Liz, but the person she hates the most in the world.
Speaking of Gil, he doesn’t seem to have any special affinity that shields him from Liz’s influence. Perhaps the only reason he hadn’t been smitten by her before was the simple fact that she had never really tried to understand him—her power had never been unintentionally focused on him. Or maybe at some point in their conversation he was open to her words – his dislike of her momentarily overridden by his thoughts about the village – and in that moment her charm forced its way through the breach.
Regardless, the chaos caused by Liz’s powers thrust Alicia into the spotlight and changed the school’s paradigm. Jane cuts Carol’s hair to make Carol less like Alicia—to take away her independence. However, by cutting her own hair so that it is the same length as Carol’s, Alicia undermines what Jane is trying to do, and in doing so gives power back to Carol.
In this way, short hair became a symbol of self-determination for female students. They’re not Alicia’s sycophants, because Alicia won’t order them around or even give them a second thought, really. Instead, they are following Alicia’s example and forging their own paths. In one school, Liz’s power attempts to force homogenous views around Liz’s ideals, setting the stage for future conflict.
All in all, this was a great episode of the show. For one thing, it has a minor antagonist who is far more complex than she first appears. On the other hand, we get to see how terrifying Lizzie’s powers are and how attractive Alicia is. Finally, we’re left with the tantalizing thought that we might learn the secret behind Liz’s charm next week — assuming Mel isn’t smitten with Liz anyway before she can tell anyone.
Rating 4.5
random thoughts
• Interestingly, Duke immediately understood what was happening to Jill. But perhaps he witnessed so many friends and acquaintances being charmed before his eyes that he became hypersensitive to it.
• Personally, I prefer Alicia’s design with long hair, but she looks good with short hair too.
• I wonder if we’ll see more of Carol and Jean later?
• If Mel can teleport, I guess teleportation is earth magic…I wonder why?
I want to become a villain who will go down in history Currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the majority shareholder of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.
