©︎Hisaya Amagishi/MF Books/DB PROJECT
Now that Dalia has severed all ties with Tobias and started her own company, it’s time to start a new life as an independent craftsman… eventually. I assume. In this episode, however, it’s more about Dahlia being introduced to a completely new love interest. The second half of the episode ultimately advances Dalia’s journey as an artisan. But first, we have to make time for some early 2000s Hugh Grant romantic comedies.
Almost comically, Wolfe is tailor-made for an idealized love interest, as if he’s stepped straight out of a romance novel. He was tall and handsome, with some nice muscles hidden under his baggy shirt. He’s so devastatingly attractive that he has to hide under a cape or go into Clark Kent mode to prevent random women on the street from hunting him down—even though he’s embarrassed about it and doesn’t have an ounce of vanity. He comes from a noble family, but he is also humble and detached, talking candidly and affectionately with Dahlia. He only says his last name when it’s necessary to embarrass Dalia’s loser ex. Dude is probably the most traditional boyfriend fantasy I’ve seen in anime in years. All he lacks is a tragic backstory that needs to be healed through the tender kindness of a beautiful, selfless and independent woman.
That’s not entirely a bad thing, although it pushes Dahlia’s story further into its own power fantasy. Wolfe swooping into our heroine’s life, ready to sweep her off her feet, is a bit much, especially when the show is trying to build a more grounded relationship between them before romance begins. Unfortunately, the main way to achieve this is to use dialogue to build chemistry, and this episode fails to achieve that properly. The substance of Dahlia and Wolfe’s conversations and dinner together is solid – their relationship is light-hearted and filled with some interesting world-building, such as the fact that aristocratic etiquette requires men to compliment first when talking to a woman – But the direction and character animation struggle to keep up. There’s an art to editing lengthy dialogue scenes, but there’s none here, and the result is that, no matter how emphatic the voice acting is, their dialogue feels stiff and awkward. It allows you to understand on an intellectual level why these two characters like each other, but you can’t feel the spark between them.
The second half of the episode is even more intense as we finally see Dahlia back in her element. We see her gush about all the fancy magical inventions in Oswald’s shop. On one hand, it’s nice to see that Dahlia isn’t the only one capable of creating something similar to our own technology. Whether they harnessed magic or electricity, people would naturally want something to keep cool in the summer, so it only made sense that someone would come up with the idea, just like they have throughout our history. On the other hand, it’s so cool to see her apply her knowledge and ingenuity to these different inventions and ideas. It allows Dahlia to be a character on her own, rather than one who is praised and supported by everyone around her at all times.
Likewise, learning about her father from Oswald helps us get back to the emotional core of Dalia’s character. I’m pretty sure this is the first time we see her cry with all her heart after Carlo dies, and it feels right. After many experiences and months of having to die as a result of the consequences of her engagement, she finally felt comfortable allowing herself to grieve. It makes for an uneven episode that’s still weighed down by production, but manages to deliver something important.
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Dahlias in Bloom: Using Magical Tools to Create a New Beginning Currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
