©︎Hisaya Amagishi/MF Books/DB PROJECT
For the first time in a while, this episode has Daria back in her studio, away from any business obligations or pesky divorce proceedings. What follows is probably best described as slice-of-life, where not much actually happens. Well, things happen – scenes happen, conversations happen, meals happen – but there’s no real conflict to speak of. That Can Working under the right conditions, it’s not out of the norm for such a low-key show, but it just feels like something is missing.
Part of the reason is that, while Dahlia and Wolfe are certainly compatible as friends (and clearly more compatible, no matter how much they protest), they’re also a little too similar. Almost every discussion they had was amiable and calm, with no minor conflicts of opinion. Even when Wolfe shows his distaste for green peppers, he immediately acquiesces to the mildest provocations and finds that he now enjoys them. Wolf was a little worried when Dalia suggested using dangerous elements in their production, but nothing really came of it as he just believed Dalia would be safe. These aren’t bad creative decisions, but it means there’s no room for friction when the two come together. Wolfe’s penchant for spending too much on gifts is the closest thing to a disagreement, and even such disagreements are resolved through quick, professional negotiations. I don’t need a bunch of over the top weird arguments, but even the most compatible people still different People, huh? Even just some mild teasing would make the day more fun for these two.
Once the two start working on their magic sword project, things get even more interesting. First, it’s interesting to see low-magic folks trying to devise a solution that would normally be handled by enchantments. I wish there was more handcrafting to it rather than the dahlias just magically carving perfect notches for the magic stone. However, it’s still fun to see her encounter unexpected problems and try to come up with new solutions. It’s interesting to see the process of finding and testing solutions, even if they ultimately fail and end up encountering a magical biohazard. I’m left with a lot of questions about how exactly magic works in this universe, and what separates Dahlia from these legendary wizards and alchemists. But as an example of the central idea of the entire show, it’s a solid sequence.
However, from there, things just…happened. Dahlia and Wolfe decided the attempt was a failure and went back to having a feast for just two, before moving on to some new “prototype” that Dahlia had apparently been clinging to for years. You know, maybe her father made the right decision to find someone to help her with the business, because this girl has been working on multiple new inventions without even trying to put them into production. For example, you invented a cure for athlete’s foot and had a literal army of people wearing smelly boots just begging for magical cleansing, but you never thought of selling it? hurry up! Show some initiative!
If that sounds like a stretch, it’s just to make up for the complete lack of conflict in the last third of the episode. There’s no narrative or character dynamic to take us to the next level, so I’m left looking here and there for something interesting. Like, hey, when Ms. Althea stared at Wolf’s mom’s pendant, did I detect her destined lesbian longing? I can’t say for sure, but I can say that I wanted to explore her story and relationship with Wolfe through a full five minutes of random soldiers talking about their piggies.
grade:
Dahlias in Bloom: Using Magical Tools to Create a New Beginning Currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
