Ah, Alice. This episode showed an episode fully dedicated to her… and I guess that she got better. It’s not like she’s an entirely typical spoiled brat, because she actually has a bit of a character beyond being conceited and all, but she still feels rather out of place. So I have to admit that I have no clue how the bourgeosie acted back in those days, but I really often feel like anime misses the mark while portraying really rich characters: they’re either perfectly flawless or conceited bastards with no middle ground. That lack of middle ground really is a problem.
This episode again was really adorable. For once we have a “running into bathing”-scene that actually makes sense and feels different from pure fanservice. Claude also is the first protagonist since ages who actually looked away as soon as he realized what happened instead of just gazing like an idiot. It’s a good way to show the differences in bathing. For more cultural differences, this episode also showed Yune introducing some Japanese food to Claude, after the previous episode’s onslaught of French cuisine.
And I guess that Alice does spice up this series a bit. As long as she doesn’t take over the series it’ll probably be fine. This, because I do wonder what this series has planned for the long run: how does it want to end? How far will the characters develop? Alice did do a bunch of great things to flesh out the main cast, and without her the whole picture of this series would be incomplete. Really the only problem with her that I have is the way she acts, not how she is.
Rating: * (Good)
As a spoiler (from the manga adaptation, not the novels): It seems the real deal is with Alice’s older sister, she and Claude seems to have history from their childhood days. She has quite a realistic/twisted look of life, I think she’ll have an important role in the future.
I’m thinking that this series would probably end when Yune goes back to Japan after she has finished working at the shop. She did come to France to work after all, and I guess sometime in the future her family will probably ask her to come back home.
Regarding Alice, I thought that her character was played rather convincingly. She is a spoiled brat who has been waited on hand and feet by servants all her life, and cliche or not, that is how people will turn out with that sort of upbringing. Nevertheless, she still has some common sense in the way that although she might be used to having people obey her every whim, yet when Yune really wanted to leave, she relented and respected her choice (although she is scheming to get Yune to stay with her through other means). I’m guessing that Yune would genuinely love to be friends with Alice, and she will probably teach Alice a thing or two about how the real world works, thus changing her to be a better person.
Despite how spoiled Alice is, I can’t help but feel attached to her. I like her as a character and I find her obsession with Yune to be endearing. She’s not a bad person at heart. She just isn’t worldly.
@Gandalf: You made a very good point there.