My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! X

Episode 6

This week we adapt another short story, and while it may not necessarily be advancing the plot, it is nice that the anime is being so thorough on this front. It would have been really, really easy to just skip over the short story collection in favor of getting to the next plot-progressing novel, and this gives me hope that before we get there (I'm guessing it'll be episodes nine through twelve) we'll get an adaptation of the story that shows how Catarina eschewing the villainess role affects the game's side characters. That said, this summer story is mostly just cute, and while there's nothing wrong with that, it also isn't that much of a standout.

It does, however, show how the entire harem has banded together to keep Geordo from making any further headway with the object of everyone's affections. Since he's managed to kiss her twice, no one is willing to give him any extra chances: not only does Keith tag along when his sister's invited to the royal summer home, but Alan also invites everyone else to join them. (Presumably with a little prodding from Mary, who remains at the top of my list for “suitors you don't want to cross.”) Geordo clearly expected to have to deal with Keith, but he seems to be a little more stung that his brother conspired to keep him from having any alone time with his own fiancée, although I'd argue that he really should have expected it. In any event, Catarina's perfectly happy not to have to navigate Geordo-infested waters all by herself, even if she is feeling a little stifled by the constant companionship of her friends.

It's interesting that Maria seems to be at least a little exempt from that, although it may be instead a case of Catarina being fine with just one person around rather than the entire horde. She's very much aware that Maria is a late addition to what she almost certainly thinks of as her friend group, and apart from the fact that she genuinely likes spending time with her, she also doesn't want Maria to feel left out by the shared childhood of the rest of the gang. That, I think, is what's behind the post-credits scene this week, which adds Maria to the rest of the group watching fireworks at the summer house when they were kids: it's a desire on Catarina's part to include her, but also a wish that she'd gotten the chance to get to know the other girl sooner. It says a lot about how much Catarina values her friends, as does her concern when a rainstorm catches the girls out in the woods and they have to shelter in a cabin, just like they had to do in the days before they knew Maria. It's only Maria's urging that lets her relax enough to tell the story of their childhood visit to the summer home.

Most of this episode takes place back when everyone was about eight or nine, shortly after the formation of the harem. It's cute, mostly for Catarina and Alan, who steal the show whenever they get the chance. Catarina we expect this from; of course she's going to climb a tree to catch a beetle in the middle of a ghost hunt, and could the truth of the “ghost” be anything other than Catarina and her mother arguing? (That woman is terrifying. I'm so glad Catarina has her ever-approving dad.) But Alan is in the phase of his life where he's just beginning to come out of his shell. He's joyous with his newfound confidence and freedom, and watching him gleefully climb a tree himself to catch his own beetle is heartwarming. But he's also not so far removed from his sickly early childhood that he's not going to cling to his big (twin) brother when he gets scared, which is adorable in its own way. Since Alan's one of the harem members who doesn't always get to do as much, it's nice to have more of a focus on him for a change.

It's also worth mentioning that Keith and Geordo have the exact same relationship and interactions now as they did in the past. It's almost enough to make you want Catarina to end up (or risk ending up) with a third party just to see how it changes their dynamic...now where did Sora get to again?

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My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! X is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.