Streaming: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 11
Source: Manga
Episode Summary: After Yuuri’s parents pass away tragically in an accident, he decides to let the servants at his small mansion go to help preserve some of his inheritance. Unfortunately, for a kid with very little experience cooking and cleaning, living life entirely on his own has a steep learning curve. It’s at his moment of greatest need that Lilith, a maid, shows up on Yuuri’s doorstep and offers to work for him in exchange for nothing more than room and board. Though Yuuri finds this suspicious, the alternative isn’t appealing.
Almost immediately, Yuuri finds Lilith’s behavior questionable. She teases him with a familiarity that seems counter to the fact that they barely know one-another. Yuuri often finds her up late at night reading books or cooking up concoctions in the kitchen. He’s sure that she must be some kind of sorceress out to get him. It’s true that her motives run deeper than they may seem to at first, but despite her seemingly playful nature, Lilith wants to wait for the right time to let the young master know more about herself.
Impressions: Trauma can sometimes change us in ways that we don’t necessarily expect or realize. After I went through the end of a relationship and its accompanying divorce, I realized that many of the friendships I’d had were sort of conditional on that relationship existing and didn’t have much to actually do with me. Dealing with that was a challenge and it left me feeling disconnected from most people, including the friends I still had. Now I still have trouble letting down my own defenses around others and cultivating the kinds of intimate friendships I once had (or thought I had), mostly because experience has taught me, at least, that people aren’t always interested in “your side of the story,” especially if you aren’t willing to broadcast your feelings or opinions publicly and repeatedly and prefer privacy.
Having said that, I found myself sympathizing with Yuuri quite a bit throughout this episode. While I don’t know what it’s like to be rich (which probably brings with it a whole other set of suspicions about the motives of people in one’s orbit), I do know what it’s like to be approached by people whose purpose for doing so is motivated by information-gathering on behalf of others. His suspicion of Lilith makes sense, since she literally just showed up seemingly out of nowhere and offered him the help he desperately needed without asking for anything. Sometimes “going through some shit” causes even altruistic kindness to feel like a ploy.
Lilith is also kind of an interesting character – the type to play up her air of mystery while simultaneously being unable to fully pass off the illusion of having it all together at all times. She’s happy to tease Yuuri by playing into his suspicions, but her acting eventually ends up faltering (which for the purposes of the show is meant to be cute although I can take it or leave it). This characterization has the intended effect of making the audience as curious about her as Yuuri is, and it’s effective.
Overall I found this episode to be pretty cute and sufficiently intriguing. I wonder a little bit about how the interplay between Yuuri and Lilith is intended, though; there’s a lot of blushing back-and-forth between the two of them that could be read a number of different ways and not all of them innocently. The last thing I want is another creepy predatory age-gap situation, especially when one of the characters is a kid. So far I think the intended read on it is innocent teasing, though, so I’ll assume that until shown otherwise.
Pros: I like how Yuuri’s characterization does a good job of allowing him to feel like a kid, just a kid with a burden of responsibility on his shoulders. His “theories” about what’s going on with Lilith are all completely silly, misinterpreting her actions to become a better cook and maid as creating magic potions and casting curses when he’s out of sight. He knows what his responsibilities are, but he hasn’t lost that big imagination that’s an effect of his youth.
Cons: While this is me absolutely being critical of the very basis of the show, I’m not a huge fan of the fact that Lilith doesn’t come right out and tell Yuuri what’s going on with her and how she discovered that he needed a caretaker. There are enough little clues throughout the episode that one can come up with a few theories, so “the audience” not knowing isn’t really the issue. It’s more that… I guess personally I think keeping major secrets from someone in this type of scenario is wrong, especially a child in a vulnerable situation. And yes, “anime isn’t real-life” and “not every character has to be perfect and moral” (*sigh*) but I can also only react to things based on my own experiences, and it squicks me a little.
Content Warnings: Offscreen parental death. Mild fanservice.
Would I Watch More? – This really depends on how generous the series is with providing information. While I do enjoy a good mystery and definitely don’t need to be force-fed story details to be satisfied, I don’t appreciate getting constantly teased with no reward for twelve episodes, so I might try to get a few more details before I commit either way.