A rather snappy episode of Mairimashita Iruma-kun this week, with the introductions out of the way and the plot free to kick into high gear.  It had more than a whiff of Hunter X Hunter about it, though obviously that series is never so overtly comedy-driven for extended periods as this one.  There was even what I would call a landmark moment, though as always Iruma-kun has a way of slow-playing those so that they don’t call too much attention to themselves.

This “training” that Iruma and Lied are enduring looks a lot more like some combination of indentured servitude and ego abuse.  “Iruminatti” and “Lindy” are little more than chambermaids, really, and Lied finally has enough of it and decides to bolt.  As for Iruma-kun, he decides to stick it out rather than go running to Robin-sensei.  His reasoning?  He’s “used to things being unfair” – and if any statement ever summed up Iruma, it would be that one.

At this point I was starting to think Bachiko was some kind of genius, using this approach to push Iruma to his breaking point (which would be good for him, obviously).  But no, it appears that she was just enjoying having a slave boy  – at least that’s how it seemed when Sullivan showed up and appeared to give her a push towards actual training.  The real headline, though, is that whether it was her intention or not, Iruma finally snapped.  There is such a thing as being too nice, and being OK with things being unfair is probably in that zone.

I don’t think we’ve ever seen Iruma – outside of his evil cycle, anyway – rail at the unfairness of his situation.   So this is a kind of a big deal for his character arc – he does have a point past which he’ll “snap”.  Of course Iruma being Iruma, that means he ties his hair into a ponytail and heads off to show Bachiko he can be the best servant in the underworld.  The good boy runs too deep, but because of Sullivan’s visit to her (which I assume was the whole point of it) Bachiko finally decides to actually teach Iruma something useful.

As for the others, they’re all undergoing weird and seemingly unproductive training of their own – ranging from the ultra-straightforward Netero challenge Balam-sensei gives Azz and Sablo to the girls’ modeling lessons (female mangaka can be sexist in shounen too) to what sure looks like torture.  All Robin has for “Lindy” on his return is a marathon gaming session so enduring even Lied tires of it.  There’s a method to this madness surely – Kallego-sensei would never go into something like this without one – but we’ve yet to see what it is.

As for Iruma’s real training, it sees Bachiko basically slip into tsundere mode.  She explains her clan’s power  – Robin is part of that clan, a cousin, but his ability is much weaker than her “Hundred Bullseyes“.  She declares that it will be impossible for Iruma to learn it, but quite pointedly that it’s because “demons just ain’t cut out to use it”.  There’s something about Iruma-kun she doesn’t know, of course – but that comment is also interesting because Bachiko is (presumably) a demon herself…

Su…ki…ma