I opened last week’s post with “It strikes me that we haven’t had an insert song in weeks – since the season premiere, maybe?”. But I won’t strain my shoulder patting myself on the back too hard, because it was really only a matter of time. It came as part of what was a pretty heavy episode of Shinigami Bocchan, one that dealt with some pretty intense emotions. We’re ramping up towards the climactic arc of the series, and the anime is doing so with a couple of episodes worth of a time deficit. And that surely means the focus on the essential plot is going to be that much more intense.

The stage is the grand ball at the main mansion. Violet has arranged for Bocchan to stick around, but Gerbera will only agree to it if he’s inside a suit of armor (yes, that does work against his curse). And it’s a good thing he’s there, too, as Violet vapor locks when the spotlight is on her for her violin performance. Bocchan steps in and starts tickling the ivories (which can’t be easy in a suit of armor), which the guests take as a party trick, and that shakes Violet out of her stupor.

For many readers Walter and Daleth is the best romance in the series. And it’s not hard to see why – they have great chemistry. Walter is quite a chad actually, though it’s in a somewhat awkward sort of way. He’s quite gallant generally, but especially where Daleth is concerned. When Bocchan tells him she’s somewhere on the grounds, too shy to come out, Walter sets off searching for her. Eventually he finds her on the roof, and the aforementioned musical number takes place. And quite a romantic one it is, too – these misfits are really made for each other.

That’s some serious progress – Daleth asks for a kiss (later, for her become-a-human  ritual) and Walter ups the ante to a marriage proposal. Now, we already know how Gerbera feels about Bocchan marrying Alice (though we will be reminded later in the episode). She’s too low in station to even consider it – and this is the daughter of her best (only only, it seems) friend. Walter is desperate to usurp his brother’s place and become the family heir, but if his mother is a “no” on Alice how is she going to feel about a witch  – “ex” or otherwise?

There’s a surprise guest at the ball – Nico-sensei (just Nico when he’s off-duty). He’s come for the reason the Duke expects – he’s ready. In a week, Nico says, they’ll return to the past to confront Sade. And he “has a plan” to remove the Duke’s curse. Bocchan has his own plans for Sade, of course, and they seem to be quite different from Nico’s. And naive, for that matter, but he is who he is, and this is who he is. A kid who’s too nice for his own good and doesn’t know when to allow himself to be selfish.

That’s reflected in his relationship with Gerbera, which is the focus of the final part of the episode. The harsh truth of this is whatever her reasons – and however much guilt she rightfully feels about it – Gerbera has been extremely cruel to her son. She banished him, labeled him as a shinigami, effectively cut him off emotionally. Bocchan is way too forgiving, and even  after all that he’s driven more by the desire to get back in his mother’s good graces than by anger. If he can break his curse she’ll welcome him back – but it shouldn’t be necessary for Bocchan to do that for her to acknowledge him as her son.