This has been an excellent season of Mairimashita! Iruma-kun – probably in the running with S2 for the top spot. But this week was a keeper for reasons of the seiyuu, really. Any time Kirio pops up I dig it, because Ohsaka Ryouta is a great and versatile actor who’s sadly underused these days. As for Miki Shinichriou, his greatness obviously needs no embellishment from me. I mentioned last week that Ali-san’s absence was really my only complaint with this season, and it was robustly corrected here.

Of course, Ami’s presence invariably signals a return to a more serious mode, which isn’t always my favorite side of Iruma-kun. It seems like his appearance here was a one-shot deal for the moment, designed to set up a major arc later. In fact he and Iruma never cross paths this time. Kirio certainly is looking for him but he finds Azz instead (rushing to the Royal One to grab Iruma-sama some feathers for a He archery display). Azz of course knows nothing about the events at – and under – Walter Park. And he’s initially taken in by Ami’s usual demure manner. But when he sees those sociopath eyes, he immediately goes to DEFCON 1.

Kirio is a fascinating figure. I just can’t accept him as totally evil (maybe it’s Ohsaka). And his obsession with Iruma always strikes me as underpinned by a certain genuine affection. But he’s a villain, no question about it. And still working with Six Fingers, who freed him after the Walter Park incident. The big news on that front is that they seem to have recruited Poro-chan-sama to their side. Whether they actually have a way to bring Derkila back, who knows – but the prospect is enough to ensnare the obsessed Poro. Unless he’s double-bluffing them, he could prove to be a very valuable asset for Six Fingers.

Azz chooses to tell Iruma nothing about this, which is obviously a questionable decision. They each have a distorted view of Kirio’s situation now, which is surely going to cause trouble later. But freed of any knowledge of this, Iruma-kun is free to enjoy an idyllic evening of Opera’s cooking and gaming skills back at home, where Sullivan is finally able to shower him with the praise he’s been saving up since the festival ended. They even play a piano duet of “Lilith’s Carpet” – though I would say Opera on maracas was the highlight of the performance.

The big news, though, is the long-awaited (by me and Iruma-bo both) return of Alikred. He’s kind of the bookend of Derkila in more ways than one. They have the same voice, obviously, and of course “Alikred” is “Derkila” spelled backwards. Iruma is bemoaning the fact that Ali isn’t responding to him any more, and even has a dream where Ali says they won’t have much time to talk and starts to disappear. Then he wakes to find Alikred right next to him – but very much an upgraded version, seemingly in-line with Iruma’s level up to He.

This is all hilarious and kind of heartwarming, as all of Ali-san’s scenes with Iru-bo are. But there’s most definitely something kind of ominous here, what with the dream and all. We know what Ali-san isn’t – “not family, not friends, not lovers” is a rather bold way to phrase it in the circumstances. But what he is? That’s still very much in question, perhaps one of the most important in Mairimashita! Iruma-kun. It may be as simple as the Occam’s Razor explanation – Alikred is Derkila and that’s that. But I suspect the true answer is something more complicated.

Su…ki…Nya