It really should be illegal to be as much fun as this show is.  I’m sure the manga is great, but it’s hard for me to imagine Mairimashita! Iruma-kun without the seiyuu, because the energy they bring seems so vital to its success.  Last week seemed just a bit low-energy by Iruma-kun standards to me, but this was a return to the series in all its goofy glory.  When it’s right, it delivers more smiles per minute that any show airing this season.

This weird “dainty” spell cast on Ameri-san is described as being a badly-knit sweater, and the prescription is for her to go through her normal routine and eventually it will unravel.  That’s all well and good, but this new Seitoukaichou is not good for the student council’s reputation – while her kawaii factor impresses, the Prez isn’t being taken too seriously by most of the student body.  Kallego-sensei in fact declares that he reserves the right to suspend the student council’s activities if it proves necessary, though he holds that card in reserve for the moment.

Into the breach swoops Ronove Lomiere (Suzuki Tatsuhisa).  In a series full of sillier-than-life characters Ronove fits right in.  Hell, he’s only the second character to get an insert song (and the first to limbo).  Ronove is a ludicrous popinjay of the highest order – the head of the disciplinary battler, a self-described rival of the student council.  As the one who most stands to benefit from Ameri’s downfall he’s the one the other councillors suspect is behind the spell, and indeed he chooses this moment to challenge the council to a “dissolution election” – with the losing battler forced to disband.

I have no foreknowledge of any of this, but Ronove seems far too harmless to me to be the one who actually cast the spell on Ameri – I think he’s just being opportunistic.  It’s fitting that his “charisma” ability has the power to attract attention to himself and absolutely nothing more – he’s a paper tiger if ever I’ve seen one.  That being said he’s openly lusting after power (among other things).  And in his current cocky mood he gets a little frisky with dainty Ameri, leading to the episode’s most GAR moment as Iru-bo springs to her defense as his sempai look on and do nothing.  “Kyun!” says Ameri-san.  Dainty or normal, she’s still 100% buying what Iruma is selling.

Happily, the holy trinity of comedy who were missing last week are all back, albeit too briefly.  Iruma-kun calls in reinforcements to help with the dissolution election, and that means Azz and Clara (whose new battlers would probably be just fine letting them go back to their old haunts).  And Ali-san is back in glorious form, with Miki Shinichirou just killing it.  His imitations of Kimura Ryouhei and Ono Daisuke are worth the price of admission alone, and he plays the jilted suitor to the hilt by making Iru-bo apologize for ignoring him.  My new policy with this series is “more Ali is always better”.