okay, but consider this: fluffy BL

Previously posted 30 slice-of-life BL manga reviews for a month

[tanenigiri]

Bean Counter's 12th and final episode goes through a lot of stuff - it spans six-and-a-half manga chapters' worth of events, after all. A lot of that is centered on another climactic scene a la Episode 6 - still my favorite episode of the series - but instead of talking about it scene by scene, I wanted to take a similar approach to what I did with the Episode 6 write-up and talk about Episode 12 character by character. Or rather, character dynamic by character dynamic.

Like I alluded to above, this episode spans Chapter 36, 37, 38, half of 39, 42, 43, and 44 of the manga, which does mean that there is a lot of scenes that they either shortened or outright skipped entirely. Unlike my previous write-ups, though, I won't be making much comparisons to these chapters, as only Chapter 36 has been officially translated to English, being the last chapter included in Volume 6. I'll just be sticking with the anime and bits of the second light novel for this one.

I wanted to focus on character dynamics here as I believe this episode features the culmination of several of Seiichirou's relationships with the rest of the cast. It's obvious how that applies to one of them, but I think the anime choosing this as a stopping point (as opposed to also going through the events of the third light novel) did feel like it recognized that the end of the second light novel sees the payoff to the build up of Seiichirou's dynamic with several characters. (And it does mean that the possibility of more Bean Counter anime content will always be there, as the third light novel features its own set of conflicts, and there's a fourth light novel releasing in Japan very soon as of the time I'm writing this.)

Let's start with the most obvious one - SEIICHIROU INITIATED A KISS WITH ARESH WEE WOO WEE WOO. Seiichirou has been wrestling with his feelings for Aresh for quite some time now, and it is both very sweet and very hilarious that what finally does it for him is Aresh making sure that Seiichirou still gets his work done before they take a vacation. But you can understand why this is a big deal for Seiichirou, too - Aresh has spent so long trying to get Seiichirou to work less (and he will continue doing so even after this scene), but now it looks like Aresh has accepted that Seiichirou being a workaholic is part of him, and instead of suppressing it, he'll be adjusting their plans to suit those needs.

As many, many fans who have read the manga and light novel will tell you, the culmination of this relationship does involve a sex scene that did not make it to the anime, and it's a special one as it is the first time they do it without Seiichirou needing magical healing along the way. So if you're interested in that part of their culmination, the other canons have you covered.

But there's another part of this dynamic I want to tackle. During the climactic scene with the magical bomb, Aresh protects Seiichirou as it is about to detonate, and Seiichirou laments that this would be another case of Aresh getting hurt for the sake of keeping Seiichirou safe. This is definitely a callback to the previous episode and his conversation with Valtom, and while these circumstances are a lot more dire and a bit more out of Seiichirou's control, there is now a larger part of him that wants to keep Aresh safe. So when, in the carriage scene, he says that he doesn't want to be the only one being protected anymore, he is making sure that both him and Aresh enter this relationship as equals.

It's a sentiment that Seiichirou has expressed a lot in the past, though with a rougher edge - his insistence to make it up to Aresh for the magical healing sex that he's been receiving, for one. But this declaration in the carriage feels a lot more encompassing, as instead of just making sure that one doesn't owe the other, it's making sure that both of them give and receive from each other. (There's probably some funny accounting joke I can make here, but I don't know the lingo, so I'll just bring it up in case one of you can make it yourself.)

We go from one purple-eyed beauty to another as there's also an interesting evolution to Seiichirou's dynamic with Siegvold happening here. Hilarious insistence of Siegvold wanting to be treated as informally as Aresh aside - sorry, Siegvold, there's a long line of people who want to be Seiichirou's "friend" - the whole speech in the prayer room about faith and beliefs puts a hurdle into Siegvold's own idolatry of Seiichirou as Abran's disciple. With his disciple and the Holy Maiden pretty much challenging his and the other churchgoers' faith by applying their own beliefs from their original world - which is basically the age-old debate of polytheism vs. monotheism - Siegvold is left to ponder if his views of Seiichirou, and by extension Yua and even Abran, still hold up.

Before I continue, can we talk about this 100/10 shot like maaaan in another universe this is what we were building 12 episodes up to. They knew what they were doing with this one.

Anyway, it's that culmination that leads into this straight-out-of-a-BL shot. Siegvold mentions here that he's recognized that he needs to broaden his perspective on the situation. And it's easy to make the connections on how this relates to Seiichirou, in that Siegvold also needs to broaden his views of Seiichirou as Abran's disciple. Sure, Siegvold would still be a devout priest of Abranism - and with Seiichirou being Seiichirou, I'm sure our favorite hot priest will continue to be smitten with everyone's favorite hot accountant - but this entire arc gave him new perspectives on how to better approach his faith to make it more open-minded and inclusive.

We already mentioned her, so let's talk about Yua next. Everyone in that room owes her their life after that stunt she pulled, and she attributes this quick thinking to what she's learned from Seiichirou, likening her actions to what he did with the Demon Forest. Seiichirou deflects this and says that what Yua did with the bomb is a lot more impactful, as he only made the plans to seal the Demon Forest instead of actually executing it, but Yua insists that it was exactly the fact that he was behind the plans that makes it attributable to him, giving Seiichirou credit where credit is due.

This can all be seen as simply a build up to that comedic AreSei scene - and don't get me wrong, it still is, and that's one of my favorite scenes from the light novel - but I think it's such a great culmination of Seiichirou and Yua's dynamic. I mentioned all the way back in my write-up for Episode 1 that this was one of the dynamics that I was looking forward to develop the most, and while a lot of that development happened outside of this episode, this short scene between them felt like a great way to show what all that progress has done. Yua has learned to be more independent and make her own calls, while Seiichirou now respects Yua and sees her more than someone he needs to take care of, even being proud of her as a senpai would to a kouhai. (Which is what leads to that hilarious scene with Aresh.)

I mentioned in an earlier write-up that Seiichirou being an older brother figure to the younger members of the cast is an interesting side of him, and we don't really get to see much of that compared to his relationships with people closer to him in age. But I think it's an important aspect of his character, and how his treatment of not only Yua but also Sigma and Selio evolve over time is really fascinating to see.

Speaking of, there's also a bit of a culmination for Seiichirou's dynamic with Selio happening here, as we see in one of the early scenes that Selio has taken Siegvold's lesson to heart and sees Seiichirou less as a threat to his religion and more as a person with good qualities. It's a pretty straightforward growth to his character that we're always glad to see, but we also find out later on that Selio's gonna miss Seiichirou's visits, seeing as he won't be around the church much anymore. I can relate, Selio - I'm gonna miss Seiichirou a lot too.

It's not time to be sentimental yet, though, as we still have a few more characters to talk about, with Prince Yurius being up next. This one's a more curious one, as for a majority of the series, we do get the sense that Yurius doesn't like Seiichirou at all, with the major scenes we had between them featuring him just taking advantage of Seiichirou's connection with Yua as otherworlders. They don't suddenly become buddy-buddy this episode - and it would've been weird if they did - but they do reach a certain level of understanding about what role the other plays in their respective lives. Yurius knows that he's merely part of Seiichirou's plans to expose the church's scheme, and Seiichirou knows that he's merely part of Yurius' plans to grow closer to Yua - and they're both fine with their dynamic staying that way.

That sounds a lot harsher and colder than the previous dynamics, but it does mean that there's now a level of respect between them that wasn't there before, and that's really the most you can ask for them. Mind you, I use "respect" here very loosely considering Seiichirou himself admits that he doesn't even treat Yurius with respect (which Yurius acknowledges), but the fact that they're able to come to this understanding at all is already a big step into their dynamic, considering how antagonistic they were to each other in earlier episodes.

Radim is a lot more optimistic about it, as he sees the improving relationship between Seiichirou and Yurius as enough ammo to recruit Seiichirou to work directly for the prince, since he knows that Seiichirou is instrumental to getting Yurius and Yua together. I love that they included this bit since it really is full circle - Seiichirou went from Yurius not wanting him to be in his orbit at all to being recognized as someone who would serve the prince well, much to Seiichirou's own horror.

I of course pointed that out as a segue to our next character, Camile, who also wants to recruit Seiichirou into his own department. That should be less of a surprise, though, since Camile was on the line to be Seiichirou's "friend" long before Siegvold arrived. I've said many times in previous write-ups that Seiichirou and Camile see each other eye to eye in a way that even Aresh has trouble keeping up with, and that's on full display with this episode's first scene, as Camile already knows what Seiichirou plans to do with his church assignment before it even crosses Aresh's mind.

But the culmination here isn't in where they do see eye to eye, but in where they don't. Camile makes a suggestion of what the next step could be after Seiichirou's church investigation - putting a "leash" on the church - and Seiichirou immediately recognizes it as something that is not only out of his capabilities as an assistant director of the accounting department, but also something far larger than what he himself wants to deal with. You see him deflecting this suggestion by reporting what he's already done amid the investigation's aftermath, and while Camile looks shocked at the rejection, he does recognize it for what it is - Seiichirou setting his professional boundaries.

This is the best shot of the episode btw, no contest

Anyway, Camile's expectedly impressed with Seiichirou for being able to maneuver his way out of the assignment, and his attempts to recruit him later in the episode means that he's not afraid to challenge those boundaries, but I do see this as a culmination in the sense that they now know where the other stands, similar to Seiichirou and Yurius. This is one of the times where I do think the elaborations made by the manga and light novels make this dynamic a lot more fulfilling to see, but it's still a treat to see it play out in the anime.

OK, one more before I wrap this already long post up - let's talk about Norbert. We don't actually get much of Norbert in this episode, save for being an unwilling participant of the above lunch scene with Camile, but we do also get Seiichirou passing down his role as arithmetic tutor of the school to Norbert in the end, which is what leads to that scene with Selio I talk about above. That does feel like a mini-culmination, as it's an extension of how Seiichirou has become better at delegating tasks instead of doing everything himself.

But I wanted to bring Norbert up specifically because of something that wasn't included in the anime. If you noticed in my intro above, I skipped certain manga chapters when I mentioned which ones were covered by this episode. That's because the second half of Chapter 39 as well as Chapters 40 and 41 of the manga take a little detour from the plot and focus on a set of extra chapters from the light novel called Norbert's Reports.

Basically, Norbert's Reports are a series of letters that Norbert writes to the king of Romany - which, as a reminder, is his biological father - who tasks Norbert of keeping an eye on the Holy Maiden's tagalong, giving a bit more color as to why Seiichirou was appointed to the accounting department. I mention this because I cannot stress enough how absolutely wonderful these bonus chapters are, as it not only takes us through a lot of the plot through Norbert's perspective, it also gives us what is, essentially, the 12-episode culmination of Seiichirou and Norbert's dynamic. I'm not gonna go into it more since I'd like you to read it yourself when you get the chance - and I have a feeling that Norbert's Reports are going to be what the OVA is about - but I wanted to dedicate a few paragraphs for it since it's one of my favorite parts of the light novels, and I was overjoyed when I found out that it would eventually be adapted to the manga.

I didn't wanna end this without mentioning him again, so I LOVE YOU SIGMA YOU DESERVE THE WORLD!!!

And that's all I have for you! This anime adaptation was by no means perfect, but I enjoyed it very, very much. Bean Counter continues to have one of my favorite storylines among all the BLs I've read, and I'm glad this anime has introduced this incredible series to a lot more people.

Both the manga and light novel are still ongoing, with the light novel in particular getting an unexpected fourth installment after the third one was meant to be the ending. If you're interested in picking up where the anime left off, the anime covered all of the events of the first and second light novels (which is also where the manga is at right now), so you can start the third light novel to see what happens next. But I still highly recommend you read the manga and earlier light novels, as there's a lot of nuance and elaboration happening in several scenes that the anime didn't have the space to cover.

But before that, thank you very much for reading these write-ups! I'm honored to have people reading all my yapping, and it's been really fun putting these out as I follow the anime. Maybe I'll do one more write-up once the OVA becomes easily accessible, but until then, thank you for reading!

[tanenigiri]

With the previous episode ending in such a nasty cliffhanger, Episode 11 of Bean Counter takes us right into what happened next - and it extensively explores the aftermath of that scene. It covers the rest of Chapter 32 until Chapter 35 of the manga, and even if you've only been following the anime, you should know by now what happens after something life-threatening happens to Seiichirou.

Spoiler warning for possible references to future events in the manga and light novel, though I'll keep them as vague as possible.

After multiple episodes where Aresh only gets a few scenes, Episode 11 makes up for it with all the AreSei content we could ever want - including our third sex scene. This is easily my favorite of the three we've seen, largely because of that killer okaeri and tadaima exchange. Back in Episode 9, we got the sense of how Seiichirou welcoming Aresh home was something he was looking forward to after the expedition, so to see it happen here - even under dire circumstances - was really sweet.

As good as that scene is, though, it is the last scene of the episode that takes the cake for me. After Seiichirou gets discharged and he goes home with Aresh, he asks if there is anything he can do or give to Aresh to repay him for once again saving him, knowing that money isn't an option this time around. Seiichirou even says the magic words - "I'll do anything" - and if you've been reading or watching BLs for a while now, you probably have an idea of where this could be going, especially after we just got them intimate again after so long.

But whatever that idea was, I bet you it's nowhere near as funny as what we actually got. Aresh asks Seiichirou to talk to him as informally as he does to Sigma, and Seiichirou pieces together that this 22-year-old man - a person from a noble family who is revered by the entire Romany as one of its greatest knights - is jealous of a 10-year-old commoner boy. This is probably even funnier to people who are familiar with the different ways the Japanese language can refer to someone, of which I'm sadly not one of them, but reading this in the light novel for the first time was so hilarious. Like yes, of course Aresh would be such a jealous puppy that he'd even want to compete with a cinnamon roll like Sigma.

What makes this scene even more incredible was Seiichirou's reaction to it, because that ending shot with him blushing on the pillow is so iconic. But can we also talk about how he internally calls Aresh a "sculpturally beautiful nobleman" (at least in the version of the episode I watched)? Like boy are you hearing yourself? And I can't forget to mention how they played the perfect background music for this scene - it was the best accompaniment to a serious-turned-silly conversation.

There's one more AreSei-related thing I wanna talk about, though it's a bit more serious. In between the two major AreSei scenes, we see Valtom visiting Seiichirou in the palace's clinic, and they have a very important conversation. Valtom lets him know that while Seiichirou was recovering in the clinic, Aresh himself was recovering in their home from consuming too much magical energy from doing the prolonged expedition and the magical healing sex back to back. In the manga, we actually see Aresh collapse from exhaustion once he goes home, much to the distress of Valtom, Milan, and Pavel.

It's with this context that Valtom tells Seiichirou that while he is appreciative of everything Seiichirou's done to make Aresh's life better - and we're definitely meant to notice that Valtom softens his warning with all this praise - he's still very concerned of the effect Seiichirou's health has on Aresh's own health, seeing as he's been looking after Aresh for so long. He then urges Seiichirou to take better care of himself, for both his own sake and for the sake of the people around him. It should also be noted that Valtom delivers this warning on his own volition, and he even says that he's prepared for the consequences if Aresh ever hears about this conversation happening.

When I first read this scene in the light novel, it was such a welcome surprise, as it felt like all of the times Seiichirou neglected his health led up to this reality check - that Aresh is now suffering too because of it. I thought it was such a smart way to address the fact that Aresh and Seiichirou's relationship was built on the foundation of Aresh taking care of Seiichirou, and while their relationship has definitely evolved beyond that, it's still a crucial part of what keeps them together. Seiichirou himself admits that he's relied too much on Aresh for his health needs, and factoring in that this neglect of his health is deeply rooted from the work culture he came from, it's a lesson both Seiichirou and us as viewers are meant to hear.

There's also something to be said about this warning coming from Valtom and not Aresh. Like Seiichirou, we've probably gotten very used to Aresh scolding him for how neglectful he is of his health, but hearing it from someone else who also cares for Aresh deeply must've hit a lot different for Seiichirou. It's definitely something he needs to internalize properly - we already get his overworking tendencies back in the very next scene lmao - but it's scenes like this that makes this series so special to me, because it actually takes the time to spell out the consequences of these actions and deliver them in such a meaningful way.

OK, time to pivot to a more lighthearted topic, and since I already mentioned it, let's talk about that chaotic scene after Seiichirou gets discharged. There's so much going on in this scene, but you already know who I wanna focus on.

SIGMA MY BABY YOU'RE SO PRECIOUS! And apparently very in-demand! Like I said in my previous write-up, that tangent we got in Episode 10 of Ist and Sigma going back-and-forth about developing a magical tool wasn't just a random inclusion, as it directly led to Ist recruiting Sigma as a sort-of apprentice for the Sorcery Department. This is very much a heartbreaking moment for Seiichirou, who recruited Sigma for the school with the intention of bringing him in to the Accounting Department down the line. And yes, these are two 30-year-old assistant directors fighting over who gets to employ the 10-year-old kid.

But who could blame them, really? Sigma even went above and beyond in impressing Seiichirou by making an outline of the magical tool he and Ist were developing. No wonder Aresh felt threatened - Sigma already knew that the way to Seiichirou's heart was to give him well-written documents. We also cannot forget that being able to transcribe Ist's ramblings was only something Seiichirou could do, so having Sigma also do it means that he really is a prodigy in many ways - and very much Seiichirou's son you canNOT CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE I'M BEING SO SERIOUS--

Ahem, anyway, this scene also gives us a Siegvold appearance, who was very much all over the place this episode. From being requested to have sex with Seiichirou to getting the full possessive Aresh treatment, Siegvold was fighting for his life lmao. We are very much meant to see him as falling for Seiichirou's charm at this point, but unlike Camile, he seems to get the message once he actually sees Aresh and Seiichirou together. I know they aren't meant to be, but man could you imagine if Seiichirou ended up under the care of the hot priest instead of the hot knight? So much worshipping happening every night I MEAN WHAT

Siegvold does give us an update on the church arc, though, and thanks to Ist's observations, it seems like what happened in the sacred relic room wasn't an accident at all. We already get the sense that there's a lot of shady stuff happening with that church, and with an attempt at Seiichirou's life already at play, there's definitely something serious that's going to happen afterwards, if what happened to those knights back in Episode 4 is any indication.

One other character we haven't seen much of since Episode 4 is Ciro, and I wanted to briefly mention him before I end this, if only because of how tired he is of Aresh and Seiichirou's flirting lmaooo relatable king right there. While he does have a pretty serious scene with Aresh as he warns him of how what he's doing to Seiichirou could take a toll on his own health - a warning that unfortunately turned out to be true - it's his reactions in the scenes that follow that I'll remember more ahaha.

The next episode will sadly be the last one for the anime, save for an OVA that'll be included in the physical DVD set releasing a few months from now. It's been fun following this and I'm sad to see it end, but I'm still so happy that we even got an anime in the first place. See you next time for the finale!

[tanenigiri]

Episode 10 of Bean Counter covers Chapter 29 until the first half of Chapter 32 of the manga, and with Aresh still away for his extended mission, we get to see several character dynamics beyond the main couple, including some of my favorites. One of my personal favorite minor characters even gets more of a spotlight this time around, and I've been eagerly waiting for his scenes.

Spoilers for possible future references to events in the manga and light novels, but I'll try to keep them as vague as possible.

Like I said above, the AreSei dynamic takes a bit of a back seat in this episode. In fact, Aresh and Seiichirou don't see each other at all for the entire episode, which is the first time it's happened in the anime. But this separation manifests itself very strongly in Seiichirou in multiple ways, and we get to see the toll it takes on him throughout the episode.

Physically, we obviously see him get much weaker in the latter half of the episode, and we can piece together as to why that is (though it'll be fully explained in the next episode). But emotionally, Seiichirou clearly misses Aresh and is worried about his safety, which should be very indicative of where he stands in their relationship. Like you do not clutch a letter that strongly without some intense feelings in play.

I should also note that the anime follows the sequence of the light novel over the manga here, as if it followed the manga, this scene with the letter would've happened later in the episode (after the scenes with Norbert). I think this sequence makes more sense, as it relates to the scene prior with Yua talking about why the Third Royal Order stayed behind.

Siegvold catches on to Seiichirou's physical weakness pretty quickly, and that'll become a lot more relevant in the next episode. But I made that segue because Siegvold and Seiichirou's dynamic takes an interesting turn here, as right at the start of the episode, we see Seiichirou once again rejecting the disciple label, but this time Siegvold actually concedes. That leads them to calling each other by name, and I could only imagine Aresh getting a chill down his spine even if he's in the other side of the country.

Also, once again, the anime is following the light novel over the manga here, as the part of this scene where Siegvold insists that Seiichirou also call him by his name isn't in the manga at all. I think it's a good call for the anime to include that bit, as Seiichirou does want them to see each other as equals, and that should go both ways. Siegvold is definitely turning into way more than a hot priest that sees Seiichirou as his deity's disciple, though, and I'm excited to see how that plays out next episode.

This change in dynamic affects Selio as well, and we see an almost full shift from hating Seiichirou to respecting him in this episode. Granted, we already got some of that happening in the previous episode thanks to Yua, but Siegvold seals the deal by telling Selio to not judge Seiichirou by his circumstances but by his actions. It's a pretty straightforward lesson, and it's also a good reminder that Selio's time at the church also has him picking up these life lessons from figures like Siegvold. And with the school now happening, he's gonna pick up some academic lessons too.

That bit from Siegvold is prompted by a different child character, and I finally get to talk extensively about SIGMA MY BABYYYYYY I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. If you need a reminder, Sigma is the boy from the market in Episode 1 that made his own abacus and sells it to Seiichirou, and we see him again in Episode 7 where Seiichirou commissions more abacuses from him.

We finally get the payoff of that dynamic in this episode as Seiichirou recruits him for the school, noting that Sigma has a keen eye and sharp wit from making tools that he can refine with proper education. While we know from his talk with Camile in the previous episode that Seiichirou's intentions with the school are pretty selfish - and back in Episode 7, he already outright says that Sigma's talent is exactly what he wants for the Accounting Department - it really seems like he's looking out for Sigma here. That's at least what Siegvold and Selio see, which is what leads to Selio changing his opinion on Seiichirou.

I'm not even joking when I say that the Seiichirou-Sigma dynamic is very much a father-son dynamic to me - I know that Sigma isn't an orphan, but let me dream of Seiichirou and Aresh adopting him and becoming the official AreSei child.

Someone else has his eyes on this precious cinnamon roll though. On top of getting Sigma back this episode, we also get our favorite chaotic sorcerer Ist back too, and he has a lot more to do here than his previous appearance. Aside from setting Seiichirou down the right path on his investigation of the sacred relic, Ist shows up at the church in the latter half of the episode to see this relic himself, and that's where he bumps into Sigma.

As dense as he is, Ist quickly realizes Sigma's wit himself, and we get a funny tangent of them brainstorming an idea for a magical tool on the spot. The most amazing thing about this scene, though, is that Sigma is able to keep up with Ist - something that we know that other members of the Royal Sorcery Department have a hard time doing - and we are definitely meant to notice that here. It might be weird for this to be included in such a serious scene, but I can at least say that it becomes relevant in the next episode.

Also just wanted to note that this is the first time we see my three favorite characters in one scene together. The power this frame has.

There's one more new dynamic I want to talk about, and it's one that I was actually surprised that they ended up addressing when I first read the manga. All the way back in Episode 5, we find out that Viscount Blanc (now Count Blanc) is Norbert's adopted father, and that his biological father is the king of Romany. That makes him and Yurius half-siblings, and while Yurius has been preparing for the throne all his life, Norbert is only really royal by technicality (though this does give Seiichirou access to a bunch of plot-relevant things, as we see again this episode) and doesn't have a claim to the throne.

In any case, Norbert and Yurius do know each other and are aware of how they are related, but we never really find out what they think of each other until this episode. We can surmise from the fact that it took 10 episodes until we got a scene of them together that they aren't that close, but we get a curious bit at the end of this scene that tells us that they aren't strangers to each other after all. We get a LOT more about this in the light novel, including an Aresh-related subplot that the manga and anime don't really get into at all, so if you're more curious about this dynamic, the second light novel has you covered.

This is preceded by another meeting scene between Yurius and Seiichirou, but this time, Norbert is asked (or rather forced) to tag along. This is when Yurius finds out about the school, and never one to miss an opportunity to be a chessmaster, Seiichirou talks his way into convincing the prince to use his personal funds to bankroll the project, using the fact that it was Yua's idea as the easiest bait ever. How Yurius reacts to this information is pretty funny too, claiming he was on the same page all along, but he can only dream of matching Seiichirou's wit.

His half-brother seems to have caught on, though, which leads us to this absolute gem of a shot lmao

We end this episode with a cliffhanger, and a really unfortunate one at that. But may I remind you that Episode 3 ended in a pretty similar fashion, and we all know what happened in Episode 4. See you next time!

[tanenigiri]

Episode 9 of Bean Counter features my favorite scene in the second light novel, so I was already going to like this episode no matter what. But the whole episode ended up being even more enjoyable than I expected, as it hits a lot of the points on why I enjoy this series very much. This episode covers the rest of Chapter 26 until Chapter 28 of the manga, as well as one scene in Chapter 29 and - to my surprise and to all of our benefit - a substantial part of the epilogue of the fifth manga volume.

Spoiler warning for possible references to future events in the manga and light novel, though I'll keep them as vague as possible.

Similar to Episode 8, this is once again an episode where Seiichirou spends more time interacting with the series' extensive cast instead of his boyfriend slash knight protector slash master of the house. And just like the previous episode, the scenes we do get between Aresh and Seiichirou are so disgustingly cute that it's impossible not to root for them to finally and officially get together. Aresh is really doing 300% to make sure Seiichirou knows where he stands in this relationship.

Case in point: We're getting into romantic letter-writing territory now. I do not blame Seiichirou for his reaction at the end at all, coz when your lover hits you with the "I hope you'll fall asleep with my soul," what else can you do but freak out? I was already freaking out and I'm a whole plane of existence away. I could only imagine how this affects Seiichirou's decision on what to do with Aresh's confession.

I also 100% believe that after Milan translated that sentence to Seiichirou, she immediately went to Valtom and Pavel to spill the tea. Those three have the best jobs in Romany because they get to serve in a house where they can squee over these two idiots falling in love. The luckiest fujo and fudans in the realm tbh

In the manga, this final scene actually has a cut scene right before it where we see the events right before the writing of this letter from Aresh's point of view, where he decides that the Third Royal Order shouldn't go home yet after the purification journey. I kinda hope that it makes it to the next episode as the opener, as I do think this scene is a good example of how Seiichirou's influence has rubbed off on Aresh. But I'd also understand if they didn't since it isn't particularly relevant, though it'd be a shame.

One more AreSei point: Similar to Episode 7, this episode features a manga-exclusive epilogue, this time the one for Volume 5. That's the scene where Aresh leaves for the expedition and Seiichirou sees him off - kiss and all. I won't even pretend to understand the depth of the tadaima and okaeri exchange in Japan and how significant the idea of coming home is to them, but I think it's very clear that Sei wishing for Aresh's safety as he leaves and the Valtom-Milan-Pavel trio telling him that Sei will be welcoming him home when he gets back means a lot to Aresh. And in any case, I'm very glad that they're including these extra scenes to feed our AreSei hearts.

OK, time to talk about the rest of the episode lol. Episode 9 marks a pretty important step to the church arc - we finally get to meet Bishop Mateus and Cipriano, after all - but that is somehow not the most relevant thing to happen this episode concerning that arc. Because Episode 9 is also where the idea of the school begins - and where schemer Seiichirou returns in full force.

He's not doing it alone this time, as the idea for the school in the first place comes from Yua, who is really taking after her senpai slash older brother figure slash unique confidante when it comes to putting together grand plans to fundamentally change the parallel world they ended up in. Granted, Yua's proposal comes from a more innocent place - she observes how the children in the almshouse don't get any formal education, depriving them of any opportunities to go beyond what they're currently doing and chase their dreams, and she wants to do what she can to break that cycle for them.

It's a very ambitious goal, and even Selio tells her that what she wants to happen is pretty much impossible, even in her capacity as the Holy Maiden. Good thing Seiichirou's right there to make all the calculations and analyses on the fly to determine that, actually, what Yua is proposing is not only possible, but also a net benefit to pretty much everyone involved. And you know that Yua is already riding Seiichirou's wavelength by this point since after Seiichirou outlines his plans, she just says "That's a great idea!" while Selio's like "Wtf is this guy saying? It's not that easy!"

And that leads to my favorite scene in this entire arc: the conversation between Seiichirou and Camile. All the way back in my write-up for Episode 3, this was the scene I was referring to as the Seiichirou-Camile meeting I was vibrating in excitement about being animated. The dynamic between these two is always fun to break down since long before Yua caught on, Camile was already in the same wavelength as Seiichirou, seemingly since the first time they spoke with each other. Their compatible mindsets are in full display here, as unlike how Selio and Siegvold were uncomfortable with how Seiichirou was assessing the church in the prior scenes, Camile is very much open to all the proposals on what are, essentially, fundamental changes to another established institution in Romany, similar to what Seiichirou did with its veneration of the Holy Maiden.

After hearing the proposal for the school - and being impressed by it, as what he's expected of Seiichirou - Camile ultimately asks Seiichirou what he actually wants to achieve with all this meddling. In particular, he asks what Seiichirou has envisioned for Romany with all the grand changes he's proposing, changes that are definitely in the realm of what high-ranking officials and royalty should be dealing with. And what does our favorite bean counter say?

When I first read this scene in the manga, I had to take a second, because I didn't expect this answer at all. But after rereading the scene, it made perfect sense. Seiichirou's goal isn't to change Romany for the better, as that's only a byproduct of what he actually wants to achieve - making things more efficient for himself and for the people around him who he deems would need it. Opening a school in the church would create more professionals who are proficient with magical energy and therefore solve the staffing shortage they've been facing in the Royal Sorcery Department down the line, which Seiichirou wants to happen as it is that department that is relevant to his own goals of finding a way back home. The fact that this can potentially change the lives of a lot of children and families in Romany is secondary - for Seiichirou, opening up a school is just one part of his grand scheme to bring him and Yua back home.

The manga and the light novel go into much greater detail on Seiichirou's argument, and I do think being exposed to those first is why I find this seemingly minor scene so impactful, but this scene in particular (as well as the courtroom scene in Episode 6, which I similarly gush over in my write-up back then) is really what sold Seiichirou to me as one of the best BL protagonists I've ever encountered. His workaholic tendencies are seen as a nuisance, but the values he got from that workaholism are still intact - and those values are what drive him to think so differently than anyone in Romany, which leads to him finding these unconventional solutions that no one else has thought of. He is, for all intents and purposes, really changing Romany for the better, but the fact that these changes aren't actually part of his goal is so incredibly hilarious and true to his character.

That's also why, in the manga and light novel in particular but we also get a bit of that in the anime, Seiichirou is insistent that the school proposal is Yua's, not his. Which is true, yes, but we all know that Seiichirou is the actual mastermind behind it. Camile definitely knows this too, and no wonder he wants to have Seiichirou for himself - even without his infatuation, which has become a lot more apparent this episode, Camile knows that there is literally no one in Romany who would be able to match Seiichirou's wisdom and work ethic.

I wrote all of that and I didn't even get to the part of this conversation that more people would likely focus on - Camile referring to Seiichirou as Aresh's chains. We already get some of this sentiment back in Episode 7, and it's very true that Seiichirou needs to be careful as his actions not only concern his own safety but also one of Romany's most valued knights, but I mainly wanted to bring this up because I'm glad they did this shot justice. This metaphor is also used in the light novel, but I think the manga's visual makes it a lot more effective, so it's nice that the anime picked up on that importance here.

Camile isn't the only one impressed by Seiichirou this episode, and I'll gladly take the segue to talk about my favorite hot priest. Siegvold and Seiichirou actually start off this episode at odds with each other, as Seiichirou isn't acting like the "disciple" that Siegvold sees him as with all his prying on the church's activities. But he turns into an all-out fanboy by the end, as Siegvold deems the proposal of opening a school as the work of a disciple following Abran's principles.

That second bit is definitely played for laughs, but I actually do think it says a lot about Siegvold's character. He takes his faith very seriously, and whether Seiichirou likes it or not, Siegvold sees him as an integral part of that faith due to his circumstances as an otherworlder linked with the Holy Maiden. Like I said last week, Siegvold is putting Seiichirou on a pedestal, and Seiichirou is understandably not onboard with that idea at all. This dynamic will only continue to evolve in the next episodes, so I'm looking forward to it.

This write-up is already running long but I also need to talk more about Selio. We find out in that scene between him, Yua, and Seiichirou that a lot of his animosity toward the latter - one that apparently a lot of the other children in the church also share - is due to Seiichirou's earlier proposal to dismantle the importance of the Holy Maiden. I thought it was a nice callback to the previous arc, and it's a testament to the strength of the story for not just putting this aside once that arc was done and actually making us feel the consequences of Seiichirou's actions.

Selio eventually comes around by seeing the very Holy Maiden he worships being friendly with Seiichirou, but that friction between them is definitely far from gone. Good thing Seiichirou's adapted already and teases Selio when he can, as that scene before meeting Mateus and Cipriano shows. He really is a great older brother figure to a lot of the children in this cast, and coupled with how he's charmed a lot of the adult men, Seiichirou is undoubtedly the most powerful figure in Romany lmao

Phew, that was a lot! That's mostly due to how I couldn't stop gushing about that Seiichirou-Camile scene, but it was one I've been looking forward to seeing for a while now, so I couldn't not geek out about it. Thanks for reading and see you next episode!

[tanenigiri]

Episode 8 of Bean Counter gives us more to work with on what the hell is going on with that church, but it's also an opportunity to check in on some other side plotlines along the way. I appreciate these episodes since they get to use the series' huge cast to its fullest, and we get some really good moments from everyone along the way.

Spoiler warning for references to the manga and light novel alluding to future events, though I'll keep them as vague as possible. Oh, and this episode covers the rest of Chapter 23 until all but one or two scenes of Chapter 26 of the manga.

But before we check in on everyone else, let's talk about that Aresh and Seiichirou scene at the end because oh my goooood. In case you didn't notice, save for one funny aside where we see Aresh scolding Seiichirou for not eating Pavel's packed lunch, the two of them were never in the same scene this entire episode until this penultimate scene. (In fact, we actually see Seiichirou intentionally avoiding Aresh whenever he's in the palace.) So getting this scene after everything that's happened this episode feels very much like what Aresh does at the start of this scene - coming home.

While this scene does add more onto the main church plot - Aresh gives a bit more context on the church's magical capabilities - as well as to the fact that there's an upcoming Demon Forest expedition that Seiichirou won't be participating in, this scene is very much a setup for that barrier application scene at the end. Clingy Aresh is at his maximum clinginess in this scene, and with the above context of them not seeing each other for almost all of this episode, you know that he needed to recharge his Seiichirou battery.

I will say that if you wanted more out of that barrier application, you can go two ways. The anime follows the manga more or less, but the manga makes the intimacy feel a lot more intense with how the shots are presented and paneled. But if you wanted to take it to the next level, this scene in the light novel is NSFW. Make of that what you will.

OK, let's get to the many other characters we see this episode, and I think there's no better place to start than my favorite hot priest. Aside from being his usual gorgeous self, Siegvold shows a bit more of his true colors this episode with the two courtyard lunch scenes we get. The many courtyard lunches we get out of Seiichirou's church visits are among my favorite parts of this second arc, so I've been really looking forward to seeing these scenes, in particular because we get to one of the more unique takes on Seiichirou's situation: that he was also summoned to this world for a reason.

In particular, Siegvold proposes that Seiichirou is a disciple of Abran - one of the parallel world's gods, but in particular she is the one that the church Siegvold is in worships - and that him also being summoned with the Holy Maiden is divine intervention. Siegvold even calls Seiichirou's low resistance to magicules a test by Abran to see his capabilities as a disciple. This sort of reverence is very much the opposite of what Seiichirou has gotten so far - we can't forget how everyone dubbed him as a tagalong to the Holy Maiden - so the whiplash Seiichirou feels is understandable.

This is why the dynamic between Siegvold and Seiichirou is one of my favorites in the series, as unlike a lot of the people who have gravitated toward him - even Aresh - Siegvold actually starts with a very high opinion of him that Seiichirou then has to tamper down, instead of having to prove himself with his brilliance and wit that's charmed half of Romany at this point. Calling him a disciple is quite possibly one of the best things I got out of this arc, so letting Siegvold go on these passionate rants was more than worth it.

Seiichirou himself makes the connection for this segue, as we get a brief scene with my other top 3 fave Ist this episode. Seiichirou asks Ist for updates on the two things under the Royal Sorcery Department's purview that he is involved in - surveillance of the Demon Forest's barrier and research on a way to get him and Yua back home - and while we don't actually get those updates (and this is true across the anime, manga, and light novel), we do get that funny bit of Seiichirou matching Ist's relentless pace one on one that leaves the rest of the Sorcery Department bewildered.

What we do get from this update is that while the Royal Sorcery Department does have the funding for the tasks above, it doesn't have the talent or the equipment to do them effectively. We'll check back on them soon enough, and I'm happy to report that Ist does appear more throughout this arc, so we'll get his chaotic energy back.

Next are Yua and Yurius, who were left in a pretty tough position back in Episode 6, and they unfortunately aren't in any better terms at this point. Yua has definitely cozied up to Seiichirou, though, and their conversation very much feels like an older mentor asking what his younger mentee has been up to. Like I've said before, Seiichirou does feel responsible for Yua in some way, so seeing their dynamic evolve into this kind of friendship has been really nice.

While we can't exactly say the same for Yurius, he does also view Seiichirou much differently now compared to before. With him and Yua still at odds with each other, Yurius has seen Seiichirou as a crucial asset to get back in her favor. We get the seeds of that here, and we'll get more of that later on, but it's kinda funny that the prince of this nation has to go to the man he was quite willing to leave in the Demon Forest to die for advice.

On that same note, this part of the episode also gives us our second scene with Radim, the commander of the Second Royal Order, and this was the scene I was referring to in my review of Episode 4. I'm really glad this didn't get cut, as Seiichirou suddenly becoming instrumental to the Romany royalty's love life is so hilarious.

Let's get to our favorite golden retriever next. Norbert is pretty much all of us this episode when our superior or teacher is out on a work trip, but unfortunately for him, he got the most workaholic vice director in the universe. Their scene together is pretty much just more background context on how the church works in their world, but I particularly wanted to talk about this scene because of something that the anime left out.

In the manga, this scene is actually where Volume 4 ends, which may seem odd considering how it's quite trivial with how it's presented in the anime. But in the manga, this scene features Seiichirou further assuring Norbert that Aresh won't catch him here since he eats in his office whenever Seiichirou isn't around. After being proud of his plan, though, we see Seiichirou feeling uneasy that he isn't eating lunch with Aresh at all. While I kind-of understand why this wasn't included in the anime as it would break the flow of the episode - in the anime, this scene is more about Seiichirou getting information about the church - I really, really wanted that part about him missing Aresh to be included, as when I was reading the manga, that was when it clicked for me that Seiichirou was finally on his journey to realizing how he really feels about Aresh.

One last minor character in this roundup, and funnily enough, we get the end of his sub(subsub-)plot here: Orjef finally connects all of the dots and realizes that the person Aresh has been obsessed over is Seiichirou. How he realizes this is a pretty typical Aresh move - Aresh hears Orjef calling Seiichirou by his first name, and Orjef is strictly told to refer to him as Kondou, with Seiichirou being reserved for Aresh alone. Mind you, this is already his cousin, so who knows how even more possessive Aresh gets about Seiichirou with people he isn't as close with.

Phew, that was a lot, and I didn't even get to everyone - I've yet to talk about Selio and his continued hostility toward Seiichirou, but I'm saving that for next episode, while I sadly also didn't get to the Valtom-Milan-Pavel trio, though they were all really hilarious this episode. I can see some people calling this a filler episode as nothing really significant happens plotwise, but I really like seeing what everyone else is up to. There are so many characters in this series beyond the main couple, so it's nice to see the series make sure that everyone gets their time in the spotlight.

To those who want more plot, though, I'm pretty sure we'll get a lot of it next episode, so see you then!

[tanenigiri]

Episode 7 of Bean Counter feels a lot calmer than the last two episodes, which makes sense as we're past one of the story's major climaxes. This covers Chapter 21 up to the first half of Chapter 23 of the manga - and, very surprisingly, parts of Volume 4's epilogue - which brings us to the start of a brand new arc, and with it comes several brand new characters to deal with. And, of course, we're treated to a very significant step in Aresh and Seiichirou's relationship.

Spoilers for potential future references from the manga and light novels, but I'll keep them as vague as possible:

The whole sequence of Aresh and Seiichirou moving in together is just as funny as it is in the manga. We got the start of it in the previous episode, but Aresh is using Seiichirou's affinity for the word "efficient" to his full advantage here, making it the foundation of all of his decisions so that Seiichirou couldn't argue. There's even a funnier instance of this later on where Seiichirou tells Aresh not to make arguments he can't refute, only for Aresh to say that Seiichirou does that to him all the time. Like I said before, just as much as Seiichirou is reading everyone to filth, Aresh is also beginning to read Seiichirou to filth lmao

Minor detail but I really need to mention it: During the whole sequence of them moving in, Seiichirou is seen clutching a seat cushion. While he's shown doing so in the manga, this cushion is actually the subject of the epilogues of both Volume 2 and 3 of the manga, which didn't get adapted to the anime. In Volume 2's epilogue, Aresh finds out from Ciro (the doctor in Episode 2) that Seiichirou is celebrating his birthday soon, which leads him to giving Seiichirou this seat cushion and buying a matching one for himself. In Volume 3's epilogue, Orjef is still figuring out who Aresh is in love with, and upon seeing Aresh's seat cushion, he eventually discovers that he bought someone else a matching one. It seems like a throwaway detail, but that seat cushion is somehow very important in the manga, so I had to point it out.

The moving in sequence also introduces us to three brand new characters: Valtom the butler, Milan the maid, and Pavel the cook. This trio will continue to show up quite frequently throughout the rest of the series as they're in charge of running Aresh and Seiichirou's home, but I believe most of their more significant appearances are in Volume 3 of the light novels, which I unfortunately don't think is getting adapted to the anime seeing as we're just at the start of Volume 2 of the light novels at this point.

As silly as this episode's beginning is, we do get some pretty serious plot points moving here. While Aresh is taking a significant step toward their relationship by literally buying a house and moving in together, Seiichirou is also taking a significant step himself by thinking more extensively about it. Though that isn't as extreme as Aresh's actions, it does show that Seiichirou is finally getting to that checkpoint in his to-do list and processing Aresh's confession from the previous episode. He brings up the possibility of going back to his and Yua's original world again here, but he does so in the context of how that would mean leaving Aresh. He might be much slower on the uptake of how deep this relationship runs, but that doesn't mean he isn't taking it seriously.

In the same vein, we also get some personal growth in his professional life. Many episodes ago, Aresh critiqued Seiichirou's work ethic by pointing out that him shouldering everything sends a wrong message to the rest of the Accounting Department. While we see how Aresh adapts to Seiichirou's own critiques of his work ethic in that episode, we do see the payoff of that critique in this one: Seiichirou is starting to train Norbert - and, presumably, the rest of the Accounting team - and delegating more tasks onto them. It's a small detail, but I think it shows a real progress in how Seiichirou sees his work. Don't get me wrong, he's still very obsessed with it, but he's starting to see it as a more collaborative effort now than as something he needs to do flawlessly on his own.

But while Seiichirou is finally dealing with old critiques, Aresh now has to deal with a brand new one - though this one comes from the prime minister. Camile is assigning Seiichirou to investigate the church because of their financial reports, and Aresh is not happy about that decision at all. But Camile argues that time away from the palace - and from Aresh specifically - will help quiet any rumors of how Aresh presents himself professionally as someone who's willing to do Seiichirou's bidding. And taking away the context of their relationship, the commander of the Third Royal Order being at the whims of an assistant director of a different department isn't a good look.

...so did you all get any of that? Coz I was pretty disappointed in that scene between Camile, Aresh, and Seiichirou, as I feel like it lacked a lot of context on why Camile's argument made a lot of sense. The manga and light novel both take us through Seiichirou's thought process and how, as we've seen throughout the series, he and Camile are in agreement with this, and they give a pretty good breakdown of why they both think Aresh's actions could be damaging the reputation of the Third Royal Order. It feels like someone who didn't read the manga or light novel would find the whole argument ridiculous, as we don't actually see any of these consequences in play, and while the manga and light novels also don't go into specifics of this reputational damage, it at least gives a more detailed description of how it came to be and how they're trying to solve it.

As disappointed as I am with that scene, though, I'm at least glad it gave us these two reactions. They really are a married couple at this point lmao

Like I said above, we do get the beginnings of a brand new arc here, and as Camile says, it involves Seiichirou investigating the financial activities of a major church in Romany. This, of course, brings us brand new characters, and we finally, finally get to the one that completes my trio of Top 3 favorite characters in the entire series. Seiichirou brings the wit while Ist brings the chaos, and, well...

OHHHH SIEGVOLD STOP OUTMOGGING EVERYONE IN THE SERIES. Imagine going to church and having this fine man sermon you every week. Goooood they made him so handsome that even my aroacespec ass would gladly and enthusiastically kneel for him.

Ahem, in any case, Siegvold is unsurprisingly a central character of this arc, and we already get a teaser of his source of friction here - despite his ranking, he doesn't know anything about Seiichirou's investigation, but other officials in the church do. To the benefit of all of us, we will see a lot more of him in the upcoming episodes, and I for one cannot way to get my weekly dose of Siegvold for the next month or so.

This episode is also bookended with two new child characters, though one isn't technically new, as we do get to see him briefly all the way back in Episode 1. And beyond being a precious cinnamon roll that's too good for this parallel world, Sigma is also shown to be very creative and clever, as he pretty much makes an abacus on his own volition, which definitely catches Seiichirou's attention.

In contrast, Selio is a lot more hostile toward Seiichirou at this point, and it seems to represent the church's reaction toward the fact that the royal palace is conducting an investigation to their finances. That said, there seems to be more than hostility with his character, as there's some second-guessing going on underneath the surface. We fortunately do get more of both Selio and Sigma throughout this arc, so I can't wait!

In a VERY surprising move, we get parts of a manga's epilogue adapted here. Like I allude to above, the anime has been skipping the epilogues of the first 3 manga volumes so far, so it was really surprising to see the bath scene in the end, which is part of Volume 4's epilogue. There's unfortunately still quite a lot cut from this scene - a pretty intimate barrier application being the major one - but I'm still just glad that we got it at all. And we do get a very sweet AreSei moment from it - Aresh is worried about Seiichirou since the church also contains a lot of the magicules that Seiichirou cannot handle, and coupled with how difficult the investigation is, Aresh assures Seiichirou that he isn't alone in all of this.

OK, just one last Siegvold screenshot before I end this. Dear lord he's so handsome. He can cut me in half with that glare and I'd thank him for it. See you next episode!

[tanenigiri]

Episode 6 of Bean Counter is my favorite so far because it shines a spotlight on just how brilliant Seiichirou is. I was referring to it a lot in my post about the previous episode, but a big reason why he's one of my favorite BL protagonists is because, despite his disadvantages in the world he's ended up in, he's still able to prove just how incredible he is at finding solutions to inefficiencies. Beyond that, this episode is also a huge turning point for Aresh and Seiichirou's dynamic, so people who are in it more for the romance are still eating a lot.

Spoilers for references to future events in the manga and light novels, but I'll keep them as vague as possible. Oh, and this covers the rest of Chapter 18 until Chapter 20 of the manga.

For me, the whole point of Episode 5 was to set up Episode 6. Literally everything Seiichirou does in the previous episode was in preparation for or in service to what he does in this episode, and it is so satisfying to see. While the manga and light novel go into way more detail on just how elaborate his scheme is - he has a lot of internal monologue where he plans everything he needs to convince the king, from the important people he needs to mention to the counterarguments he would most likely face - the anime hits all of the most noteworthy bits. He is very much a chessmaster playing all of his important pieces in this one scene, and it is so, so satisfying to see all of his planning pay off.

First is Viscount Blanc, Norbert's adoptive father. I talked about the short scene in the previous episode where he meets him in my post last week because Seiichirou aligning himself with Viscount Blanc gave him the leverage he needed to propose his plan with the king, as having the backing of someone who the king explicitly trusts was important to make sure that the king would actually listen to his proposal. One of Seiichirou's close friends being the son of a prominent political figure may seem very serendipitous, and I'm sure there's a lot of Main Character Energy backing up that coincidence, but Seiichirou isn't going to dwell on luck - he is going to make sure that he leverages that connection as much as he can.

Second is Camile, who we know by now is very much on Seiichirou's side. Well, Seiichirou knows this too, and this is why we find out here that he has run this plan by Camile even before the Demon Forest expedition happened, and the prime minister is more than happy to give his favorite employee what he wants. Whether or not this is because of his own feelings toward Seiichirou is debatable, but for Seiichirou, he's going to use that to his advantage no matter what.

Third is Ist, who was an absolute menace this episode lmaooo that's my Top 3 character right there. I'll talk more about his shenanigans later, but Seiichirou knew that he needed to align himself with the Royal Sorcery Department as they are in charge of two of the most important things about his plan: putting a barrier containing the Demon Forest's miasma and summoning a Holy Maiden to their world. It should be noted that while Seiichirou is only seen to be conspiring with Ist throughout this whole thing, he's also taken Zoltan, the Director of the Royal Sorcery Department, into consideration into his plans. But while Ist may be more like a Rook in Seiichirou's chessboard, Zoltan seems more like a Pawn.

Before I continue, I want to note that during one of the early scenes in this episode where he's talking with Aresh, Seiichirou says that the reason no one has thought of a different solution to the Demon Forest problem was because everyone was used to the Holy Maiden doing the job for them. But in the manga and light novel, Seiichirou internally singles out both Camile and Ist as exceptions to this way of thinking, describing them as being curious and inquisitive of other solutions. I would've really wanted the anime to include this bit, as it more effectively explains why Seiichirou was aligning with the two of them specifically.

Last but definitely not the least is Yua, who is very much central to Seiichirou's plan, as his proposal is all about critiquing Romany's reverence of the Holy Maiden and how that doesn't account for the feelings of the Holy Maiden herself. We get the sense from Seiichirou's initial reaction to Yua's outburst that he was surprised about it, but from how he acts right after, we find out what's really going on in his mind: he was absolutely willing to use Yua's emotional distress to his advantage. He knows that after his conversation with Yua in the previous episode, and from observing her throughout the expedition, that Yua's view of the parallel world as a perfect paradise has now been shattered, and both of them are faced with the grim reality that they are stuck in this world forever.

And that's where we finally get to the heart of Seiichirou's plan: Seiichirou wants to allocate more funds to the Royal Sorcery Department to further their research on a way to bring him and Yua back to their original world, and that involved finding a solution so that Romany wouldn't need to summon a Holy Maiden ever again. I can't say much about the proposal itself because of plot reasons, but it now tells us why Seiichirou had to go through all of that scheming and make all of those connections: he is quite literally proposing to shake the foundational beliefs of this parallel world. There's a reason why the scene with the king takes the time to show reactions of his detractors, as everything about this plan is not easy to swallow for the people who have been relying on the Holy Maiden for centuries. But true to his job, Seiichirou shows that there are financial consequences to their way of living, and he goes further to show that there are emotional consequences as well.

This sequence is so incredible to me, and it is IMO one of the best scenes of the entire series. In the light novels, we find this right at the end of Volume 1, so there really is a sense that the chapters before it were all leading up to it, and I find it such a satisfying payoff.

Of course, this series isn't just an isekai - it's an isekai BL. Thankfully, this episode doesn't hold back on giving us a lot to work with in the BL side of things, as we see Aresh straight up confessing to Seiichirou that he wants to be the only one by his side. There is quite a lot of important internal monologue cut from these scenes, which is a bit disappointing, so I'm hoping the complexity of the situation isn't lost on people who haven't read the manga or light novel.

In any case, we find out this episode that Seiichirou has been aware of Aresh's feelings for quite some time now, and there's a cut bit from the manga where he outright mentions that he isn't oblivious to everything that Aresh has been doing. But true to his workaholic nature, Seiichirou lists Aresh's confession as a bullet point on his to-do list, quite literally saying that he doesn't have time for this shit right now lmao.

As much as we're meant to realize that Seiichirou is aware of Aresh's feelings, we're also meant to realize that Arech is aware of Seiichirou's feelings. He outright tells Seiichirou to take his time with the confession, but in the meantime, he gets to continue enjoying having these moments with Seiichirou as it is, as he stresses, the "most efficient" method for Seiichirou to maintain his health. Seiichirou might be reading everyone like a book, but Aresh is very much doing the same to Seiichirou himself.

Also maaaan Aresh's yearning was so delicious this episode, and it really shows just how deeply he's fallen for Seiichirou. It should be obvious by now that one of Aresh's main love languages is physical touch, and he was clinging onto Seiichirou at almost every chance he could here. With all of the feelings laid out now, Seiichirou and Aresh's dynamic is definitely going to be more interesting in the next episodes. And can I just say, Aresh telling Seiichirou to take his time with the confession and Seiichirou being aware of his feelings and wanting to think it over properly is just so Sasaki and Miyano-coded that it made me squee. That was one of the first BLs I watched, and the studio behind the Bean Counter anime is the same one behind the SasaMiya anime too.

I mentioned above that there are a lot of internal thoughts cut in the scenes between Aresh and Seiichirou, and I wanted to highlight one of them. During their first bedroom scene in this episode, Seiichirou mentions being grateful to Aresh for giving him the barriers needed to be able to go to the Demon Forest in the first place. But in the manga, he internally mentions that it was because of Aresh's barriers that he got the idea of using barriers to seal off the Demon Forest from the rest of the world. It's only a minor throwaway line, but I think it was a nice nod to the fact that even Aresh's affections were taken into consideration in Seiichirou's grand scheme.

This write-up has already gotten way too long but there is no way I'm gonna end this without talking about the real star of this episode. Ist was just as chaotic as I wanted him to be, and that scene with him wanting to observe Aresh and Seiichirou for magical research reasons is 10/10. You gotta respect him for the dedication to his craft. Also thank you to this post for pointing out the music in the previous episode when he was introduced, as noticing it being used here again made his scenes so much funnier.

We actually do get to find out in this episode that Ist also doesn't have a noble background - he comes from a merchant family, which means he presumably worked his way up the ranks due to his natural talent. No wonder Seiichirou sees him as an important part of his chessboard, two-hour monologues and all. (Also wanna note that Ist's monologue in the carriage is actually a good explanation of how magic works in this world, so anyone interested in the worldbuilding aspect of this anime should rewatch it.)

Like I said above, this episode takes us to the end of Volume 1 of the light novels, but that volume still has two epilogues we haven't seen yet. I'm very sure that we'll see both epilogues animated in the next episode as they are very important scenes, particularly for the AreSei nation. See you then!

[tanenigiri]

There's so much happening in Bean Counter Episode 5! (It even skipped the OP so you know they wanted to include as much as they could.) It covers the rest of Chapter 15 until the first half of Chapter 18 of the manga, and while that doesn't seem like a lot of chapters, there's a LOT going on in those scenes in both the manga and light novel - which isn't that surprising as it's building up to one of the most climactic scenes in the series. That means there's also a lot to yap about though, so let's get to it!

Spoiler warning for references to future events in the manga and light novels, though I'll keep them as vague as possible.

Aresh reached unprecedented levels of clinginess this episode, and it is such a delight to see. With Seiichirou being put into harm's way, Aresh needs to be even more protective of him, but it also feels like there's a new level of intimacy they reached with this episode. There's no way they gave us those shots of Aresh reacting harshly to being called "Indolark" instead of "Aresh" by Seiichirou and not have them ignored. And we even get Seiichirou directly (though internally) acknowledging that there's something "strange" going on between the two of them, so there's definitely progress!

Can we talk about this scene in particular because OH MY GOOOOOD. Whoever's making GIFs for this series needs to make one of this action specifically because the way I gasped and squeed was laughable. Aresh is so down horrendous for Seiichirou that it needs to be studied.

The new level of intimacy between Aresh and Seiichirou wasn't just because of the physical aspect, though, as their most significant scene this episode sees them talking about their respective families. Well, Seiichirou's musings about his family were mostly internal, and they are quite heartbreaking - Seiichirou hopes that, at the very least, his family is able to claim his belongings after being declared dead for being lost for several months. But the line that Aresh does get to hear - "It's just me. I'm all alone, you know." - is probably the most cutting, and you know in the seconds between that and their magical healing sex, Aresh was already internally promising to never let his boyfriend feel alone again.

I also wanted to highlight that exchange we get about Aresh putting together the expenses of both the Second and Third Royal Orders - of which he only leads the latter - for Seiichirou to pore over during the journey to the Demon Forest. Seiichirou even commends how well-made it is, though it's with the initial assumption that Aresh didn't make it himself lmao. Aresh is slowly but surely beginning to figure out how Seiichirou operates, and he's finally riding the same wavelength that his boyfriend is on. And you know he used that compliment about his work on the reports as motivation for the entire Demon Forest expedition.

The talking about the family scene also sees Seiichirou judge Aresh based on what we do find out about him and his family - he's the youngest of four siblings, he still lives with his family, and the anime finally outright states that he's a nobleman here - and while it's played for laughs, it's only one of the many cases this episode where Seiichirou is, once again, reading everyone so precisely and using that knowledge to his advantage. And yes, I'm making this a segue to finally talk about the most important addition to the cast that this episode makes.

IST MY BABY YOU'RE FINALLY HERE!!! He is very easily in my top 3 favorite characters of the series (Seiichirou is first, and we haven't met the one to complete that trio yet, sorry Aresh) and that's mostly because of the chaotic and pathetic energy he brings to the table. He'll get more screen time soon, but I think this episode already captures just how funny and endearing he is.

But as funny as he is to us, Seiichirou is very much serious about wanting to connect with Ist. This episode plants the seeds of a lot of Seiichirou's mastermind plans that I'm pretty sure we'll get to see the fruits of in the next episode, and Ist is very much an important piece of his puzzle. I don't think it's any accident at all that we get so many shots of Seiichirou and Ist in a split-screen frame, as Seiichirou definitely sees Ist as an equal. The light novel even tells us that Ist is 30 years old, so it's the first time we see Seiichirou interacting with someone his own age - though there are very big asterisks there, as Ist acts more 13 than 30 lmao.

The other important piece of Seiichirou's puzzle is Yua, and we get my favorite scene between the two of them in this episode. As the Holy Maiden, Yua gets all the perks of being the intended main character of Romany, which also means that she is not exposed to a lot of the ugly sides of the country that Seiichirou has become all too familiar with. Their scene sees Seiichirou giving Yua a reality check, and we get a very ominous line from him in the end about intending to shatter her path as a Holy Maiden.

What I love about this scene is how it really turns the isekai genre around. Now, I'm not all too well-versed in isekais, with Bean Counter being one of only maybe three or four I've read, but I can at least surmise that Yua being a Chosen One is one of the most defining tropes of the genre. But this series isn't about her, so we watch this parallel world unfold through the perspective of someone who doesn't get to see it in the same lens as a Chosen One would. And while we as viewers and readers have been exposed to that for 5 episodes / 17-ish manga chapters / 7-ish light novel chapters by now, Yua only begins to consider that perspective after Seiichirou points it out for her.

That's a good segue to one of the cut content from this episode that I wanted to talk about, and while there's quite a few of them, this one in particular was also cut from the manga. In the final scene with Prince Yurius demanding that Seiichirou enter with them in the Demon Forest, we get the sense in both the anime and manga that he is doing it out of spite, an extension of how Seiichirou was forced into the expedition team. But in the light novel, we get these paragraphs:

I think it's a fair assumption that after Seiichirou and Yua's conversation, the Holy Maiden confided with Yurius about it, and while this could give Yurius more ammo for his hatred against Seiichirou, it also tells him that Yua cares way more about her tagalong than he thought. In a scene that we do get in the anime and manga, Yua monologues about her own realizations from the conversation with Seiichirou, and at the end of it, she is clearly worried about Seiichirou's safety. While it might seem counterintuitive that her takeaway seems to be to bring Seiichirou even closer to a literal source of the magicules that could kill him, I believe the cut exchange from the light novel above tells us that Yua is relying on him to be there. And Seiichirou, who has already said multiple times at this point that he sees Yua as someone he needs to take care of for also being forcefully summoned into this world, understands this immediately.

This is already getting really long and there are so many other things I would've wanted to yap about, but let me finish this by talking about one relatively minor scene: Seiichirou going to Norbert's house to meet his adoptive father. We find out at the very start of this episode that Norbert is technically also a royal, and there's a funny bit of cut dialogue from the manga where Seiichirou almost downright admits that he is going to use this to his advantage later. We see the seeds of that promise here, and this is one of those things I mentioned above that's gonna get a payoff in the next episode, so I wanted to at least talk about it a bit in this write-up. They didn't mention it in the anime, but Norbert's adoptive father is a viscount, and in the light novel specifically, we get the musing that "Seiichirou could see wisdom and conviction in [Viscount Blanc's] eyes...which made him think that his plan might actually work."

What scheme is this mastermind brewing? Well, if my gut's right, we're gonna find out everything in the next episode. See you then!

[heckinwacky]

IST!!!!!!

[tanenigiri]

It's Bean Counter Episode 4 and things are heating up in more ways than one! This covers Chapter 13 until the first scene of Chapter 15, which is slightly less chapters compared to what the previous episodes have been covering, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot happening. In fact, it's a more serious episode compared to the previous one, and it also marks a pretty important step in Seiichirou and Aresh's relationship.

Spoilers for vague references to future events in the manga and light novel:

We get two sex scenes this time around! The first one is very accurate to both the manga and the light novel, and while the second one also follows how the manga presents it, the light novel goes into much, much deeper detail into what happens in this scene. As moonlight-at-dawn puts it, Seiichirou was very serious about wanting to take a more active role in the process, and it is the most NSFW scene of the novel up to that point (and I believe it stays that way for quite some time, at the very least for the entire first volume of the light novel).

It's obvious by now that Seiichirou and Aresh see the sex very differently. Seiichirou hasn't really thought about it much outside of it being transactional - he quite literally pays Aresh for his services in this episode's restaurant scene - and even in his spiel about wanting to be a more active player, he's making the suggestion as a courtesy to Aresh for shouldering the burden this whole time. But of course, Aresh doesn't think it's a burden at all, and in fact views it as quite the opposite. When Seiichirou apologizes that he "always has to do this" in the first sex scene, Aresh realizes just how conflicting their ideas are of what's happening. And that emotional mismatch is so juicy maaaan I love BL so much.

Aresh is making the effort to put Seiichirou on the same page, though. It's been a running joke in the series that no one pronounces Seiichirou's name correctly - even Aresh pronounces "Kondou" wrong throughout this episode - but having Aresh pronounce "Seiichirou" perfectly in the second sex scene is definitely something we're meant to catch on. One of my favorite tropes in Japanese BL is how it conveys layers of emotion and intimacy with how they call each other by name, and this is a really fun example, even if it's taking place outside of Japan.

I was quite surprised that the episode dedicated so much time to the interrogation scene - it follows the manga quite closely in pacing, but I was expecting them to cut down some parts for runtime - but it makes sense for the spotlight to be put here, and it's not because of anyone in that scene at all, because it's this episode where we find out that Seiichirou is a master schemer. Literally minutes after he gets his magical healing sex, he already starts putting the pieces together on how he'll use the assault and eventual rescue by both Aresh and Camile to his advantage, and he plays every character in this episode flawlessly.

But before we get to that, the interrogation scene is still a really fun and dramatic sequence, and it follows the manga fairly closely, though it skips out on some internal monologue from Orjef that mostly just goes over things we already know (so it just shows Orjef realizing just how serious this whole matter actually is after finding out about Seiichirou's condition). I guess I do want to note that in the manga, Camile has an assistant that should be following him around throughout this episode, including this scene, but we don't see them at all here. The assistant doesn't really do much, but their reaction faces are amusing.

But as interesting as this scene is, it is the scene after that I want to yap about the most. We find out what punishment Seiichirou has imposed on his assailants, and how almost everyone around him thinks that he's letting them off lightly. But Seiichirou walks them through his line of thinking, saying that he's only really interested in financial compensation so that it can help with financing the Demon Forest exploration (and shoring up Romany's treasury).

More important to him is how because of this incident, both the Second and Third Royal Orders are, as he says, "in his debt," and you really have to applaud this otherworlder - who may I remind is technically the only "commoner" in the group of nobles in this scene - played all of them like a damn fiddle. This is absolutely my favorite part of Seiichirou's character and is a big reason why he's one of my favorite BL protagonists ever - he may not have the physical prowess that Aresh and the other knights have, but he makes up for it by easily outsmarting the entire cast.

I do want to specifically highlight that when Seiichirou says "money is the only thing I found valuable when it came to them," Aresh has a very peculiar reaction. And then you remember that Seiichirou literally pays him afterward and eeeeeeeee

This episode also gives us a lot more insight on Camile's motives. We once again see that he and Seiichirou operate on the same wavelength - he's very receptive to Seiichirou's explanation of his assailants' punishment - and at the start of the episode, we see him calling Seiichirou a "capable man." It was also around this time in reading the manga when I understood that while Camile may be smitten with Seiichirou in some capacity, that's secondary to how the prime minister sees him as a valuable asset. That said, a lot of Camile's fascination stems from the work ethic that Aresh criticizes, and I don't think that's an accident either.

Shout out to Camile literally just walking off-screen with Seiichirou's documents when he sees Aresh getting mad. He got what he wants and he doesn't have to sit through Aresh's scolding - he's definitely also a schemer lmao. The photo above also shows us another minor character introduced in this episode - Radim, the commander of the Second Royal Order, basically Aresh's counterpart for a different set of knights - and I'll talk more about him when he gets a more significant scene in a future episode (that I'm 75% sure they won't skip).

There's also a particular exchange in this episode's restaurant scene that I wanna point out - Aresh apologizes for his knights' behavior, and before Seiichirou gives his own apology, Seiichirou actually acknowledges Aresh's failure and even points out that he "didn't have high expectations of managing his subordinates." That's a very cold observation, and you can see how Aresh doesn't take it well, but I think this goes in line with what happened in the previous episode, when they're both calling each other out on their work ethic. But I don't think it's an accident that Seiichirou doesn't dwell on the point and gives his own apology right after, pointing out that while Aresh does have shortcomings, he's also done a lot in Seiichirou's favor. I do think it's another case of Seiichirou knowing how to get someone to act the way he wants them to, as it's with this prelude that Aresh surmises that taking the payment from Seiichirou is the right thing to do.

I admit that I was actually expecting this episode to also include the banquet scene, and that's why I was surprised at how long the interrogation scene was running, but I guess we're getting more of formal outfit Seiichirou (and the rest of the cast!) in the next episode instead. See you then!

[tanenigiri]

If I had a nickel for every BL series I've enjoyed with a 30-year-old workaholic MC who has to have sex with the ML for some sort of magical cure, I'd have two nickels.

Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice, right?

[tanenigiri]

A sillier Bean Counter episode this week! This covers the rest of Volume 2 of the manga that the previous episode didn't cover (so the latter half of Chapter 9 until Chapter 12), and it has a lot more of the supporting characters getting some of the spotlight compared to Episode 2. Some interesting plot movements here as well, so I can't wait to dive into them!

Spoilers for potential references to future events in the manga and light novel, though I'll keep them as vague as I can.

Let's get this one out of the way first: I'm glad they treated the kiss scenes with the same fun combo of "this is a big deal!" and "ugh, this again" that the manga did. They also got progressively less dramatic in the manga - the first one had full-page art, the second one had half-page art, and the third one was just a regular panel. Which one was your favorite? Mine is definitely the one that came with a kabedon.

Very minor detail here, but they revealed in this episode that Seiichirou has had romantic experiences before, and that leads him to being (very rightfully) confused on what's going on between him and Aresh. This reveal is actually not in the manga at all but in the light novel, so it's interesting that they chose to include it when they've been following the manga pretty closely otherwise.

We get the first of Seiichirou's meetings with Camile here, and I'm vibrating in excitement because there's a future one that I really cannot wait to see animated. This one establishes that Camile and Seiichirou are thinking on the same wavelength, and this comes in stark contrast with how he doesn't seem to see eye to eye with Aresh in literally anything. Camile is definitely made to look like someone who is also interested in Seiichirou - he himself says so after all, at least in a professional context - and I can't wait to see how this evolves in later episodes.

The second restaurant scene is everythinggggg to me as it moves forward all the things I gushed about in the restaurant scene in the previous episode. We not only see Seiichirou explaining more of his work ethic, but we also see Aresh countering it and pointing out the holes in his logic. Not one to back down, Seiichirou also points out that from the little we find out of what Aresh does as a commander - he oversees things and delegates to others - it's no wonder that Aresh doesn't see why Seiichirou needs to take his work so seriously.

The contrast is so wonderfully delicious, but what really makes this scene is that both of them are suddenly faced with a reality check that what they're doing with their respective positions is not as foolproof as they want it to be. Seiichirou fails to consider how his work ethic affects Norbert and the rest of his team, while Aresh fails to consider his blind spots from delegating his work to Orjef and the other knights. It really shows how good they are for each other that they're giving the other new perspectives.

We see how Aresh takes this criticism to heart in the next few scenes, and being a man of action, he immediately makes some adjustments to how he runs things with the knights. Everyone who's watched/read BL before should already know how down bad Aresh is at this point, so let me just add this observation to the pile. But I also wanted to point out that we only see Aresh internalizing the criticism and not Seiichirou, and that is very much in line with their respective characters.

This then leads to the cafeteria scene and YESSSS it is just as hilarious and awkward as I wanted it to be. It's a shame they cut some dialogue here, but I think it still delivered in terms of all the story beats that needed to be hit. Aresh's reaction to Seiichirou's declaration of not being interested in younger people romantically has lived in my head rent-free since I first read it, and I don't think it's any accident that we find out their ages immediately after - Aresh absolutely looks like a heartbroken man in his early 20s for the rest of the episode lmao.

I know the fact that we got three kisses for Episode 3 is going to be a big talking point, but IMO, the much sweeter display of affection from Aresh is how he's already noticing these little things about Seiichirou. There's of course his whole spiel about Seiichirou's reaction to food, but there's also the minor things like how he notices Seiichirou's smile or how, in the entire lunch scene, almost all of his dialogue is directed toward Seiichirou despite there being two other prominent characters in the scene. He is definitely both falling fast and falling harder.

I'm glad they included the Orjef scene, as it seemed like something they could've easily cut, but seeing Aresh be so pathetically in love and Orjef trying to figure out who has the stoic commander so pathetically in love is such a funny subplot (not even a subplot, like a sub-sub-subplot tbh). If I'm right that the anime will only cover the first two light novels, Orjef sadly won't be getting much time in the spotlight as he gets a lot more of it in the third light novel, which is a shame coz he's a really funny side character.

Like I mentioned above, they cut quite a bit of dialogue and context in this episode, and while none of them are necessarily need-to-know, I do think they add a lot to what's going on. There are two in particular that I really wanted to have been added somehow: The first is in Orjef's scene, as in the manga, this is where he reveals that he and Aresh are cousins and that Orjef is six years older (so still younger than Seiichirou but much closer to him in age). We even get a bit of backstory from Orjef in how Aresh has been acting like a typical BL male lead his entire life where everyone falls for him but he hasn't noticed anything. I think a one-off mention would've been nice, as this context would make that scene make a lot more sense - of course Aresh would ask his older cousin for love advice, so it's not just a commander asking his vice commander.

The second is the context of why Norbert was in the lunch scene with Seiichirou, Aresh, and Yua. There's a whole cut scene of Seiichirou getting offered food by one of his teammates, only for Norbert to prevent it and saying that he's doing so under Captain Indolark's orders. I had a feeling that this was gonna be watered down because Aresh and Norbert's dynamic was the focus of the bonus chapter of Volume 2, and they've also cut the bonus chapter of Volume 1 (featuring Sigma my baby I love himmmm. He's the market vendor with the abacus from Episode 1). In any case, this bonus chapter reveals that Aresh specifically sought out Norbert to keep an eye on Seiichirou while they're together, essentially being a second watchdog in the times Aresh isn't there to hover around his boyfriend. Seiichirou picks up on this in the main chapters, so as a way to get back at Norbert, he forces him to join his lunches with Aresh, knowing that Norbert is intimidated by the commander. That the lunch where this happens is the one with the Holy Maiden is icing on the cake, which makes Norbert's presence in that scene 100 times funnier lmao.

I expected the episode to end with that scene, as that is also how Volume 2 of the manga ended. A terrible cliffhanger, but that means more drama for us to deal with in the next episode, so see you then!

[tanenigiri]

Bean Counter Episode 2 time wooooo. This covers the last scene of Chapter 5 of the manga until the first half of Chapter 9, and it contains what is arguably the most infamous scene of the series. I saw a few posts last week talking about how some people were surprised that this was a BL after watching Episode 1, and I think that's not going to be an issue anymore after this.

Spoilers for manga and light novel references that could vaguely allude to future events.

They showed as much of the sex scene as I expected. Both the manga and light novel have a pretty similar amount of detail for that scene, save for a couple of thoughts from Seiichirou. When I first read the manga, I didn't really realize that this was a common trope and I just took it for what it is. It's still really ridiculous, but in the series' defense, the explanation isn't just a throwaway - it is legitimately something that will affect Seiichirou's way of living in the parallel world beyond his sex life, as the rest of the episode (and I expect the next few ones too) would focus on in great detail.

The scene with Quellbas was done well IMO, and it has one of my favorite Seiichirou lines ("[the nutritional tonics] were the only thing I was happy about after coming to this parallel world," which he literally says after the doctor tells him that they can kill him lmao). It's the scene where we actually understand the extent that Seiichirou's physical health has suffered from his overwork, and that Aresh's concerns, while seemingly outrageous, makes a lot of sense as someone in his position.

Speaking of, I didn't get much of a chance to talk about him in my previous post since he was barely in Episode 1, but Aresh is a really great character to act as a contrast to Seiichirou. His position as a commander and his overall reputation as a respected official means that he sees Seiichirou's situation in a completely different light, and it's this back-and-forth between their clashing ideologies that I think makes them such a compelling couple for me. We get the seeds of that this episode, and I can't wait for it to escalate in the future.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the last scene in the restaurant, absolutely one of my favorite scenes in the series. I was really looking forward to this one, and I'm admittedly a bit disappointed that they cut off quite a lot of Seiichirou's and Aresh's internal monologue that I think adds some relevant context, but i think they still conveyed how important this scene is as a foundation for Seiichirou and Aresh's relationship as well as they could.

In this scene, Aresh confronts Seiichirou about his decision to work if he's already guaranteed a livelihood supported by the government where he doesn't have to work a single day. Seiichirou says that it gives him a reason for existing, and while that is a wild answer, it is very much in line with what we've seen of his character so far. In the earlier scene with Quellbas, we find out that Seiichirou believes that the kingdom would actually prefer if he died since he is, as many characters have already dubbed him, just the holy maiden's tagalong. It's a really great detail that I think is what makes Seiichirou's character so effective for me - he's been a cog in the machine for so long that he's based his entire existence around it, and him not being one not only makes him feel worthless, it leaves him with literally nothing else as a person.

Aresh is understandably appalled by this, telling Seiichirou that what he's saying doesn't make any sense. This leads to Seiichirou saying that how he's thinking is merely a "commoner's mindset," and this sets off what is, in my opinion, one of the best running plotlines between their dynamic. We already get hints of how Aresh is privileged in more ways than one, and Seiichirou subtly points out that it's this privilege that's what's keeping Aresh from understanding his point of view. While this is technically a deflection tactic - Aresh is still right that Seiichirou needs to prioritize his health over work, after all - it isn't wrong, as Aresh's position means that he doesn't have that work-grind mindset that Seiichirou has. I'm very much looking forward to how they treat this plot point in the future episodes, as it leads to a lot of character growth for both of them.

I wanna take this opportunity to talk about some of the cut lines (mostly internal monologue) from the manga, as they all provide a lot more context to this plot point I'm talking about. In the restaurant scene while they're discussing why Seiichirou is working at all, he internally lists off a bunch of what puts Aresh in a privileged position (including an important one that they didn't bring up in this episode, so I won't say it here), and he says internally, "I'm sure [Aresh] has many ways to affirm himself without having to work." I think this conveys the friction between them really effectively, and it also shows just how warped Seiichirou's mindset has become, so I really would've liked it to be included.

On the other hand, Aresh's internal monologue at the very end of the episode was also slightly cut, and that's a real shame coz it's the start of his denial arc lmao. He says, "It's not as if I've fallen in love with him after our night together," and I'm just like uh huh sure honey.

They showed the video for the ending theme for the first time this episode, and I legit gasped when I saw this photo. YOU TWO ARE GONNA BE SO HAPPY OMGGG

Thanks for reading! Can't wait to see more of this amazing series animated.

[tanenigiri]

So incredibly excited for this. I admittedly only started following The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter when the anime adaptation was announced back in late 2024, but it has quickly become one of my favorite series. Even if it isn't the slice-of-life goodness I normally love, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I ended up liking it.

Now that the anime is finally here, I wanted to give my thoughts on the first episode. I've read the three light novels and the first five manga volumes, so there's a good chance I'll be making references to future events here and there, so spoiler warning for that.

Seiichirou is one of my favorite BL protagonists ever, and I think a lot of that is how he isn't solely presented as this helpless person who needs to be saved by his handsome love interest (and yes, Aresh is so incredibly handsome, but that's beside the point lmao). Even with so much odds stacked against him, he is always shown as competent in his job, and how that becomes central not only to his character development but to the plot's development too is definitely one of the main draws of the series for me. I thought this first episode laid out the foundations of those aspects of his character really well, and I'm excited to see how that escalates in later episodes.

While I'm obviously excited to see Seiichirou and Aresh together, I am also very interested in how they present Seiichirou and Yua's dynamic here. They definitely start off at odds with each other, but seeing how that dynamic evolves was a really nice part of the narrative.

I'd be remiss if I also don't comment on Camile, and how he's presented here is exactly the kind of ominous feeling I got about his character when I first read the manga. I thought they showed Seiichirou's reaction to his scene with the prime minister really well, and I would've wanted more of that kind of introspection from him.

I figured that this would end with the alleyway scene, which means next episode will feature those scenes. It is, and I say this with no negativity at all, the most ridiculous part of the plot ahaha, but it also leads to the absolutely hilarious dynamic between Seiichirou and Aresh so I can't really complain.

Some of the BGM reminds me of the minor BGMs in Fire Emblem when I'm in the menu or exploring the barracks. I mean it fits I guess!

The characters shown in the OP (and the previews they've released in socmed) tell me that the anime will likely cover the arcs of the first two light novels. While I'm glad we're getting so much of the plot, I am a bit worried with how they're gonna fit all that story into 12 episodes. I did get a sense that the scenes were moving along quite quickly in this first episode, but I chalked it up to how much exposition we had to get out of the way.

SIGMA MY BABY!!! I know you likely won't get much screentime but you deserve the world!

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I'm super excited for this anime, and I hope I can continue to share my thoughts on each episode in the coming weeks.

[tanenigiri]

The Our Dining Table sequel is getting licensed!!!!!!!

Saw news about this sequel being published in Japan last year, and I'm so, SO happy that it's getting an English release later this year!

It'll be called Our Dining Table: Seconds, Please!, and if that is not the cutest title ever omg yes I would absolutely love seconds of Yutaka and Minoru and Tane and--

This is my favorite manga ever and I urge everyone to read it. It's only a single volume (well, not anymore!) but if you're a fan of fluffy, slice-of-life BL, this'll be right up your alley. I rave more about it in this review.

It also has a really great live adaptation that aired in 2023. I posted a bunch of my reactions back then, too, which you can find in this tag.

I got the above photo of the original manga's back cover from Seven Seas Entertainment's page on the series, which also lists that the sequel's first volume (!!!!!) is slated to be released in October 2025.

[tanenigiri]

Like several others in the fandom, I'm still recovering from the feels that Chapter 25 of Hirano and Kagiura has given me, especially the scenes that paint Hirano in a rather green and purple light. As someone who only recently came to terms with being aro and acespec, seeing Hirano go through very familiar struggles felt like an out-of-body experience.

It also made me want to revisit some manga that I've read so far that have featured characters in the aro and ace spectrums. Since I mostly consume BL, there understandably haven't been a lot that's come into my radar, but the few I've read have all been great, and I wanted to take this opportunity to give them a shoutout.

I Want to Be a Wall by Honami Shirono - Definitely my favorite in this list and one of my top 5 fave manga overall, this stars an aroace woman and a gay man who get into a marriage of convenience. It deals with expectations from their families and society as a whole about what an ideal marriage should be, but it also spends a lot of time exploring how Yuriko comes to terms with her asexuality and how the people around her react to it, especially her husband Gakurouta - who also deals with his own issues about hiding his homosexuality and his very apparent attraction to another character in the series who's presented as straight. On top of dealing with all these issues very tastefully, it's a great slice-of-life manga with a lot of humor and fluff squeezed in, so if you want a feel-good read with depth and lots of soul, I really recommend this one.

Is Love the Answer? by Uta Isaki - The manga on this list that's most blatantly about aromanticism and asexuality, this explores the story of Chika and her journey to discovering, questioning, and accepting her romantic and sexual orientation. It goes very in-depth into this journey, and it even has multiple other aroacespec characters that she deems as role models, such as a professor who serves as a mentor for Chika and many other characters in the series as well as an older brother figure who had a much rougher time discovering his own asexuality. If you want to read a coming-of-age story where the lead comes to terms with her asexuality much in the same way that many BL and GL manga leads come to terms with their own queer identities, I highly recommend this manga. (Trigger warning for a brief sexual assault scene at the start - it's not graphic, but it definitely shows the attempt, so stray away if a scene like that would unsettle you.)

I Think Our Son Is Gay by Okura - I've talked about this manga before, and in my previous posts I mentioned that my favorite character is Yuri, the brother of the titular son Hiroki. Turns out I was onto something, as throughout the manga, Yuri mentions that while many girls in his school have expressed interest in him, he always turns them down, saying that he doesn't really get why everyone's making such a big deal about love. That already got my attention, but there's a scene in the fifth volume where Yuri actually goes into this more and researches why he's feeling that way, and it leads to a certain label we all know and love. Sadly that fifth volume is also the series's final one, so we don't get any more after that, but it really solidifies Yuri's journey throughout the manga, making for a nice parallel for his mother's own journey about accepting Hiroki's identity.

Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare by Yuhki Kamatani - I've also talked about this manga before, and just like I Want To Be A Wall, it has pretty much cemented its place in my top 5 fave manga overall. What made me fall in love with this manga is how it explores so many types of queer stories in a very realistic light, dealing with issues like discrimination, family acceptance, and identity crises in a way that really shows how serious they can be. Expectedly, one of the types of queer stories it explores is about Someone who's aroace (whoever's read this manga - yes, that was a pun), though unlike the other characters in this series (and unlike most of the other characters in this post), that character is already at the point of their journey where they're comfortable with their sexual identity. Instead, the author uses Someone-san as a mentor throughout the story, helping other characters come to terms with their own identities and running the safe space that most of the story centers around. If you're looking for manga that's explicitly about the aroace experience, I don't think this would be the one for you, but if you're looking for great queer manga in general, this should be at the top of your list.

Bonus:

Cherry Magic by Yuu Toyota: I can't end this post without talking about queen Fujisaki. In the manga and anime, she takes on the role of a fujoshi who's a big fan of Kurosawa and Adachi's relationship even before they get together. But her role in the Japanese TV series (and movie) was changed, toning down the fangirlism (though hints of it are still there!) and instead giving her a unique storyline, one that eventually reveals to Adachi (though not explicitly) that she isn't interested in dating anyone. There isn't any explicit confirmation about her sexuality beyond this in the show, but there have been interviews from the showrunners where they do mention it. And honestly, as someone who was only starting out with BL at that point, seeing a character like her have that kind of background was already so incredible to me.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you check these manga out, and if you know of other manga with great aroace rep, let me know!

[tanenigiri]

I'm floored that people are still liking and reblogging the collage of BL and BL-adjacent works that I reviewed two (!!) years ago. I haven't stopped growing my collection of manga, so I figured I'd make a sort-of Part 2 with a collage of some other fluffy slice-of-life BL and BL-adjacent titles I've enjoyed ever since I ended that project.

While I don't have time to give them full-fledged reviews like before, you can find some of my quick thoughts on each of them under the cut. I recommend all of these titles just as much as the 18 I included in the first collage - if you liked any of those, give these 10 stories a try!

Hirano and Kagiura by Shou Harusono - From the creator of Sasaki and Miyano and set in the same universe, this series revolves around one of Miyano's senpais and the roommate that he's been shipping him with since the start. This is every bit as charming and wholesome as Sasaki and Miyano, though I think this is a lot more chaotic considering the more hilarious take on the main pair's dynamic. I did a more comprehensive review of its first volume here if you wanna check it out.

Candy Color Paradox by Isaku Natsume - I'm not usually a big fan of enemies to lovers - the tropes they work with are rarely my cup of tea. This is one of the few stories I've read where that dynamic works really well, though, with these two reporters clashing a lot early on but finding out that they're exactly what the other needs. I wasn't too sold on the first volume but the second one really brought me onboard - I thought they treated the personal conflicts of one of the main characters incredibly well there.

My Brother's Husband by Gengoroh Tagame - More BL-adjacent than BL, this tells the story of a man reconnecting with the husband of his late brother (and no, there isn't any romance involved at all - this is a family-centric story first and foremost). It doesn't focus entirely on dealing with this loss, though - it's also a look into the protagonist's own family dynamics and troubles, with his daughter being a very prominent character here a la Tane in Our Dining Table. One of my favorites of this batch as it has a lot of heart and soul poured into it.

My Love Mix-Up by Watanu Hinekure and Aruko - The most comedic title here, this takes the misunderstanding trope to a really funny direction and builds a really good story out of it. The main couple is very adorable, and their dynamic with the side couple evolves in such a fun way that I ended up seeing this as a story about the four of them that just so happens to have two couples. If you watched the live action, the manga has a slightly different take on the story, and of course it spends more time on certain plot points, but it has the same chaotic and hilarious vibe.

Hyperventilation by Bboungbbangkkyu - I've only read a few Korean BLs, but this one is easily my favorite of the ones I've read so far. This is a lot steamier than most of the titles in this and in the previous collage, but those scenes are surrounded by a heartfelt dynamic between its two leads who are realizing that the connection they shared back in high school was a lot deeper than they thought. If you've watched the animation of this title, the manhwa's pretty much that but in book form, but I did notice some differences in the manhwa that made the story stronger in my opinion.

I'm Kinda Chubby and I'm Your Hero by Nore - I was slightly wary of this title since body image issues are quite difficult to tackle, but it turned out to not really be the focus of the story - one of the protagonists just happens to be chubby, and while there is some discussion on it, this story focuses a lot more on his growth as an actor and his newfound dynamic with the story's other protagonist. It's a really sweet story at its core, and the pun is definitely intended as the other protagonist is a pastry chef lol. (I'm also not sure if I would consider this as BL or BL-adjacent, coz by the second volume (which is the latest one so far) they aren't really together, but you can definitely sense that their dynamic goes beyond friendship.)

That Blue Sky Feeling by Okura and Coma Hashii - Picked this up mainly because the story is by the same person behind I Think Our Son Is Gay, one of my favorites in the original project. This has a slightly similar vibe, where it focuses more on exploring homosexuality and identity instead of romance, and it does so with the same interesting depth that Okura did in the other work. This one definitely has more BL tropes than I Think Our Son Is Gay though, and I'm more inclined to call it BL than BL-adjacent.

I Want to Be a Wall by Honami Shirono - "Marriage of convenience between a gay man and an asexual woman" is such an incredible pitch that I picked this up immediately, and I really enjoyed it for what it is. Said asexual woman is also a fujoshi, and the man that her husband is crushing on (who is straight) is a prominent supporting character, so you can imagine the hilarity that ensues. This isn't a comedy though - it's very much a heartwarming tale about identity and finding joy in a situation that isn't exactly the best.

Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher by Tama Mizuki - Already the second title here that has the same two-male-leads-plus-child dynamic as Our Dining Table - do you see the clear bias hahaha. This is quite far from that story and My Brother's Husband though, and I honestly thought that this was going to be trashier than it was because of the title, but I really shouldn't have judged this book by its cover as it's a great story about family and building connections with each other. It ended up being closer to Would You Like To Be a Family? in that regard, but this takes the time to flesh out the relationship between the two protagonists and the child, creating a silly but heartwarming dynamic.

Hello, Green Days by Ayu Sakumoto - Stumbled upon this short story online, and it has stayed with me ever since even if it doesn't have a physical English release (yet?). The dynamic between the protagonists is really sweet, and how it weaves in the plant talk (one of the main characters is a botany major) into the story is very clever. I also did a more comprehensive review of this before, so check it out here if you want.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you found more titles to add to your to-read list.