Considering that last week’s episode featured some of the most entertaining this show has had on offer, it’s a bit of a shame that this week’s is kind of a downgrade. It’s not exactly boring, and looks functional enough for the purposes of Gero mowing down a bunch of fodder assassins, but coming off the highs of a baseball themed assassin with an army of birds, a few assassins with pet koalas and kangaroos at their disposal feels quaint in comparison, and a lot lower in spectacle. That wouldn’t be too much of an issue if the episode were making up for it by building up more of a rapport between Gero and Kimie, but while we certainly get more romance than we did last week, it’s not quite as substantial as I was hoping for, and left this one feeling a little scattered in its priorities.

The weakest link in this episode is Dogo, who still feels a bit too over the top as a villain for my liking, and doesn’t have much going for him beyond being a total heel. It is kind of funny seeing him scream directly in Gero’s face to try getting a rise out of him, but his antics otherwise just come off as kind of annoying, and even more so when he threatens to kill Kimie in front of him and later kidnaps her do he can have the chance to steal more of Gero’s blood. It really leaves Kimie edging a bit too close to merely being a damsel in distress for Gero to save, and with how good the last two arcs were about having their heroines be proactive, it’s a little disappointing to see Kimie continuing to get the short end of the stick despite being such a fun character. On top of all that we also have the return of the Water Master, who was secretly hired by Kinosaki in order to help Gero out, and joins him dealing with the assassins Dogo throws their way. It was kind of nice to see her come back into the show so soon, and even have a few bits of romantic tension with Gero as she denies any interest in having him praise her skills, but the timing of this comeback was a bit awkward. Since the romantic lead of this arc is meant to be Kimie, throwing another girl into the mix just gives less opportunities to build up her and Gero’s relationship, which this arc has already been struggling a little with as is, so as much fun as it was seeing some of Gero’s banter with the Water Master, I’m not sure this was the best way to bring her back into the fold.

For all my griping, though, it’d be a lie to say Kimie has absolutely nothing to do this week. I did really like the moment between her and Gero at the beginning where she uses her hamsters to help whip him up a meal, which in addition to being funny also works as a great bit of character growth for him. All of his training has imprinted into him the idea that he should never eat someone else’s cooking because of the risk he could get poisoned, and despite his best efforts he hasn’t quite been able to unlearn that. Seeing him show enough trust in Kimie to give into her feeding him is a real moment of vulnerability for Gero that shows he’s willing to take the risk of opening up more, and watching Kimie manage to get through some of his walls in a way no one else has, does a lot to help with their dynamic and it easier to root for the two of them, even if I wish we had more scenes in the arc like it. We also discover later on that Kimie has known Gero for longer than he thinks and has been his biggest stan ever since he saved her on a botched job when they were kids. It’s cute, though given how poorly childhood friends tend to fare in anime rom-coms, I can’t help but wonder if this connection might actually end up ruining her chances rather than helping them, so hopefully this doesn’t end up taking her out of the running before she barely reaches the starting line. Possible anti-meta aside, with how little Kimie and Gero have gotten to do on screen together otherwise, I’ll happily take anything that helps push their romance along so for the purposes of the episode, I’m glad it at least gives them more to work with. I still wish these two weren’t spending so much of this arc separated, but there’s just enough here to keep me optimistic that whatever they end up doing in the climax will more than make up for it.

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MARRIAGETOXIN is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.