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I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 9 – Quick Summary
In I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 9, “How the Demon Lord’s Daughter Spent Her First Paycheck,” Fino got to experience a unique joy: receiving her first paycheck! Fearing Fino might get in over her head, Seara August suggested that Raul chaperon Fino on her first major shopping trip. How did Fino do? Has she learned anything about budgeting? And who’s that shady figure that’s been following her?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 9
She wasn’t angry. Just embarrassed! Capture from the Blu Ray.
You could slip this episode into any top-notch romantic comedy and it would not feel out of place. Take the scene in Raul’s room when Fino tried to plot tomorrow’s shopping trip. She had flopped herself on his bed, where she lay on her stomach, kicking her feet and reading about what was for sale.
She told Raul that the first thing she wanted to buy was a roach motel. Why? Because she found those insects more terrifying than even her deceased father, the previous Demon King. So when she saw a gigantic flying insect in the room, she literally threw herself into Raul’s arms.
He’s a stroud lad, so holding her wasn’t a problem. Half amused, he told her that no, that wasn’t a roach. It was a cicada.
She looked relieved. Then both of them looked at each other. At the same moment, they realized she had wrapped her legs around him, and he held her so close they were eye to eye.
After a shot of the cicada flying out the window to freedom, we saw Raul looking awkward with Fino standing beside him. She said she was going to leave.
Was she embarrassed? Angry that he might have been trying to take advantage? You could see that Raul was worried about that, too.
But as Fino left, she leaned back through the door and said (06:39), “See you tomorrow.”
Raul looked as relieved as I felt!
Favorite Moment from I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 9
Fino’s simple joy, and the reasons for it, shocked the heck out of Raul! Capture from the Blu Ray.
Setup: A Remarkably Complex Economic Discussion Hidden within an Ecchi Comedy
What did you think of the twist at the end? Fino told Raul that she thought some heroes had jumped her. Raul couldn’t tell, because when Raul came to her aid, the “heroes” had vanished. But Fino shocked Raul by asking if he thought she should become the next Demon King (21:28).
But she shocked him even more when she relayed what they had told her, which was (21:59), “They told me to become the Demon King, so there’d be a need for heroes again.”
The first several times I watched this series, that struck me as the thing that elevated this show above being a “mere” ecchi comedy. It gave the story an extra dramatic punch. And even now, watching it to review it, I still get a kick out of that twist.
I didn’t see this twist coming the first time I watched the series. Capture from the Blu Ray.
But this rewatch has helped me see something else the show was trying to do. Remember back in episode 6 when I said capitalism is the worst economic system ever – except for everything that has come before it? I know it’s popular to disparage capitalism, and there are some excellent reasons to do so. Unchecked, it grants a small ground of people a disproportionate amount of control on the lives of others. Without the right regulation, it allows — and even encourages — serious and ongoing damage to the environment. And without the right safeguards, it allows unparalleled accumulation of wealth in a very small percentage of the population, which can destabilize an entire nation. Those are damaging things.
But here’s the problem. Every other economic system has been worse – in those same arenas. I was driving with my son to visit a Habitat for Humanity Restore recently. If you need building supplies and don’t mind buying used fixtures and the like, you can find a lot of inexpensive stuff there. But on the way, I passed probably six strip malls. Maybe more. I thought to myself that they were unsightly and resource inefficient.
Delivery: Fino’s Simply Joy in Providing for Herself
But then I asked myself what system in the past would have produced something better. And I came up blank. The reason’s simple, and this episode, and Fino in particular, helped me articulate it. In fact, it’s my favorite moment.
Fino had just made her first purchase at a grocery store. She was very excited about it, and it was adorable how she showed off her new store membership card to Raul. But she had gone quiet as they walked. Raul soon learned why: she’d been thinking about what her first purchase meant to her.
Fino was amazed that an economy that benefited everyone could work – without the kill-or-be-killed part. Capture from the Blu Ray.
I’m going to provide the full quote, because I thought it’s a beautiful thing in its context (09:37): “It’s amazing. I’m buying something with the money I earned. This is awesome. Customers buy things at Reon, which becomes the source of my paycheck, which I spend buying what I want. Goods that a customer may have made. We’re all connected. It’s not just ‘kill-or-be-killed’ here. This isn’t the demon world.”
That’s exactly what an economic system should do: tie everyone’s success together. This show isn’t blind to capitalism’s excesses. Just look at Amada! And look at the “heroes’” argument that lack of war put the weapon and armor manufacturers out of business. But it’s likewise not blind to the good capitalism can bring. It all comes down to what we want to do with it, and who gets to make that decision.
I, for one, hope the Rauls and Finos of our world exert more influence. I know I’m trying! In the meantime, I can still enjoy a fun treatise on economic theory hidden within an ecchi comedy.
What did you think of Fino’s rationale for ordering a kid’s meal? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 9: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 1: I Couldn’t Be a Hero, so I’m Working the Register
- I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 2: The Demon Lord’s Daughter is Going to Learn How to Speak to Customers
- I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 3: We Should be Careful When Handling Weird Products Sent to Us by Corporate
- I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 4: Episode 4, “The Daughter of the Demon Lord will be Working at the Convenience Store
- I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 5: I Couldn’t be a Hero so I Snuck into a Rival Store with the Daughter of the Demon King
- I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 6: She Couldn’t Become a Hero, so She Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job, Too
- I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 7: The Demon Lord’s Daughter Visits a House
- I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 8: The Demon Lord’s Daughter is Tending to Customers in a Swimsuit
- I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 9: How the Demon Lord’s Daughter Spent Her First Paycheck
- I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 10: I Wanted to be a Hero, but She Didn’t Want to be the Demon Lord
- I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 11: I Couldn’t Become a Hero, but now I’m Going to Rescue the Demon Lord’s Daughter
- I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job Episode 12: I Couldn’t Become a Hero, so I Decided to get a Job
When an anime adds something deep and philosophical to the mix it becomes a much better product. Especially when the philosophy makes sense.
It really does! As I’m rewatching this to review it, I’m surprised by what a good job they’ve done with that aspect.