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The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady Episode 1: Favorites

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The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady Episode 1 – Quick Summary

In The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady Episode 1, “The Magical Revolution of the Princess and the Young Lady,“ Anisphia Wynn Palletia was a challenge to her father, Orphans II Palletia. She had been first in line to the throne until she abdicated, which was not unheard of. But she insisted on crafting cutting-edge weapons and personally trying them out in the field! Worse, she showed zero respect for the order of things. That was even before her brother, Algard von Palletia, decided to shake things up on his own. Can she maintain her position as princess? How will she adapt to what Algard did? And why is she making so many weapons, anyway?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

Favorite Quote from The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady Episode 1

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady Episode 1: Ilia knows Anisphia very well

Ilia and Anisphia have a comfortable relationship. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Ordinarily, I object to royalty and servants. I’m one of those old-fashioned Americans who don’t want any kings or lords, only folks trying to protect human rights and leave in peace. Not like a certain segment of the US population who wants to replace a democratically-elected official with…

Ahem.

Sorry. Still a sore spot for me. What I’m trying to say is that I really like Anisphia, even though she’s a princess, and I really like Ilia Coral, even though she’s a servant. Why I like them has a lot to do with their relationship. For one thing, the princesses doesn’t treat Ilia like a servant. More like a trusted confidant. And while Ilia does treat Anisphia like a princess, it’s a more relaxed protocol than we see other servants using.

Case in point? My favorite quote. Anisphia came back to her room covered in the blood of many gray wolves. She looked a fright! Ilia commented on her appearance, and Anisphia answered (05:59), “Well, some unexpected stuff happened.”

I loved Ilia’s response, which was (06:03): “If you ask me, you yourself are an entire bundle of ‘unexpected.’”

Looks like Lilya Greyrat has some competition for Favored Maid Status.

Favorite Moment from The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady Episode 1

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady Episode 1: Euphyllia could not bear the weight of their scorn

She was an honest woman fighting foes who didn’t care about mundane things like facts. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Setup: Chisato Found Work!

We toss around the phrase “better than expected” a lot. But this episode is the poster child for that idea. I went into this episode not having any idea what to expect. I came away impressed by its level of authentic political tension and likable characters.

Oh, and an unexpected flashback to my first major political defeat in my first professional job, about thirty-five years ago. So there’s that. And my favorite moment is what reminded me!

But, before we get to that, let me just say I’m glad Chisato found work after Lycoris Recoil wrapped up its first season. Though playing the role of Anisphia, she seems to cross her legs more often now when she sits. Maybe that’s just character growth!

Anyway.

My favorite moment is all about Euphyllia Magenta. You ever read Animal Farm? Remember Boxer, the horse? Boxer was a hard worker. Boxer wanted to do the right thing. So he worked himself literally to death because it’s what he thought he should do.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady Episode 1: Euphyllia even tried to support her cheating fiancé

Euphyllia was so dedicated to fulfilling her role that she even tried to defend her cheating fiancé. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

That’s Euphyllia. It was also me when I worked for a Fortune 500 insurance company. That’s why my favorite moment hit me so hard. I had been trying to help my boss’s initiative succeed. I was just out of college, and my degree was in theology and English. So I was all fired up to Do The Right Thing(™). I wanted to support my boss so we could change the world.

Setup: Euphyllia, an Honest, Kind Soul Out of Her Depth

Even recreating that mindset is embarrassing now. Because here’s the thing: I had no concept of back-stabbing, even though I had read Dune. I was the classic example of academic learning meeting the real world. And I’m here to tell you, the real world wins every time. At least in terms of blunt force trauma.

I knew my boss’s plan had generated resistance. So I diligently used what I thought of as my writing skills to help. I wrote procedures. I wrote proposals. It got to the point where two of the opposition’s leaders sat me down and said, “Look, you’re a good kid. We see you have some technical skills and you can write. But your boss’s proposal isn’t going anywhere. You should come join us before your boss falls.”

That was my first major moral dilemma. I was so young, and so idealistic, that I barely had the framework to process it. I remember almost tearing up – in a professional environment! But I remember most two things: the feeling of utter powerlessness, and the thought that if I betrayed my boss (who trusted me – he was a good guy), I would suck as a person.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady Episode 1: Euphyllia was ill-equipped for the fight ahead of her

Euphyllia was so dedicated that she could not understand why Algard didn’t realize what she was trying to do. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Euphyllia faced the same problem. She knew Algard didn’t love her. But she was the product of her environment. The young woman intended to do her family proud. She perceived her duty to be supporting her fiancé in his upcoming role as king.

She didn’t want to do it. We don’t know exactly what she wanted, because she was a creature of responsibility, so she buried her own desires deeply. But she was like Boxer; she was like the younger me. We all wanted to do what was right. But were were not equipped to deal with what that meant in the real world.

Delivery: An Unsupportable Weight

Algard dumped her in public, then used his back-stabbing “friends” to pile on false accusations – accusations that were based on her honest attempts to preserve his dignity and the pride of the nobility. 

By this point in the episode I’m already suffering flashbacks. No, I’m not being euphemistic. I remembered events I had banished from my mind years ago. That’s how real this moment was.

But it’s worse than that. As hard as it was for me to recall my experience, I had options. I had the technical skills to move to another job. I could have changed career paths entirely. Euphyllia, though, witnessed the death of her future. When the prince was done with her, she had nothing.

My favorite moment had all of that emotional weight behind it. It was when she sank to the floor (20:19). The weight of the false accusations, the scorn of the man she thought of as her fiancé, and finally the understanding that her future had just been stolen from her, crushed her to her knees.

I am so glad the episode didn’t end there. I’m not sure I would have come back for the second episode. Which is why I’m glad that Anisphia made her typically graceful entrance (she crashed on a broom under magical acceleration – she’s lucky she still has a spine). It reframed the entire scene, but it didn’t detract from my empathy with Euphyllia.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady Episode 1: Anisphia rescued Euphyllia

I was glad the episode didn’t end with Euphyllia on her knees in social disgrace. She deserved better. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

I had already decided to review the show. In fact, Anisphia cemented that in the early moments when she told the adventurer (00:57) “Don’t butt in!” But this show’s ability to use authentic political intrigue to pull this kind of reaction out of my cold heart is not something I could ignore. 

What did you think of Anisphia’s rampage during the beginning of the episode? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to share in the comments!

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3 thoughts on “The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady Episode 1: Favorites

  1. I had fun with the first episode (and ep2 will cement my shaky positive impressions). Sorry to hear you had an experience like that. For me, I never really learned to expect rewards, so I just tend to choose what I’m most likely to be able to live with, which isn’t easy when you’re weird and you don’t find any good option, but well that’s life.

    Oddly enough, the episode made me dislike the prince, but still also sort of feel bad for him. Doesn’t look like he wants the throne, and first-in-line princess just casually tossed her birthright aside (which might also have something to do with her lack of magic, but…). I liked that about the opening episode; Ani’s decision has repercussions that aren’t only good. Still, false accusations to get out of an unwanted stricture are a scummy move, my dear prince. If you’re going to renege on an engagement then take responsibility.

    A lot will depend on how the show will handle the “revolution”, but regardless of that, the show has a fun energy. Looking forward to more of it.

    1. I liked that about the prince, too. I could understand where the guy was coming from. But treating Euphyllia badly? Talk about destroying goodwill!

      I’m going to publish my review of episode 2 on Tuesday (swapping positions with Planet With — I thought this show came out on Thursday, but no, it’s Wednesday — I think). I’ll be curious to see what you thought of it!

Please let me know what you think!

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