This was a fantastic episode! I really enjoyed the way the first two stories flowed together, and the third little short scene at the end was a cute bonus. Though it also seemed to be laying the groundwork for perhaps some future conflict later in the series…? Hear me out.
The episode begins with the royal noblewoman of the land, Lady Flam, summoning Reiji to her huge mansion to ask him to make her some “rejuvenation ointment.” She has to go to a big party in a few days and she’s worried that the other rich people she must socialize will bully her for her looks as they tend to do.
This episode has a fantastic message about self-love and self-confidence, and it was heartening to see that while Reiji did agree to try to make a medicine that would help Lady Flam’s skin, he also gave her positive reinforcement that her looks are fine the way they are presently. While the skin cream he makes for Lady Flam is shown to have worked for her, and she’s very happy with it, it’s likely that he just made a generic skin cream for her and her own self-confidence (via the placebo effect) were what helped her appear more beautiful. That’s my guess anyways.
In the second skit where Lady Flam’s young daughter Elaine visits Reiji’s shop (behind her family’s back) to inquire about having a love potion made for her. There’s a dinner party coming up where they were will be some rich young people present, and she wants a love potion to help one of them fall for her.
Reiji’s on some awkward footing throughout this whole episode and because we don’t know his dating history, nor does he appear to have much experience with kids (aside from arguably Noela), we don’t know why he doesn’t socialize with women better. However he does his best to reassure the females who are coming to him for help.
Anyways, when Elaine comes to see Reiji at his pharmacy, he doesn’t make her a love potion but instead a perfume, and cautions her that if she doesn’t have a lovely attitude or pleasant behaviors to match the perfume’s light scent, then the fragrance will be less effective. The subtle message is clear: being a brat and demanding that others cave to you based on your family’s lineage alone won’t win you any friends, nor partners. Elaine must rein in her ego and focus on bettering herself as a person, and then the perfume will compliment her positive temperament for its best effect.
Unfortunately, Reiji’s smooth handling of Elaine also seems to have caused her to develop a bit of a crush on him. This is why I said some of this episode’s story might cause problems for Reiji later in the series, if the producers choose to go in that direction. What if a female character shows a romantic interest in Reiji and Elaine gets jealous?
The episode also had a subplot of Elaine learning to make friends. When she initially comes to Reiji’s store and asks to work there for 2 days (or rather, she has been given permission to work there… by everyone except Reiji!), she is very snobby and rude, causing Noela to be very vocal in her dislike of the young girl. Elaine wants to work alongside of Reiji of course, but Mina interferes and tells Elaine that she’ll work alongside Noela instead.
Noela wastes no time in telling Elaine that she will have to listen to her and do as she says, but Elaine surprisingly doesn’t pitch a fit. Even later when Reiji tells her to tone down her formal greeting whenever customers enter the shop, Elaine takes his advice to heart. She’s already trying to change herself to be a more mature and respectable person. By the end of the episode Noela and Elaine are already exchanging gifts with each other.
I wonder if we’ll ever learn why Reiji was brought to the world that Kalta exists in. We’ve already learned how (he walked into a forest), but maybe that’s all the info we’ll be given? Maybe Cheat Kusushi no Slow Life is just gonna be a sandbox title.
Lastly, I appreciate that the term “medicine” is used very broadly in this show to mean a variety of things. Maybe it’s a perfume, maybe it’s a skin cream, maybe it’s a drink! I’m very curious about which medicinal creations (alternatives) we’ll get to see next.
This show is so cute and sweet, and its light humor makes me smile every episode. Truly a bright spot in my day.
