The Royal Tutor

Episode 9

Everyone has the right to start over again if they want to.

When Kai gives an emotional, surprisingly well-articulated speech about how everyone should be able to reform themselves if they so desire, The Royal Tutor doesn't have to cut to Heine (the person responsible for Kai's ability to deliver said speech) for us to know this is about our titular hero and not just the bully Kai is actually addressing. We still don't have full disclosure about what Heine was involved with before becoming a royal tutor, but this week's episode confirms that whatever his occupation was, it involved more than teaching Viktor arithmetic. He's come a long way since those apparently violent days, but as the troubles of the past catch up with two of our princes instead, Heine is forced to turn back to full-blown action mode to defend one of the boys he's usually content with just inspiring.

The scene of Heine beating up a gang of armed thugs all by himself, while animated economically, is edited so well that it appears much more fluid than it actually is. Flashes of the past make it clear why Viktor is so relaxed when his sons are out with no one to watch over them but their teacher – in fact, I'd say he hired Heine to perform two jobs in one. And who can blame him, with professional guards Maximilian and Ludwig contributing little more than comic relief. As satisfying as it is to see Heine beat the crap out of a bunch of disposable lowlifes, the scene's interesting choice of music tells a more nuanced story. Not everything in Heine is excited about going back, and when the fight culminates in an epic title drop, we're back to our recurring themes of deceiving appearances and false assumptions. Sometimes, finding out about someone's true self makes for a funifuni surprise, but sometimes it leads to getting hit over the head with a wooden beam.

In an episode dealing with emotional trauma, physical abuse, and actual danger to our heroes, finding the right dosage of humor is a tightrope walk. Even if I'm not a fan of the series' short jokes, I can't deny their abundance didn't add some extra pleasure when Heine finally wiped the floor with the people who had just ridiculed him. Funnier (and much sweeter) was Kai's fan club at the palace, whose moral support almost got destroyed when he smiled at them in scary gratitude. Luckily, Kai has Bruno to interpret for him, just as Kai was there to save Bruno from abuse at military school. And of course, Mr. Precious didn't get kicked out because he enjoyed inflicting violence on others, but because he was defending his brother from someone who indulged in bullying him, under the pretext of social injustice and parental abandonment.

The world's an unfair place, even in a 19th-century monarchy enlightened enough for its ruler to value free speech. Coming to terms with this fact and still managing to find a place for yourself is a crucial experience of growing up, and while in the process of doing so, one might still be excused of lashing out in anger. But all the world's injustice doesn't absolve a brat, however miserable or neglected, from taking responsibility for his own screw-ups. Ralf von Fuchs is unfortunate, not for living in a stately mansion instead of the royal palace, but for lacking any adult guidance to teach him that the unjust privilege of others can never justify the pleasure he gets from hurting them. As for the excuse of an impressionable teenager manipulated by adults, Fuchs might not have come up with any kidnapping schemes on his own, but he sure as heck doesn't have any qualms of conscience when it comes to kicking someone who's already down.

According to Heine, things might have turned out differently if only Fuchs had found a trustworthy teacher, but our princes, however hostile and socially inept, didn't resort to abusing others to feel better about themselves when their father was notably absent. I'm not sure how much educational guidance would have been required to make a decent human being out of Fuchs, and I was relieved the series didn't take the easy way out by turning him into a tragic victim, with solely the absence or bad influence of adults to blame for his lack of character. At the same time, the show refuses to deny him a third chance if he assumes responsibility – even after he's already blown his second one.

Now that he can communicate his feelings, of course Kai would think talking to someone would suffice to solve all misunderstandings. Contrary to his (much more realistic) brother, Kai doesn't accept malice, and even an unfortunate reality check can't destroy his faith in humanity, even if he needs an adult's violent intervention to bail him out of the trouble his good heart got him into. But that's what adults are there for.

Heine isn't just looking after his students' education and physical integrity, he's making sure they can stay their idealistic youthful selves, inspiring them to become the person they believe in. Because Kai is watching, Heine holds back, something that might have been different in the past. By not disclosing this past, Viktor enables his old friend to be what Heine wants and Viktor needs him to be. So far, everyone's benefited from their pact, but yet again, we end on a Rosenberg cliffhanger promising dark reveals that I'm not sure I even need anymore.

Rating: B

The Royal Tutor is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Anne is a translator and fiction addict who writes about anime at Floating Words and on Twitter.