Gorilla God's Go-To Girl

Episode 4

I can't begin to tell you how relatable I find Sophia in one very specific sense: her absolute dread of going to the school dance. Sure, they call it a “party” in the subs (I'd have gone with “ball,” but I also read too much 19th-century fiction), but if you've ever been the kid who, for example, got dragged to a dance in middle or high school and then spent the entire time in the bathroom because it was the least loud and crowded place, then you know what I'm talking about. Sophia's reluctance to attend is only compounded by her dislike for standing out, and her family absolutely doesn't get it. From my own experience, I can imagine that her parents were giddy when she asked them to send her a dress; they probably thought she was coming out of her shell or some such nonsense. Sophia meant for them to send her one of her old dresses, something maybe a little out of date that would allow her to be a wallflower. The vibrant red, strapless gown they send is basically out of her nightmares.

I could see Sophia's social recalcitrance being something that's not as appealing to other viewers. It could be read as her falling into a version of the “not like other girls” trope, where she stands out for being wholesome in a way people like Carissa are not. (Still hoping Carissa's blessing comes from the naked mole rat god or something.) She's snagging all the hottest guys without even trying – Louis and Isaac are openly interested in her, Eddy's clearly not averse to spending time with her, and then she piques the interest of Leonhart, Carissa's date, in this episode. It may well be that's what the original author intended. But Sophia's hunched body language as she tries to disappear inside her own dress is still one of the few visual triumphs of this anime, and still very real if social events aren't your scene.

Of course, she's also more than a little naïve this week, although her amazing new gorilla reflexes put a stop to some of the mean girl nonsense. I'm still not sure how Carissa's minion managed to cut Sophia's sleeve (a tear that vanishes soon thereafter; this series really doesn't look great), but Sophia catching the glass of orange liquid before it could spill on her skirt is a delightful subversion of a tired trope. Should she have known better than to follow Araignée (French for “spider”) to the old school building? Absolutely; if she'd stopped to think for half a second, she'd have known that there was no way she'd have gone there in her ballgown. But I do like that she decided to just stay put in the locked box, because hey, easy way to get out of going back to the party.

Not that her knights are going to see it that way, or even her god. Sophia staying quiet in the box as it gets carried off to who knows where is something that could backfire on her wish to remain in the background in a spectacular way. But at least we know that if Louis and Co. save her, it will be because she lets them. Sophia knows full well that she could save herself at any time, and I have to admit that I like that.

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The Gorilla God's Go-To Girl is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Sundays.