Wolf Girl & Black Prince

Episode 4

Wolf Girl & Black Prince was alienating from the start. It doesn't really bring anything new to the shōjo table, but the fact that the series revolves around a rude, slightly sadistic teen boy bossing around the pushover girl in his life is unsettling for many. I'd argue that, based on his actions rather than his words, Kyoya is one of the least domineering males of his type in fiction, and that Erika isn't an unhappy "victim." However, anyone who's offended by the trope—or those who are just plain tired of seeing it—likely already stopped watching.

What a shame! Episode 4 of Wolf Girl & Black Prince is easily the best so far, thanks to the introduction of Hibiya Takeru, Kyoya's self-proclaimed best friend from middle school. Fair warning: Kyoya is still a jerk, although the focus on his behavior is minimal this time. If you can handle the aforementioned trope in your shōjo shows, and you enjoy the genre as a whole, the episode may be enough to make a late convert out of you.

Takeru isn't the most unique character, but he's a breath of fresh air in what was becoming a narrow-minded focus on Kyoya and Erika's relationship. It's just as Erika convinces Kyoya she's in love with him that cheerful, slightly narcissistic and dense Takeru enters the picture. He listens to Erika's story and is immediately eager to help her win Kyoya's heart in return. Kyoya passively plays along as Takeru's schemes get more and more ridiculous. Erika, eager to succeed and not the sharpest tool in the shed, throws herself headfirst into the schemes to hilarious results. Episode 4 easily earns the most laughs of the series so far because of the new Takeru/Erika dynamic.

It's a dynamic that works so well and seems so effortless, a warning light almost immediately popped into my head. Wolf Girl & Black Prince wouldn't be the first story aimed at a teen audience that turned a love story into a love triangle, and the show's already psyched us out in that regard once. This episode ends satisfactorily, but it's treading a risky path.

Stories of this ilk that celebrate friendship in the midst of romance—genuine friendship that doesn't blossom into "yet another person in love with the main character"—are rarer than love triangles. Personally, I prefer a show with a good friendship, and the series is better served if it doesn't go all the way down the more predictable love triangle path. Then again, Takeru is so much nicer than Kyoya and he and Erika get along so well, there could easily be more fans of a relationship between the two of them. (Of course it's no newsflash that Takeru doesn't stand a chance.)

Wolf Girl & Black Prince episode 4 is another example of how the relationship between Kyoya and Erika isn't as deplorable as some others in the genre. Erika knows full well Kyoya's a jerk—she calls him the a-word more than once—and she also recognizes that she will never change him. Kyoya isn't at all as controlling as he claims to be, although he doesn't seem to care much if he hurts people's feelings, as long as he can save face. Where Wolf Girl & Black Prince triumphs over similar series is that it doesn't portray the girl as a victim of a dominating force, or present the false narrative that a good woman can turn a jerk into a nice guy.

Rating: A

Wolf Girl & Black Prince is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Amy is a YA fantasy author who has loved anime for nearly two decades.