You are Ms. Servant

Episode 5

What a good episode this was. At long last, we finally got to learn more about Yuki's past, see her help Hitoyoshi out of a tight spot, and have a villain. This episode had the juice and the (tonkatsu) sauce.

I really like the cartoonish simplicity of Grace's whole plot. In particular, I really liked when Yuki stopped her bullets with knives and she had that moment where she was lamenting adding the laser targeting—which probably gave Yuki the sense she needed to know where the bullets would go—because they looked more threatening. Honestly, the only thing that I think could've made it goofier was if her smartphone controlled all the guns she had set up was just a brick with a big red button on it and an antenna.

Speaking of the smartphone, my partner watched a bit of this episode with me, and within minutes he said, “You know, this sort of feels like a show that could've been around in the 2000s.” And I couldn't help but laugh, not only because that's been such a recurring observation (look no further than ANN's Preview Guide or my own weekly reviews if you don't believe me) but also because, incidentally, if I'm not mistaken then this episode is the first time we've seen a smartphone yet in the whole series. A few weeks ago I said that I was starting to think that the series felt really Y2K because that's when it was meant to take place. But nope; turns out, it's just vibes. And there's nothing wrong with that, to be clear. In fact, in many ways, it's kind of charming.

While Grace is waiting on Yuki, she finally gives us what we've been waiting for: she tells us more about Yuki's past. Formerly known as Xue the White Wolf, Yuki was—to quote Grace—"a ruthless murderer with no mercy for anyone—a butcher who lived only to kill." Yuki was the fourth and youngest to join the Dragon's Nine—a group of assassins whose talent and bloodlust are matched only by the power they wield in their world. So essentially, Yuki's been vastly underrating herself—she wasn't just some assassin. She was an incredibly skilled assassin, who doubtless had plenty of money and prestige. I don't doubt that Yuki has been doing this on purpose—it made Hitoyoshi panic enough as it is just with Yuki being an assassin in general, let alone one of the top players in her field. Or rather, I don't think Yuki neglected to tell him as a social play—that's not her style. I think she didn't tell him because part of her knew it would only make things harder for her. Well, that and she doesn't seem like she wants to talk about her past. And telling Hitoyoshi about this would, without a doubt, lead to him asking more questions about her and her background.

When Grace tries to battle it out with Yuki with everything from bullets to landmines, Yuki's just too cool—and she's worried that Hitoyoshi, who has school tomorrow, won't get enough sleep if she and Grace drag this out much longer! What a noble maid she is. So they do some scuffling (well, if you can call Yuki stopping bullets with blades “scuffling," but we already talked about that) and it ultimately ends with Yuki destroying Grace's smartphone, showing Grace mercy because she doesn't want to kill anymore, freeing Hitoyoshi, and going home.

As I said, overall, this was a great episode. For the first time since watching this show, it gave me the thought that while the first couple of episodes weren't the strongest, I think it's actually starting to pick up and reach a point where I can say I'm actively enjoying it. Of course, the series still has plenty of time left to change my mind, for better or for worse. But if the series can maintain the momentum it's had lately, then by the end, this could easily end up having been a really fun show. I'm really looking forward to seeing what we're in for next. Or perhaps, since this is a maid show, I should say: lately, this show has been dusting itself off, and we're starting to see what it's really made of. It's cleaned up its act, and it's got me excited to wash more of it.

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You are Ms. Servant is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.