I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day

Episode 9

Now it's time for the show to finally focus on the actual main characters. I'm sorry if that sounds dismissive towards Ali and Seiren, but while I did find some of the emotional moments between them nice, this episode really does establish that the tragedy they went through feels more like it was just there as a stepping stone for the show's true narrative interest. I did have a lot of respect for Ali when she denied using resurrection magic to bring back Seiren, and overall, I did like the direction this episode went, giving much-needed context to Mimi's backstory. However, I still think the emotional dilemma Mimi is going through would've been much stronger if her relationship with Seiren were far more established. Like I said last week, the two had barely ever had a conversation together throughout the entire show, and it sucks that Seiren's death is supposed to act as this sticking point in Mimi's emotional development since death is finally starting to mean something to her. This will probably be the last time I bring it up, but the show definitely dropped the ball with that.

The real strength of this episode came in its final third, with Sheena finally following through on the emotional declaration she made a couple of episodes ago about how she can contribute to or help with all the tragedies happening around her. Sheena is not good at combat magic, but with the growing desperation the school seems to feel about sending students off to fight, she knows it's only a matter of time before even someone as weak as her is forced to fight. I like that she went to the nurse, hoping to find another way that she could be useful. I know she said that she wants to be useful to the school, but even the nurse can see through her. Sheena wants to be useful to Mimi because, while she knows that Mimi will outlive her as a capable immortal warrior, she still wants to do everything she can to leave a lasting impression now while she's alive. I do like that emotional compromise because it shows that Sheena is mature enough to recognize she won't be able to change the world, yet she's still looking for new avenues to contribute to Mimi's life.

Regarding Sheena's relationship with Mimi, I am actually glad that the show seems to be doubling down on a more maternal relationship between them. While the two have kissed a few times and there have been a few vague moments between them, I was never really feeling a romantic connection. This episode did have Mimi stare longingly at Sheena, which made me think that Mimi was going to maybe ask for a kiss, and Mimi is definitely developing a stronger-than-normal attachment to Sheena. However, Sheena has always looked after Mimi like a caretaker, and Mimi's emotional development has always felt much more childish than the rest of the cast, so I don't think a romantic relationship between the two would have worked given their status at this point in the series. The fact that the show is actually using Sheena's more motherly affection for Mimi as a legitimate plot point leads me to believe that this is the direction that the show is finally settling on regarding their relationship.

Now, Sheena, being someone more predisposed to healing people than fighting, had been foreshadowed since the very first episode. I'm a little surprised that the show is still holding back, with Sheena just being a straight-up medic or healing witch, by establishing that the magic Sheena is good at still seems weaker than restoration magic, since it's a lot more complicated. However, there are a lot of seeds being dropped here that could go in various directions, given the blatant parallels between Sheena and Mimi's mother. Those explicit comparisons could be the catalyst for some much-needed flashback episodes later on, since I barely know anything about Mimi's background beyond the fact that her mom just brought her back to life. The nurse also makes it a point to note that Mimi's physical attachment to Sheena might be tied to Sheena's magical internal healing abilities. I don't know exactly what they're implying, but it is definitely something that connects their magic. This is the first time I'm not fully sure what the show plans to do with the breadcrumbs it's leaving. While it did take a while to finally get to the real meat of the episode, I am curious what the show is actually starting to set up for its season finale.

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I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.