Mato Seihei no Slave • Chained Soldier - Episode 8 discussion

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~~Knock knock~~...Tenka's here, and she has...needs. She is going to be a problem for Yuuki, that is for sure. Do your best ~~Yuuki~~ little slave.
I had thought that Shushu was going to be the thirstiest character we saw in this series. Boy was I wrong. Tenka makes it very clear this episode that she has her eyes on Yuuki, in an explicitly physical way. She doesn't play around with any kind of normal anime/manga confession shenanigans. There isn't really any mistaking showing up in somebody's room, stripping them, and asking to go out with them.
In some ways, it is refreshing how open Tenka is with things. By comparison, Shushu also has a crush on Yuuki, but has decided that she will try to get him to like her more before she says anything. Then there is Himari, who seems to respect and appreciate Yuuki, but in her own flavor of firearm wielding tsundere way. Seeing how Tenka interacted with Yuuki affected all of our harem, but probably none more than the commander. Kyouka, due to her ability, has always been a bit possessive of Yuuki (despite also practicing giving him away this episode). However, after Tenka's meddling, she got possessive of Yuuki:
The new Yuuki forms were fun. Not sure how often we might see them, but I hope that Shushu gets her time to shine while using Yuuki. Shushu just really wants some rewards, alright?!
- Like I said, whatever the opposite of confidence issues is, Tenka has a terminal case.
  Kyouka only just discovered that she can lend out Yuuki, but considering the perks and her ambition, she'll come around.
- This kind of relationship development is why I don't like most harem series. At the rate the story is going, many of these girls are going to end up heartbroken.
  
  It can be done well, but it just usually isn't. I think it works best when the girls, over the course of the story, mature and grow out of their infatuation into more independent characters. However, usually, it is just waifus throwing themselves at the MC. Harems are not really known for excellent character writing after all.
  
  No-one really falls out of love with Yuuki, instead, due to how the dynamic of borrowing works, everyone gets their turn. Guaranteed. And the rewards don't really leave the girls any room to doubt whether they are wanted, the way a guy going through several girls would in another series.
  The character development mostly comes from everyone accepting that to be effective in combat, they kind of have to make being a poly work. And they do.
  If a certain ability to get through the day is needed, then that is the girl who has to be clutching Yuukis chain.
  It would quite literally be a matter of life or death for any one of the girls to hog him for themselves.
  
  they kind of have to make being a poly work
  There's a power imbalance though, since Kyouka must be the one to lend Yuuki out to others.
  
  Or Himari. I wrote it in another comment, but Kyouka can't truly keep Yuuki to herself if she wants to make the best use of his abilities.
  She gets over her hangups for lending him pretty quick, and it's never made an issue, she doesn't reward or punish anyone by lending/withholding Yuuki based on emotional bullshit.
  Sure, she has power over the others but not just through Yuuki. She's literally the unit commander, and a good one. She makes decisions based on what allows her unit as a whole to be the most effective it can be.
  I'm not telling you things are fine based on what I've seen of the anime, I'm telling you this series doesn't go emotionally sour, because I read the manga, and know that.
  
  To be fair, I've read the manga too😅
  It's just that their relationships have yet to reach the later stages, and I'm concerned with how it will end. I've heard that other series have butchered relationships with otherwise-good progress.
  Hopefully, this one stays good.
  
  I'm honestly not troubled, the manga has already handled things that other series would turn into a complete shit-show in an very based manner.
  Like Nei, or the way the seventh unit looks out for Himari where her family is concerned.
  It displays a level of emotional intelligence that harem mangakas never seem to possess.
  
  This really isn't a problem in this series. 125 chapters in on the manga, and the story still hasn't devolved into a dramatic love-quarrel with reckless collateral damage.
  Due to how lending works, it means everyone has to reward Yuuki (though Tenka starts joining in on the rewarding just cuz, even when she hasn't done any borrowing), the dynamic evolves towards something legitimately polyamorous.
  For the reward to be something intimate, Yuuki has to be interested in the first place, so where other series might make a big deal out of the guy hanging out with one girl and the rest feeling all hurt because "well I must not be the one" the girls here don't really have any room for doubt. They are all genuinely wanted, and they can know that for sure.
  This series doesn't quite do emotional conflict, (aside from the Azuma family pieces of shit) instead when two girls both borrow Yuuki, that it will turn into a three-way instead of a competition, is just a foregone conclusion.
  
  For the reward to be something intimate, Yuuki has to be interested in the first place
  Rei-senpai's reward in this episode showed it well. Since she's just a kid, Yuuki doesn't see her in a romantic way; the reward was cute instead of sexy.
  
  Yup, and it was still affectionate. Though her rewards are never sexual or romantic in nature, it's still stuff that shows that Yuuki loves and cares for Nei. Stuff like hugs, a pat on the head or verbal praise.
  And that goes for the other girls too, rewards aren't always lewd.

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