What’s it about? Prince Cecil is such a precocious genius that nothing in his studies or stately affairs can surprise, challenge, or entertain him. That changes when he meets his betrothed for the first time: Bertia, who claims to hold memories of a previous life and knowledge of the future. She and Cecil are apparently characters in something called an otome game, and Bertia plays the role of “villainess,” which she’s intent on fulfilling so the story stays on course. But what if they could change their fates instead? Cecil finds her interesting enough that he’s willing to try.
On one hand, I understand switching up the perspective in an attempt to put a new spin on the once refreshing, now overly familiar tropes of the villainess isekai. One of my favorite examples is still Endo and Kobayashi Live!, after all. On the other hand, I’m not sure “but what do the men have to say about it?” was the question to base this creative experiment around. Or maybe Cecil himself just isn’t a good pick for the switch-up: his dry, wry narration and smug approach made me roll my eyes rather than sit up straight with renewed interest in this genre. I can see what the storytelling is going for, but the whole episode feels condescending rather than playful. And that’s before we get to the fatphobia!
Yes, that’s right: in another bold move, Observation Record of My Fiancée features a plus-sized villainess. Young Bertia has round features, a visible double chin, and a tendency to chow down on cake so that it leaves icing all over her cheeks. When the camera does close-ups on her body and face, silly, gooey, bouncy sound effects play. In the brief glances we get at footage from the original game, it’s clear that grown-up Bertia is also meant to look heavyset and unflattering. So—and here’s the really clever bit, are you ready?—you can tell the difference between old, evil Bertia and new, reincarnated, better Bertia, because the isekai’d girl goes on a diet and gets a slimmer, hotter character design! Wow! That’s… that sucks, guys! Why did you feel the need to do that?
Honestly, the notion that “fat = ugly = evil” is such an ingrained pop cultural trope, not to mention embedded in fantasy and fairy tales, that I’m surprised I’ve never seen something like this before. The reincarnated otome gamer currently inhabiting Bertia’s body explains that Bertia was “always supposed to be someone who didn’t really have a chance, so, as a character her appearance is questionable.” Even in-universe it’s acknowledged that she’s meant to be an unappealing contrast to the skinny, feminine beauty of the game’s heroine. If the series was doing anything with this, it could be a point of interesting commentary… but New Bertia has crash-dieted and exercise-montaged her way to a more conventionally attractive character design by the end of this episode, so it just feels like a mean-spirited throwaway detail.
The inclusion of such a callous aesthetic choice makes it difficult for me to take anything this show is trying in good faith. Which is a shame, because I had my heart open and was ready to like this. Even now, I admit that I love the idea of the show’s weird power couple: a reincarnated gamer who can essentially see the future, and a genius with all the kingdom’s resources at hand. Between the two of them, they prevent the outbreak of a pandemic by the end of the episode! What can’t they do?
But it’s just not fun when Bertia’s handling is so insincere, and Cecil is… well, he’s not as bad as he could be, but he’s boring and unsympathetic. Oh, you poor baby, you’re so smart that nothing’s a challenge and you’ve got no one to talk to who can meet you on your level? Is it so sad for you, painting masterpieces and inventing math theorems and wafting around the palace in your fancy little Ciel Phantomhive shorts?
If you couldn’t tell, I… did not enjoy Observation Record. While it’s definitely not the nastiest or smuggest reincarnation fantasy out there by a long shot, this premiere rapidly killed off any goodwill I had for the series’ premise. If it’s going to be so dull and mean-spirited about its core characters, how can I expect it to have anything interesting or meaningful to say in its broader plot? It sounds like Always a Catch! is doing much more interesting stuff in a similar genre realm this season, so I reckon I’ll check out that instead of looking forward to more of this.
