Lilith serves pudding to get on Yuuri’s good side. Yuuri asks Lilith to come to his school’s Open House.
Episode 4 – “Does the Young Master Like Pudding?”
Hmm.
The healing anime genre often uses mirroring to show how different characters can be similar. It’s a relaxing salve for the soul when we recognize that we should focus on our connections instead of our conflicts. The Mysterious Maid used two points to connect Lilith and Yuuri. The first one was comical, and the second one tugged at our heartstrings. Funnily enough, both Yuuri and Lilith try acting as adults! We saw Yuuri’s attempts at living alone before Lilith arrived to care for him. Lilith play-acts as an adult too. When Lilith plays coy with Yuuri or asks flirtatious questions, she’s mimicking an adult talking to a precocious child. Lilith often sees Yuuri’s defensive behavior as her being shy, so she tries to draw him out and come closer. But her tone of voice and lilting smile has an adult’s seductive effect instead of a mature instructive one. Lilith acts like a sexy tutor instead of a matronly teacher. Naturally, Yuuri would suspect her of veiled intentions. Lilith should play her image straight with Yuuri, but she’s still immature enough to seek his attention and approval.
The Mysterious Maid ventures into healing anime narrative devices, but it’s still a romantic comedy, slice-of-life anime with a fanservice engine. So, even when Yuuri compares Lilith to his mother, the Queen of the House, as they play chess, we should expect Lilith to show off her sexy form as the payoff. The scenes of Yuuri’s parents needed to connect to Lilith’s current circumstances as the adult in Yuuri’s life. There’s still a hint of romance when Yuuri is the King and Lilith is the Queen, but the more relevant point is that Lilith acts as Yuuri’s guardian. Lilith felt the weight of that responsibility when she came to Parents’ Day to watch over Yuuri. Maids and butlers often attend in place of parents at the rich kids’ academy. But Lilith appreciated Yuuri’s acknowledgment she belongs to his household. She’s no longer a suspicious, seductive invader. Instead, Lilith is Yuuri’s Queen that plays chess with him.
Heh.
Ooh, Lilith’s maid uniform is on the bed. What is she wearing now? Aw. It’s a butler’s uniform. What kind of cosplay event is this? Hold that thought! It’s just the prologue for The Mysterious Maid.
Yuuri still stalks Lilith. She’s displaying self-awareness! How can she stop the young master from being so suspicious of her? Spoiler: she can’t. Yes. I also want to grow up healthy with Lilith getting closer to me! Eep. Now Lilith is stalking Yuuri. The boy is so paranoid about the mysterious maid. Lilith is not looking for his weaknesses. Ack. The clumsy maid cliché. Soft landing for everyone involved. Yuuri’s pronouncements sound like a cheesy romance novel love interest. Haha! What a line. Lilith said, “I’m trying to get closer to him, but I just landed on top of him instead.” Technically, that’s mission accomplished.
Ah. Lilith thinks she needs to act more grown up too. She’s flirting again, not acting like an adult. The mysterious maid is not suspicious! Here comes the string of outrageous compliments. Lilith’s squealing is too cute! She can’t get the hang of acting maturely. It feels seductive and knowing. Her giggling doesn’t help either. Suspicious! Yuuri’s love bombs make her happy, though. Next, Lilith tries playing a game with Yuuri. Her invitation sounds suggestive! Ack! Yuuri tangled himself up in his paranoid plots. Just play a game.
Aw. Yuuri’s memories of chess give The Mysterious Maid lots of parental flashbacks. Yuuri looks exactly like his mother. Son and Mother like to pout. Hoho. Yuuri was blunt with his mother too. She couldn’t cook! She’s stubborn, though, so she’ll make that pudding! Aw. Yuuri’s parents really were lovey-dovey. Back to the present. Lilith can play chess with Yuuri whenever he wants.
Uh oh. Yuuri has a school issue. Is it serious? Severe enough for him to walk by Lilith without calling her “suspicious!” Will Lilith’s pudding be enough to cheer him up? Har. Lilith wishes for his usual accusatory banter in The Mysterious Maid. Oof. Lilith did not get what she wanted! And she’s getting fired! Oh, and aw. Yuuri didn’t know what to do about Open House and Parents’ Day. He would have many conflicting emotions and worries. All he has is Lilith, so Yuuri asked her. He didn’t want other people looking at Lilith. So possessive! Yay! Eye catches are back. Lilith has a stupid grin on her face. She’s so happy to be closer to Yuuri.
Yuuri said servants often go to the Open House, but what should Lilith wear? She looks too good in her usual maid uniform! Lilith, the mysterious maid, will make everyone else obsessed with her and collapse the school! He might not be wrong… Yes! Fashion montage with a dark-skinned beauty!
The Mysterious Maid chose such melancholy music for Yuuri’s Open House. Where is Lilith? Hey, it’s the butler suit she put on in the prologue! She got it from Fujisaki. When does Fujisaki wear Lilith’s maid uniform? Yuuri had a good day.
Epilogue time for The Mysterious Maid. Smooth talker. Yuuri paid Lilith a compliment without accusing her of being suspicious. Progress! Next time, Yuuri has a precious… what?
The Maid I Hired Recently is Mysterious (Saikin Yatotta Maid ga Ayashii) streams on Crunchyroll and VRV in English subtitles and dubbed in multiple languages.
