Alto wonders if demons and humans can fall in love when Vermeil keeps kissing him. Disturbing magical incidents worry the student council.
Episode 4 – “A Creeping Madness”
Hmm.
Vermeil in Gold introduced a new villain this week. Will he be a persistent foil to Alto and Vermeil? Or will the anime fall into short story arcs? I see more evidence that the student council’s characters will be the narrative structure for Alto’s character development. We’ll start seeing more of them and how Alto rubs against them.
Chris was the first member of the student council for Alto to check his resolve against. I was not a fan of how quickly Vermeil in Gold tried to rehabilitate her. She kicked Rex until he bloodied her boots and tried to make him lick them. She didn’t get caught up in the moment. That’s how she is all the time! She needed to do more than wear an apron and sweep to make her a likable character. The cliffhanger of a Rex in an altered state beating Chris up fell flat because of the superficial groundwork.
Heh.
Oh, right. Vermeil in Gold ended with a cliffhanger as Alto thrust his shaft, ahem, shard at Chris’s fiery orbs. Hoh. Alto turned into a melee fighter. Still using a crystal, though. He won, so good on him.
Uh oh. The girls love Alto now. That’s not good for Lilia’s sanity. Hilarious! Sylpheed, Liiia’s familiar, bites her little handkerchief too! Ah. The girls also like Professor Obsidian. Earlier in Vermeil in Gold, we were taught that demons are rarely summoned in modern times. Obsidian seems like a caring role figure. No wonder the girls love him. Plus, he’s tall, blonde, and has a gentle personality. Ack. Alto is an intelligent boy, but he’s also a dumb boy. He doesn’t know how much Lilia cares for him.
Odd. Chris wears an apron and sweeps leaves. That’s out of character for her. Ah. Alto made Chris apologize to Rex after he won their duel. Just like that, Rex and Chris are supposed to be good guys. Not buying it! Vermeil in Gold needs to do more work to rehabilitate her. Or more shots of her thighs. That’ll help!
Uh oh, Alto! Vermeil found his lips defenseless! It’s a midnight mana snack. Is that when Alto’s mana is at its thickest potency? No night raids, Vermeil! Alto means it! Kisses should be for the one you love, Alto explains. No worries for Vermeil there. She loves, loves, loves Alto! Haha! Vermeil helped herself to a heap of Alto-loving last night. Oh well. Alto turned out to be Vermeil in Gold’s timid MC who pushes beautiful women’s attention away. That means Vermeil will need to be more aggressive, and I’m here for it!
Alto needs advice about demonic love. Is Professor Obsidian the expert on human-demon relationships? It’s more like a historical question now, so why not? Obsidian describes women bearing demon children, incubi, and succubi, but are demons romantic? Is Vermeil simply a succubus sucking on Alto’s thick… mana spout? According to her, she needs to replenish mana, but she doesn’t act like a succubus. I like how Alto’s ashen face of disappointment still has golden eyes. Aw. Vermeil’s big boobs crushing Alto’s face will reassure him. Big boobs fix everything! Oh, man. Listen to this cheesy romantic music. Vermeil kissed Alto without draining his mana. Come on. She’s playing the long con, right? Alto’s heart isn’t ready to be a kisser instead of a kissee. Do your best, Vermeil! Oho. Double golden sparkles in the morning! Alto finally had a good night’s sleep. Obsidian imparts the wisdom of Vermeil in Gold. Feisty!
Okay. Enough fun and games. The narrative beat says it’s time to go dark again. Here we go. Obsidian is the color of his true nature, not the white image he likes to portray. Ugh. He takes advantage of girls who have crushes on him. At least it’s not sexual but putting students into comas for magic research is evil. Vermeil in Gold introduces magic doping. Lifetime bans from magical duels!
Ooh, I like this form of standing around for exposition, girls in the locker room spreading rumors! Huh? The vice president says this isn’t the first time a student’s magic ran amok and put her into a coma. What’s going on at this academy? Vermeil in Gold has a curious setting. Top secret demon prison books fall on boys’ heads, a dragon biker gang kicks people’s teeth in, and a magic assault predator is loose on campus. These student council members don’t deserve their high opinions of themselves. Har. The academy has a dueling committee chairperson. Jessica, the duelist, feels particularly close to the president. That’s not a sane look on her face. The four coma victims are boys and girls, so Obsidian must take advantage of his popularity in many ways.
Haha! Alto is obsessed with his shortness. Why else does he have a height measuring stand in his room? Vermeil in Gold will show us fun times! The kids need to take measurements of their familiars, but do they need to report their three sizes? If Alto had taken Vermeil clothes shopping already, the naked tape-measure scene wouldn’t have happened. What, what, what? Sylpheed is spying on Alto! Lilia has good jealous instincts! But why did she drag Cheryl into her naughty espionage? Sylpheed’s pantomime cracked me up. Don’t punch the bush, Lilia! It didn’t do anything to you!
Hey, what! Vermeil in Gold is doing the invisibility gag again! Oh, dear. Lilia is Alto’s secret stalker girlfriend. She stole and copied his dorm key! Convenient. Vermeil covered her horns and tail when Lilia sneaked into Alto’s room. Lilia might have tripped a strange switch in herself. Well, Alto certainly pushed her button! Aw. Vermeil wrote on her data sheet that she likes Alto.
Suddenly, violence! Chris and her dragon hit the ground. Whoa. Rex and Tyranosuke look magically doped! I’m sure Obsidian is responsible.
Vermeil in Gold (Kinsou no Vermeil: Gakeppuchi Majutsushi wa Saikyou no Yakusai to Mahou Sekai wo Tsuki Susumu) streams weekly on Hidive in Japanese audio and English subtitles.
