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Episode 4 of I May Be a Guild Receptionist, But I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time offers up a strong early fight but leaves questions about the direction of the series going forward.
I think this fight is pretty well done. Our big bad faces off against the Silver Sword for a while before Alina shows up to save the day. We get a selection of big, powerful-looking spells and abilities, like clouds of summoned swords and Alina glowing with immense power. There’s also a fair bit of cool-looking battle damage, like when Silha gets hurt and clouds of purple-black flame start pouring out of his wounds. Jade finds himself knocked around quite a bit, with a pretty cool battle-damaged look (though he might disagree with whether it was cool or not). Alina gets to show up and save the day by bonking Silha with her war hammer, and we get hints at the true source of her power and greatness.
A few things are holding it back. For one, the animation is just… okay. It’s not terrific, certainly not bad, but nothing stellar. The energy effects and spells may look terrific but the characters are mostly standing still or are very stiff when they move. This robs the combat of a bit of oomph, which is a shame.
I’m also mixed on the character interactions this week. Everything with Jade is a hit. I wasn’t too enamored with Silha as a villain but Jade’s speech about how he feels about Alina was really strong. Jade manages to be enjoyable in puppy-love mode too, as he excitedly gets second-hand kisses from potion bottles or goes to help Alina with her overtime work. Sadly, it feels like the premise is already straining a bit under the pressure of this dungeon escapade being so far from Alina’s office. The way she manages to make a discovery in the basement and make it to the Dungeon in the middle of the fight… even if it makes sense in the world, as a viewer it feels a little too swift and convenient.
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