Yuusha Party ni Kawaii Ko ga Ita no de, Kokuhaku Shitemita Ep.12 - Arranged marriage!

Episode 12 of the anime series Yuusha Party ni Kawaii Ko ga Ita no de, Kokuhaku Shitemita (There was a Cute Girl in the Hero's Party, so I Tried Confessing to Her) tackles the arranged marriage plot, as expected, and ticks nearly every box that makes this trope so annoying.

First and most importantly, Cecilia acts as if Youki has never shown any interest in her throughout these eleven episodes. Poor guy; he has been very upfront about his feelings and is actively trying to win her over. Yet, her reaction is to think, "Oh, he has so many friends, surely he doesn't think of me that way anymore", even while she looks at his pendant with love.

Seriously Cecilia, what are you doing? If you're that easy to get convinced to marry anyone could do it? Let's do it! For world peace!

Mikana being useless in this episode arriving too late to every situation. Will she recover in the last episode or remain a bystander?

Cecilia, come on! To make matters worse, she is easily swayed by an elaborate "world peace" argument from Soleil Graceheart, who is from a Hero Party in another country. He frames the situation as if their marriage would make their two nations more friendly toward each other.

Mikana and Yuuga do not seem to be taking any action in this regard, leaving the decision entirely to Cecilia, which is not very helpful. I would have expected more than a simple "okay" from companions who have spent so much time fighting alongside her and facing such incredible risks.

Soleil does not appear to be a bad guy at first glance, but since he was almost certainly the masked man fighting Youki in the middle of the night, I suspect he is a bit of a weirdo himself, much like Youki. I hope the show plays this for comedy instead of a serious tone, like they did with the other hero who is apparently now in jail.

I am not even sure if the author still remembers the isekai aspect of the story, as it has not been a factor once in this adaptation. What is the purpose of setting Youki up as someone from another world if it is never used as a plot device? They didn't even explain why did he end up as a demon in this world.

Admittedly Cecilia did look good in this dress, but that's hardly something surprising considering her looks.

This made it even more infuriating because she realize she likes Youki and yet...

The next episode will feature the final reveal, where the arranged marriage will undoubtedly be called off and the series will end on uncertain terms. Honestly, I wish the series would surprise me for once, but it has been so standard so far that I do not foresee that as a possibility.