Arnold is seventh prince of the Adrasia Empire—but he moonlights as the elite SS-rank adventurer Silver. There is currently a bloody power struggle for the throne raging among the empire’s numerous princes. While playing the part of useless lout in public, Arnold is secretly backing Leonard, his younger twin brother. In his guise as Silver as well as when acting as himself, Arnold works to sway a powerful duke to Leonard’s side. Ostensibly as a favor for Leonard, Silver exterminates a plague of slimes to help out the duke’s family, thereby putting the duke in Leonard’s debt. Everything is going smoothly…but then Silver screws up by accidentally revealing his identity as Arnold in front of Finne, the duke’s daughter. Whoops.

There’s nothing spectacular about this anime, but it’s far from insipid. I liked the positive brotherly relationship between Arnold and Leonard, the political intrigue seems promising, and I’m really curious to see where Arnold and Finne’s relationship goes now that she knows his secret. I also thought there was some great humor, including banter between Arnold and his butler and a scene where Arnold uses illusion magic to stage a meeting between himself and Silver, during which Silver repeatedly insults Arnold (i.e., himself). All these small things add up to make a show that is surprisingly a bit better than your average fantasy anime. I enjoyed this episode and will definitely tune in again next time.

The Insipid Prince’s Furtive Grab for the Throne is streaming on Crunchyroll.