WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 7 of My Next Life as a Villainess All Routes Lead to Doom!, "Will He Come At Me As Well?," streaming now on Crunchyroll.
My Next Life As A Villainess is an otome isekai anime that is more well-known for its character's romantic relationships than for their use of magic. But Episode 7 finally gives us a glimpse at what we've been missing. In the episode, "Will He Come At Me As Well?," half of the main cast are teamed up to find a magical stone as part of a test for school. They use their powerful magical abilities in an effort to make it through a labyrinth full of traps.
At the site of their team's first obstacle, Prince Geordo Stuart uses his fire magic to melt through a thick wall of solid ice. After checking to make sure that his fiancé Katarina Claes was watching him, of course. Not to be outdone in the eyes of his adopted sister, Keith Claes uses his earth magic to create a mud-bridge in the middle of an underground lake that allows everyone to get across.
As a royal, Geordo's magic is more powerful than anyone else's, but he rarely uses it. In fact, this episode is the first time that he has ever demonstrated what he's actually capable of. Keith's earth-magic is slightly more familiar, however. In the first episode of the series, he demonstrates his abilities to Katarina and it seems that, because of their training, he has only gotten more powerful over time.
Later in the episode, Katarina falls into a trap and gets separated from the rest of her teammates. Frantic to find her and make sure that she is safe, Sophia Ascart finds her brother Nicol and together they use wind magic to try and hear where Katarina might be so that they can rescue her. This display of skill is interesting because, working that well with another magician--even a relative--implies that they have been training hard together for a long time to master their powers. And yet, their dedication to becoming skilled magicians has never been shown until now.
Although each character's use of magic revolves around Katarina, it still introduces the possibility for a new secondary storyline within the show. Instead of focusing solely on romantic relationships, there could be more magical action added to the plot. It would be interesting and fun to see more of what each character is capable of individually instead of only seeing them through how they are connected to the heroine of the game. But, even without a storyline shift, seeing each character's powerful magic in action is awesome!