First Impressions / WORKING!!

「あの頃の二人、八千代と佐藤。と、ようこそ小鳥遊家へ」 (Ano Koro no Futura, Yachiyo to Satou. To, Youkoso Takanashi-ke he)
“Yachiyo and Jun, The Two Back Then. And, Welcome to the Takanashi Household”

It was probably due to being sleep deprived and delirious from staying up to blog about FMA and working on the Summer 2010 Preview for a few days straight, but this most recent episode of WORKING was absolutely hilarious to me. I was laughing like an idiot most of the time so it would’ve been embarrassing if someone walked in on me while I was watching it. Right from the get-go from Aoi’s freeloading lifestyle in Wagnaria’s attic to her delusions about how criminal it would look if Souta went out with Popura, things were already set up for a great episode. Most of my enjoyment there came from the fact that Aoi is usually the troublemaker in all this, yet she was freaking out about a potential love triangle developing between Souta, Mahiru, and Popura when the latter was looking all lovestruck over a photo of “Kotori-chan”. It was easy to see that Popura was still obsessed with Souta cross-dressing and looking absolutely adorable as a girl, but seeing his reaction to having a wig plopped over his head and being asked to cross-dress every now and then was still ridiculously funny. Predictability didn’t take away from that comedic moment at all.

In turn, following that up with a short trip down memory lane between Yachiyo and Jun as per the episode title proved to be just as good. In particular, I got a good laugh out of how Jun was wondering when the hell Hiroomi took those photos given how he hadn’t even started working at Wagnaria yet. Talk about scoping out his work place to dig up some dirt on the employees before even deciding to work there. Oddly enough, Hiroomi didn’t make an actual appearance during all this, but it was cute seeing how much of a kid Yachiyo was with her twin pigtails and how Jun ended up falling for her. The fact that he realizes how simple-minded he was for giving in to his emotions then ended up being really funny despite its brevity, as was his sigh in reaction to the idea that Yachiyo was hoping everything in Wagnaria would stay like this forever — including his unrequited love. If I were to make a guess, it looks like Jun is the most likely one to quit next at this rate.

As for the last part of this already entertaining episode, the appearance of Kozue at Wagnaria drinking her sorrow away, Mahiru blowing out Souta’s abdomen, and Aoi reading some ghost stories had me laughing like an idiot yet again. Most notably, Mahiru pretending like she wasn’t scared at all on the way home before freaking out and apologizing like crazy for acting tough had me laughing until it hurt. I’m still in shock that she broke the Magic Hand out of fear from Aoi tailing them, but at least it led to an unbelievably close Souta x Mahiru moment. The rest of the time at the Takanashi household was fun to watch as soon as Aoi spilled the beans on how Mahiru likes Souta, which got Kozue all stoked about playing matchmaker. She may not have been happy with the end result of tossing Mahiru in Souta’s room, but I was still amazed they were alone in his room together for a while. Next episode it looks like Popura’s flipping out like crazy, but my goodness is it funny seeing her flail her arms around like crazy. Reduced screen time and no more Kotori-chan does not make for a happy Popura.

* I couldn’t help but picture Shizuo when Jun started scaring Popura by mentioning a headless rider in the backseat of his car. Celty anyone?

 

Preview

40 Comments

  2. At least you can say there is progress being made on Mahiru’s phobia, since she was grasping Souta’s arm and didn’t punch him. Are we ever going to be introduced to the glasses girl?

    Cecelia
    Reply

  5. It wasn’t only you divine, I was laughing like an idiot all through this episode. I was really happy with how much development has happened, despite the hilarity and am hoping for a solid Souta x Mahiru ending.

    Kwantum0
    Reply

  8. This one was great :P. I almost died when Kozue and Yamada walked in on Souta and Mahiru playing Old Maid. Also the fact that Hiroomi got his hands on those pictures was crazy funny to me. Definitely one of the funniest episodes out so far.

    Click
    Reply

  11. It wasn’t just you Devine. It was another well done episode. A funny comedy with the right mix of moe, laughs, and interesting characters. It reminds me alot of K-On. The story and characters make the show with fan service kept to a minimum (I like fan service too but its a nice change of pace that a series doesn’t shove it down our throats).

    Karmafan
    Reply

  12. yeah I cannot have enough of WORKING!!, really…

    nice episode anyway, and more concerned about next week, what happened to Taneshima? it’s gonna be quite a lot of the shortie, and we may not be able to see anybody in most of the scenes in the next episode…

    kaineng
    Reply

  14. I really love the chemistry between all of the characters, it just makes this anime so enjoyable. Without it, this would undoubtedly be an extremely mediocre expirience.

    FullMetalQAF
    Reply

  15. Ya know, with the way they keep teasing us about the meganekko and how the # episodes left are down to 2 I wouldn’t be surprised if they were gonna announce a S2 or OVA right at the end of the last ep.

    Kyuusei
    Reply

  17. I just realized that shizuo and Jun are voiced by the same person… lol….
    but I did get the potential reference about headless hunter 🙂

    I was wondering what Souta was going to do without the magical hand… but guess things will work out… although if I was in that situation, I would file a work injury to Wagnaria 🙂

    jrj
    Reply

  20. NOOO!! I WANT MOAR KAWAII POPLAR. Second season please ;_;
    Please let’s give a solemn moment to a great friend:
    THE MAGIC HAND, You will be remembered

    Glad that Inami is progressing well with her androphobia.
    Yachiyo with twin tails was so cute.

    justsomerandomguy
    Reply

  24. I like how souta wouldnt cross-dress to be wit popura but is willing to take punches and cross-dress for inami, also shows that he isnt that bound to his “minicon” nature

    amado
    Reply

  25. That’s gotta be the worst.. lol omg That screenshot (impeccable as always with those, Divine.) of Inami obliterating Souta’s kidneys looks so painful! Like… she just CLOBBERED him out of NOwhere!! xD lmfAO Worst one yet, I tell ya..

    Shirt
    Reply

  27. Not enough Jun x Yachiyo this episode, but it’ll do. Yachiyo looks really cute with her twin pigtails. I can see why Jun fell for her.

    Aoi is really the girl that gets the plot moving

    (Did anyone notice she even extends her “Yamada” alias to her PE uniform, which she slapped on her real name? XD

    ttp://randomc.net/image/WORKING!!/WORKING!!%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2001.jpg )

    First she worries about the nonexistent triangle relationship leading to some laughs, then she decides to tag along into the Takanashi household, leading to more laughs.

    PS I wouldn’t worry too much about Mahiru breaking Souta’s Magic Hand, as he can easily obtain another one at one of those 100yen shops.

    PPS When will Maya ever get a speaking role? lol
    ttp://randomc.net/image/WORKING!!/WORKING!!%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2020.jpg

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  28. I just wonder why Yamada never commented on Inami holding Souta’s arm when she was trailing them. By right she should have whacked him a big one. And the reduction from a 2m distance to 1m? less? makes it seem like her fear of men has improved.

    Zaku Fan
    Reply

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