「お仕事は, 慌てず, 騒がず, 投げ出さず」 (Oshigoto wa, Awatezu, Sawagazu, Nagedasazu)
“Work, Unfazed, Fuss, Tossed Aside”

That OP is borderline hypnotic.

Though I’m still not rolling in tears from the comedy in SxS, I do have to admit that I find the series hugely charming in its appeal. There’s a sort of knowing, smile-inducing feel to the adventures of this quirky health office that win over in chuckles and silliness as well as in those nods to what real life is like in such lines of work. Some of my favorite moments this episode include Chihaya-chan’s secret obsession with cosplay (I see a self-reference by A-1 to Vividred, for one thing), Lucy’s attempt to act ditzy for the sake of cheering Saya up and Hasebe’s resulting teasing, and Ichimiya-san being mistaken for a pimp (or something of the sort anyway). But even through these larger than life examples of humor, there’s definitely some real detail in what civil service is. Saya’s feelings of ineptitude, her easygoing personality attracting clients for the wrong reason, Hasebe’s almost cruelly simple methods of getting what he wants out of his job without batting more than an eyelash, and the hardworking attitude of someone like Lucy contrasted with the distracted ditzy-ness of Chihaya; all of these sorts of people exist in occupations everywhere, though here they are exaggerated for comedic effect. Being in this sort of profession is all about interactions and relationships, and that’s exactly what these workers do, whether it’s with clients, each other, or tsundere little sisters.

Speaking of tsundere little sisters, we get our introduction to the resident one this episode in Touko Ichimiya (Ookubo Rumi), a lover of the civil service profession with a brother complex. I can’t say I really like Touko, and I’ve already seen reactions by my fellow bloggers that there are similar feelings abound, but I think that has to do with how uninteresting she is as a character. We’ve seen this trope a million times, but she specifically hasn’t added all that much to make herself different and special for this series yet. She’s lacking a charmingly ridiculous name, or an ability to gather cute old ladies, for one thing, and so far the only thing I actively like about her is how the mark of anger on her cheek is perpetually ever-existent. Most of the episode she gets on my nerves, yelling at everyone on principle and waltzing in to bother earnest employees and customers selfishly. Perhaps with time I’ll grow to like her, but at the very least she did create a situation in which Ichimiya was perceived as a questionable adult, so hey, maybe she’s not so bad after all.

End Card

33 Comments

  1. No screenshot for the pokemon/mario/Saber/Cloud/(& some girl that I only know as Keima Katsuragi’s dream girl) reference? =p

    On a side note, did anyone get a Kirino vibe from that tsundere imouto?
    I even thought it was the same seiyuu at first…

    Techim
  2. It was all good until that annoying school girl appeared.

    I mean, if a school girl told me how to do my job I’d slap her in the face immediately. And I was expecting Mai Nakahara’s character to channel her inner Rena and go ballistic on said school girl.

    sadakups
  3. I was enjoying this until lil sis showed up. She was just too annoying and loud and her voice was irritating. But yeah, “the only thing I actively like about her is how the mark of anger on her cheek is perpetually ever-existent”. I marveled at this coz even when she was a kid it was there all the time! Even when she’s smiling and it didn’t make sense with her expression! So now I’m questioning myself and wondering if that was the author’s idea of a joke of a birthmark? I dunno anymore XD

  4. Yamagami: F is small, right? Thank goodness.

    Chihaya: F is small?? WTF???

    I’d say Yamagami is at least H under that shirt of hers. Too bad Hasebe’s attempt to troll her into stripping didn’t work out, or we could have confirmed it right away. :3

    Author Takatsu Karino used to work part-time in her local municipal office (as well as in a certain family restaurant), so it is safe to guess that her own personal experience serves as a base for Chihaya’s character, considering how she’s the most laid back and detached character besides Hasebe, and has interests in anime and manga despite working as a temp in a “solemn” place like the local municipal office.

    Alongside with Silver Spoon, we now have two Hokkaido-based shows this season. (Working/Wagnaria was also based in Hokkaido, where Takatsu hails from. Now if only A-1 can arrange a crossover with Working. )

    echykr
  5. I love Toko and everyone on the board I frequent does too.

    SO GOOD DAY TO YOU MA’AM. GOOD DAY, I SAY!

    The one who is not standing out to me, IMO, is Saya. She’s pretty boring.

    EmD
  6. This episode was hilarious, what with Chihaya trying to get Lucy to cosplay, Hasebe attempting to get Lucy to take off her clothes, the misunderstanding between Ichimiya and his coworkers when he hugged his sister and gave her money… The humor never stopped, and it was great. Definitely shaping up to be one of the best comedies of the season. ^^

    katsudon
  7. And with this episode, Chihaya became my favorite.

    It definitely isn’t a ‘laugh until you hurt’ type of show but the consistency it which it does make you laugh and shake your head through the many antics of these characters is a testament to the job well done.

    Kanon
  8. What is it with this season? The second episodes of most of the anime I started watching are superior to the first episode. I was laughing from start to finish. Ichimiya and Toko are hilarious. My favorite part though was the “summoned” Old lady who gave Toko an earful. That’s a lesson to remember, never pick on Miyoshi or else the elderly community will go on the offensive!

    Chihaya is awesome, I’ll be waiting for that Black Rose Cosplay by Lucy, it’s gotta happen!

    I got most of the video game references except AER, what is that based on?

    Magoiichi
  9. Chihaya stole this episode for me.There’s just something about those nearly expressionless yet funny characters that crack’s me up.

    As for Touko: AWAY WITH YOU ANNOYING,BITCHY IMOUTO!

    MgMaster
  10. I think this anime appeals to people like me, who are in the start of their career, and working in a similar government job, though I don’t work in civil. I graduated much younger than the people my age, and so I have 2 yrs experience by now, but I can relate to this anime in many aspects, if only the manager’s I had were like Ichimya I would have been much more engaged in the workplace TuT’, though I’d think I’m like that Hasabe-san, but when you work you learn to pretend to be stupid, camouflaging is a skill you need to learn xD….. besides that, this is one anime this season I’m definetly watching! thnks for your review, though I can’t wait to find out that Lucy’s name was probably agreed on by Hasabe’s dad xD (generations of civil service) haha xD….. ty!!!!!!

    Mi-Chan
  11. While that little sis was annoying, like the other characters, she is an extreme example of someone you might find at a workplace too – the annoying customer who thinks they can do their job better than you!

    While I did not like her character very much, I did like some of her interactions with the main characters and the resulting humour:
    (i) The high school girl’s e-mail details
    (ii) Grannies sticking up for their favourite employee
    (iii) Lucy being flamed for having a ridiculous name
    (iv) The shady brother scene

    She was kind of cute when she was younger. Not everyday you see a kid in an anime series with a pernament anger mark on her face!

    Taiakun
  12. One thing I really don’t get is why people react like the show is demanding them to like Touko and they have to defy it or something. Touko’s a jerk that keeps on humiliating herself because of it, and the last scene speaks more of Saya’s kindness than anything. It’s all just comedy.

    RegalStar
  13. I’m not completely over Chihayafuru yet, so hearing Kayano Ai go “Chihaya-san, Chihaya-san” really brings back the feels (even if there IS a -san attached to the end).

    A Dollar Member

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