First Impressions / Servant x Service

「来週の 見えない危険に 要注意」 (Raishū no Mienai Kiken ni Yōchūi)
“Watch Out for the Risks You Can’t See Next Week!”

I am boarding ships like crazy this season. And I don’t even ship that often!

Though there are multiple stories as usual in this week’s SxS, I feel that there are two overarching little “arcs” that take the stage. The first is the most obvious and, at least in my opinion, the more engaging, and that’s the ever growing relationship between Hasebe and Lucy. Though Hasebe is definitely going about this in a less than savory manner (sekuhara galore, this man is) I don’t think even he quite realizes how sincere his interest in her is, as much as I think he’s finally starting to understand it somewhat. Since he mentioned that he doesn’t usually do anything with the emails he collects, I’ve wondered if Hasebe isn’t just usually messing around, except when it comes to Lucy, and my suspicions feel even more confirmed when Chihaya and Saya talk about how he says he’s never asked anyone out. I can easily see this being true, and the fact that Lucy seems to catch his eye more than anyone else (he’s not bothering Saya or Chihaya for one thing, though I guess Lucy is the easiest to tease) makes me think there are genuine feelings beneath the careless exterior.

That doesn’t mean that Lucy has to reciprocate, though I have a feeling she does, somewhere in her naivete, and the fact that she’s actually enjoying his company enough to accompany him to dinner so often makes me think she’s also interested. After all, no one likes to be around someone they’re neutral toward, even if they’re buying you good food every day (okay, so maybe I might hang out with people who buy me good food… shhh), and her total inability to stay away from him even after that embarrassing little confession makes me think this is only a matter of time, though his sekuhara escapades are only bound to complicate things now that he’s taken her to a hotel, regardless of whether he did anything to her or not.

The second arc, then, is the introduction of the Section Manager, Momoi Kenzou (Koyama Rikiya), the most bizarre and out of place character yet. I’m not sure if Momoi is actually a stuffed animal, or rather a human turned stuffed animal, or if he’s robotic and controlled from afar (both are kind of mentioned, though the first makes more sense considering his behavior), but his presence adds an element of the fantastic to an otherwise down-to-earth sort of series. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad for the show honestly; I liked Momoi and I found that his inclusion was pretty fun, but just how the heck do you come to terms with a talking rabbit stuffed toy in an office that reflects the realities of office work? Just what kind of office is this anyway? HOW CAN THEY ALL TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY?! Then again, he’s kind of adorable.

End Card

46 Comments

  3. It’s really refreshing how straightforward Hasebe is. Here I was thinking he would continue to tease Lucy for quite some time yet before there was any real progress on the pairing front and then he just goes and asks her out just like that. And when he is rejected he immediately figures out that Lucy isn’t rejecting him because she doesn’t like him, but because of a combination of naivete and her inferiority complex and starts working to overcome them.

    I’m starting to love this show.

    bearzerger
    Reply

    1. yeah, special mention also goes to the two of them for handling the “getting asked to go out” drama like adults. there’s still drama, but none of that rose-colored high school romance bullshit.

      Nitro
      Reply

  7. Hasabe’s chara RL – A newbie who is good at anything but isn’t good at interacting with his co-worker. I know he can’t talk and socialize, its just that his the kind of guy who gives people another impression with his action. The anime made it more comedic. (I like it!!)

    Lucky【ommited】’s chara in RL– A newbie who is enthusiastic with her new job but because of that people take advantage of her. The anime made it more comedic. (I like it!!)

    Saya’s chara in RL – She is nervous due to expecting to much. I think this is one reason why she failed in her first try in college. Expecting a lot only tends to make the mind go round resulting to not tackling the things you want to do out of fear.

    I thank Stilts and Kairi’s words for making me realize that this anime is actually fun to watch. Kinda reminds me of Stereoman, Stilts and Seishun being put to slavery in their work.

    Bonus: GIF

    †Croos†
    Reply

  10. Was really expecting the bunny moving around in the OP to just be a gag that didn’t carry over to the main story…

    Though after C3-bu suddenly went full Reality Marble I probably should have left my mind open a bit more.

    qwert
    Reply

  13. Chihaya has a thing going for Lucy or what….she keeps wanting Lucy to cosplay and is pissed at Hasebe for hitting on Lucy because she thought that Hasebe wants Lucy to cosplay…. What a weird girl.

    Lysimac
    Reply

  14. Random observation that I didn’t notice till I read the review, but what happened to Chihaya’s toes when she stepped on Momoi O.o
    Anyways, I was waiting for something weird to happen. I mean, it struck me as odd that there was nobody walking around the office with a katana like in Working!.

    Rnzboy
    Reply

  15. I totally wouldn’t mind having a remote controlled bunny as my superior at work, as long as I get to stomp on him like Chihaya does everytime I feel like I’m in a bad mood. 🙂

    https://randomc.net/image/Servant%20x%20Service/Servant%20x%20Service%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2023.jpg

    One is so used to hearing Koyama Rikiya do badass characters like Emiya Kiritsugu and Jack Bauer (the Japanese dub) that it makes his comedic appearances all the more funnier. After all, he did star as the WTF muscular masked cross-dressing Maid Guy.

    echykr
    Reply

  18. I’m all shipped out and I’m honestly getting tired of it. Office romances are cliched to the max so I don’t want Lucy to be with Hasebe or anyone else at her job at all. I’m fine watching the teasing because it’s funny, but that’s all it should be. HasebexLucy won’t happen anyway considering how the author treated relationships in Working!!!

    Magoiichi
    Reply

    1. umm… that is NOT true.

      you’re just really behind and haven’t caught up in Working!!! then or the US scans haven’t gotten that far. Yachiru and Satou have been dating for awhile now and the manager even gave them her approval.

      More like Yachiru spent overnight in Satou’s room already (adding stress onto his sickness and he ends up losing sleep cause Yachiru’s sleeping in his bed. he was just wide awake all night.)

      thenewhorde
      Reply

      2. The problem with this author isn’t so much about how he treats romance. Rather it’s that his stuff is too formulaic. Working and this show are both centered around the character dynamics occurring between a set cast of characters with static personalities. After n number of episodes/manga chapters what was once funny and endearing eventually simply gets old. Working was fun for me until halfway through its second season when I simply stopped caring because it was just more of the same. Servant is entertaining for now, but I doubt that it’ll be any different from its predecessor in the long run…

        Zen
        Reply

      3. While you do have some valid points Zen, I must respectfully disagree with what you said about Working becoming dull by the second season.

        Oh and author Takatsu Karino is a she, not a he.

        echykr
        Reply

      5. While you do have some valid points Zen, I must respectfully disagree with what you said about Working becoming dull by the second season.

        Why is it that people always assume that a statement made about one thing or another is a blanket one carrying universal meaning? Here is what I meant by “formulaic dullness.” It is not a universal allegation that “most viewers eventually got tired of the show.” Rather I am stating “formulaic dullness” as an objective weakness. If a show is formulaic enough then there is a good chance that a significant number of viewers (These need not be in the majority, but will likely be of a substantial number) will eventually get tired of continually rehashed running jokes- mirroring my personal experience with Working. I was not making a blanket statement that Working got boring for everyone in general in the middle of its second season. The point at which a formulaic show becomes boring for every individual may differ, and for many this day might never come- but you can be certain that at least a substantial minority will be driven away at some point in time, ultimately hurting your popularity.

        Inevitably weaknesses such as this will end up holding a show back from attaining the highest possible level of enduring popularity; the fact of the matter is that rigid formulae tend to lose you fans in the long run- and I was merely stating my observation that this author- she– could ascend to greater heights if only she did away with it. It isn’t that her work is “bad” not at all- it’s just that greater, more enduring success would be attainable if only she set aside the formulaic nature of her works…

        Zen
        Reply

  21. If those bunnies were real, I’d love to try one out at work. Also Kairi I noticed this episode was filed under final impressions. I almost thought Servant x Service is no longer gonna be blogged, which I hope isn’t the case.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

  22. Every guy should enjoy the second last screenshot at least once….waking up to a sleepy faced big boob woman! I think I might laugh my ass off if that person next to Lucy is one of the girls Hasebe got an email off of. Has to be a relative or something less volatile. I really like the rabbit, I kind of wish it was there from the start. The way they pretend they didn’t see/hear it is quite amusing.

    Breedo
    Reply

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