First Impressions / Servant x Service

「一寸待て 慣れと油断が 命取り」 (Chotto Mate Nare to Yudan ga Inochitori)
“Hold On A Second, Familiarity and Carelessness Can Be Fatal”

Let’s get this date on the road!

Personally, I found this episode to be both very sweet and slightly infuriating. There are some things, particularly on the part of Chihaya, which I found somewhat irritating, and others (on her part as well) that were downright adorable; of course, the entire episode doesn’t focus on Chihaya, but that doesn’t change how she colored some of what should have been the lovelier moments of the long-awaited date.

What Makes A Good Partner?

Perhaps what annoyed me most was Chihaya’s attitude toward dating and toward Ichimiya. Clearly we know by now that her image of a good boyfriend is somewhat romanticized, and that she’s frustrated that Ichimiya won’t get the hints about what she feels is wrong about the relationship. But I find this to be flawed as well; as airheaded and naive as Ichimiya can be, is it really so hard for Chihaya to open up and talk about what bothers her, rather than waiting for him to get the clues? And even more so, what’s this about “a good boyfriend knows how to treat a woman”? A good boyfriend is a good boyfriend, it’s not about how much he coddles or protects you as a girlfriend, just as being a good girlfriend isn’t someone who waits hand and foot on her boyfriend. Shouldn’t a relationship be about two people who love each other for who they are, rather than how close they come to your storybook romance ideal? I think Chihaya genuinely does love Ichimiya, and that she’s lonely because sometimes it looks like he doesn’t take their relationship as seriously (something I can definitely fault him with, but not one-sidedly), but I think in some ways, she’s missing the point. What she needs to do, more than anything, is sit down with Ichimiya and talk about what upsets her and why.

Cuteness Overload Alert

That being said, Chihaya is also the source of one of the cutest cuddly scenes I’ve seen in some time, which is especially amusing as it’s the aftermath of a failed attempt to coerce her slightly out-of-it boyfriend into sleeping with her. In addition, she’s also the person behind Lucy’s lovely one piece for her date with Hasebe, though this also bothers me a bit; if Lucy doesn’t want to wear a skirt, why does everyone feel the need to coerce her into doing so? But regardless, she does end up looking very nice and the date itself is quite the shipping fest for those of us with vested interest in Lucy and Hasebe’s relationship. Hasebe seems to be quite at the end of his rope when it comes to Lucy, to be honest, and I would find it very pitiable indeed if he did not succeed in getting through to Lucy somewhat. So seeing their date come together fairly well, despite that fact that it’s cut short, is quite smile inducing, whatever else didn’t sit quite so well with me this episode.

The Moment You’ve All Been Waiting For…

Yes, I’m pretty sure nearly every single one of you saw it coming; we all knew it was Hasebe’s father who was responsible for Lucy’s name since episode one, and we were all just waiting for the moment to come when it would be revealed, if indeed it ever would. As amusing as that is for us, however, this really sucks for Hasebe. Lucy’s name complex is definitely severe enough that she tends to attach some of her self worth to it, and it has a huge impact on her confidence in dating at all. Add to that the fact that Hasebe is directly related to her life’s suffering and you have a huge conundrum; will she be able to overcome the history and hatred of her name and allow that spark of attraction she’s finally found to grow into a genuine and obvious interest in Hasebe? Or will poor Hasebe continue to suffer for his easygoing life?

Apologies, I had a test today so was unable to finish the post before the weekend was over.

End Card

28 Comments

  1. It was fun to watch that episode.
    Lucy’s outfit change was great!
    I still find it quite bizarre that Chihaya hasn’t told Toko about loving Ichimiya.
    I mean.. I agree with you that both Chihaya and Ichimiya love each other, but with all those bizarre behavior…still it’s quite funny.

    next week(opps actually this week) the season will come to an end..=\
    I’d like a good season’s finale with Hasabe’s sister’s wedding or some good kiss scene or something. but the odds are pretty low IMO

    thedarktower
    Reply

    1. The anime references (from the top of my head):
      – Prisma Illya dress?
      – Monogatari school uniform
      – Menma’s dress (AnoHana)
      – Shingeki no Kyojin military uniform
      – Tokiwadai uniform (To Aru Kagaku no Railgun)

      Chihaya has good taste in anime: my kind of gal.

      Stiltzkin
      Reply

  4. This was a sweet episode with lucy in that dress and Chihaya falling asleep on Ichimiya.
    I think this series in general feels a little rushed near the end and there is still so much to happen in the last episode.

    Oh, it would seem that the large version of picture 11 is slightly broken.

    kou
    Reply

  5. Last episode this week! 🙂 Lucy is so kawaii this episode that… wow…

    I liked how they censored the shirt that Chihaya made for Lucy at first.

    I wonder if we will get to see more of the Hasebe family next ep?

    P.S So, apparently someone already fixed up the BD for episode 1 and there’s an extention to the episode in the beginning.

    mianghuei
    Reply

    1. A few episodes back, when Chihaya visited Touko’s place and decided to tell her the truth, Touko sort of played deaf and pretended to mishear what Chihaya said, forcing Chihaya to change her mind in the end.

      So Touko more or less has guessed about Chihaya’s true intentions already, but is still unwilling to accept the reality just yet.

      echykr
      Reply

  9. ah when this series started I never would have thought the romance would reach this level and take center stage, but now comes the final confrontation between Lucy and the source of her anger. I wonder if we’ll have a scene similar to the one when Hasebe punched the section manager.

    Side note; when Lucy became embarrassed to that degree upon seeing her new clothes I expected the skirt to be shorter than that ah well…mini-skirt Lucy won’t be happening…sad.

    gawrshness
    Reply

  10. Dammit Ichimiya, Chihaya’s giving you all the hints to move on her, get a f***ing clue already!

    An absolute waste of an awesome girl with a great fashion cosplay wardrobe, including:

    Tokiwadai Academy Uniform (Railgun)
    Naotsu High School Uniform (Monogatari series)
    Reconnaissance Corp Uniform (Attack on Titan)
    Menma One-piece Dress (AnoHana)
    Kaleid Liner Uniform (Fate Prisma Illya)

    In total agreement with Hasebe of this shot: KAWAII
    https://randomc.net/image/Servant%20x%20Service/Servant%20x%20Service%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2017.jpg

    Everyone should give themselves a pat on the back for guessing correctly (the hints are no doubt there all along): Hasebe’s dad being the culprit for Lucy’s incredibly long name. LMAO even more at Chihaya taking the piss at Hasebe’s expenses at the very end. XD

    echykr
    Reply

  15. The “What Makes A Good Partner?” question is a weighted one – one that the media industry has exploited to no bounds. Biology has been baffled with it since the dawn of sexual reproduction.

    But in the modern age, through our many successes and failures, we seem to realize that partnership definitely requires more than “loving others as they are.” It is, in fact, really about being considerate and willing to sacrifice one’s happiness for another’s: it’s about going home from work as tired as hell and still cooking up a nutritious dinner and washing the sweat-stained sheets for a loved one with a fever; it’s about preparing that jug of cold lemonade knowing that your partner has just come home from a traffic jam on a 100F day, which you’ve taken the time to look up and prepare amidst your own large pile of work… it’s about putting that umbrella near the front door before you go to sleep, knowing that your partner has probably not checked the weather channel that indicated a 70% precipitation for tomorrow morning. It’s also about knowing when to hold back: when to leave the house for a bit when you see your partner in that artist’s block, knowing it’s hard for him/her to enter into “the zone” when you’re around, when you actually want to cuddle him/her…

    These little things, these little sacrifices, make up a larger whole in the relationship. Sure, it’s about accepting one’s shortcomings, and of course, it’s about that “initial feel,” and sexual attraction and so on, but in the long run, it requires a whole lot more from all of us.

    Urgh.. I sound so didactic. Must stop.

    petitorenji
    Reply

    1. Oh I’m not saying it doesn’t take effort, hence that Chihaya and Ichimiya need to talk things out, but I don’t think her ideals are necessarily healthy ones. There’s definitely self-sacrifice involved, but I don’t think blaming someone when they’re not living up to your ideal is healthy at all; you might want different things in a relationship in that case, so that person might not be fore you. In this case, the self sacrifice has to do with accepting that person that you love instead of just trying to constantly change them. What you say is right, but I specifically was talking about Chihaya’s issue.

      As to sexual attraction, that’s both right and wrong. For example, I’m an asexual, but I’m still capable of loving someone very deeply; sexual attraction has nothing to do with how I feel for that person, but for others who are not asexual, I’m sure it’s important. I don’t think chalking up love and sexual attraction to the same thing is quite right, even though they do intertwine quite a lot.

      Kairi
      Reply

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