First Impressions / Snapshots

「仁義なきスイーツ」 (Jinjinaki Suiitsu)
“Sweets Without Honor”

I’m loving the show — but where are the other two girls?!

General Impressions

After last week’s fantastic opening episode, I was a little afraid that this week’s episode was going to fizz out. Luckily, through a combination of the story finding its pace and some fantastic interactions between Mafuyu and other characters, I feel pretty comfortable saying that this second episode may have even been better than last weeks.

Starting on the slightly more serious side of things, I really appreciated that the story took the time to tackle some of the real life struggles a small themed cafe would have. Big props to Dino for actually being a good manager and opening up a dialogue between him (as the manager) and his staff. While we could argue about just how efficient the ensuing conversation was, it’s nice to see that Cafe Stile isn’t ignoring the issue of how to keep itself alive and running.

Switching gears to the lighter side of things, never did I expect Akizuki to be a closet weeb. Seeing how I thought he was supposed to be the secondary straightman to all of Dino’s crazy outbursts, I nearly lost it when he accidentally brought up his yuri-fantasies. Between watching him lose himself as he thought about some ideal situations to frantically trying to backtrack after remembering that Maika was a normie, knowing that Akizuki was more than a simple cook left me feeling quiet content.

Last but not least, let’s talk a little about Mafuyu this week. A true otaku who is willing to trash talk and get her hands dirty when a precious figure is at stake, I loved how we got to see a little more of her true personality this week. Specifically, I was really enjoying how she dropped some good onee-san level tidbits to the wishy-washy Maika. From what we’ve seen, it’s clear that Mafuyu is a pretty serious person who isn’t afraid to do what needs to be done and it’s nice to see her character stay true to those ideals — even when dealing with someone as innocent and sweet as Maika.

Overall, not too bad of a second episode. With how things are now, I think the story would be able to easily keep things fun and upbeat with just the interactions between the main cast. But seeing how there are still two new characters (and a good boy!) waiting to be introduced, I can’t wait to see just how hectic things get. Hopefully we’ll get to see one of the two maids by next week!

 

Preview

11 Comments

  1. I loved this episode! It reminded me so much of Working!, Hinako Note, and a tad bit of Three Leaves, Three Colours thrown into the mix with a sprinkling of Pan de Peace!

    I think I found just what I needed to fill the void left from Sakura Quest 🙂

    Tepenga
    Reply

    1. Yeah, Working! is the most obvious comparison, but Blend S also really reminds me of the criminally underrated Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru. It’s another slice of life about a group of girls with unique personalities working in a small maid cafe. Even the OP’s have similar vibes. They both even feature the principle girl using a mop/broom handle as a mic to pretend to sing the OP.

      Two episodes in and even though Maika and Mafuyu are the most stand out characters thus far, I kinda feel like Kaho is secret MVP of the series. She is level headed and easy going enough to hold together all the other more over the top personalities of the cast. I also stumbled onto a spoiler that kicks this series from a 8 to a 9+ outa 10… Not going to spoil it here of course but I will warn anyone who looks up the OP on youtube to not read the comments!

      Skizzit
      Reply

  4. As a big fan of both all things slice-of-life and of all things SHAFT, of course I watched Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru! I can almost guarantee I followed your coverage of it back then as well. Looking back, it’s crazy to see that even a series like that used to get 20-40 comments per episode.

    Skizzit
    Reply

  5. I like how much I can anticipate some of the jokes, like Mafuyu walking into the Kaho-Maika scene, the manager dying of the parfait and that janken fight. Ah, jokes just as how I like it.

    The two other girls can wait. I’ll enjoy these guys for the time being. I agree with Akizuki though we need more female customers so we can have some yu-

    Kaineng
    Reply

  7. I wonder, if someone told me what this cafe’s mission & vision statement (slogan) is I would be too worried to know.

    So what did I learn from this episode?

    Sakuranomiya Maika: exudes an uncomfortable persona; unintentionally. Maika’s future employment could be limited and discipline may be very specialized.

    Hinata Kaho: Previously had friends mostly online at present.

    Hoshikawa Mafuyu: for once we get to see another side to her than being rude.

    Dino: a MGR who is willing to hire any shady person on the street that has less than credible work experience and dubious talents.

    When you combine all the parameters you get the place setting of Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka and the environment of Working! & Working!!

    Renasayers
    Reply

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