Be warned, this episode has some criminally cute moments…
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Working!! Second Season – Episode 5 – Kyoko’s Hunger Pains and Extreme Cuteness
Working!!
Weekly Anime Rankings & Digest – October 24-30
Tomorrow is Halloween. So, this weeks picture fits the mood with Makoto and Hibiki wearing the “My Dear Vampire” outfit from The iDOLM@STER 2. On a side note, the PlayStation 3 version of the game came out last Thursday in Japan. Hopefully I’ll get a copy to play around at years end.
Despite the lack of Ika Musume 2 and a snowstorm that hit the Northeast, which knocked out our power for over 24 hours, this week’s Anime had very exciting developments. Makoto finally gets some time in the spotlight along with Iskander’s/Rider’s epic attack against Berserker. (Image Source)
Note: The Fate/zero Episode 5 post is delayed until tomorrow, unless the power comes back on tonight.
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Working!! Second Season – Episode 4 – Otoo’s Wife and Yachiyo’s Guilt
Poor Yachiyo… Something must have happened to make her feel so depressed.
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Weekly Anime Rankings & Digest – October 17-23
What is this? Are you doing weekly digests now?
Considering that I’m now taking part in the Anime Power Rankings, the answer is yes. A fellow Animeblogger named kevo runs these rankings to see how the currently airing shows are doing at a particular week. Given that I want to share my reasoning behind these votes and possibly add brief thoughts of episodes from older seasons that aren’t part of the rankings, I decided on doing it. This is how it’s going to work:
- I will concentrate on the shows that I have voted on the rankings first. This means the shows I’m up to date on are eligible for this. Sub availability plays a key role in this. Once I know enough Japanese, this will go a lot smoother as I can just jump right in and then re-watch the subs later while having a sufficient understanding of what I watched.
- Second part will focus on unranked shows. These are shows that I’m currently behind in because of uncontrollable circumstances.
- If there is any, the last part only focuses on episodes from shows of other seasons. They won’t be part of any ranking whatsoever.
- Lastly, this is not a replacement for episodic posts. It’s meant to recap what I watched during the week.
So, let’s get started, shall we? (Image Source used in this post)
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Working!! Second Season – Episode 3 – Nazuna’s Shining Moment
More sisterly love as Nazuna works at the restaurant for her project. Sadly, her skilfulness causes Yamada to become very envious.
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Working!! Second Season – Episode 2 – Yamada wants to get spoiled!
Yamada needs some affection… and she finally gets some!
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Working’!! – Episode 1 – Popura’s Height Issues and THAT Punch…
A year has passed since the first season of Working (aka Wagnaria) aired and it brought entertaining comedy involving some restaurant workers with eccentric personalities. Few minutes into the first episode of the second season, that punch is finally back!
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Fall 2011 Preview – The Season of Sequels (Updated)
Fall 2011 Anime Season is just around the corner with a few starting in September. If you have noticed already, this fall is full of sequels since there are many continuations and prequels that are airing. Out of the list of shows, I chosen four shows (besides The iDOLM@STER) I will be covering for the season.
Also, Melative will provide all information for the shows listed here (maybe incomplete).(Image Source)
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Working!! Final Review
When I watched the first few episodes of Working, it felt like it was going to be a typical slapstick comedy anime. Not to mention, the running gag of Inami punching men was getting out of hand that I complained about it. However, that pretty much changed when we got to the more interesting and entertaining parts with Souta’s sisters, Yamada who now lives at the restaurant and Souta crossdressing to save Inami from her father.
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Working!! – Episode 13 (END)
The result? It turned out to be a very enjoyable finale…
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Working!! – Episode 12 – Getting Ready for the First Date…
This is a Popura centered episode even though it’s quite obvious what happens in the end. Souta still doesn’t want to crossdress to make Popura happy… Also, its pretty obvious that after she saw his tall sisters, she lost faith in him.
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Working!! – Episode 10 and 11 – Love Triangles and Stuff
After Souta reluctantly crossdressed as “Kotori-chan” so Inami could keep working in the restaurant, Popura, the one that Souta likes now have a desire of wanting Souta to crossdress as a girl. You know that most males do not want to crossdress… They would not even do it for love? Also, in Episode 11, it becomes so tense that Yamada thought about this love triangle between Inami, Popura and Souta.
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Working!! – Episode 8-9 – Inami’s Past and Traps?
Right in the stomach!
Well, when the show gets weirder, it get even more funnier than before! Also includes a present surprise.
Hold up… not this time…
Episode 8 is a mediocre hot spring episode. It was mediocre because they never gone inside the hot springs. Obviously they went because the water main broke in front of the restaurant and they couldn’t use water. Another funny part is Kyoko slept in and they had Satou take the girls to the springs and… he ran out of gas. Go blame BP on that (and also the damn oil spill in the Gulf that is still going on). There is some Inami development, but most of it comes in the next episode. Overall, it was a nice episode, but I think the punch is getting redundant again.
Crossdressing? Why did you ask me that?
Worth nothing that Souta seems to hate crossdressing because he was forced to crossdress by his father. Inami wants him to crossdress because her father found out that she got a present from a man and if he finds Souta, he would force Inami to quit the job.
Inami’s father is just horrible… Why would you teach a child to hate men because you don’t want her to wed? Eventually, they have to so they can raise their own family of their own. Also, not all men are bad… Kinda reflects back to Misaki’s strong dislike towards men in Kaichou wa Maid-sama. Overprotective parents are harmful to a child’s future… just don’t do it.
Souta gives in this time to help Inami. With the help of the others, we get this result:
Holy crap! We got trapped again!
At the ranks of Hideyoshi, Aoi-chan and now Souta-kun! Oh dear lord, we can never get enough traps…
Inamis jealousy of bust size again…
How it was done… Too bad they didn't keep the glasses…. It would have been a Meganeko trap.
Kyoko's reaction to Souta's crossdressing = priceless.
I can never get enough of this. Also, her name is Kotori-chan and believe me, after this episode I think we are going to see many pictures of her on pixiv/danbooru. He gets some practice from Popura and others. He became uncomfortable and wanted to quit. However, Souma will blackmail him with his cute baby picture. Although his girly voice has some feminine quality, I wished it was more feminine because it was somewhat lacking. Probably they didn’t want to overdo it, so whatever…
Now they put it to the test when Inami’s dad come. Kotori introduces herself to Inami’s father and he takes out the gun. Her father thinks the girl is a man crossdressing by how tall Kotori is… Inami runs over saying that she is a girl. Inami gets fed up and then saying that she hates her father. Who wouldn’t? If I was her, I would punch the lights out of him.
Holy crap… Kotori-chan flipped.
Later on, Kotori-chan flips after hearing what he done to Inami and s(he) almost punched the lights out of him… Who wouldn’t because he is a terrible father? Kotori makes him apologize to Inami and he leaves afterwards. This makes me think that the whole purpose of Souta crossdressing is to teach Inami’s father a lesson that he shouldn’t be overprotective of Inami and let her date men.
In contrast to Misaki’s situation with her father abandoning the family and leaving the debt behind, Inami is also in a similar situation. Her father is simply horrible, making her carry a heavy metal sheet in her school bag to hit men and showing movies that shows the negative aspect of males. I knew this would backfire at him in the end.
Although Inami’s the weakest character in the whole series because of the over-redundant punching of men, I can’t blame her because she was psychologically manipulated by her father. The fear of men is simply fabricated and eventually, she will get over it like with Misaki.
Overall, Episode 9 is probably the best episode in the whole season… Episode 8 was enjoyable, but not on the same level. This makes me think that they are pushing for a Inami and Souta pairing… What ever happened to Popura and Souta? Not Popura enough?
No, she isn't mad at you… heck, she might like you. 
Verdict
Episode 8: 8.4/10
Episode 9: 8.7/10
Working!! – Episode 7 – The Clumsy Newcommer
What? Now she is living at the restaurant?
Believe me, this anime gets stranger by every episode. Nevertheless, this episode was pretty good and better than the first 6 episodes
Needless to say, they introduced a new character called Yamada Aoi, who has a hair style like Mio from K-ON!. The funny thing is that she causes havoc… It’s like bringing a dog you bought from the pet store. When you leave it home, it makes a mess of the house, trying to take stuff out and pooping on your furniture. Yamada is just like that breaking dishes and cups, taking all the spices, taking shelf space for herself and causing trouble with her peers. Don’t worry though… she will be tamed soon enough.
Yamada can’t help it since she doesn’t have a family. She tried to make Yachiyo her mother, but as you know… she is obligated to Kyoko… It’s just like a boy trying to take away someone’s girlfriend… you just don’t do that (and we know that because Kyoko wants her parfaits). She also causes some drama between Satou and Yachiyo… Believe me, she is a very troublesome girl.
Not much to say about this episode, except that it is a vast improvement than the earlier episodes. The problem that was present on the first half of the season such as the over-redundant punching of men from Inami is pretty much gone that it made the show more enjoyable. I know it had potential, but under the pile of meh, it didn’t deliver. Episode 7 pretty much change that view a little bit and it is redeeming itself. However, I need to watch the last 6 episodes to be sure it doesn’t go down the same path as the first half of the season. It may have a lot of flaws, but it’s not bad overall… if the material remains consistent.
Verdict
8.5/10
Midseason Thoughts: K-ON!! Second Season and Working
Yes, this is a trap….
It’s about that time again where we are midway through the Spring 2010 Anime Season. Working!! and K-ON!! is closely compared as they are both slice of life comedy anime. However, which one I think is better so far? You will find out soon enough.
Working!! is supposed to be a fresh new experience with the setting mainly taking place at the restaurant. So far, Working!! is not delivering because of the content. The problem I see is overused jokes or using them way too fast that they get old pretty quickly. Most of the comedy I see is slap stick or the running gag such as Inami’s over exaggerated Arrhenphobia to the point where it gets completely annoying. Because of this, Inami is the weakest character in the whole Anime and the most unliked. The only characters I like is Popura, Kyouko and Yachiyo, and there is not enough of Popura, even though Shouta seems to like her the most…. What happened? Did she became unPopura or something?
Unlike Working!!, K-ON! does not suffer this problem. Yes, the beach scenes were a bit redundant last season, but from the second season, it remains fresh to me and I still enjoy it a whole a lot more than Working!!. K-ON! is simply more polished because Kyoto Animation had experience with comedy anime in the past. The problem I can see is that A-1 Pictures doesn’t seem to have any previous experience with comedy anime. They will hopefully gain more experience once they pick up a few more comedy Anime adaptations in the future.
Now to K-ON!!. Besides from the not so good opening, I quite enjoyed it. It is slightly better than the first season and I continue to enjoy every bit of it. I have nothing else to say…
If someone saying that K-ON!! is outdated sh** and Working!! is better… That is simply bullsh**. Working!! needs to solve its flaws to be better than what it is right now. I know it has potential, but I am simply not seeing it. This doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it. It’s just that I am not enjoying it as much as K-ON!!. It’s simply an average comedy slice of life that is stagnating, not improving on its content…
Working – Inami isn’t WORKING!! for me anymore!
Like I have said before on Melative… I complained continuously on Inami’s fear of men… it is becoming really ridiculous that her Arrhenphobia have been going on so long and over exaggerated to a point where it’s becoming a major flaw in WORKING!!. After seeing so many times of Inami punching men, I came up with this conclusion after watching Episode 5:
Inami isn’t WORKING!! for me anymore… stop punching… it’s getting really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really old.
That is right, Inami is becoming my least favorite character because of this. I mean, I would want to like her character, but it’s becoming flawed because of her extreme Arrhenphobia and the tendency of punching them. Well if she does this in real life… I don’t think they would tolerate it that much. She will probably get fired for punching all those male customers and even get arrested for assault and do some time in jail, which is something that I wouldn’t like to see.
Unlike Working!!, K-ON! is still working for me since they don’t have this annoying running gag that makes it old. Working!! is not like K-ON! and the jokes are really getting old. Not only Inami’s overwhelming fear of men, it is falling into the hole of never ending jokes that have been used over and over again and not being fresh. Working!! is supposed to be the Anime that moves away from the usual school setting, but weaknesses like the running gag of punching men and some others I haven’t mention that it is rapidly reducing it’s strengths it had with the setting. Despite this, it still managed to give me several laughs, but they really need to get some more fresh jokes soon or it will be in a pool of disappointment. The only characters that don’t disappoint me are Popura, Kyouko and Yachiyo.
I still wonder, if we get Aoi-chan to go to that resturant, would Inami punch him? Not likely because (s)he is a TRAP! When Inami finds out that she is a male… she will punch him like she did with all the male customers… Seriously now… Inami… Get over your fear of men… NOW!
Weekly Anime Roundup: Net Idol Traps, Smartypants Cooks and Senior Field Trips
It has been a very slow week with Anime since releases for shows I’m covering didn’t come out until the end of the week. Nevertheless, I decided to cover them in one post with some real life experiences along with the usual thoughts on the Anime itself. This includes Kaichou wa Maid-sama, Working!!, K-ON!! Episode 4. This post is paginated by each series. If successful, I may do this in the future to leave room for more editorial posts.
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Working!! – Episode 3 Thoughts and Impressions
No, seriously… This episode was filled with alot of Mugivision™… Wait… Wrong show…
If Takanashi didn’t have enough with the rather eccentric girls like Inami not liking men and want to punch the lights out of them, well meet another rather eccentric girl named Yachiyo. As shown in a flashback, she was bullied because she was carrying a katana for some reason… and one day, she gets picked on and Kyouko hit them with a needled bat and after that day, Yachiyo follows her around. This meant that Yachiyo seem to have some love interest to Kyouko, although Kyouko only cares about the food…
This episode had alot of Yuri of what you can imagine. Besides the parfaits and Yachiyo go dreamy over it, there were more hints of Yuri aka Mugivision™… For example:
Wait… Theres more where that came from:
Don’t ask, but Yachiyo did lash out at the general manager, Otou Hyougo with her Katana for taking Kyouko away from the damn parfaits… yes… it was bound to happen… You know that Yachiyo’s feelings for Kyouko is very sensitive you know… Kyouko got to have those parfaits no matter what favor.
And yea, Inami didn’t punch Otou… but instead Takanashi… I think punching him is getting a bit… well, old… I hope this doesn’t turn into a running gag…
Overall, from the look of it, it’s a bit better, but not good enough. The problem with Working!! like with other bloggers said that the show might start getting into the “stupid humor” ditch that once you get in, it is pretty difficult to get out. Like always, your milage may vary… We get that when Yachiyo only takes out the katana for that one instance… nothing else which made it slightly disappointing. Also, the whole episode left Popura out the spotlight… I thought she was the centerpiece of the show and that Takanashi likes her because she is short and childish? Did she become unPopura…. NO WAI!!!! It can’t be! It is for this one episode.
I still don’t know about this… but from what I have seen, I still perfer K-ON!! over Working!! because atleast it is funny in its own way and it didn’t show “stupid humor.” Then again, it is just what I prefer…
Verdict
7.8/10
Working!! – Episode 2 Thoughts and Impressions
Inami (Izumi or whatever) and the fear of men… Well, we have been there, but Takanashi doesn’t seem to have a like for her since she always punches him and also… a pettanko compared to the well like Popura who is well endowed… and short, something that Taknashi seems to like. Does this make him a lolicon or what… just don’t ask. Pretty much the whole episode was focused on Izumi and punching Takanashi… I don’t remember how many times she had punch him in the whole course of the episode, but with a few laughs.
The episode was slightly better, but I’m still slightly ever disappointed. The problem I’m seeing is that the jokes are getting repetitive. How many more times we see Takanashi’s lolicon tendencies or Izumi punching him ever few minutes… Well, it did work, but soon I… well, yawned. As they put it, they seem to clam way too much in one episode and as a result, all the jokes gets repeated over and over again rather quickly… If it wasn’t so packed in together, it wouldn’t get so old rather quickly. Oh well, there is always the Manga…
Also, the animation is okay but… A-1 Pictures can do a better job than this since they were able to put out really good animation in Sora no Woto… why not this? Anyways, I’ll give it a few more episodes… but I have pretty low expectations… I mean, they can do better than this so it will become more enjoyable… but I guess it is better than seeing a fanservicy series that I would otherwise be disappointed on the spot.
Verdict
7.6/10
Working!! – Episode 1 Thoughts and Impressions
Working is one of those slice of life animes that have… well… Moe~… However, Working is sorta enjoyable and had some potential, but this episode was mediocre at best. For the first part, the animation seems to be a slight disappointment. After seeing Sora no Woto’s nice animation from A-1 Pictures, I thought they can do just as good… but not in this case… A good thing is that the animation is better than Fairy Tail, which is a big mess.
Obviously, Takanashi got a job at the family restaurant because he can’t resist Taneshima’s cuteness. Taneshima is definitely a moe~ character and really cute and all, but suffers the height problems like Kurimu did in Seitokai no Ichizon, where she is made fun of her height by Ken. The difference is, Taneshima is not a pettanko (flat chested), so no DFC here. Anyways, we are introduced to other characters and well more moe… including Kyouko… well, never ask how old a woman is, or you may suffer the consequences… and lastly that girl that is afraid of guys punches Takanashi in the face… Ouch…
Overall, Working is sorta like K-ON!, moe~ except that it’s not all girls and that it’s in a family restaurant. I enjoyed it, but not enough to keep watching at the moment. I might continue on if it gets better, but for the time being, It’s on hold…
Verdict
7.3/10