Servant x Service – 09
I don’t think Kaoru greets everyone this way
Well, I finished Sasameki Koto, and would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a nice romance series (if you don’t mind outright yuri). And now Servant x Service is stepping up the romantic part of romantic comedy, although objectively the show isn’t very romantic at all. Maybe it’s relationship comedy?
Ships Everywhere!
Taishi’s such a nice guy
Servant x Service has moved into full relationship mode, and while that may have cut down on the outright jokes, to me it makes for a more interesting show. Especially if you figure the alternative is everyone being pestered by Tohko, which I don’t think anyone wants to see. It still has some encounters with Tohko, and with Bunny Boss, but those characters are really not in the spotlight at all, more just appearing for comic relief and distraction.
Which is pretty good, because I really like the grown-up relationships that this show is portraying. And yeah, they seem kind of bad at it all: Taishi can’t get on the same page that Megumi wants him to be, and Yutaka, for all his smarminess before just can’t get a handle on how to really be honest with Lucy. But the truth is that both Megumi and Yutaka have fallen hard for their confidence-lacking counterparts, and want to make something work with them. The question is how to get the message across?
Lucy’s many rejected skirts
One thing that might help is Megumi taking Lucy under her wing, primarily for the purpose of selecting her skirt for her date with Yutaka, but there’s also a side benefit. With Lucy being someone so much like Taishi, Megumi can take a little of her frustrations out on Lucy, and tell her that she needs to stop being so self-effacing, because it actually insults the people who are showing interest in her. This might be the only kind of advice that gets through to Lucy, because as powerful as her lack of self-confidence is, her aversion to being offensive to other people is even stronger. And even though Megumi would love to tell Taishi exactly the same thing, that would be just too bold. But Lucy actually does seem to take the advice to heart, with a noticeable lack of “someone like me” self-denigration after that.
So good, and so bad
Meanwhile, we also get a bit of backstory on how Megumi and Taishi actually got together. First he defended her to the boss that she wasn’t being ‘plain’, she was following the dress code. He also compliments her on her admirable qualities. And let’s face it, Taishi is a nice guy, so Megumi takes a chance on him. It’s just unfortunate that in over a year, he hasn’t been able to step more into a boyfriend role, and Megumi’s simultaneous caring for him and frustration with him is perfectly encompassed by her reaction to his advice on her skimpy cosplay outfits: a forceful kiss and a forceful slap. I think she’d admit that she was baiting him a little when she brought up having a lot of risque photos taken, but his response “don’t catch a cold” was as neutral as it can get. She’d just like to see a little possessiveness from him, although she admits that would piss her off, too. Personally, I think they’re missing what the best reaction would be: “Oh? Can I get some of them?”
How to Galvanize a Man into Action
Jyouji has terrible fashion sense, too. Good think he’s a banker with a designated suit to wear.
We also get a visit from Kaoru that turns into dinner for Lucy and Saya (Lucy’s biggest weakness is dinner, mostly because she’s got no money after spending it on books), where we get some more information about Jyouji, the long-term thorn in Yutaka’s side. I don’t really think that Kaoru giving some more backstory about him makes him much better, and neither does Saya, who says her opinion of him has improved about this much. But Kaoru gives them the info that she’s going to get married, although we don’t know to whom. But as usual, this information causes problems when Saya tries to tell Yutaka, who gets the mistaken impression that Lucy is getting married.
It’s 1000 yen!
And it’s not helped when Lucy, for other typically Lucy reasons, is walking around all bubbly and happy, apparently confirming Yutaka’s fears that someone’s taken her away from him. It takes until Lucy finds Yutaka moping in the break room for the truth to come out: she’s happy because she won a Tosho Card (a gift card – 1000 yen! – for books). But in other congratulations, Kaoru’s getting married! Just as she mentions it, a text comes in with the same information from his sister, which helps direct Yutaka’s frustration and relief onto his phone, which gets duly smashed.
Confession time!
But that frees up Yutaka’s emotions for the biggest part of the episode, since he was going to get rid of all the girls’ addresses and numbers that he’d been collecting. And the way he tells Lucy is “Because the only girl I need is you.” Finally a confession! And it seems that this finally sinks in with Lucy, because she’s back to being giddy. But what will she think next week?
Maybe even kinda stunned…
Confusion and Confessions, that’s what we got this week. And finally Yutaka has been plain enough with Lucy for her to get the message. I hope. And can Taishi ever overcome his nice guy syndrome? It’s obvious he likes being with Megumi, he just doesn’t know how to act with a girlfriend. He just needs to step up a little and be less worried about being seen with her. That kiss shows one of the ways she feels about him, go for that some more!
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Props to Hagase-san for putting it straight. Props to Megumi for ignoring words and going straight to action.
And props to Bunny Boss….for being a bunny…
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Bunny is actually Kiritsugu. Now grind that~ http://pic.twitter.com/45ZOBGfibY
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
And he’s also the head Fallen Angel Azazel in High School DxD New.
POWUH: 500-599 with 519 comments
I did not know that. XD Now that image will not leave my brain. Kiritsugu bunny….
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 88 comments
Oh yes, this is a shipper’s delight episode.
That’s a confession of a MAN right there. Lucy would be so dense if she were not to wet her
skirtpants after hearing that.I feel sad for Megumi. She needs a hug for having to deal with Ichimiya’s lack of balls.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I’m starting to think that Taishi is more stuck by not knowing what to do. As in, he doesn’t actually know what to do with a girlfriend, because all his experience is with Tohko. So he’s able to treat her like a sister, but doesn’t actually know what else to do, and Megumi doesn’t always want to be treated like his sister (she does sometimes, because that’s partly what attracted her to him).
They’d both be a little better off if Megumi took the lead a bit more in their relationship and told Taishi what she wanted him to do more. It’s possible she doesn’t want a relationship like that, but I think it would be more realistic than Taishi suddenly turning into a different guy.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I don’t think Hasebe can be CLEARER than this so Lucy has to get her act together and soon. Adorable episode this week and I empathize with Chihaya, her boyfriend is TOO NICE.
POWUH: iLurker with 10 comments
what would you do then kyoukai? if your boyfriend is too nice?
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I think the fact that Megumi gave Lucy a clue ahead of time about how Hasebe feels about her helped Lucy realize that he was serious (for once) when he confessed to her. And while Megumi’s kiss then slap undoubtedly confused Taishi, hopefully he’ll come to realize those are a symptom of her frustration with their relationship. At least it should get him to talk with her about it. Here’s hoping next week we see both these relationships start to move forward.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That kiss then slap to the face Megumi gave was a perfect message for Ichimiya. Saying “you’re a good person but learn to take some initiative”. Lucy can really be seen as the female version of Ichimiya in this whole thing except that unlike him, she doesn’t have a clue what’s going on which is sad in and of itself. She’s the one who’ll need as much help as possible to get Hasebe’s message across. I feel sorry for the poor guy.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I think that the message got across with the way Lucy looked at the end. Now, she could possibly rationalize it away (she is the absolute champ at this) by next week, but I think at least at first the message got through.
Of the two, Lucy seems more able to find the personal resolve to change her self-image.
POWUH: 500-599 with 519 comments
Awww Hasabe. I’m rooting for him so much. I might not have liked his personality in the beginning but now he has grown on me and I really want him and Lucy to get together.
Although the two month gap seems like a longggg time to wait. I wonder if that’s going to end up being the final episode.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, he might have shortcut the whole two-month process with his confession to her. At least that’s what would happen if it was in the real world. 🙂
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
That or Lucy would tell him the dreaded, “I just want to be friends.”
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
There’s nothing more fearsome than getting friendzoned.