Servant x Service – 12

Secret of the episode: Yutaka is actually a ghost, and Saya is the only one who can see him

Time for the date! Yes, they didn’t make us wait for the final episode to see Lucy and Yutaka’s date, so how did it go? And can Megumi finally get through to Taishi? Could I write this introduction every week? I think I probably could and it wouldn’t be too far off.

Chihaya Works Too Hard

Who is she going to get to wear all of these?

Megumi’s definitely up on the current season of anime, isn’t she? I think everyone enjoyed seeing the costumes she had hanging up (from Railgun, Monogatari, Titan, and Prisma Illya. You’d even say Menma’s dress was current, since the movie was this summer). And she got Lucy’s dress finished too, just in time for her date with Yutaka. But along with the dress, she’s got some worries to plant in Lucy’s head about Yutaka. At this point, I really don’t know if it’s just that Yutaka’s first impression has sabotaged him so far, or if he’s actually done enough to change that opinion except among only the most clueless (Lucy) or stubborn (Megumi, or perhaps she’s jealous?). It’s not that Megumi’s advice is bad, per se. Lucy should pay more attention to Yutaka, really see what he is like, not just the way she thinks he is. Plus, how will he react to the dress she wears?

Finally Time for a Date

What a considerate guy

And it really is a cute dress that Lucy ends up in. A nice summery look, with a light jacket on her shoulders and contacts to top it off, so she really looks cute, even if Yutaka gives her a hard time with some fashion glasses. But if Lucy’s looking for evidence about the ‘real’ Yutaka, she doesn’t have to look far. From having a date planned out that’s all about things she’d like – a small used bookstore and a nice cafe – to being a really considerate guy by holding her things, walking at her pace (slower than usual because of her unfamiliarity with heels), and guiding her around trouble, he’s really scoring high on the boyfriend-meter. In fact, despite having almost the same look as Taishi, Yutaka is almost the complete opposite in caring for his girl. Taishi, get some lessons from your kouhai!

One of those moves you wish you had, and you’re glad you don’t use

But with all that niceness, Lucy freaks out a little. It’s just hard for her to accept someone being nice to her, and she still thinks that Yutaka’s a smooth guy with the ladies. I think back on it, and we know that Yutaka’s never had a girlfriend, or even asked a girl out. But has Lucy ever heard that? I don’t think she has, just Saya. So she (and Megumi) still thinks he’s charai  and is wary of him. And I gotta admit, he’s got some smooth moves (although bordering on the edge of being a pedo) when he gets Lucy to offer her hand for him to hold with the (false) promise of candy. But what he really wants is to talk seriously about the two of them. Too bad they’re interrupted by Kaoru, who cuts their date short by asking him to come meet her fiance (against her will, it has to be said). But it doesn’t end without Lucy freely promising another date, and not like Saya’s resigned promise to Jyouji, but a happy one.

Meanwhile, Back at the Other Couple…

Now is NOT the time to hope she falls asleep! 10 minutes from now! 10 minutes!

Besides Megumi’s role in ‘helping’ Lucy, she’s also trying to deal with her own relationship with Taishi. I can’t decide if the biggest problem is that Taishi is terrible at picking up signs (like, he makes ME look like Mr. Observant in my remembrances of dating… and being married) or that he’s not actually a guy. He’s like the anti-Hyoudou Issei: Never ever thinking of making a move on her. Thankfully, he didn’t miss completely the “Please be concerned about me and do the opposite of the words I’m saying” signs from Megumi to not interrupt her clothes making, but to manage it, he throws Yutaka under the Tohko bus, plus goes to visit when “she won’t have the energy to chase me away”. How beta can you be, Taishi? Plus, when she tries to initiate some lovemaking, he wants her to fall asleep! Dude, you’re making all guys look bad!

But despite this, there are still some things that Megumi really likes about him. For one, he really is a caring person. If only he could mix the two. It is possible to be that caring boyfriend, and still be a bit selfish ~and~ responsive to the other person’s selfishness. That’s what I think a great relationship is: Making the demands that the other person will give in to freely, and giving in freely to the other person’s reasonable demands. This doesn’t mean you can’t push limits in places, but if you know the answer is going to be a flat out ‘no’, don’t ask. But in the case of Megumi and Taishi, the answer should be ‘yes’. And that it’s not yes is a problem. And even worse is that Taishi knows it’s a problem, but doesn’t change his answers. Mendokusai…

So When’s the Next Date?

You’d have thought that Yutaka would be on cloud nine after getting a second date with Lucy, but instead he’s too reserved at work. Making the same mistake 5 times, not really paying attention, not even slacking off! I like Megumi’s direct way of dealing with it: Just drag him into the meeting room to find out what is up. And so we finally get to the worst-kept secret of this series: the person that Lucy has a grudge against, her driving force for becoming a civil servant, is Yutaka’s father. And while we’re all used to the idea, what would Lucy think about it? She’s held onto the fact that her name is a problem for so long, using it as an excuse for everything, and she’s never really had an idea of what she would do with the person when she found them. Would she hold it against Yutaka? And how did he find out anyway? Did Kaoru bring her up when Yutaka got there? It would be even worse if Lucy was a family joke, the girl who had a horrible name (and horrible parents).

Bonus Full-Length Lucy!

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One more episode to go, and hopefully we’ll get some significant progress in the Megumi x Taishi couple. I don’t know why, but I find those two as interesting as the Lucy x Yutaka couple. Perhaps it’s the “boy, I’m glad I don’t make THAT many mistakes” factor, or the fact that I really like Megumi’s character, but it would be nice if they had progress. And I’m sure we’ll get at least a little look at Lucy’s reaction to Yutaka’s bad news. I’ve really enjoyed this series, and I do hope that it gets a second series, since they’ve done really well keeping it interesting through this first one. I remember being worried that it would run out of jokes, but even without milking the relationship pairs dry, it’s been a lot of fun to watch.