Servant x Service – 04
You don’t want Chihaya angry, do you? Better read this post!
From booze to bunnies, Servant x Service keeps bringing up new situations and expanding on old ones. So what happened this week in this typical office?
The Boss is a (stuffed) Bunny
Kanpai!
The audience, through the OP and the way the show has been presented, was already aware that the section manager of the office was the stuffed bunny, but in this episode all the new people find out about him. He says it’s a robot with cameras and data links and stuff, but that doesn’t really matter, since we’re never going to see the ‘shy’ boss behind the bunny, so let’s just go with referring to the bunny itself as the boss, as everyone else does.
Bunny-kuchou haz a sad…
There are some weird points to the manager (well, besides him interacting with others as a stuffed bunny), in that he says he’s so shy, but he wants to interact with everyone. And you’d think someone so shy would have a harder time dealing with people even through an avatar. But the bunny becomes the life of the party, literally, when he pushes everyone into going out drinking… on Ichimiya’s dime. He also is about the most well-animated robotic bunny I’ve seen (you know what I mean) with quite a lot of articulation and the cutest “I haz a sad” poses ever. And he does bring a circularity to the show, asking Hasebe about his father, as they both started at the same time. It’s also worth noting from their conversation that Hasebe hasn’t talked to his father since he moved out of his house, which seems kind of excessive for a guy who has followed in his father’s footsteps as far as work goes. I wonder what the source of friction between them is, and how it will figure into the show (because I’m a pretty bad son, but even I don’t go THAT long without talking to my dad).
Hasebe x Yamagami
From teasing to asking out, Hasebe turns on the charm
I wasn’t really expecting much in the way of relationship progress in this show, thinking that potential hookups would mostly be something used as a quick joke to come around to, not a serious plot. Given Hasebe’s seemingly-playboyish nature, his almost pathological need to collect girls’ email addresses, and his casual harassment of Yamagami, I really didn’t think they’d move the two of them together so fast or seriously. And indeed when Hasebe just asks Lucy out, and she rejects him, he keeps the same laughing nature about it. But learning that he never asks girls out first, and that he seems to dwell on it, even asking (and getting shot down) a second time. But he manages to turn it around into going out with Lucy to lunch and dinner, because they’re coworkers, and that’s what (gullible) coworkers do!
Lucy tries to figure out Hasebe’s true intentions
Chihaya isn’t particularly fond of Hasebe putting the moves on Lucy, but her motives aren’t exactly pure (nor romantic). And Lucy doesn’t really figure out what Hasebe’s motives are, leading him to dub her “Aho no Yamagami” (Yamagami the Idiot), which the rest of the office picks up as well. But that doesn’t stop him from taking a very drunk Lucy home after their party. Or not even all the way home, because when she starts falling asleep on him, after they’ve missed the train, it might be time to stop in a convenient love hotel. Is Hasebe the type to take advantage of his drunk co-worker? They certainly wake up together… dressed in different clothes.
Taking the drunk girl home
The quick progression of Lucy and Hasebe’s relationship was pretty surprising to me, especially since I wasn’t really expecting it at all. Do you think that they actually did anything? Or did Hasebe just sleep chastely in the same bed? And is he the one who changed Lucy’s clothes? All questions that will hopefully be answered next time.
Hasebe-chan’s a cutie!
Something that’s not a question is the section manager. I thought the cute stuffed bunny worked in the show, and he wasn’t as distractingly odd as Touko. It really helped that he had so many cute moments, and that the cute didn’t match the attitude as he tried to foist drinks on his subordinates. And if it turns out that Lucy and Hasebe did end up with some extra-office relations, how much blame should the manager take for pushing cocktails on someone who’s never drunk anything before?
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: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
I bet Hasebe enjoying “shaking” Lucy to wake her up 😉
And sober Lucy is sexy. Hell, Lucy is always sexy.
And Koyama Rikiya as the bunny just makes it even more ridiculous and funny. That bunny not only does very detailed movements but it’s also durable, seeing as Chihaya stepped on it and it’s still working. I don’t think a civil servant salary can afford that level of technology. Best not think about it as it still works.
Great episode.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I did think that was a particularly “male gaze”-y view as he shook her.
Something that’s a little bit of a problem for me is that we’ve gone apparently months without Bunny-Kuchou saying anything or even moving overtly, but now he’s an active member of the cast. I do kind of hope they keep him more on the sidelines, or at least allude to why now he’s talking and before he didn’t.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Like he said, he’s shy and was most likely hesitant to meet the new recruits. Looking at things from another view, that’s a sign of weakness in the workplace because the superiors are supposed to be more confident so as to be an example to those lower down the ladder.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
“He’s the enemy of women”. Hahaha, damn, first High School DxD’s Koneko and now Chihaya. What’s going on here? And the section manager is a stuffed bunny. As if it wasn’t weird enough with a stuffed bear proclaiming to be a principal in Danganronpa.
Hasebe and Yamagami starting a relationship was in the realm of possibility but I didn’t think it would actually happen. Though little by little, you could see Lucy was giving into him, even her allowing him to get physically close while teaching her sign language without a fuss was a flag so it was just a matter of time. And of all places to wind up with a drunken girl: a love hotel. The storyboard is playing hardball.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 88 comments
That cliffhanger.