First Impressions – Working!!!

Takanashi has finally done it.

Ah, Wagnaria, it feels like it was only yesterday. Technically, it was yesterday, since I just finished rewatching the first two seasons, but…wait, two seasons? This is the third season? Working!! got three seasons?! Whoo! That’s probably the most enthusiastic I’ll ever be about something in my life. It’s almost kind of surreal.

Working!!! is just another slice-of-life anime that’s not so slice-of-life, but the humorous aspect of it stole my heart. And of course, Kamiyan and OnoD too nyorohoho. With Working!!! keeping me company for this season, I have a feeling my tiring real life will be less exhausting.

Yes, the gang is back for the third time! So without further ado, let’s clock in for our shift, it’s not as if any of the rest of them are working…..

“No, you cannot eat this small child.”

Kyon_ Probably the most apparent alteration is once again the art direction. While the first season was generally pretty light and airy, the second switched over to a much darker color palette that gave the whole environment a different feeling. The third season returns to a similar style as the first, but retains many of the smaller details in the background that were absent and then found in abundance in the previous season. Most of the characters transfer over with little changes, with the exception of Satou suddenly gaining this slightly strange shadowy texture to his hair, and Inami who appears to have lost her sad puppy dog eyes half the time. I’m unsure how I feel about Inami’s deviant look so far, but it isn’t very drastic, so I’m sure with time I’ll adjust to it. Just show her getting flustered a few more times, and I’ll approve wholeheartedly, or go ahead and throw in more Inami anyway; I don’t even need to give a reason why.

While the development, relationships, (and jokes), tend to remain unchanged, there are signs of slow progress having been made throughout and due to the run. Inami made it through the entire episode after being approached and approaching multiple males and managed to avoid throwing a single punch. Satou and Yachiyo are more…friendly? Takanashi became more attuned to his nonminicon side. Taneshima has found the value in her senpai-kouhai bond with Takanashi. Kyouko ate less parfaits. Otoo came within twenty feet of his wife. Souma still has no friends. Yamada…okay, so maybe only the first three can actually be counted as progress, but those are the important points! If this is aimed at or expected to be the last season, there’s the chance this will finally be when we start reaching some of those personal climaxes.

That smirk though.

anaaga_ Being a series which already has more than one season, Working!!! stays true to its specialties which also charmed the audience. It is only the first episode but I already found it fun, humorous in its own ways, exciting, and… Annoying, for some cases. Yes, it’s no other than Yamada’s horrible work ethics and behavior which really annoyed me. It’s kind of surprising how the manager hasn’t fired her considering the amount of plates she broke already, but since this is anime, I can’t really complain about it. And the whole horrible Yamada thing is probably to show the stereotype she belongs to the new audience. Of course, other characters’ “special” characteristics were also shown during the progress of the episode, and I’d say they did a good job at showing them while staying true to the story. The characters’ serious sides are also shown along with the story, and this is definitely a treat for me since I’ve been waiting forever for plot. Seriously, when am I getting my Inami x Takanashi?

They watched Gakkou Gurashi!

sky_ Seriously, how does Wagneria even stay open?! I’ve worked the food service industry for decades, and if they got that much time for shenanigans, then they ain’t out on that floor earning their keep! Who is the manager of this place!? Oh…..yeah. Well, I guess that’s OK then….

Yeah, who wants to actually have a show about the daily hard working lives of the food industry? This is much funnier, and I wish I could have had days like this sometimes. But with that in mind the first episode served as a re-introduction to our characters.

In most respects none of them have changed very much from the last series. But they do give a couple of hints of possible change and development. It seems that the love triangle of Kyouko, Jun, and Yachiyo might possibly work out in the taciturn blonde chefs favor. Also, Ooto-san and Yamada may be close to having the perfect family; the former nearly finding his lost wife, and the later almost being found by her idiot brother. Popura-chan just might get her kouhai, Katanashi-kun to appreciate her as more than just a small cute person and Takanashi-kun (same guy) may grow out of his minicon phase. It also looks like Souma may be turning a new leaf, and not be such a manipulative person for his own sake. Add to this Kyouko questioning why she eats so much.

Someone’s jealous.

Hopefully, with this opportunity the big questions will finally be answered like: will Popura ever get taller; how many different hairpins will Inami wear this season; where did Satou learn to braid hair; will Yamada ever be entertaining; what kind of dark sorcery does Haruna use to disappear all the time; and, will Takanashi ever manage to take a kid home with him? I can at least answer one of those by myself; no, Yamada will not become enjoyable to watch.

I don’t know about those who recently watched Working!!!, but as a viewer who has been following this series like forever, I definitely enjoyed the first episode. Despite of the dislike of some characters (more like dislike for Yamada and Tanpopo), I’m glad that I can finally have the whole cast back in action. I just love the interactions among the characters especially Kamiyan and OnoD NGHHHH god I just love it when my seiyuu ship is in one anime together. I know they’re going to repeat the humor until the end (and that might bore some people too), but I’m definitely watching this because I love the characters the way they are. And plot! Hopefully.

But really, who am I kidding? If the customer is king, then the king of this show is that status quo must be maintained at all costs! Jun is never going to man up, Yachiyo has Kyouko as much on the brain as Kyouko has on food on the brain. No one will ever find any family member ever! Souma will work things out in his favor. Yamada will break plates! But at least Mahiru hasn’t beaten the crap out of a guy yet. It’s a mess! A glorious, funny mess. Glad you’re back, Working….

About Tag Team

We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.