Working!!! 12-13 [END?]

Yamada actually made me laugh; I still can’t believe it.

Every series should get a third season. Wait, no, that would be awful; there would be terror in the streets. We’d get a third season of Space Dandy…actually, that doesn’t sound that bad. How about only those which adhere to the same level of determination as: “this is our last chance, and frankly I’m still surprised we even got it, so let’s try to actually get something accomplished this time.” It seems to be working wonders so far.

Souta went into his plan of transforming back into Kotori misguided. While he got the general time right, he hadn’t examined how the impact of his actions had altered his and Inami’s relationship. For Souta, this is something completely new. For one so obsessed with small and tiny things, he doesn’t quite know how to sort out his feelings for someone who is neither. Inami kind of sets him straight though. I think. Thinking back, I don’t even remember the last time Souta became obsessed with something tiny. Something is definitely wrong with him. I assume he acts more manly because of Inami’s comment that she’s more interested in him as a guy, and that appearing this way is like a revolt against his mother who would encourage him cross-dressing. Either way, this is a Souta who knows what he wants and will only become occasionally flustered along the arduous path he now walks. My condolences, Souta.

“Eh? People still use these things?”

Really, if anyone at Wagnaria could replace Yachiyo as chief, it’d be Popura. I guess Souta could too, but he’s too busy reprimanding Yamada. Let’s not even mention Yamada’s work capabilities. Well, okay, she’s improved enough to successfully print out a correct receipt. That didn’t even take a whole day to accomplish. Yamada’s laziness knows no bounds. Naturally, Popura doesn’t exactly exude confidence in herself. She’s always tried her best to support others, but her personal efforts are largely in retaliation to some remark by Satou or Souta fed by her complex. It’s almost surprising Popura is even getting this little (I’m not doing this on purpose, I swear) amount of focus since up until now I’ve felt as if she’s been stiffed. There was that time when Yamada got everyone to think that Popura was quitting, and…that’s it. We’ve come to know her character well enough that we can understand her worry about everyone soon looking to her, but it was mainly due to sheer repetition if nothing else. I think each and every one of Souta’s sisters managed to have done more in a shorter amount of time. She’s like Kyoko level of development, which is pretty bad, but I should be glad it isn’t Souma level, which is practically nothing. Then again, he at least has the excuse of not wanting anyone to know anything about him; we can’t say the same for the mascot character. I’ll just blame it on the fact the show is 95% gags.

“My Souma-Sense is tingling.”

It’s like every date between Souta and Inami is guaranteed to be off-put by something strange. There’s either cross-dressing, bags on heads, or overprotective fathers trying to muck things up. There wasn’t much of a need to add some closure to the situation regarding Inami’s father (or Popura taking over as chief) as it was fine not being brought up again for two seasons, but it was a nice touch (for both) to smooth things out and not have him thinking Souta is really a woman forever, which would be especially troubling for him in particular. The rest of the time after Souta and Inami’s date felt odd to say the least. There’s the business with Souta’s mother and of course we’re still waiting for one of the two to confront the other about their feelings, but the episode starts wrapping itself up, leaving none of this accomplished. What gives? Where is my Souta and Inami heartwarming goodness?! Well, turns out this may be the episodic finale but not the series finale. Who exactly does A-1 Pictures think they are, playing with my heart. I won’t stand for this! But thank you! Then again, this was exactly what Souma alluded to a couple episodes back with his “at this pace, who knows when you’ll reach a conclusion,” which worked extremely well not only in that particular scene as a joke with depth, but as such encapsulates the entirety of the series. Maybe I should go back and look for more words of wisdom from Souma. Ah, here’s some: “Satou? Satou?!” Brilliant.

There’s still MORE Working!!!? Somebody hold me.

Bonus Work

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Working!! started out as a quirky twist on your typical romcom, and while Working’!! didn’t try to fix anything that wasn’t broke (so much so that nothing stands out to me now except the introduction of Kirio), Working!!! turned out differently. The same variations of the same dozen jokes are still made, but developments happen; there’s progress. Yamada was funny by the end! Dang, I need to stop reminding myself of that. Still, it’s a little weird to be left hanging after that ending; it’s over, but it’s not really over yet; so we’ll see how everything is brought to a close with the special.

About Kyon

I am a fear of life, I am afraid of life, and I am a fantasm of life, always a flame, always aflame, and always the same.