Servant x Service

There is a recurring issue with many slice-of-life shows that predominantly feature comedy: a tendency to neglect clear development in the narrative. The result of this lack of plot progression is that the humour soon becomes repetitive and events that take place can become almost painfully predictable, particularly if this show focuses on a smaller cast of characters, or even a single character (yes WataMote, I am talking to you). Static characters and predictable gags are the bane of comedy, while surprise, suspense, anticipation and variation are the sugar that can make it oh-so-sweet. Taking these factors into account, it is evident that Servant x Serviceis probably one of the best comedy anime of recent years, and one of the few I can work up the enthusiasm to follow on a weekly basis (unlike most other comedies of the Summer 2013 season, which, except WataMote, I dropped almost immediately). With a solid cast of simple, likeable characters with quirky personalities, this show is possibly one of the best ways to kill a few hours. The episodes are typically split into 2 segments, each one depicting a smaller subplot, while also keeping the overarching narrative intact and ensuring genuine development (which is most evident in the primary "Lucy x Hasebe" romance and secondary "Chihaya x Ichimiya" subplot). This, along with the large cast, ensures that the humour is surprising and unpredictable. By telegraphing future plot points (known in film and TV as "planting causes for future effects"), a sense of anticipation develops that keeps you watching, as you find yourself keen to see how events will pan out. This is all a perfect example of how comedy in any medium is done. Aesthetically, there isn't much to report. We have a largely conventional (but acceptable) art style, which flows well and ensures that character models are consistent and easy to watch. The opening is catchy, but it isn't a fine example of music, and the ending's a pretty easy-going and pleasant track. Voice acting is good (though we do get to hear Taketatsu Ayana as a tsundere-imouto, which has now been done about as many times as the sun setting in the evening, though I suspect this was deliberate). So in the end, the otherwise mediocre Summer 2013 season produced a gem in an unlikely genre, as the oft-muddied comedy conventions get a well deserved polish. I can rarely claim to enjoy straight-comedies, but this is probably my favourite show of the past few years.

Do you miss that always fun show "Working !" ? or maybe you would like to light up your mood a little bit ? Or maybe you just want to have some good old laughs... If you can see yourself in any of the previous scenarios, Servant x Service or simply SxS is what you are looking for. Servant x Service is simply the most "sitcomesque" like anime I've ever watched, it resembles a sitcom in various ways, and I will demostrate that in the lines below. ( By the way, if you do not know what is a sitcom, it stands for situational comedy, andit is a expression used to designate some american tv shows, like "Friends" and "How I Met Your Mother"). First of all, what is SxS about ? and how does every episode plays out ? SxS tells the story of the interactions between co-workers of a ward office speciallized in health and welfare. It does not have a major plot, but instead it carries the episodes out based on two main points : occasional comics situations, and romantic (light-mooded may I add) interactions between the characters, which is basically the formula for most sitcoms nowadays. Ok, but just because it is following a formula it does not mean it is good, how does the execution of such formula goes ? It goes pretty smoothly actually. Here is where one of the main points of SxS shines, that is the characters (again, almost every sucessful sitcom is so because of good characters). The characters are reallly well put together, and their interactions is almost always hilarious or sweet. But who are these so interesting characters ? Well, the main cast consists of the megane big breasted Lucy Kimiko Akie Airi Shiori Rinne Yoshiho (...) Yamagami, a cheerful and innocent girl who has a passion for books and hates her abnormally long name. Secondly we got Lucy's romance interest, the hilarious Hasebe, by far the best constructed character of the anime, he is usually too cheerful and careless, but we can say he is basically much more than meets the eyes. We also got Chihaya, Myoshi and Ichimya as part of the main cast, all of them having great nuances to their personalities, do not be fooled by the first few episodes, they may seem as cliche one dimensional character but they are definetly not. Through the whole anime the viewer is rewarded with hilarious situations between these characters every episode (it gets even better as the series progresses ) and the romance was a really good surpirse, it progressed extremely naturally,did not felt rushed at any point, and had perfect pacing... again it resembles any sucessful sitcom out there. The rest of the characters, the supporting cast if you will, are ok. Here we can find a few annoying characters (yes I'm looking at you Touko), but some good ones as well... nothing that will stand out (for good or for bad), but then again, they are not supposed too... a sitcom is all about the main cast, and dragging the attention or screen time away from them would be foolish, luckly it appears the writers of SxS are well aware of that. Allright, seems good, but what about the more tecnical parts of the anime ? how does the art and sound goes ? Well in the art department SxS comes through as well, of course we are not talking about a Mecha-Eplosions-Gunfire anime, therefore no specially good effect is required. That being said, the quality of the "normal" part of the art (color pallete, drawings, etc) is pretty standarly good. The character design does not stand out either (with the exception of lucy, but only because she fits in cliche design). I 'm not saying they are poorly designed, after all they are supposed to be normal working people, therefore we could not expect much unusal innovative design here. As for the sound in the anime, again it does not stands out, but again it does not have to. The OP was the only catchy song in the whole anime, really great cheerfu song (thanks again mrs Toyosaki), the ED was sweet, but it didnt stand out much, and the SDT was nnot remarkable at all, once again it resembles a sitcom, trying its best not to drive attention away from the characters. And there you have it, a sitcom in anime format. Personally I loved it, I always liked sitcoms and animes, puting them together was a terrific idea, but as any other genres out there some people will enjoy it and some wont. Now all that is left is to ask yourself, "Will I like this ?", Remember all that I said above, this anime consists basically comedy oriented with a bit of light romance, with no major plot, dark themed stuff, or twists. If you think you'll dig it, I say go ahead, you will get a delightful, smile maker experience. If you dont, well there is always something else out there right ?

This is an office comedy. It stars a small cast of young adults (Lucy, Hasebe, Chihaya, Miyoshi, and Ichimiya) all with their own unique quirks. There's a bit of romance, but mostly office antics that keep the story moving at a steady pace until the end of its 13 episode run. Think of it as Japan's answer to The Office of England and North America. There will be characters that you look forward to watching, and some that irk you every time they're on screen. And of course it wouldn't be Japanese without a talking animal, which comes in the form of a stuffed bunnyboss. They work in the social service sector, but the setting is really only a backdrop, with the action of the characters amongst themselves being the plot driver. It's a good relatable scenario for anyone who would consider themselves affiliated with the josei genre, so if you're looking for a more mature comedy anime this would be a good choice. Story My opinion of the story is that is a light enjoyable plot that never gets too serious. It deals with relatable office scenarios that anyone in the service sector will know, as well as a couple relationship woes (that aren't as relatable). It has a steady pace that never has too many deep catalysts, and is typically resolved within the 20 minute period of each episode. So don't expect too much depth. You might be surprised by how admirable some of the characters are given certain scenarios, so at least to a degree you'll find yourself excited to see how the characters function within the plot. The comedy of course is effective, you'll find yourself laughing on multiple occasions, but probably not a whole lot. It had moments, but not monumentally hilarious ones. I guess that's a part of what Japanese comedy is, some things just don't translate over. That said, it is still a office romance comedy at heart. The story gets an 7.5 out of 10. Not stellar, but certainly enjoyable. Characters As I mentioned earlier, all the characters are quirky and interesting. My personal favourite was Chihaya, but I think the effectiveness of this show is how everyone will like someone different for different reasons. Briefly, Lucy is the nerdy, coming out of her shell character that ends up being the prime love interest. Hasebe is the endearing slacker who spends the whole season trying to win Lucy over. Miyoshi is a quiet somewhat closeted person who ends up in the toughest situations. Chihaya is the otaku seamstress who has a fiery personality and Ichimiya is the hopeless naive supervisor who is whipped by his younger sister. There are other minor characters of little interest, but what makes this anime strong is the banter among them. Their quirks offer interesting situations with some unpredictable outcomes. The characters get an 8.5 out of 10. Likeable, interesting, and well-developed, you'll find yourself wanting more from them after the 13th episode. Presentation Lastly the presentation should be addressed, because I feel this is another facet to this anime that made it effective. The opening and ending songs are both catchy, and I found myself looking forward to hearing them each week. The voice actors are all really effective, with prominent seiyu such as Suzuki, Tatsuhisa which I recognized from some of my top animes including Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun. The art is spectacular in the opening, but somewhat lack luster in the show itself. Sometimes it's great, other times it feels kind of cheaply done. I don't expect very much from a comedy slice-of-life series, but coming off of Working! there was already enough fanbase to warrant a bit more work on the animation end in my opinion. The manga has a similarly low budget look to it, so I guess there's not tons to work off of here. Either way, I was a little disappointed. However, all in all the presentation gets a 7.5 out of 10. There were strong points of the presentation that made up for the weaknesses in others, giving it this solid score. Final Thoughts For the josei genre there is a disparagingly large void of animes to keep a young woman watching shows that relate to her. Servant x Service will help to shrink that void, even if just a little, as it is truly a seinen/josei series. Appealing to both the sexes there's something for everyone, and I would recommend this series to anyone looking for a good watch or read. Compiling the score, Servant x Service gets a final score of 7.8 out of 10. For a comedy/romance it does a good job of keeping you entertained, and will leave you wanting more by its finale. Luckily the manga exists that can remedy that for anyone looking to get some more of Lucy x Hasebe! It's still an ongoing manga so expect more in the future, and while you're waiting, watch the show.

The story revolves around the daily lives of employees in a government office building in the fictional city of Mitsuba, Hokkaido. Errr... Yeah that’s pretty much it really. I first started watching this when i started my first full time job in the summer last year and this show came in at the right time and I was hoping to have something to relate to in my new and exciting career. What was to follow would be a boring, tedious and exhausting show much like my job. So let’s get cracking. Story: So we are introduced to our main characters Lucy Kimiko Akie Airi Shiori RinneYoshiho Ayano Tomika Chitose Sanae Mikiko Ichika... Yamagami. By the way that is just the name of our main heroine. Let’s call her Lucy for short. Yutaka Hasebe and Saya Miyoshi who are all starting their first day working as civil servants. The major problem with the series is that there is only so much you can make out of an office/work life anime. The characters are supposed to be the ones giving depth to the show regardless of its boring premise. If strong, well developed and comedic characters are present then the show could be more enjoyable. Unfortunately that’s not the case here. The show has no general direction and stuff is thrown into the mix in hopes of making it better. I.e. an introvert boss that controls a robotic rabbit. The end result is awful and really it’s not the shows fault. I should have seen it coming, a show about office life. How in any way is it possible to make it entertaining? Well… ‘The office’ and ‘The U.S office’ come to mind. Characters: Lucy is the shy and low guarded bookworm who has a clear motive as to why she became a civil servant in the first place. TO TAKE REVENGE ON THE MAN WHO GAVE HER THAT NAME… no seriously. Lucy hates the long name given to her and wants to find out who permitted this name; rather than talk to her parents about why they wanted to give her this long title. I also heard that’s its possible to apply for a name change… Not off to a good start Lucy. Her reasons for working as a civil servant are ludicrous and to be honest it’s just petty which makes her character salty and unlikeable. Yutaka Hasebe is a more outgoing, happy-go-lucky guy who is rather competent at what he does due to a long history of his family working as civil servants. He is a bit of a wannabe player who asks girls for their e-mails… maybe player was the wrong word here. He seems to be a genuinely nice guy who cares about his friends and colleagues, proven in the case where he stops his drunken friend from dragging Saya around. I don’t particularly like him as a person as his personality can be irritating and he does seem like a passive aggressive person. The last is Saya who is the less spoken character which reflects upon her personality. She gets less screen time than the other afro mentioned, but to be honest nothing really comes of it. While she is a nice lady, respectable and level headed she can be quite bland. That pretty much sums up her character. Art: The art is rather simple and nothing extraordinary and it’s probably one of the better points about this show. Considering it’s from A1 pictures the studio that created works such as Sword art online, Togainu no chi, Blue exorcist and others, (I can’t believe they made this crap) animation was never a problem. Sound: The soundtrack wasn’t great. It had this whacky and upbeat kind of tone which isn’t really suited to my music tastes. Final verdict: I did not like Servant x Service. This is one of the shows that I can straight out say it was boring and not worth your time. To be honest I’ll be surprised if there’s a big following of this series. I would not recommend this to anyone. Even those working office jobs will be left scratching their heads like I was. Better recommendations would be: Hataraku Maou-sama! an anime about the devil working part time in McDonalds. Contains more fantasy elements. Golden time. Which a romance/comedy based in college. Contains more drama elements than Servant x Service. Among those two you’ll find something better than servant x Service. Thanks for reading guys, any feedback is welcome. Have a nice day!