Anyone who has ever worked in food service knows that it's anything but fun. The hours are long, the pay is low, and usually the management is pretty awful. If you're lucky, you might have good coworkers. The family-style restaurant Wagnaria (think Denny's without the night-blogging social media account) is sort of an idealized version of what working in food service would be like. If every restaurant were like Wagnaria, I'm not sure that very much work would get done, but at least working there might be bearable.
The main character is a young man named Souta Takanashi. He is your average high school student who loves small, adorable things (small children, stuffed animals, water fleas). One day, he's approached by adorable, undersized upper-classman Popura, who convinces him to work at Wagnaria with her. It seems like a perfectly normal job for a high school student to do to earn some extra pocket money, but the staff of Wagnaria is anything but normal. It's staffed by an information merchant, two former banchou gang members (juvenile delinquents), an androphobe who suckerpunches men on sight, and a girl who carries a katana around in her apron straps for no apparent reason (but it does keep the customers from misbehaving, so I guess it serves some purpose). Compared to his coworkers, Souta's cuteness obsession is pretty normal.
This is one of those extremely popular "slice-of-life" shows that has no central plot. It's basically just the staff of a restaurant getting into strange situations. Occasionally, they will get together outside of work, but most of the story takes place either within Wagnaria or in Takanashi household. It's difficult to really describe this series without it seeming rather boring and one-note. I'll admit that most of the characters don't evolve much past their initial quirks in the first season with the exception of Inami, who is working hard to overcome her androphobia. But, this isn't a show that you watch for plot and character development. You watch it because it's funny and you don't have to think too much about it.
The animation is done by Studio Deen, who was responsible for at least the first few seasons of Axis Powers Hetalia. It's easy to imagine the Hetalia crew working in Wagnaria, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a few galleries of crossover fanart. Fans of Durarara will also be pleased to recognize the voices of Izaya and Shizuo working together in similar, though probably less destructive, roles.
Overall, Working!!/Wagnaria is a fun show. It's not overly complicated to watch, the characters are pretty distinctive, and it's enjoyable to watch how they interact with one another. Like I said, I can't imagine that a lot of actual work gets done there, but at least they seem to be enjoying themselves. It doesn't make me want to jump up and get a job as a waitress, but if there were a Wagnaria restaurant where I lived, I'd probably drop in for a meal.
If you're interested in catching this show, it's currently streaming for free on Crunchyroll.
The main character is a young man named Souta Takanashi. He is your average high school student who loves small, adorable things (small children, stuffed animals, water fleas). One day, he's approached by adorable, undersized upper-classman Popura, who convinces him to work at Wagnaria with her. It seems like a perfectly normal job for a high school student to do to earn some extra pocket money, but the staff of Wagnaria is anything but normal. It's staffed by an information merchant, two former banchou gang members (juvenile delinquents), an androphobe who suckerpunches men on sight, and a girl who carries a katana around in her apron straps for no apparent reason (but it does keep the customers from misbehaving, so I guess it serves some purpose). Compared to his coworkers, Souta's cuteness obsession is pretty normal.
This is one of those extremely popular "slice-of-life" shows that has no central plot. It's basically just the staff of a restaurant getting into strange situations. Occasionally, they will get together outside of work, but most of the story takes place either within Wagnaria or in Takanashi household. It's difficult to really describe this series without it seeming rather boring and one-note. I'll admit that most of the characters don't evolve much past their initial quirks in the first season with the exception of Inami, who is working hard to overcome her androphobia. But, this isn't a show that you watch for plot and character development. You watch it because it's funny and you don't have to think too much about it.
The animation is done by Studio Deen, who was responsible for at least the first few seasons of Axis Powers Hetalia. It's easy to imagine the Hetalia crew working in Wagnaria, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a few galleries of crossover fanart. Fans of Durarara will also be pleased to recognize the voices of Izaya and Shizuo working together in similar, though probably less destructive, roles.
Overall, Working!!/Wagnaria is a fun show. It's not overly complicated to watch, the characters are pretty distinctive, and it's enjoyable to watch how they interact with one another. Like I said, I can't imagine that a lot of actual work gets done there, but at least they seem to be enjoying themselves. It doesn't make me want to jump up and get a job as a waitress, but if there were a Wagnaria restaurant where I lived, I'd probably drop in for a meal.
If you're interested in catching this show, it's currently streaming for free on Crunchyroll.
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