Working'!! - Episode 6

Is there anything worse than a summer cold?  Actually yes, there is - having a bucket of cold, dirty water thrown over you by Yamada for starters.  Although I bet some of you would love that, wouldn't you, you deviants?

Anyway, it's exactly this situation which befalls both Taneshima and Sato as this ninth episode of the series opens, leaving Wagnaria looking a little short staffed as their subsequent cold has left neither individual capable of doing much.  Of course, well trained manager that she is, Kyouko has no problems replacing her staff - except she does so by bringing in a couple of members of her "gang", a brother and sister team by the name of Yohei and Mitsuki Mashiba.  While both individuals are enthusiastic enough, their hatred for one another constantly threatens to boil over, making a tough day even more challenging when you factor in the fact that neither of them are exactly well trained in the ways of running a restaurant.

Still, the shift in question passes by without too much drama to speak of, although with normal staffing levels resumed Takanashi does try to make the point to Kyouko that she isn't exactly the best when it comes to rewarding the hard work of her employees.  Not a smart move, as Kyouko's subsequent reward to Takanashi is the opportunity to be relieved of his duty to look after Inami - a prospect that neither of them are thrilled about for differing reasons, although their unwillingness to verbalise their disappointment leads to a massive falling out between the pair of them.  As this breakdown in their relationship drags on, so their fellow staff members try to figure out how to resolve the situation, if only to keep them out of the firing line of Inami's fists of fury.

Although it didn't have quite the same tightness to its script and humour as previous weeks, this was another entertaining and amusing episode of Working that manages to keep the show's consistency in these terms pretty high, which is more or less all you can ask for of the series.  As a particular fan of Inami, it was also nice to see her get a little bit of the focus given that she's been somewhat neglected since hogging a lot of the first season's latter half.  Will we be seeing even more of her relationship with Takanashi in the coming weeks?  Who knows.