Saturday 24 December 2011

Working'!! - Episode 13 (Completed)

We might be at the end of this second season of Working, but it's a time of crisis at Wagnaria, with major revelations which only grow in their immensity as the episode progresses.

In fact, speaking of growing it's exactly this issue that plagues Takanashi and Sato in particular, as word reaches them of a shocking development, that being Taneshima's new-found ability to reach the accident report form taped to the office wall.  The prospect of Poplar growing immediately throws Takanashi in particular into turmoil, and Sato doesn't deal with the idea all that better - just who is he supposed to tease mercilessly on account of their small stature?


From here, things only go from bad to worse, as Inami's fretting about Takanashi's depression in turn causes Yamada to try and find out the problem from Taneshima herself - after pushing her to thing of what's bothering her, Yamada eventually comes to the (typically misguided) conclusion that Poplar is about to leave, which she then hurriedly announces to the entire staff.  Cue much sadness and tears from all and sundry, while the result of Yamada's probing causes even Taneshima herself to start considering her future - is it really right for her to stay?  Of course, all's well that ends well for the series, in an episode where even the ultra-normal Matsumoto gets some decidedly rare screen-time.

This certainly made for a fun ending to a fun series - it hasn't been wall to wall hilarity perhaps, but overall I'd argue that it's actually been stronger than its first series, albeit perhaps only because both ourselves and the writers and more familiar with the characters, allowing both parties to get the best out of them.  Either way, it made for a show that's a pretty good example of anime as situation comedy - it rarely ventures too far outside of the walls of Wagnaria, yet somehow it's found enough material to fill twenty-six episodes with plenty still to spare.  It won't blow your mind, but as per its first season Working'!! has served up plenty of tasty entertainment to make for a show that's well worth watching.

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