Working!! 06

It’s time for the sixth episode of Working!!, and to start things off we get a Takanashi family home video. It’s great to see the younger incarnations of the sisters – suffice to say, their personalities have changed a lot over the years – with Kozue showing her sweet side when she gives a stuffed toy to a four-year-old in a dress. But wait, that can’t be Nazuna. The ages aren’t adding up correctly! In fact, the ‘girl in the dress’ is none other than our favourite minicon Sota, who was quite the… trap?!

And then he grew up.

Today is White Day – a Japanese holiday held a month after Valentine’s Day (when women traditionally give chocolate to men), when men give gifts (in return) to women – and Sato is giving a present to Yayoi. Yayoi asks if it’s food, to which he replies that it isn’t… so she can’t give the gift to Kyoko. She’s already gotten her love a gift, though, despite already having given her chocolate on Valentine’s Day – “she’s cooler than a guy!”. Next up, Sota gives his return gifts to Poplar and Inami. There’s a hilarious scene between him and the latter girl, when he tries to stand as far away from her as possible because he’s afraid of being punched. Throwing it would be rude, though, so he gives it to her using a contraption he bought on the shopping channel. (What, no ShamWow! too?)

Ignore the claw-hand. It's easier that way.

Back at home, Kozue is lying in the hallway drunk, as usual. She’s been dumped again, you see, and Sota is left to pick up the pieces. As he’s carrying her back to her room, Izumi appears and apologises for not doing anything; she gets pain if she holds anything heavier than a pen! He lets her off easy because she has a deadline soon, but Kazue doesn’t think he should be so nice. She says that Izumi should quit her job as a novelist – she’s always complaining about the workload and it’s preventing her from helping in the house. At this, Izumi locks herself in her room to cry.

Later, Kazue opens the door to Izumi’s room, only for Izumi to fly out on a wave of balled-up paper. She has tried to clean her room alone, but has only made it dirtier.  She’s weeping again, so Kazue says sorry for offending her and advises her not to sweat the small stuff. Maybe if she takes it easy, she’ll find some inspiration in an unlikely place?

Being in such a dusty room must be bad for her allergies.

With five days left until the end of the month, the Takanashis have run out of money. Sota’s struggling to make ends meet, and is about to dip into his own savings when Nazuna comes forth to save the day! Not only does she give him some cash and some handy tips on how to save it, she also proudly admits that she’s figured out how to manipulate her sisters. Yay! He’s about to leave to go shopping when Kazue asks him to pick up some sake for her. He declines and she storms off to his room in a rage, planning to destroy everything cute and small there. To her surprise, though, the only thing on display is the toy rabbit she gave him all those years ago, and her liquor-drenched heart is warmed.

Manipulation moe~

Throughout the episode, there’s also been a sub-plot with Inami. After receiving hairpins from Sota, she’s been struggling to decide what to do with them. Should she wear them, or should she store them away? If she wears them too soon, will he think her to be too forward? The two story lines collide when Sota is walking home from his shopping and runs into Inami, who is hiding behind a telephone pole. Her mother has asked her to pick up some rice, but she’s worried she’ll end up on a punching spree because there are so many men around. Her problem is solved when Sota agrees to go in and buy what she needs for her.

When he returns, he asks her how she manages to control herself when walking to school, work, etc. She replies cheerily that she leaves so early for school that she won’t meet anyone, has memorised paths to work which are virtually people-free and when walking back home, she just keeps to dark places. Hooray for her! They decide to walk her back together, and Sota suggests that they hold hands. Could this be the beginning of a relationship between the two? Perhaps not: the hand he has in mind is the Magic Hand he bought from the infomercial. The odd couple meet Kazue on their way back, and Inami – in her nervousness – makes a hilarious and confusing language blunder (essentially suggesting that she rapes Sota). Naturally, Kazue flips out, and Sota is kicked in the back. Before she strikes another blow, though, he manages to explain that she only hits him because of her androphobia. This is alright for Kazue, and she’s happy.

Your hands are so soft, Sota! Do you moisturise?

This was my favourite episode so far!  As I said in my previous post, Working!! has been definitely hitting its stride the past few episodes, and that trend was continued here. All of the jokes seemed to just work, and there were many more ‘hit’s than usual. I caught myself laughing out loud several times, and was smiling all the way through. As for story progression, it was fantastic to get to know the Takanashi sisters better; it helps that Izumi is probably my favourite character. It was also fantastic to finally see some real growth from Inami. She controlled herself extremely well while meeting Sota out in public, and seemed more nervous around Kazue than she did around him. This episode also marked the first time where nobody was punched by her. A milestone indeed.

Next week, we’re getting a new staff member! Her name is Aoi Yamada, and it’s been pointed out on Twitter (by @cowboybibimbop) that she looks extremely similar to Hazuki from Tsukuyomi -MoonPhase-. In any case, I’m quite excited – and somewhat nervous – for a new addition to the gang. This could go two ways: she’ll either a) freshen up the show and provide new sources of humour, or b) upset the balance of personalities that’s been established so far. Hopefully, the former will happen, and much more fun is on the way.