Episode eight of Working!! took the staff of Wagnaria to a hot spring. With promises of onsen antics, the reappearance of the Magic Hand, and Inami and her punch-happiness coming back in full force, I was expecting nothing less than hysteria. This episode, however, turned out much differently to what I was expecting. Nonetheless, it was still a huge amount of fun and we really got to see that things are moving in the right direction.
You and about 99% of the fanbase, bud.
First things first, I really like the way Sota and Inami’s relationship is developing. At the start of the episode, Sota referred to himself as Inami’s caretaker and expressed worry over her inevitably attacking men while at the hot spring. To me, this really shows that he’s shifted in his attitude towards her. He’s gone from simultaneously being annoyed by her and fearing her (at the start of the series), to feeling responsible for her and even liking her. On the other side of things, Inami remains in love with him. While I’m not sure that the two of them will end up together, it seems like they’ve forged a strong friendship, and I’m glad for that.
Surprisingly, the Magic Hand has played a large part in them becoming closer, primarily because it’s allowed them to be in the same space without her attacking him. I think it’s fantastic that the series has turned what was seemingly a one-time joke into a catalyst for the improvement of a key relationship, because that’s something I rarely see in any medium, and I believe it’s something that makes Working!! special.
It's for the greater good!
In addition to that, I feel like this episode was the first time that Inami’s androphobia was treated as an affliction and not just as a source of humour. In other episodes, she’s been presented more as someone to be avoided because of her violent tendencies than anything else, but here we just got to see her as a girl struggling with her phobia. The scene with Sota on the bridge was great, because we were able to get a little insight into her feelings about the condition. There was a tiny bit of drama, but it was kept to a minimum and certainly wasn’t overwrought, and the creators have to be commended for that. Instead of turning things into an angst-fest, they remembered that Working!! is, first and foremost, a comedy. Suffice to say, elsewhere in the episode some humour was derived from Inami’s hitting of Sota, but it was done much more subtly than it was in earlier episodes. It served as a good way to balance things out.
The extent of the fanservice in this episode. Foot fetishists, rejoice?!
Last week, I said that I was looking forward to this episode because I wasn’t expecting the show to employ any of the usual onsen fanservice that other shows use. Unlike with the predictions I make regarding the other series I’m blogging this season, I was actually correct! The fanservice here was totally subverted, with the characters only bathing their feet in a small hot spring.This really wasn’t your typical onsen episode, and the humour remained light and clean. Hell, the closest we even got to a boob joke was one of the staples of anime popping up: the flat-chested girl – in this case, Inami – worrying about her cup size. Happily, though, this was only mentioned once (and quickly) and didn’t involve the other characters. It actually almost felt satirical.
While this wasn’t as funny as some other episodes, this was actually one of my favourite episodes of Working!! so far; to me, it showed me how far the series has come since its first few instalments. Back then, the jokes were pretty repetitive, character quirks were relied on far too much, and it felt like the show wanted to focus more on the characters’ antics than on the characters themselves. Now, we’re getting a strong, character-driven comedy which feels fresh each week and actually looks like it’s going somewhere. Admittedly, I’ve liked Working!! from the start, but now I can actually rationalise why I like it. I’m so pleased with the show and, as always, I can’t wait for more.
I agree that the show has matured. Many of the standard character jokes are just referenced instead of being regurgitated. For example, the manager’s desire for food was referenced many times, but in fresh ways (e.g. saying the new girl couldn’t eat the restaurant’s food because it was hers, or showing her eating in each of the eye-catches). Inami and Sota seem to have a developing relationship, but almost seems doomed; if they actually end up as a real couple it will have been quite a development for both of them.