Apr 14, 2019
tl;dr Pretty vanilla show overall, and I did not feel it offered anything especially unique or memorable. At the same time it was very enjoyable, and I think that aspect of Working!! is really playing to its strengths in developing something unique in its own way.
Story: 7
Overall plot was fairly typical, and nothing was exceptionally unrealistic (barring things that typically beg some suspension disbelief to drive any series). I can't say anything particularly stood out to me as a prime story point, but I also can't really say there was anything I particularly felt was done poorly.
Still, to me the story merits a 7 because
...
I felt those traits were intentional. In an anime literally titled "Working!!" it made sense to me that things were portrayed in a fairly vanilla light. Some scenes could have easily been made significantly more dramatic, but in some sense that would feel too typical, especially because in real life, things do not slow down with dramatic music and closeups on people's faces. When something happens in a restaurant, people typically kinda just look over from their seats.
Art: 7
Use of chibi images and dramatic backgrounds didn't feel force nor overused. Nothing especially notable about style in my opinion, but it was consistent in portrayal of characters and such. Consistency alone without doing anything particularly disruptive to me is worth a rating of "Good" here. Following the idea above that the vanilla characteristics of this series work to its benefit as it represents working, I feel similarly here.
Sound: 6
No particular background track stood out to me, and I tend to make an effort to pay attention to something like that, though I will say I found the opening theme oddly catchy. It may feel inconsistent for me to give a 6 to yet another fairly plain, typical aspect of this show, but I will defend the rating of "Fair" with noting that in the presence of a work of fiction (namely an animation that puts together moving visuals and sound), I personally feel there is some responsibility to do something that adds flavor or mood to scenes. Still, nothing was disruptive or poorly done in my opinion, so maintaining the overall feel of this show by not trying to do anything particularly flashy pushes this above average for me.
Character: 7
Characters didn't seem to break the mold much and they all sort of felt to remain just as you expect; however, there was definitely some character development as the series progressed--enough that I am confident in saying the characters were good. It felt to me like how you spend a year or so in school with someone and even without much interaction you feel you get to know them better.
I felt this characteristic augmented this series in a lot of ways. Even so, what makes me leave it at 7 rather than an 8 is there were definitely times when I was just personally irked by a couple characters. Not necessarily by them not being well done or acting out of character, but in the sense that I just personally would be very annoyed if I were anyone in that restaurant.
Enjoyment: 8, Overall: 8
This review follows the second time I watched this series after forgetting I watched it at all a while back and only remembering some character traits. I would say I enjoyed it quite a lot, especially considering with the overall atmosphere of this show it was a good fit for watching when I was in the mood for a slice of life type of kickback. I personally really appreciate when a series can be consistent the whole way through, and this did a very good job of that.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
