Servant x Service Anime Review

Last season was full of great animes, and one of them was Servant x Service. By the mangaka that brought us Working!, Servant x Service is a more mature version of Working! featuring an older cast in a relatable workplace setting. Giving a little bit of comedy and a little bit of slice of life, it was an enjoyable watch each week. Keep reading if you want an in-depth review spoiler free! that looks at the highs and lows of the show.

Quick Synopsis

This is an office comedy. It stars a small cast of young adults (Lucy, Hasebe, Chihaya, Miyoshi, and Ichimiya) all with their own unique quirks. There's a bit of romance, but mostly office antics that keep the story moving at a steady pace until the end of its 13 episode run. Think of it as Japan's answer to The Office of England and North America. There will be characters that you look forward to watching, and some that irk you every time they're on screen. And of course it wouldn't be Japanese without a talking animal, which comes in the form of a stuffed bunny boss. They work in the social service sector, but the setting is really only a backdrop,

Servant x Service Episode 10 Highlights & Thoughts

Tonight’s episode was a bit of a disappointment to be honest. After all the tension and excitement from last week’s episode I was expecting this one to take that forward to this week’s, but alas we get an episode that feels more like filler than anything else. Spoilers ahead, let’s get on with it I suppose.
Chihaya Confesses to Toko

The episode begins with Chihaya telling Toko about her relationship with Taishi (Toko’s brother). But that plan goes half baked as Toko falls asleep and remains oblivious to it all. What we end up with is an endearing scene where the two fall asleep together and we learn that Toko is studying hard for college… and not to be a civil servant? I guess Toko’s got bigger plans for herself, and that’s nice to see. It’s unfortunate that Toko’s character isn’t well developed yet. This scene seems to allude to something we may learn about later, and I’ll be looking forward to that. We all know there’s more to Toko than meets the eye. Her strong will hasn’t shown us enough of the lengths she’s willing to go to for her brother, or really those she cares about. I’m excited to see just what she’s capable of.
Tanaka Breaks Down In front of Miyoshi

Did we forget about this guy? I’d like to. He’s after Hasebe again but Miyoshi squashes his plans of confronting his friend for the billionth time. When those plans fall through he decides to apologize to Lucy by taking her to dinner again. This gets him a quick scolding from Miyoshi claiming his actions toward everyone aren’t atonement but rather self satisfaction (way to lay it on him Miyoshi!). Isn’t that pretty much his lifestyle as it stands anyway? It appears like she hit a nerve as she’s going to dinner with him. I’m curious to see how this develops as I think it’s in Tanaka’s character to give up on Hasebe if a woman is involved in his life, but who knows. Either way their pairing is entertaining.
Kanon Around The Office

So Kanon, Toko’s friend from school is killing time around the office waiting for her friend and runs into some hijinks among the staff. It’s about a 5 minute segment of jokes and pretty much nothing else. I guess it’s nice to see the Magical Flowers cast animated (and so cute!). But otherwise it’s a lot of filler that kept me waiting for something exciting to happen. This could be their attempt at including Kanon’s character a bit more as she really has no role in the show but the segment is unnecessary and does nothing for her. Oh well!
A Bunny Manager Exposed

We learn that the section manager’s identity as a stuffed toy has been a secret to Toko and must have been one for a number of years now (I’m surprised they’ve pulled it off for this long). But by accident the secret is out and we get a comical moment of her freakout. She deludes herself into thinking they’ve gone crazy and that perhaps she was being too mean to everyone and thus caused their breakdown (highlighting her self-centered nature). It’s really just another segment of this episode that had no real bearing on anything. Perhaps the fact that the section manager is Kanon’s father and the fact that Toko does not know this could add some weight to her friendship with Kanon, but it’s not any big deal to anyone really (and I doubt will have impact). Why with all the pointless office antics? I can’t say much about this as there isn’t anything to say. The moment is what it is.
So there were a couple of developing points this episode highlighting Chihaya and Miyoshi with Tanaka. Other than that we get an episode highlighting a strange day in the office and not much else. With 3 episodes until the end of the season can we say this wasted air time is warranted? I don’t think so. I imagine next week will be back on track with the office romance and drama but with this episode throwing me for a loop it’s hard to say what I’ll be expecting. Either way I’ll be watching it.
Christina

Servant x Service Episode 9 Highlights & Thoughts

I apologize for missing last week’s episode! I didn’t have time to watch it on time, by the time I watched it it had been out for a few days and a highlights post at that point seemed a little pointless. That aside I’m here to highlight episode 9 for this week! This week was very lovey dovey as we got a look into Chihaya and Ichimiya’s relationship beginnings, as well as a touching moment from Hasebe to Lucy. Spoilers ahead! Let’s talk about the episode.

In the intro we get to learn a bit more about the relationship between Chihaya and Ichimiya, more specifically why someone so frustrated remains smitten. It seems like Ichimiya has a good heart and recognized Chihaya early on from when she started working as a temp. Although the moment is subtle and quick, it seems like she’s in it for his good heart (although he still gets caught up in his sister’s antics). I’ve grown to like Chihaya a lot as she seems like a very capable person and handles her emotions well (even though she has bursts of anger directed at Ichimiya every now and then, but who doesn’t get that in their relationship once in a while?).  I like their dynamic and it was nice for the quick side story, I’d like to see more of their relationship before the season’s over.

There’s also a subtle moment where Chihaya and Lucy are shopping for Lucy’s date with Hasebe. We finally get a little relief from Lucy’s insecurity as Chihaya tells her to think better of herself. This allows Lucy to realize that Hasebe’s affections are more genuine than she would have previously believed. And like the moment between Ichimiya and Chihaya, it’s a subtle line that will really transform Lucy’s character and help her to develop a lot. I think that’s what gives Chihaya oomph to her character, her moments are subtle but powerful. It’s nice to see her character mingling and affecting this flamboyant cast.

We also learn a bit more about Tanaka, more specifically that Kaoru finds him funny. We learn that he’s been persistent with everyone who has a connection to Hasebe (so Lucy is not special in that regard). I find his character very confusing; it seems like his obsession with Hasebe is a bit on the homosexual side. As strange as that sounds, he’s centered a lot of his life around trying to beat Hasebe, so much so that he is willing to have meaningless relationships to prove something to him and ‘ultimately help him’. His character is unsettling and confusing on the whole.

Lastly we get the most enjoyable moment of the episode. Miyoshi tricks Hasebe into believing that Lucy is getting married (her motives unknown, perhaps she agrees with Tanaka on the matter?). Anyways, we end up with a distraught Hasebe which is a big contrast between his usually cheerful self. It ends up being a misunderstanding as it’s really Kaoru his sister who is getting married. Hasebe admits to only needing Lucy as a contact in his phone as she is the only girl he needs, and it leaves Lucy flustered and happy. Now we know their upcoming date is going to seal the deal for Hasebe. Even despite Hasebe’s playboy demeanor he has these endearing lines that make him very likeable. I’m awaiting their eventual get together (hopefully factors like Tanaka don’t get in the way!).
So that was this week’s episode. Full of love and happiness! Each character was highlighted for their strengths this episode so it was nice to see how endearing each character is. I’m awaiting the next episode as it will most likely feature Hasebe’s and Lucy’s date. Anyone else excited for Lucy’s outfit? Until next week!
Christina

Servant x Service Episode 7 Highlights and Thoughts

I’m loving this anime! Each episode brings something new to the table that keeps the show interesting and spontaneous. This episode didn’t deviate from my expectations whatsoever. We get to understand the relationship between Ichimiya and Chihaya better as well as learn about the mysterious grandson Tanaka and his connection to Hasebe. Watch out! Spoilers ahead! Let’s get into the highlights of this episode!

It begins with Chihaya having a bit of fun with Toko, as she dresses her up into one the magical girls that Chihaya fantasizes about. We get to learn that Chihaya honestly likes both of them for different reasons, and that Toko is not just a conduit for Chihaya to get to Ichimiya. I sympathize a lot with Chihaya, it seems like she’s dating quite the airhead. It’s nice that they give us a little bit of their office romance (which isn’t very steamy unfortunately) and lets us in to their dynamic. That’s something I really like about this anime, it doesn’t skimp on letting us know more about all the different characters it features. We learn a bit about all of them every episode.

The second half of this episode introduces us to old lady Tanaka’s grandson. He’s a very responsible A type banker, and doesn’t seem too bad to look at either which is a plus for Miyoshi. Unfortunately he also has a score to settle with Hasebe, which eats up all of his interest leaving none for Miyoshi (or maybe a few scraps) but perhaps there’s more to their romance than meets the eye? Here’s hoping! I’d like to learn more about Miyoshi, I bet they’re going to delve further into her character so it’s something to look forward to in the upcoming episodes!

So that was another enjoyable episode of Servant x Service, which is one of my top picks for this anime season. It’s definitely up there as a josei title, I would group it in with many of the others. It’s lighthearted enough to make funny jokes but also serious enough to get us honestly involved in the characters. There’s a lot to look forward to, and I’m anticipating episode 8 which is out next week! This episode left me with more questions than answers so I hope they get answered soon!
Christina