A relaxing anime that attends to the plights of the working lifestyle, by making light of them...
Working!! is an uplifting, quirky, and goofy documentation of everyday working life. It's a
dedicated slice of life anime with no trickery whatsoever, and as such: it embraces a very simple concept.
Contrary to being escapist, everything about Working!! is refreshingly realistic and down-to-earth. It
goes without saying that "minimalist-styled" titles such as Working receive very conflicting responses, as
many fail to/refuse to acknowledge the technical merit within; just because "there's no story": which in itself is a common misconception. Therefore, the audience that can appreciate the relatability aspect of this 13 episode series are likely to enjoy, while those craving a more far-fetched form of escapism might want to look elsewhere.
It's questionable why people find such pleasure in watching something as down-to-earth as Working!!, while one of the main pull factors of anime as a medium remains: escapism potential - usually entailing distant worlds and superpowers etc. I'd like to think it's because the relatable nature of a show like Working!!, brings about a whole new form of escapism...
In spite of the premise and the entire vision behind the show, Wagnaria is far from an ordinary family restaurant. It's interesting, it's fun, it's entertaining, warming, and cosy: everything that working in the real world ISN'T. It's not often that i can say so about "ordinary life" documentaries, but Working!! is actually rather innovative in the way in which it brings all of these cosy escapist fantasies to life, to something that the mature majority of us can relate to: working life - which makes evident that the show's target audience is beyond 15 (approximately)
While catering (get it?) primarily to the relatable experiences of adults, Working!! retains its innocent and goofy charm to awaken the child within. It has extremely heavy ties to the very ordinary working lifestyle most of us are fed up with at present, and so by exposing the entertaining side of such a systematic routine... It not only makes light of the situations that arise at Wagnaria... It makes light of life as a whole, and proudly emanates a carefree vibe that makes the show a great way to wind down. It is therefore essentially:, escapism into an optimistic life perspective...
Those who desire to indulge in the sugar-coated viewpoint that Working!! brings forth, are unlikely to demand a gripping plot line, and this is appropriate as it would only contradict the show's uplifting, and enjoyably carefree aura. The premise is therefore as simple as possible: Souta (our male protagonist) begins working at Wagnaria - a friendly family restaurant. Throughout, nothing threatens to dramatically shape this plot-line and so the show is infinitely more invested in the character development, which leads me swiftly on...
The character development is EVERYTHING to a dedicated SoL such as Working!!, and so the consideration in this department scales closely to the show's overall quality. Thankfully, Working!! delivers on this front by introducing us to a wide variety of vastly differing personalities that make Wagnaria the unique place it is...
While the design of our protagonist: Souta has his amusing quirks, he is the POV character to act as the gateway into the audience's reliability. Therefore he's a relatively blank-slate compared to his co-workers. Which helps to document the rest of the characters, as he maintains a relatively impartial social standpoint.
From Souta's viewpoint, we're introduced to a colourful selection of personalities...
From the androphobic antics of Inami, to the hilariously flawed management personal of Wagnaria. Often such diversity leads to more interesting and unpredictable interactions, and so Working!! gave itself a head start through character design: to make the personalities as individual and interesting as possible. In turn, this gives the whole show an unbeatably natural and yet appropriately intreeging chemistry that makes it an entertaining watch, despite its simplicity. The unique nature of each character comes with a few prominent quirks which make the employees all very charming and likable. This is paramount obviously to Working!!'s success, and gives each character an amusingly emphasized and familiar "presence" that the viewer can immerse themselves in.
Working!! actually undertones a lot of drama as well such as androphobia and love interests. This furthers the depth of the characters with a more conventional "backstory" style, and while it's not ALL fun and games when it comes to these matters... Working!! maintains a balance between substance, casual and comedic interactions, to make it into a happy outlook on working life, while being as unpredictable as possible - in spite of the repetitive nature of employment. It's varied, and therefore a bit chaotic at times, as is representative of real life - another point to serve its relatability aspect...
The presentation is very expressive in terms of comedic visual effects, and the overall standard of the animation is high. In the sound department, we're greeted with a calming and very "family workplace" feeling atmospheric score, which accurately conveys the show's carefree atmosphere. To accompany this, an OP and an ED track that really emphasizes the "fun" of the character chemistry., and therefore couldn't be more appropriate.
Downsides?
From a critical point of view, i must say that it's obvious how there's no interesting plot line to accompany the show. Furthermore, the art is very generic, which isn't helped by the highly excessive usage of cliche anime comedy visual effects, which become more tiresome than expressive or powerful after a while.
Working!! is undoubtedly a very cheesy setup, but it's an example of pure SoL splender that stays true to its branding. It's highly considered anime on most fronts in my opinion., and I found it to be an entertaining and calming outlook on working life - that really lifts my spirits and removes my stresses - the realistic and yet entertaining character chemistry being the strong suit...
~ From far away I can see a small distant utopia ~
