Hataraki Man

Characters/Development
Begining with the flow of things, it was done quite well within the eleven episodes there are of the show. Each one basically focuses onto certain problems the characters must deal with, or a certain task set that needs to be done and the issues that arise while doing so. The characters emotions and hardships of work are displayed during these times, and also focuses on some of their lifes out of work. Some of the character development is done through thoughts, showing off their stress during work or sometimes questioning themselves why they actually work so hard. On very few occasions we get some ... flashbacks to explain why a character has views and feelings that you see within that current episode.

The relationship between Hiroko and her boyfriend is first shown as a simple one, something rather typical and quite relaxed, which soon develops into something quite different as the pair begin to focus more on their work rather than the relationship between the two. Dates are missed, and long periods of romance lacking days await in the latter episodes which has some effect on the pair and causes more problems to arise within the show. Not all the episodes however focus on the main character, but instead explain the roles and personality of the other characters, the jobs they do and any emotion involved. Talking about the character though, each one is unique within the workplace and rather likable and you get to know them more. You’ll somewhat learn their role within the company sooner or later, and attitudes involved, each with dealings of their very own problems.

Animation/Scenery
Artwise, everything has been done pretty well. Character designs are brilliant as each one has their own distinctive looks making them more appealling and realistic. Such details from their clothes and makeup they wear, facial structure, hairstyles and even the eyes give them the unique touch between them all for both the males and females, unlike some shows where female characters can usually look the same.

Colours are vibrant and pretty bright throughout the series, which blends together quite ncely. Nothing really stands out of the ordinary and the colours are balanced between each other with some smooth transitions and shadings with make the art work visually look well made and appealling. This even flows perfectly well into the background art with some realistic looking structures and designs for both interior and exterior locations, where lighting and shading helps a great deal for depth using beautiful tones. The bright colours can look quite exotic during those sunny days during the series, while night life is approached will with plenty of darker tones with some hints of dark blue in them, while the other city lights add more light to the scenes. Foregrounds and the characters are also quite bold in appearance, while having some smooth, light lines between them and the backgrounds while looking great.

Animationwise, is surprisingly decent for this type of show, where the general themes aren’t of sword fighting or gun shootouts, but of pure drama and emotional life events that take place. However this is one of the shows highlights which keeps a more modern and realistic feel to the series, and a job well done in that area.

Audio/Music
This isn’t a strong area of mine to comment and discuss about so I’ll be brief. Voice acting is generally well done throughout, with a well chosen actor per character of which have fitting voices and can reflect their personalities quite well especially the stress and emtion that goes through Hiroko which Rie Tanaka does a good job of. Other such sound effects are pretty moderate, used and timed well so no complaints in that area. Can’t exactly remember any of the background music so I guess it’s quite moderate with nothing really rememberable. I did like the music themes in this one however, especially the opening which has a good sound and tune to it, flowing pretty well with the sequence.

Conclusion
Good approach to the hardships of having a career while keeping a relationship strong and the types of problems involved. Good flowing story with some interesting characters and developments between them. Decent visuals and animations throughout which remain appealing. This show isn’t for everyone out there and best watched with an open mind about life with some decent drama and emotion involved. An enjoyable watch for eleven episodes.

Hataraki Man was an anime that caught me by surprise. The anime deals with themes of work, overwork, dissatisfaction with work, finding your purpose in work, ultimately loving your job, and even death. It is a more mature anime—not that the anime has any lewd content or even "fan service"—but it is mature in its themes and setting; the characters are age 22-and up, and the anime greatly paints them as life-like as possible; Japanese men and women in the workplace, with thoughts, desires, anxieties, &c., and their associations with each other. To remain simple, I'll detail the main traits:

I found the story ... outstanding, in that it revolves around many characters who are involved professionally with each other, while the entirety maintained its focus on the protagonist. Each of her (Hiroko Matsukata, the main character) is equally represented in some way, and you become acquainted with each person around her. At least, I can definitely say that I did, and I appreciated knowing her environment, and how realistic each profile was made for those around her. Having said this, her part in the series, the main part, is never sidelined, as each person has to work with each other in their projects. They affect one another, and this adds to the depth of this very realistic tale. There are few moments of drama, everything which flows smoothly and appropriately. As I said, the realism will not deter, but draw. By the end, I found myself at odds with the decisions of the characters, but I realized that this was not a fault with the creators of this anime, but that that is who those characters were, and their respective decisions are all their own. I respected that.

The art can be difficult to review, as the anime was released in 2006, and I am writing this in 2015; certainly the time has afforded greater advancements in art style and animation. Nevertheless, I can accurately say that the lowest point of this anime is its animation. Although not much of it is starkly bad, certain scenes show flaws, but very few. In any case, I was far too caught up in the progression of the story to mind, and, depending on what sort of viewer you are, you will be as well.

The sound and music, I found, are perfect. The opening and ending songs fit the anime very well, as they speak about both work and a woman's personal thoughts on her life; her desires for love in a relationship, which certainly plays an important role in this story. I discovered Sambomaster through this anime, and their two songs (used as inserts) sound amazing when used. In the somber scenes, the music appropriately switches to correct-sounding music. Nothing out of the ordinary, perhaps, but it works, and it works well.

The characters are the triumph of this anime. They progress very well, and are constant; their desires are all made known through certain small scenes of introduction with each. They deal with life and the troubles thereof with as much emotion and reasoning as you would expect from those around you. As I said, they're given equal representation, and their characteristics are as if they really are people you would meet in your everyday life. Each character has a past, a present, and a future; their desires are not bland, but realistic: they want to be the best at what they do. The usual characters which range on the overtly cute to those meant for comic relief will not be found here, and that is one of the reasons I enjoyed this anime: the characters are unique in that they are almost alive, and never fake.

Perhaps the reason I enjoyed this anime was due to how I related to it. This is something I noticed from the first episode, how this anime appeals to the older viewers: viewers who have jobs and have to deal with the stresses associated with finances, work (struggles with fellow employees and bosses and timelines and &c.), disillusionment with the future, and maintaining a good romantic relationship. I myself am 25 years old as I write this, and I am surprised how interested I became of this anime, but then wondered why there aren't more of these bits of realism. Nevertheless, there are many aspects to enjoy from this short anime, and different people may enjoy it for various reasons.

Overall, I loved it. I loved every episode, and there are many great things which are not found in this review. It does not have action, but the actions of the daily, work-stressed individuals which keep a business going; it is not a love story, but the people in this anime are just that—people, and, thus, have desires just like the majority of the people on earth regarding romance and love, desires which are stifled at times by their busy lives, to where they wonder if they'll even have sex again.

This may not be an anime for everyone, but if there is a certain person I aim this anime, I point it towards those more mature fans who can appreciate a slice of life that represents the realities of life, while maintaining a good story with a good, hardworking protagonist.

It's short, but definitely comprehensive. I hope you enjoy it.

As this is a slice of life show, there's not really much story to speak of. It's more episodic than arc-based. The most important aspect to this show is probably the way Matsukata's ambitiousness clashes with her life as a woman and her desire (and, at times, need) to be feminine. While this is mostly positive, there are a few moments where the femininity contradicts the ambitiousness, rather than contrasting with it. In other words, there are some points where Matsukata is portrayed as less of a strong, independent, struggling woman and more of a vulnerable, weak, victimized woman. While ... disappointing, these moments are few and the series is ultimately more inspiring than off-putting.

Matsukata is ultimately the only character that gets any real focus; the other characters get at best part of one episode focused on them, then a couple lines here and there afterwards. This actually becomes repetitive, as a character is introduced, portrayed a certain way, then revealed to have some thought or emotion which contrasts with how they're portrayed. This type of motif might have been more successful at entertaining if the viewer were given more time with the character, so as to develop some empathy. While this is used to good effect at some points, the series would most likely be better if there was no pretense of depth for all but a few of the characters.

The pacing is decent; it plods along a little bit near the end, and in the final episode there's a bizarre repeating of scenes. Presumably, the intent is to show some events and actions and then follow up by revealing the circumstances behind them; but since it replays the relevant scenes in their entirety it looks suspiciously like the final episode was originally too short, and then padded to fill time. This very well may not be the case, but whatever the intent was, the effect is unwelcome and detracts from the experience.

Ultimately, the most appealing aspect of this show is the philosophical. It is somewhat enjoyable, but the lack of screen time for most of the characters makes empathizing with them difficult, resulting in what feels like filler.

I'm a physician of 30 years. The meaning behind my work is undeniable. However the main character in this "Slice of Tripe" inspires nothing in me. She is definitely a typical arrogant grandiose Bipolar mood disorder victim who is driven by a very goal directed mania. In this sense it is an accurate portrayal of someone suffering from this disorder. But I can find nothing inspiring in her story. I just end up feeling sorry for her. In the end, no matter how noble you find your job, not having sustaining relationships and family will leave you completely bereft of meaning. I'd chuck my ... degree and 30 years in an instant for those things. Everyone I have known who didn't keep those priorities, lived a pathetic existence. People in the media like her are the emptiest I've ever met. This is the first time I feel I wasted my time on an anime series, and the first that I've written a negative review. I feel an evil western influence in this series and hope that it isn't a trend.

A realistic look at a young professional woman's workaholic behavior. If you don't get it, you're probably under 25. But if you’re looking for a character-driven story about the “real world,” this is it.

I found the main character incredibly relatable. Hiroko is brash, ambitious, driven, masculine. But despite her mannish communication style, she still feels like a woman, one who doesn't want to be constrained by traditional expectations. She pushes herself much harder than her coworkers, but she's not doing herself any favors when it comes her to relationships with her colleagues or her boyfriend. The progression of her workaholic tendencies plays out much like ... it does in real life.

A must-watch for anyone who’s made an identity out of their career.

I don’t treat every anime fairly, but I do have a few specific standards that must be met when judging them. No matter what genre, studio, director, or whatever is attached to an individual product, I must always feel like something important is happening. There are different ways you can make something feel important, but it generally needs to make me thing. It needs to make me laugh. It needs to feel like the team behind the anime gives a crap. And before people bring up how the team behind that Brynhildr anime was trying their heart out, I mean give a crap in a ... way that isn’t stupid.

So that brings me to my Secret Santa: Hataraki Man, which I elected for because the other options were Vision of Escaflowne and Kamichu, and the only way you’re going to get me to watch a Sunrise mecha or a slice-of-life show revolving around some little girl falling in love and experiencing the benefits of a religion I have no interest in is if you gave me the Bernie Lomax treatment of killing me and making my corpse do the most out-of-character things. To be fair, I did try Escaflowne because I thought its “classic” status and the era that it came from would at least make analyzing what’s wrong about the show fun, but nothing about what the show did right or wrong clicked with me and I stopped watching after the third episode.

Not that Hataraki Man was a better option, because it turned out to be one of those slice-of-life shows that is simply what it is: an anime about a working woman who ruins her social life through taking her career too seriously. Most office entertainment like Office Space, Parks and Recreation, or Mobile Police Patlabor would use that premise to leap into some humor, drama, or good insight into the working environment, but Hataraki Man chooses to go the route of insultingly having none of these, reminding me of Shirobako if at least got the basics right, but only got the basics right. Throughout most of the show, I’m watching this woman work in a magazine company and all I have to say is “why?” Why am I supposed to care that she’s ruining her life through work dedication, and why am I supposed to care about her dedication to work itself? And before people give me that “because I can relate to her” bullshit, let me remind you that this is fiction! I go to fiction in order to get something I can’t get in real life. I go to anime to get something I can’t get from other mediums. Like Pee Wee Hermann, I don’t want to watch something I’ve already lived through.

The first half or so of the anime does have structure: each episode, one of the employees interacts with our “hataraki man” protagonist, Hiroko, and we learn more about her, them, and how they perceive each other throughout a 22-minute runtime. Unfortunately, because the show never really attempts to be funny, never tries to make a big deal out of their interactions, and doesn’t even really tell me anything all that unique character-wise, each episode comes off as rejected filler from an early UPN sitcom. They do try to sprinkle drama here and there regarding Hiroko’s social life, but it’s the same stuff you see in every office story with no unique spin to it and it doesn’t really even build up to anything resembling an overarching story in the grand scheme of things. Even when the show gets more dramatic in the second half regarding Hiroko’s apartment getting flooded or her “even more workaholic” boyfriend, nothing about the show makes my brain function because it never really goes beyond the premise that was laid out to us, which in of itself ain’t that interesting. And just to give this anime one final kick to the balls, the animation is technically good, but it’s poor in terms of visual metaphors. I can’t recall one time the cinematography even came close to making me feel like I’m in an office environment.

Hataraki Man is one of those early noitamina shows that most people have forgotten in order to remember stuff like Honey and Clover or Paradise Kiss. I see people remembering it as some cult classic that deserves to be looked at more in relation to those works, but after watching this, I think the reason it was forgotten whilst the other two survived in viewers’ memory is because it wasn’t good and the other two were. Paradise Kiss in particular was funny, dramatic, used the visuals and writing to give me a good insight into the fashion industry, had an awesome ending, and did it with a high school girl to boot. Hataraki Man came, went, and despite having an adult women in her late 20s as the main, didn’t give me anything at all. In fact, I wrote this review not even 24 hours after I saw the show and I’ve already forgotten more than 80% of it.

An anime for anyone who has worked in the daily grind. It seems whatever country you work in the office characters are the same.This an anime for women but anyone who has worked in an office will understand the comedy and sentiment of the show.

The story is about Hiroko a career girl who finds juggling her work and love life more and more difficult. The problem is that she cares about her job too much. However, when she gets a story she turns in to Harataki Man and won't stop until she finishes even if that means working all night.

Hiroko works for a weekly mens ... journal (doesn't seem to have a naked ladies in it though) and in a male dominated office. Not only does she have to work harder than the men to succeed and deal with their sexism when she does succeed, she has to deal with the jealousy of the women too who just use their feminine wiles to get ahead instead of working hard like Hiroko.

Most women will probably empathise with Hiroko but it is the secondary characters that makethe anime work. Some who are friends othersThere is Maiko, who all the men lust after and has a mysterious personal life, who doesn't seem to do much work yet gets a way with it, Kunio the person who Hiroko hates the mates because he is just lazy, Mayu, who is friends with Hiroko, is not cut out for reporting, Yumi, the sports reporter, uses her feminine charm to get her stories, Akihisa, the food critic and Hiroko friend, keeps all the best places to ea to himself and the best character, Fumiya the paparazzi who Hiroko empathises the most because as much as he hates his job he can't walk away from it. A dislike of him because of his bad manners turns into mutual respect.

What starts out as a critique of Japanese office life turns into more of an office satire.

If you have ever worked in an office you will recognise a lot of these characters and with an ever aging anime fan base I'm surprised their aren't more like Harataki Man.

This series is basically an exploration of work--how much time should be devoted to it, what kind of priority should be placed on it, what kind of approach should be taken to it, and how this all balances and affects the other aspects of a person's life, especially relationships. The answer to these questions is shown to be different for different people, but it doesn't make any person better or worse than the other. Everyone has to develop their own work philosophy. There's not much of a connected story-line, except how the main characters' divergent work lives ... eventually affect their relationships. Although several characters' viewpoints on this subject are touched upon, that is mainly because they contrast so greatly with that of the main character. In the course of revealing these alternative lifestyles, the main character comes to both question and accept her own behavior in regard to work and relationships, but also to understand that others are different. Ultimately the characters all grow, even if the outcome isn't always happy. I found the reflections in this series to be helpful in refining my own view about my place in the work world.

I thought that the ultimate conclusion was rather inspiring despite some sad events, since the main characters have made some decisions about where they are happiest and therefore aren't constantly in the future going to be devoting so much worry to the question of whether they are doing the right thing or not. In short, they are happier people in the long run, having come to terms with their own personalities.

However, there was just one small frustration about the ending that I won't reveal because it's too much of a spoiler, but I would have liked it if they had developed this aspect just a little bit more.

Note: It must be kept in mind that much of this was inspired by the current situation in the Japanese workplace, and for Japanese women in particular, although many aspects will be familiar to those from any culture and place.

There is nothing special about this one. sorry for saying it frankly but there sure is nothing special about it; no magic, murders nor mysteries to solve, not even a love triangle.

the story foretells the fortunes and misfortunes of a workaholic but what makes it different is that our protagonist is in fact a girl. Conflicts of being a rose amongst the thorns in the magazine company were shown in this anime....How do you handle your work and personal life at the same time? which one will you prioritize? how much are you willing to sacrifice? these questions were obvious here thus, this anime ... will appeal to those working ladies out there. true, the agonies were discussed more often but there are also light moments.(i laughed at some scenes)

It's just one of those josei's, nothing but real life events that will get you thinking of your own priorities.

I decided to watch it by looking the poster as it felt like a slice of life comedy anime but after first episode it felt boring and still the curiosity of relationship between those two made me to watch until the end and resulted in crappy end imao.
Let me get to the core, imao this anime felt like it is trying to say working is better than maintaining relationships and this may seem like not true but from the conclusion I draw the the anime felt like it is saying that if your not good with your partner instead of reflecting on the problems that ... are causing, you should just break up with them and die hard working no matter what.
Other viewers may seen in it different direction but at least for me it was an worst ending and in other way a better ending too as it reminded that relationships and working should be maintained perfectly by reminding it indirectly, which makes me wonder if they have given an bad ending on purpose.
So I am off to watch animes with cute girls welcoming you at the door.