Blend S

Wishing to be independent, 16-year-old Maika Sakuranomiya is desperate to nail down a part-time job so that she can afford to study abroad. Unfortunately, her applications are constantly rejected due to the menacing look she unintentionally makes whenever she smiles, despite her otherwise cheerful disposition.

After yet another failed interview, she chances upon Café Stile, a coffee shop where the servers interact with the customers while roleplaying distinctive characteristics. The Italian store manager, Dino, becomes infatuated with Maika's cuteness at first sight, and offers her a job as a waitress with a sadistic nature. Coupled with her inherent clumsiness, she successfully manages to serve a pair of masochistic customers in accordance with her new, ruthless persona. Alongside Kaho Hinata as the tsundere and Mafuyu Hoshikawa as the younger sister, Maika decides to make the most out of her unique quirk and cements her position in the cafe with merciless cruelty!

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sakuranomiya, Maika Main

Waki, Azumi Japanese

Hinata, Kaho Main

Kitou, Akari Japanese

Hoshikawa, Mafuyu Main

Haruno, Anzu Japanese

Dino Main

Maeno, Tomoaki Japanese

Akizuki, Kouyou Main

Suzuki, Tatsuhisa Japanese

Kanzaki, Hideri Supporting

Tokui, Sora Japanese

Amano, Miu Supporting

Tanezaki, Atsumi Japanese

Sakuranomiya, Aika Supporting

Matsuzaki, Rei Japanese

Mahou Shoujo Frill Supporting

Ogura, Yui Japanese

Sakuranomiya, Kouichi Supporting

Satou, Shinki Japanese

Kobayashi, Hiroyuki Producer

Onoue, Taiki Producer

Niwa, Masami Producer

Tsuruta, Kishou Producer

Reviews

Jan 26, 2023

Naneo

Recommended

This anime is not all about part time work. There is also a romance bit here and there, but the main thing is about bonding and having fun with your coworker. First thing I wanna point out is the romance bit kinda weird. They have a big gap on their age. One is a schoolgirl, one is a manager. So if you are not into it just skip this anime. This is a really great anime to relief stress after going home from work yourself.

Story is easy to follow because there aren't like big plot or something. Just some schoolgirl doing a part time job ... to go overseas. The shenanigan Cafe Stile produce is so entertaining to not make it a boring anime, considering this anime premise is not engaging. Every episode filled with hillarious moment. And the joke delivery is on point. I never gone an episode without laughing. One problem tho. The only thing that makes the story looks like progressing is when they introduce a character. So when an episode doesnt introduce characters, it feels like just exist to fill the 12 episode count. Because there are hardly any meaningful story at all.

The series also does a great job of introducing the other characters and their roles at the café. Each character has their own unique personality and backstory, and the series does a great job of exploring them. The anime OP point that out. Everyone except the cook have 2 personality. What I love about it even more is they're not perfect. So we can relate to them, its a hospitality job after all. Sometimes their true personality slipped out in front of customers. Always interesting to watch them interact with each other in the backrooms, their rich personality and the context given. The series also does a good job of balancing the comedy with more serious and heartfelt moments, making it an enjoyable watch throughout.

The animation is of course a good quality, with detailed and expressive character designs. The voice acting need to be praised too, with the actors bringing the characters to life in a charming and humorous way. Not to mention they also sing the OP and ED song. Both of it are in my playlist now. Most of the time, its all takes place inside a room. And when they go outside. They didn't miss the opportunity to make the background so beautiful.

Really enjoy this anime, definitely will rewatch this in near future. Oh yeah and read the manga too. This anime is so iconic with that OP. There are tons of people creating memes with various scene and characters, which makes it even more popular. I decided to watch this anime because me myself get my first job too. Although it is not a part time work. I can relate and relax watching it after my 12 hour shift. Thats all I wanna say about this anime. Thank you for reading my review.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Nov 14, 2024

Normal_Jabiru

Mixed Feelings

A lighthearted romp to pass the time that got a few laughs out of me. Each character had their own little quirks that endeared me to them, despite the fact they aren't the most complex or unique out there. Everyone has a fun dynamic with each other dripping in the essence of its 4-koma origins. Hideri, Kaho, Kōyō, and Mafuyu were the characters I had the most fun watching, especially the snappy banter between Mafuyu and Kōyō. They're similar in vibe, but bring their own fun traits to the table. (pun intended) Basically, I liked them all, with the exception of Dino, but I’ll get ... to him later.

The production quality is fairly consistent, and the art is soft and serviceable. I like some of the tracks of the OST, as they make for calming background noise while doing things around the house. Though nothing is stand-out-amazing, the tracks are very soothing to listen to on their own, and compliment their scenes pretty well. For once, I was okay with the generic background art, as it puts the focus squarely on the characters and their wacky antics. This is a comedy show, first and foremost.

Even though I thought the cast was charming, and they kept me engaged, I still couldn’t enjoy myself sometimes because of the worst character, Dino, and the fact that the rest of the cast cheers him on. He isn’t the most boring character, he even has his own charm, but the thing that made him basically unbearable to me was the fact that this 26 year old man has a crush on a 16 year old, and everyone else condones it and is actively rooting for him by the end. As someone who is his age, I can't even fathom having a crush on someone that young, and the age gap in emphasized by her looking so young and tiny compared to him. He's quite literally a pedophile, and Mafuyu and Kōyō routinely threaten to call the police on him/beat him up, which makes them aware of its inappropriate nature; It's even more confusing as to why they're suddenly chill with it in the last episodes. I understand it's a gag show, and things shouldn’t be taken seriously, but the adults around Maika constantly allowing this grown man to creep around her puts a bad taste in my mouth. The sad thing is, I like dynamics similar to that of Dino and Maika, but the 10 year age gap is so distracting, and sours everything for me since the show can't make up its mind as to whether or not it's messed up. If it didn't draw attention to it, I'd be able to tolerate it more, and just kind of ignore it. I don't derive humor from watching an infantile 26 year old (unsuccessfully) hit on a dense 16 year old. I would much prefer spending time with the other members of the cast.

There is a second implied relationship in the series with Kaho and Kōyō that isn’t as creepy?? but it's still suspect. (Kaho is 17 and Kōyō is 21.) Mafuyu is by default my favorite since she doesn’t have inappropriate relationships with the kids, and actively stops them from partaking in anything sexual, at least at work. But she gradually becomes more passive about the creep shit, so the note I ended on with her was meh.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jan 4, 2023

inkytypo

Not Recommended

Blend S was one of those animes that didn’t interest me back when it aired in 2017, and perhaps for good reason. Beyond the pedophile manager’s (aged 26) attraction to the mc Maika (aged 16), the anime fails to go anywhere in terms of plot despite introducing multiple new characters throughout the season. Despite being a moe anime with constant attempts to break the fourth wall to appeal to ‘otaku’ viewers, the jokes play on overused tropes and come off as cringe-worthy. It’s characters, each with their own ‘gimmick’ and role they play at the café, experience no character development, growth or change. Coupled with ... the fact that the plot itself doesn’t go anywhere, the whole anime feels like a series of filler episodes from start to finish. If you skipped this anime back in 2017, it probably isn’t worth your time picking it up now.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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