Uchi no Kaisha no Chiisai Senpai no Hanashi

Ah yes, the obligatory seasonal workplace romance story. Chiisai senpai is somewhat of a one trick pony. Its story is very simple, but it executes that one trick very well making for a fun viewing experience. It’s an endearing and charming workplace story that reminds us how love can be found when you least expect it.

Contrary to how Twitter erupted when the first trailer for this dropped with “pedobait” allegations, because we all know pedophilia=anime girl short, this is a pure fluff watch that will set your heart ablaze with how sweet it can be..

In Japanese society, the workplace can be brutal and unforgiving. ... Long hours, unpaid overtime and abuse from superiors. So it should come as no surprise that Katase Shiori’s concern and affection towards Takuma Shinozaki is such a welcome sight for the MC. Having someone that genuinely cares for you in this environment is a blessing, one that he does not take for granted. Of course, because anime MC logic, he’s totally oblivious to the not so subtle flirtatious manner in which Katase expresses herself.

What really stands out in this one is the somewhat realistic nature in which the budding romance is handled. Falling in love in the workplace can really complicate things and has ethical and professional ramifications. I like how the show addresses that and it adds to the romantic tension. Some will find this a negative as they think there’s no point continuing a story if the characters aren’t together within a few episodes. However, obstacles like this only serve to enhance the story in my opinion, and it feels believable. Characters should feel trepidation about this type of thing.

Although wholesome and cute, the show can be a bit repetitive at times. There’s also times where the progression feels painfully slow because of Shinozaki’s density. Obviously like most romance stories, this is played up because seeing the couple get together immediately wouldn’t be fun. But my goodness is the MC thick at times. Some of the gags also feel very high school-y despite this being a workplace story. This wasn’t a big turn off for me though, but still worth noting.

The side characters are actually fun in this one and make up for any issues with Shinozaki. It takes a while for them to really get mixed into the story, but once they do you instantly fall in love with them. In fact, I honestly believe the manager, sister and childhood friend are the best parts of this show. Absolutely hilarious dynamic between the three that spices up the rather simple story.

Project No.9 have gained a reputation for doing these cutesy style romances and they did another good job here. The art is bright and cheery, a total contrast to the reality of working in a Japanese office, but a welcome escape. Animation is about what you’d expect from a slice of life romance. Solid, but nothing to write home about.

Overall, Chiisai senpai is a cute and fluffy workplace romance. It’s not innovative, but it works. It’s cute, has good characters, a realistic dilemma and some nice art. Those looking for a break from the near incessant stream of high school romance will find a solid watch here.

Chisai Senpai gets 8 out of 10.

"When one trope starts, all else starts to follow." - A random anime weeb

Do you remember a little show called Senpai ga Uzai Kouhai no Hanashi a.k.a My Senpai is Annoying? It aired back in Fall 2021, courtesy of Doga Kobo, and it was one of the popular shows in that season (that was dominated by Mushoku Tensei Season 1 Part 2 and Komi-san, to name a few), that was heavily influenced by Spring 2018's Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii a.k.a Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, also another popular show from that season. And within the span of 5 years, we get yet another ... iteration of the now-known adult-casted workplace themes and rom-com genre, in the vein of mangaka Saisou's Uchi no Kaisha no Chiisai Senpai no Hanashi a.k.a My Tiny Senpai. From what started out as a Doujin self-made work, it was expanded to become a manga series, and in my mind, this show can be summed up as such: swap the body and personalities of the MCs from Senpai ga Uzai and make the female MC an Uzaki-chan derivative.

This is the alternate WotaKoi story of a worker and his Senpai mentor, Takuma Shinozaki and Shiori Katase, which from the outside, you would think that they're just casual office colleagues who do their workday in and day out. But being the Senpai character that Shiori is, she dotes on Shinozaki being her first mentee with her gorgeous, profoundly kind, loving, and diminutive womanly traits, hoping to both train him and make him feel relaxed. The work may be hard, but the relationship shared is just as professional as possible. The professionalism in that sense...is the usual kind of situation that you would expect from a rom-com about the daily operations in the office about the innocent young man and his buxom Senpai supervisor who engages in anything and everything that's noteworthy to the other colleagues in their department of Development Group 1. There is no doubt that the show wants us to see the growing relationship of Shinozaki and Shiori that will one day develop into a sizable romance. the hints are there, alright, along with its wishy-washyness of "will they, won't they".

Both Shinozaki and Shiori are not the only colleagues sharing the same office space, as they're also accompanied by Shinozaki's childhood friend and co-worker, Chinatsu Hayakawa, and their department manager, Chihiro Akina. Once again, we do have the exact same situation/scenario as Senpai ga Uzai, that the odd "couple" of Hayakawa and Akina are basically the replication of Touko Sakura and Souta Kazama, only that both of their involvements towards both Shinozaki and Shiori are as clear as day, having romantic shticks of their very own. This is especially important because Hayakawa is into cosplay, and Akina...well, he's just the wingman who knows how to navigate office romance relationships well, despite the former having feelings for him. A relationship between the co-worker and her innocent, yet happy-go-lucky, and cunning manager? I would be down for that if it were true! But once again, just like Senpai ga Uzai, the side couple is more interesting than the main couple, and this show suffers from the same problem as the former, even though this is less pronounced here.

At this point, I don't quite have expectations for Project No. 9's production; as long as it's serviceable, that's fine and all by me. And the OST is really good with Touya Kobayashi and YU-KA's very catchy OP and ED songs, so much so that you can't help but listen to the songs every episode. It was definitely the highlight for me.

All in all, what mangaka Saisou had managed to procure with Uchi no Kaisha no Chiisai Senpai no Hanashi a.k.a My Tiny Senpai is decent at best, though it doesn't break the bank, especially having watched WotaKoi and Senpai ga Uzai (which this is the better "Annoying Senpai" show of the two). Even with how genuine that this shows commits to its premise with all the sweet and fluffy undertones, and while innocent, it's just very surface-based and can be bland at times. A decent try, but this ain't it.

This anime is your average generic middle school romcom. The workplace setting is pointless because all the characters act like middle schoolers.


I honestly can't find the words to review this anime because of how little content it has. The series always sticks to safe generic plot and never does *anything* original. You have seen this stuff in most classic (older) romcoms where the two main characters keep hesitating to take the next step. The plot never moves forward, and you can't distinguish between episode 1 and 10 because there's barely any progress.

The dialogue, plot, characters, art and everything is just tropes copy-pasted from existing ... works. The tropes of
1. guy getting cold due to rain -> girl cooking for him
2. gang going to swimming pool -> swimsuits fanservice
3. girl eating one fking alcohol based chocolate -> acting super drunk
4. going to hotsprings -> girl getting drunk and acting clingy..

all of these have been done to death. Tropes are supposed to be used in your story. But here, there is literally nothing but tropes. what am i supposed to review? how do i differentiate this from other series? What did the author even do here? Just contribute something original ffs, to atleast leave your mark on your own series.

Characters
MC is the generic nice guy with all the personality of a blank white A4 paper. super boring and sometimes annoying with his indecisiveness in progressing the romance track.
FMC is just your average generic tiny waifu with humongous milkers. She is a teasing mature sempai sometimes, but also becomes a blushing stuttery mess, depending on what the plot demands. She also actively blocks any romantic progress from ever happening. She is basically there to pander to the male gaze.

There are a few side characters who are (slightly) more fun to watch. Especially the boss. His ship with hayakawa is nice, but needed more development. There's another side ship, but it barely got started this season. I think these characters seem better, because of how garbage our main characters are.

Overall
if you are nostalgic for generic romcoms (or you are still new to anime and haven't watched the other romcom series), then this might be worth a watch. Otherwise, just skip this and get some sleep instead. Also checkout the sugar song (ED), which was the only nice thing about this series.