Based on the fact that Doujin Work was the top recommended anime in relation to it on MAL, I had some high hopes. And, well...I was a bit let down.
It's not that this anime is bad. It's just that it's nothing special, either.
STORY (6/10):
Unlike the forementioned Comic Party, Doujin Work has nowhere near as much emphasis on the protagonist's desire to improve their manga. Najimi does improve in her work as the show goes along, but the main focus of Doujin Work is gag comedy.
I was happy to see the story advance a bit towards the end...however, without giving spoilers, that doesn't work out like it could've, which was disappointing.
ART (6/10):
The artwork is decent, if not a bit lazy. Background characters are drawn as grey/green blobs at times. (I guess the artist ran out of generic faces.)
There's one great visual gag in which Najimi enters an eroge shop, around episode 3 or so. Inside, you see lots of covers of real visual novels. I was able to recognize Saya no Uta (!!!), though there were plenty of others. That was certainly a nice touch.
SOUND (6/10):
The voice-acting is good; none of the voices felt out of place. (I watched this subbed, as there is no English dub of Doujin Work as of this writing.) The OP and ED are skippable, just generic J-pop.
CHARACTER (6/10):
The characterization isn't bad overall, but some characters lack motives for their actions. For example, "Justice", Najimi's childhood friend, constantly tries to protect her from a male fan of hers who is very kind-hearted and has a crush on her.
Is Justice attracted to her? The show never even so much as jokes about it. Then why is he so worried about this boy coming close to her?
Also, Sora, a little girl who pops up in about every episode, really serves no purpose to the story other then to make Justice to seem a bit creepy (I'll get into that more below).
ENJOYMENT (6/10):
Before watching Doujin Work, you should know the show has some, er...lolicon undertones. I wasn't expecting these, and they got a little unnerving at times. Despite the fact that Najimi is supposed to be in college, she's drawn like she's 13, and her friend Tsuyuri is drawn even younger. The title screens often depict them nude or in suggestive situations.
The character of Sora, an elementary school girl who frequently accompanies Justice, pushes my suspicions even further. She is WAY too close to these adults drawing hardcore hentai, and her relationship with Justice is never really explained in a way that could make not creepy. The occasional fanservice on her, even if it only lasted a couple seconds, made me gag.
Some of the gags in the show fell flat for me, were overused, or were simply way too cringy (while the show gets over that last one after the first couple of episodes, they are uncomfortable - and this is coming from someone who enjoys Watamote). However, there are enough funny and enjoyable moments throughout the series that I did enjoy watching it.
OVERALL (6/10):
In conclusion, if you can get past the show's skeevy undertones, Doujin Work might be worth a watch on a rainy day (that is, if you've already seen Comic Party). It's a goofy little slice-of-life that'll only take about two hours of your life.
