The day starts off with a meeting so boring that Maiko just lies about another meeting and leaves. Hiroko tries to get information about the stakeout from Fumiya, but Fumiya won’t spill, due to an urban legend about internet leaks. Hiroko’s day gets worse as she is too busy to work on her Eternal Local Ramen War proposal and has to hand the work over to Tanaka. Hiroko’s so pissed that she has to get smashed, and the only one she can take is Kobayashi Akihisa (the food and erotica editor).
Akihisa is Hiroko’s drinking buddy, as they started around the same time and Akihisa is in a non-scoop department. Also, he’s very honest and kind, and he always takes Hiroko home after she gets smashed. This doesn’t go over well with Shinji, but Hiroko doesn’t feel she can really discuss her work stress with Shinji. Anyway, in spite of Tanaka’s best efforts to do a half-assed job, Akihisa takes advantage of a pinch, and turns it into a chansu. He then goes off to his favorite ramen stand, which he keeps secret just like in the earlier urban legend.
I didn’t completely understand the theme of this episode, but there were some funny moments. I loved seeing everyone space out during the boring meeting, and it was awesome watching Tanaka do zero research for his article. I can empathize with Tanaka, as Hiroko’s job has really impacted her personal life, but still… the complete lack of effort is pretty amazing.
It was interesting seeing Hiroko without makeup, and she really seems unhappy with Shinji. I don’t think anything will come of her and Akihisa, but Akihisa ended up not being as shady as I expected him to be. I was totally inspired by his whole speech about how plain women with big boobs can really make the most of their assets (paraphrasing here), and it seems that hunger can be just as effective as testosterone in powering through an assignment.
I wonder if the sidenote about Yumi changing her perfume will end up being important…
This post was written by...
Kabitzin – who has written 1970 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
One of the founders of Sea Slugs, I handle most of the blog admin tasks while wearing my I AM BOSS shirt. I like my action series well choreographed, and my romance series extra trashy. I also have a soft spot for puns.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I soooooooo want to be the food and erotica editor for a magazine
I agree with you about the point of this episode, I still don’t get what its about. Sure we see some doubt that Hiro has about her relationship, but I wasn’t really surprised to see that. Despite my urge to smack Tanaka upside the head, I had a good laugh when he told Sagawara about his ulcers.
I thought the ulcer thing was weird though, because most ramen is pretty tame stuff.
Heh…i would never have thought that my sleeping skills would make it as a caption
HA! Yumi has changed her perfume because she is having an affair with Shinji. Thus, the perfume change will alert Hiroko to Shinji’s player ways. So THATS why he’s always exhausted.
/end rumour mill
I assume that Hiroko’s eventual man after the breakup will turn out to be Tanaka. Opposites have a tendency to attract in fiction. After all, that way you can have conflict.