Zyl on May 26, 2010 · in Working!! Season 1

Summary:

A burst water main puts Wagnaria out of action for the weekend and the girls decide to make a day trip to the hot springs. Souta is worried because of the danger to the public posed by Mahiru. Nazuna takes over sunning the dried plums, allowing him (with Hiromi tagging along to see the entertainment) to intervene just in time. The two take a walk, hand-in-magic-hand, around the hot springs town and have a nice moment on a suspension bridge with a scenic view. Because everyone dallied, there was no time for hot hot springs fanservice; the girls take Kyoko’s car back and the guys hitch a ride home with Jun.

Reaction:

Surprisingly Aoi (who remembers to call herself Yamada) did not make too much of a nuisance this episode; I liked how everyone was more worried about her ransacking the restaurant in their absence than her being lonely – reminded me of the retort to the boast about how the sun never set on the British Empire because God did not trust them in the dark. It was also nice to see how Aoi and Poplar formed a Hot Springs Alliance and then a Kappa Alliance (Aoi = Maria?; Poplar = Nino?).

The series continues its The Guys Have It Tough dynamic, also featured in the ED – Jun had to give everyone a ride at great risk to his own personal safety and then when his car ran out of fuel, got abandoned on the roadside after alternative/originally indented transport in the form of awakened manju-hungry Kyoko came to the rescue. And when he finally caught up, Yachiyo had already gone home. Even Hiromi, who thought he could be an observer, got Oniichan-ed by Aoi and forced to look after her and Poplar as they ran around the town while Yachiyo accompanied Kyoko on her food sampling.

Of course, the real meat of this episode was Souta x Mahiru; latter really has been lavished with some animation budget love. Although he was correct in his initial assessment, he soon joined the (guilt) trip after realizing how badly Mahiru just wanted to have a fun day out with her friends, something that she has never been able to do at all. It was also really nice of him to tell her that he was able to see the great view from the bridge because of her and that it’s her androphobia, not her that is the Enemy. It was somewhat expected that the androphobia would reassert itself just after that nice scene but it just goes to show you, in life, even with the prettiest words and most beautiful feelings, some things are still more or less impossible.

Chain Reaction:

• Raph also loves magic hand and makes an excellent point about its introduction, use of a recurring joke and transformation into a motif cum plot device: “I think it’s fantastic that the series has turned what was seemingly a one-time joke into a catalyst for the improvement of a key relationship, because that’s something I rarely see in any medium, and I believe it’s something that makes Working!! special.”
• Another pretty good gauge of how much one would enjoy this series depends a lot on how much one enjoys the developments on the Souta x Mahiru front. Though Aroduc (who also loves magic hand) is still sticking it out despite how “The Claw missed its golden opportunity to throw her off the bridge in the middle of her sob spiel. I guess it’s not perfect after all.”