Apparently, writing is more difficult than it looks. After all, it leaves no time and no strength for doing household tasks. Or perhaps that’s only the case with Izumi, Sota’s older sister. Then, we finally get to see how convoluted the romance is at Wagnaria, the restaurant.
What They Say:
“The Reason Behind the Slump”
Nazuna comes back from her job at Wagnaria and tells everyone that Souta has a “special” relationship with one of the girls there. Izumi is so shocked she can’t write, and runs away from home!
“Manhole Spiral”
Kyoko eats all the cream in the store, so Yachiyo takes her shopping. Suddenly a woman appears from beneath a manhole! The two are surprised, but then Yachiyo realizes who it is…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
So, Sota’s younger sister Nazuna is working at Wagnaria as part of a school thing, and providing a steady contrast to Yamada, the resident screw-up and slacker. While she seems quite capable for her age, she still does not understand everything, as she misinterprets the relationship between Sota and Inami, thinking that Inami likes punching and Sota likes being punched by Inami. Nazuna is not the only Takanashi sister at Wagnaria, as Kozue also shows up, drunk and desperately wanting to be even more drunk, as she was just dumped again.
It’s business as usual for this show.
Except that we take a trip outside of the restaurant for a change. When Nazuna goes back home and tells her sister Izumi, the writer with a weak constitution, about Sota having a special relationship with one of the girls at work, Izumi takes it completely the wrong way, believing that Sota is about ready to abandon her (as Izumi is completely reliant upon Sota to take care of her, as she is too weak (self-induced, most likely) to do even the most simple of household chores). So, she runs away from home, which sends eldest sister Kazue into a panic, while Sota promises to go look for her, as Izumi is not likely to have ventured far.
As it happens, Izumi winds up meeting Mahiru of all people, and tells her her tale of woe. Of course, Mahiru doesn’t know that the wonderful brother that Izumi is describing is Sota. After feeling better talking to Mahiru, Izumi goes home. She overdid it, however, and so Sota doesn’t go into work the next day, since he has to take care of Izumi. Nazuna goes in instead. There, Yamada feels threatened by the competence of Nazuna, but Nazuna shows herself to be a master manipulator, and by the end of the day, she has not only Yamada, but also Popura eating out of the palm of her hand. In fact, the next day, when Sota comes back from work, he wonders what Nazuna did to his co-workers. Izumi, however, spends the entire day in thought, at the end of which she decides that she will become stronger. Cue the collective spit-take by the rest of her family.
In the next episode, Kyoko, our parfait-loving manager, manages to eat all of the whipped cream in the restaurant, much to the dismay of head chef Sato. Yachiyo, of course, ever attentive to Kyoko’s needs, immediately volunteers to go buy more cream, with Kyoko of course. While they are out, it just so happens that they meet, of all people, the missing wife of the senior manager Otoo-san, Haruna. Kyoko doesn’t realize it, but Yachiyo, after learning about the poor woman’s inability to get home, figures it out. But before she can do anything to help the poor woman, Haruna disappears.
Yachiyo comes back and begins to act weird, which makes Sato even more glum than usual. Yachiyo is worried that when Otoo comes back the next time, and it’s revealed that she did nothing to reunite the couple, everyone will hate her. While no one knows the reason, Sato picks up on her discomfort and in his own way begins to worry about her. Soma, ever the mischief maker, teases Sato over his inability to tell Yachiyo about his feelings for her. This is normal, but it happens that Mahiru overhears them and learns Sato’s secret. After she begins mooning after him (not in love, but in pity over his unrequited love), Sota, of course, gets the wrong idea and thinks that Mahiru is in love with Sato. Yes, it’s love triangle time. But in the end, Sota learns the truth from Mahiru, and Sato works up enough courage to at least get Yachiyo to reveal what it is that has been bothering her, in time for the next appearance of Otoo. Otoo, of course, isn’t upset that Haruna wasn’t brought in by Yachiyo, for he fully expects her to appear and disappear quite quickly. In the end, the status quo is pretty much re-established.
In these two episodes, it is interesting that the writer has finally decided to branch out a bit from the restaurant. That’s understandable, as it can potentially get a little dull and perhaps a touch claustrophobic remaining in a single space all the time. These episodes also serve a good purpose in terms of helping to flesh out the characters even more, as we see more of Sota’s home life and what his sisters Nazuna and Izumi are like in the third episode of this season, and we get our first real look at Haruna, Otoo’s missing wife, and a greater focus on the pathetic relationship between Sato and Yachiyo. Though by the end it appears that Sato, while the status quo has been restored, may well have made something of an impact on Yachiyo with his statement that he would never hate her for any reason. Not quite a declaration of love, but it was at least something.
In Summary:
Working’!!, er, Wagnaria season 2 continues to build upon the established setting so far, exploring in greater depth Sota’s home life and especially his sisters Nazuna and Izumi. We learn from Izumi that the love of small things is something that actually runs in the family. We also discover that Nazuna is quite the operator when it comes to managing other people. In the fourth episode of the season, we take a look at the running gag of Otoo-san and his missing wife Haruna, who apparently travels by way of the sewer system. This is just a cover, however, for focusing on the unrequited love that Sato, the head chef, holds for Yachiyo, the head waitress. Since this is an episodic show which relies upon an established order of things, don’t expect any long-lasting changes, but a subtle shift does happen now and then. Light-hearted and fun, Wagnaria continues to be an amusing way to pass the time, even when it leaves the restaurant now and then.
Grade: B+
Simulcast by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard
