Working!!

Working!!:  B

I have to admit, I spent the first five or six episodes of Working!! trying to figure out if I liked it or not.

At its core, it's a comedic slice of life show with romantic elements.  However, those romantic elements are almost entirely played for either laughs or cuteness factor.  There's also a major subplot of a girl with excessively violent androphobia punching people in the face.  So I like to think that my hesitance in embracing it was at least partially warranted.

And then around episode 7, I realized a few things:  There was almost no fan service, the main cast is fairly evenly split between male and female characters (3 to 5, though the supporting cast leans in the female direction), and that the show didn't focus on one particular type of gag or drama the way a lot of the samey shows I've seen (and mostly rated C+) have.  I was suddenly able to appreciate the series for what it brought to the table, and I started really appreciating it.

By the time I'd started watching the second season (written: Working'!!), I was already familiar enough with the cast that I could just appreciate the humor and the constant silliness that the characters eccentricities generated. And that's really what Working!! is about: watching a group of eccentric individuals interacting with each other and the ups and downs of working together.

If you're looking for a show with a nod toward realism or depth, Working!! won't really satisfy, but if you can get behind plenty of schadenfreude, hijinks and a running gag of situationally enforced crossdressing, it's is cute, catchy and full of giggles.