Working!! 2 Ep. 1

Initial impression – nicely moe, but lacking growth

Autumn 2011 (12 episodes) (more info)

When publishers decide that they’re going to denote a second season’s title with an apostrophe to make it distinct from its prequel, I think it’s high time to bring back subtitles.  I’m talking about Clannad After Story, Full Metal Panic Fumoffu,  Naruto Shuppuuden, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.  It’s so much easier on the filing system and provides a convenient cue to quickly tell what you’re talking about in simple conversation.

Ok, now that I’ve got that off my chest, Working!! 2 picks up where season 1 left off.  Popula is still short, Inami is still afraid of men, Aoi is still a freeloader, Yachiyo is still carrying a katana, Kyouko is still a lazy manager and Takanashi is still a moe fanboy.  It’s a nice, diverse cast that is showing a lack of development, unfortunately.  Taking a moe cast out of school and putting it in a restaurant was a good enough change of pace for season 1, but now that it’s already been done, Working!! 2 needs something else to make it stand out from its own past success.  The first episode is still funny, but I’m being led to predict stagnation.  All the same, I’m hopeful that the rest of season 2 will prove me wrong.  If all else fails, I’ll get to enjoy the guilty pleasure I share with Takanashi.