WWW.Working!!

How do you take a familiar series but make turn it into something fresh and new without changing the main plot and setting? Why, you replace the old characters with new ones! Some sort of retelling or reboot, you say? Well… Erm… Let’s say it is an alternate setting spin-off. Because that is what WWW.Working!! is. You take all the characters from the previous seasons you know and then you replace them with new characters that you never hear before. Same place. Same plot. Same style. Voila! New alternate setting sequel. Thus if you are not familiar with the Working!! franchise, do not worry because you do not need to go back and watch all 3 seasons of the original. Anybody can jump in and watch this without having to know anything. Good for newbies as wells as fans who want something new out of something familiar. And producers to milk more money from us. See how this is working now? Sorry, bad pun…

Episode 1
* Daisuke Higashida walks into Wagnaria to look for a part time job. Kenichirou Sakaki the manager interviews him on his reason to work. Well… He doesn’t want to work! His father’s company went bankrupt and since dad has no more allowance to give him, better find a job. How depressing. Heck, the family even made a pun about dad and bankruptcy (both pronounced as ‘toosan’). I guess his case is so pitiful that he lands a waiting job here.
* Higashida is given the ropes by Hana Miyakoshi. She seems like a nice girl at first but then gets violent easily. Yeah, Sakaki gets punched for nothing.
* Higashida’s next creepy experience is with Sayuri Muranushi. She’s greeting nobody at the door… Serving water to nobody at the table… Talking to nobody? Oh sh*t… Apparently it is believed an old grandpa ghost keeps patron Wagnaria and only wants her to server him. One day she wasn’t around, there were creepy writings and warnings all over to demand her back!
* Kisaki Kondou is your badass girl. She smokes and takes time out as she likes. Has she ever really work? But don’t take this slacker for a bimbo. She is actually pretty smart! Until she meets her match in Higashida. This guy is pretty smart too.
* What is a rich girl, Shiho Kamakura working as a waitress? She is so bungling and the only way she believes could solve everything is giving stacks of money. That’s because Yuuta Shindou’s father owes a lot of money to her father. He is working to pay off his father’s debts but that isn’t the worst part. Because he once rejected her before this debt thingy, it is like some sort of revenge as she has got him under her thumb doing every whims and fancies she wants. Queen control…
* Higashida has more problems to deal with. His family is still taking it easy since dad still hasn’t found a job. They even pay a visit to Wagnaria. He wants to kick them out but a good kick from Miyakoshi to remind him to treat all customers well. At the end, father forgot to bring his wallet and hopes his son could cover for him. Saw this coming from a mile…
* Miyakoshi wants Higashida to promise to eat the chocolates she makes. Sounds bad. Hearing Muranushi’s ‘bad review’ doesn’t make it any better.
* Shindou thought Shiho bought all these presents for him. But they are to give to other people and he has more chores to do. Any leftover money she can keep it. Sad guy…
* Higashida sums up his courage to eat Miyakoshi’s chocolates. He almost died! She feels bad and wants to throw them out but Higashida can’t risk any more victims and will take them all home. Miyakoshi is super happy and might be getting the wrong idea about this.

Episode 2
* You think Shiho is kind enough to drop stacks off money on Shindou’s hands. Money strapped on to a bowling ball… Poor guy…
* Miyakoshi forces Higashida to help her study for the test as his White Day response. Because if her grade slips, her mom won’t let her work here anymore.
* Everyone is shock to see Kisaki bringing in her own baby Hime to work. Flashback reveals Sakaki noticing a group of mothers at the table for a long time. He thought they should have brought their kids along. Kisaki took this advice literally. Oh, baby Hana is smarter than Miyakoshi!
* Kouki Saiki enters looking for a job. However he doesn’t understand Japanese despite his parents are. Blame living overseas for a long time. With Kisaki translating, apparently his friends filled up the application as a prank. He showed up and thought he could quickly go home. He should have been rejected but somehow he is hired! Oh dear. How can he even communicate… Luckily Kisaki can coach him but this means Higashida is still forced to coach Miyakoshi.
* So when Higashida tells his parents a friend is coming over, they jump with joy. They are so happy he has a friend. A friend. Is this an insult? So when Miyakoshi arrives, mom and sister really give her to big welcome.
* Higashida tries to teach her but she can’t keep her attention. Her mom is a famous cooking TV personality and she wonders why bother to study if she is going to take over her role one day. Is she sure she is going to inherit all that?
* One of the kitchen staff, Takuya Kouno decides to quit. Because wouldn’t it be cool for one of the founders to quit first? He becomes a customer so his fellow kitchen mate, Masahiro Adachi tells him how cool it would be if he was the first to come back. And with that, Kouno is back again.
* When Muranushi is serving a group of rude customers, grandpa ghost becomes mad and this scares the hell out of them when Muranushi communicates with him.
* Adachi and Kouno thought Muranushi would be more pleasant if she smiles. She notes that no one reacted well and when she does, Adachi froze. Personally, I think it wasn’t creepy but it does make her look pretty. So what’s so bad about it?
* Flashback of young Shindou stumbling into sad Shiho alone. Her mom died of an illness. Shindou sounds cool when he dispenses advice about money as the root of trouble. So when they parted, Shindou told directly to her father how lonely his daughter is and to spend more time with her. He thought as a kid his words won’t make a difference. Next day, Shiho looks for him and it seems she has given up looking for other friends and wants to be with him. This time with bodyguards watching closely everywhere. Then she tells him his father owes him a lot of debt. If he marries her, she’ll get papa to write off the debts. However he rejected her. This shocked her but now he regrets saying it. Kisaki thinks he could try to seek forgiveness by asking to marry her. Unfortunately he loses courage and instead wants her to kill him. It’s no fun if he requests it himself…
* Miyakoshi is displeased that even Higashida gives her homework at the end of the tutorial. She leaves crying and Higashida’s dad gets the wrong idea his son did something to her! Later Miyakoshi relays the good news that her mom allowed her to keep working. But she didn’t pass the test. She slept through it! Mom was so worried when she spouted American states on the day of the tests so she just let it go. Higashida’s effort went to waste…
* Saiki has learnt a bit of Japanese but it seems Kisaki has trained him to be his gopher to do chores on her behalf.

Episode 3
* A weird customer, Miri Yanagiba walks in. She is wearing a scarf in this hot summer. Maybe she is a ghost? Higashida continues to be in denial and thinks it is still summer! But she may not be a ghost after all since everybody can see and hear her. But Higashida still being a sceptic asks her straight if she is dead or alive and earns Miyakoshi’s beating.
* Higashida notices Yanagiba is from his school since she is wearing their school uniform. It gets even odder when Muranushi notes that she is the granddaughter of ghost grandpa!
* Yanagiba explains she is prone to getting sick easily and got a cold before the school’s opening ceremony. She is hospitalized but when she is discharged, she doesn’t want to risk getting bullied since it is too late to make friends now. Higashida blows his top when he learns Yanagiba is actually in the same class with him! Next day Higashida talks to his classmate, Rui Nagata and hopes he can introduce her to this girl to be friends.
* Kouno drags all the Wagnaria staffs to play kimodameshi. Also with Shiho’s help and her bodyguards dragging the rest. So they are paired up and must walk through and drop stuffs, the usual. But be warned. There might be something lurking in the woods… Much scarier than a ghost. A bear! Saiki is tasked to create the pit stop but since he can’t read, he thinks this is some human trafficking activity!
* Shindou is glad he is paired with Kisaki but with the power of money, Shiho switches with her. The nightmare continues…
* Adachi sees Muranushi’s creepy smile again (personally, it still looks decent) and freaks out. With Saiki freaking out too, they believe the bear is real because he is saying something like stealing food from the pit stop.
* Higashida is paired with Miyakoshi. Although he doesn’t find his own family amusing, Miyakoshi seems envious of his. Her father doesn’t live with them and mom always works late. Flashback reveals mom used to cook rich food for dad. So when he developed diabetes and wanted her to cut down, she took it as an insult and will never cook for him again!
* More misery for Shindou when Shiho remembers a similar event of him leaving her alone and it hurt her heart. It is already sad enough to see Shindou shed real painful tears. He sincerely pleads to start over again as friends. She agrees and will let him make up for all the pain and suffering he caused her. In the form of monetary damages. Nothing is forgiven… So when he sees Higashida coming by, he is pleading for Miyakoshi to help rid of the ‘monster’ instead of the bear!
* It is revealed the ‘bear’ is actually a raccoon. Kouno is tied up and left in the woods as everyone leaves. Payback time. Don’t be too loud. Bears are attracted to noises.
* Higashida brings Nagata to Wagnaria to talk to Yanagiba. However Yanagiba prefers to cling to Higashida and do other stuffs.
* When Nagata asks about Miyakoshi because she was in earlier but is now gone, Higashida says she went home due to a cold. Nagata misinterprets what he says next because he makes it sound like Miyakoshi is crashing at his house all the time. Every day she comes over and gets clingy with him and refuses to let go. Then there is the trouble of coming up with a name and paperwork to fill out. Birth registration? Actually Higashida is talking about Conbini. That’s the raccoon’s name. Miyakoshi adopted it as her pet but since her place doesn’t allow pets, Higashida is keeping it at his place for the time being. You don’t think Miyakoshi wants him to fatten it up to eat it, no?
* Just when Yanagiba accepts Nagata as her friend, she gives her permission to come back here again. This makes Higashida mad because she is supposed to go to school.

Episode 4
* Shiho’s harassment seems to be escalating. Miyakoshi tells Muranushi to say something to her. Shiho isn’t bullying him. Seeing his pitiful state only makes her want to tease him more! Muranushi accepts her reasoning?
* Kouno asks Adachi if he likes Muranushi. That reaction… However that pain in the heart doesn’t seem to indicate anything of a love sickness…
* Higashida seems to only be disrespecting Miyakoshi. It can be traced back to that Valentine’s chocolate… Miyakoshi disagrees and believes she will become a good cook like her mom. She might be but what about in person? Let’s say she is unrefined. Miyakoshi somewhat badmouths about mom. Don’t look back now but she is standing right behind you! Seems she is supposed to have dinner here with her husband tomorrow. She sounds like a tsundere. Like mother, like daughter? At first she thinks Higashida is making fun of her and disrespecting her. But upon learning he is the guy who ate her daughter’s chocolates, she respects him and wants Miyakoshi to marry him! Hey, you can’t be picky, right?
* So Higashida must be damn surprised to see Miyakoshi at his place as early as 5am! Mother sent her here to be looked after by him. Sorry, can’t rewrap and send her back to the returns section.
* Nagata is walking her dog and gets the wrong idea seeing Higashida and Miyakoshi out together so early. She gets the wrong idea and spies at them as they go pray at the shrine. No, it’s not to cure Miyakoshi’s stupidity but her cooking!
* Miyakoshi changes her mind to be good at cooking to wish for Higashida to eat her cooking for the rest of his life! This is what a thousand yen is worth? Higashida empties his wallet to wish for Miyakoshi’s cooking to be better. This is not him being kind. It is for his survival. If it fails, she owes him back!
* Nagata is discovered and she is so confused with everything so she makes a wish to understand their relationship better and make it simpler.
* Miyakoshi talks to the rest about making wishes that come true. Muranushi doesn’t believe in ghosts and Shiho believes in money more than God. Kouno stays positive and gives some hope for why shrines exist. This gives her motivation to make chocolates. Oh no. If somebody has to die, they blame Kouno for it.
* You can bet Higashida is gloomy. So he has to take this out by saying he hates Yanagiba? Twice?! But he hates her not enough to not make her eat those chocolates?
* Muranushi gives Adachi her chocolates. He has a bad feeling about this especially the ambiguous words she says that sounds like she likes him. But then again, half of them are lies. Which half?!
* Shindou’s torture continues because Shiho gives him canned dog food as chocolates… Poor guy…
* With Miyakoshi bugging Higashida to eat her improved chocolates, he prepares himself for death as he pops one in his mouth. He instantly ‘dies’ from the curry and bitterness! He is screaming in his ‘death’ and St Valentine cannot even save him! Why? Because Higashida prayed to the eastern gods and St Valentine can’t do anything about it from his western side. Wasted prayer…
* Nagata wanted to give her chocolates to Higashida. But seeing the state he is in, she gives it to Yanagiba. She then pops it into Higashida’s mouth and he instantly loves the real chocolate!

Episode 5
* Due to the failed wish. Higashida wants Miyakoshi to pay him back. She pleads for discount but Shiho tells him not to show mercy as a debt collector! Shindou pleads for him not to become one or else he will turn into a certain monster! She can hear you…
* One of Shiho’s bodyguards, Tasaka is desperately looking for her since it is his job to make sure she doesn’t kill Shindou! Apparently he is Sakaki’s junior from the same high school as he explains Sakaki was a real badass delinquent. But with a cat on his head! It’s hard for everyone to believe this.
* Muranushi wants Adachi to go out with her. To the art store. It’s too heavy for her to carry the items herself.
* I hope Saiki has gotten the hang of Japanese but does he remember their names? He mispronounces Muranushi’s name and in turn she mistaken Saiki to be Adachi. Not sure whether on purpose or not. Because of that, Muranushi is going to put on her sad smile but Adachi won’t let her. She thinks he only wants her to smile for him. He just checkmate himself.
* Miyakoshi is not happy none of the workers know how to properly smile. When she tries to make Kisaki smile, she wants her to pay if she is going to do that.
* Another harassment from Shiho as she shows Shindou a new sword she bought from her allowance. Saiki tries to tell her off and this pisses her off enough to want to kill him! But you can say his amateur grasp of the language is a blessing because he praises Shiho’s beauty instead, leaving her stunned. She lets him live.
* Muranushi is not pleased her mom visits her at Wagnaria. She will be out for an exorcism job and won’t be here and is here to pass the house key. Adachi is surprised that she knows his name. No, he isn’t wearing a nametag. She might also be able to read his mind! She also knows he has seen Muranushi’s smile even though she has not told her about it. She tells of an old classmate who saw her smile and began behaving suspiciously. Thankfully he is still alive today. Barely. Adachi is more worried when she gives him talismans just in case. And he won’t give it to Muranushi who offers to give it back to mom later. Just in case.
* Yanagiba wants to know the pairings in Wagnaria. The obvious are named. Kouno is pointed out as the third wheel. Yeah, everyone except him is part of a pair. Kouno argues it is more like the guys are imprisoned against their wills.
* When Miyakoshi describes badly about Higashida, Nagata tells her off she should take responsibility once she has fallen for someone. If she doesn’t like him, she shouldn’t have given him her chocolates. So she is saying if she wants to give him her chocolates, she must fall in love with him first? Miyakoshi feels bad and will take responsibility. She will feed him her cooking till he turns back to normal! She wants her to teach her cooking! This makes Nagata feel devastated and partly responsible for this outcome as well as confused because they are supposed to be love rivals and now she has to help her out.
* Higashida bumps into Muranushi’s mom. She warns him of a young woman he knows well in possession of something lethal. An exorcism will require both effort and sacrifice. Failure to do so means the end of the world! Higashida believes she is the real deal.

Episode 6
* Shiho throws losing lotteries to Shindou. Maybe one of them is a winner… Then she rants about how she gives hope to losers and it is that little glimmer that will have them check all the lotteries. Well, Shindou did win 300 Yen and is genuinely happy to have this bonus to pay back his debt. However this only pisses Shiho off.
* When Muranushi gives Adachi her chocolates, he faints! It gets even worse when Muranushi overheard Adachi talking to Higashida how he compares her chocolate like watching a horror movie. It is obvious she is mad despite her poker face. Adachi goes into damage control mode by saying her cooking is still much better than Miyakoshi (you mad, girl?) and he promises to stop acting like he has seen a ghost around her. This makes her feel better as she gives her creepy smile. I don’t know how he got the power to withstand that.
* As Nagata helped Miyakoshi to make her chocolates, she is confused who she is supposed to root for. So when Miyakoshi lets Higashida eat them, first he claims this is not Nagata’s fault at all. Then he collapses. With a smile! Back to that St Valentine dude. Even he tells Higashida to overcome Miyakoshi’s bad cooking by falling in love with her! And so he tries to make this change but Miyakoshi finds Higashida’s sudden change in kindness creepy. She also vows to feed him with all sorts of things other than chocolates from now on.
* It is obvious that Nagata worries about Higashida-Miyakoshi relationship so Yanagiba gives some motivation to hang in there. But what worries Nagata more is the fact if her love for him works out. What will she do?!
* Tasaka and Daichi Saitou are here not to watch over Shiho but to protect Shindou if anything untoward happens. It seems Saitou knows Muranushi but she doesn’t remember him. They were classmates 10 years ago and all she remembers is how he like flipping girls’ skirts and bullying her. So one day she decided to straighten him and smiled at him. He became depressed ever since. Yeah, he still is. As Saitou is getting more dismayed, Shiho beats him up and lectures him about his place. Yes, there is a ranking chart to see who ranks where in Wagnaria. At least her bodyguards are above Shindou. Shiho is surprised that Muranushi apologizes to Saitou for whatever trouble she has caused. Saitou can’t take this anymore and runs away.
* As he bums outside expecting to be fired, here comes Shiho to mock him about his unrequited love for Muranushi and thus settling for his negative attention to torment Muranushi. Also, she won’t fire him and will place him to be always be by Muranushi’s side knowing that he would be useless around her. Enjoy the happiness and suffering of being next to her!
* Higashida is glad Valentine’s Day is over and doesn’t need to eat Miyakoshi’s chocolates anymore. However she insists he needs to eat her cooking till she becomes better. But when he claims he prefers her as the failed chef, she tells him she doesn’t need him to like her. This in turn triggers Higashida to be mad as he makes a joke (?!) and will never eat her cooking again. He no longer has to live in fear of that. He shoots back that he doesn’t want her to like him either. This leaves Miyakoshi depressed and confused.

Episode 7
* It took Kisaki for a while to recognize Saitou as he was in the same high school with her. Of course she only remembers him as being bullied.
* Saitou thinks he Adachi is a ‘comrade’ because he is also another ‘victim’ of Muranushi. Because Adachi shows restraint and denies it, Saitou calls him a traitor.
* Shindou is tired of being harassed. So desperate he is that he is begging Hime for food! Instead, Kisaki gives her lottery tickets to him. A few days later, it seems the lottery tickets hit the jackpot as well as a few consolation prizes! The prize money is enough to clear his debts and set him free! Obviously Shiho heard this and isn’t too happy. She starts crying and goes away. Don’t fall for those crocodile tears! Shindou feels bad and even more so when Kisaki asks if he would really want to end it this way. This prompts him to give back the tickets but Kisaki will not accept them back.
* Shiho is really sad and crying over this. Saiki thought he could cheer her up but his mispronunciation of ‘cheer up’ as ‘pay up’ makes her mad.
* Guilt ridden Shindou decides to give away the tickets to Kouno instead. The latter is stumped because the tickets expired a year ago! Yeah, what a coincidence the same winning numbers came out this year too.
* Shindou tries to ease Shiho’s ‘suffering’ by saying he lost his tickets. She doesn’t really believe him but to show her forgiveness, he clears part of his debt. 500 Yen discount. So cheap… Hey, any amount will do for Shindou.
* Miyakoshi still wants Higashida to eat her chocolates. He won’t. So? She threatens to beat him up. Nicely. He threatens to call the cops.
* Miyakoshi becomes desperate enough to eat her own chocolates! Yup. She’s ‘dead’. For the first time she meets St Valentine. And bullies him.
* Higashida feels Miyakoshi might die for real and there is only one way to save her: Eat her chocolates! Yeah, meet up with St Valentine again. He isn’t appreciative when St Valentine spews out his repent about trying to make him fall in love with her.
* Nagata is probably halfway trying to confess to sleeping Higashida when he wakes up. After Miyakoshi comes back too, angry Nagata lectures them for 3 hours about making her worry and recklessly using their lives like that. Wow. She’s really mad. And Miyakoshi who has never been scolded by a customer before can’t help sob all the way home.
* Not too sure if Shiho and Shindou’s relationship have improved a little because she gives him a canned food for his repentance. Hey, at least it isn’t dog food.

Episode 8
* Higashida thinks the chocolates must have damaged Miyakoshi’s brain because now she wants to date him! So she feels bad about making him eat her cooking. Like that would give him a peace of mind. And she thinks of having Kisaki as their advisor? Seriously she has never had such romance and doesn’t give a damn. Anyway she gives it a shot. Escort each other to and from work and go out to nice places. Only to Miyakoshi that sounds cool.
* Poor Nagata had to hear Higashida explain why he is dating Miyakoshi. Heartbreak? He adds it isn’t for long and they’ll soon break up. He isn’t in love with her nor hates her so they’ll break up when things get cold. Nagata chides him for his planning because at this rate he will really hurt Miyakoshi. So she is sticking up for her?
* After Nagata’s lecture, I guess Higashida takes Miyakoshi out to an arcade. She sucks in the crane game so Higashida the pro shows her how it’s done.
* On another outing, Miyakoshi this time has a handbook as recommended from Muranushi on how to date. Only this time Miyakoshi is pushing for a kiss! Instantly Higashida bolts and left her with the bill. It’s even more embarrassing when she can’t pay and had to call her mom to do so. And then a big scolding after that. Next day Higashida apologizes and pays back his due. But it gets worse when Miyakoshi wants to give him her chocolates so he quickly says goodbye.
* Miyakoshi asks Muranushi for more tips on dating. Unfortunately Muranushi has never dated before so she can’t. She suggests dating Adachi. Instantly he rejects! Oops! This has Muranushi ‘advising’ Miyakoshi that not only she lacks experience but rejected even before being asked out. So please consider Hidashida’s feelings once in a while. And Miyakoshi thinks she could cheer her up by saying to not let Adachi’s rejection get to her.
* Adachi tries to reconcile but Muranushi thinks he hates her so much that they shouldn’t talk. He is desperately enough to say he loves her. For the most part. She gets mad and wants to know the percentage of how much he loves her. You’re on your own.
* An old friend of Shindou visits. She would like to bring him a present next time. Shindou immediately hopes to get rice and salt! This is how bad his life is…
* Adachi tries to look for Muranushi but she is gone and there is only Higashida. Adachi advises him to treat girls nicely or he’ll end up a scumbag like him.
* Next time when Miyakoshi gives Higashida her chocolates, he accepts. However this one she didn’t make herself and bought from the store. Apparently it isn’t enough because she wants him to eat it right now. Of course it isn’t going to taste that bad but he thinks his taste buds have gone weird.

Episode 9
* Muranushi calls in sick. Because of that mysterious hauntings start appearing in Wagnaria like the bloodied clipboard! I think I know who’s behind this.
* Adachi is made to go visit her but at her doorstep, her little brother answers. Adachi gets scared when he hears him saying how right mom was that Adachi is to blame for Muranushi’s cold! Mother doesn’t really want to let Adachi see Muranushi in fear he might get possessed. Not her cold.
* When Muranushi allows him to enter, it is to play a prank of tripping on a wire and a basin dropping on his head. He is appalled she hasn’t gone to the hospital and mom didn’t take her because she hates such places.
* Feeling the need to do something to make her come out, Adachi asks if she would like to go out with him. Suddenly she has the strength. She collapses in his arms and can’t take it anymore. She’ll go out with him. To the hospital. And so Adachi and Muranushi are now officially dating but Kouno and Kisaki wonder if he forced himself on her.
* Poor Shindou. No money so no food. Observing Kisaki feeding Hime, he wonders if she is lactating. She gets the wrong idea he wants to drink her breast milk and beats him up. What he wanted to ask if it is a good idea to feed her daughter since she is smoking.
* Shindou is desperate enough to ask Adachi since his family runs a sushi restaurant. If he and Muranushi gets married, he hopes to get leftovers. Adachi’s hesitant answer makes Muranushi mad. Because she thinks he doesn’t want to marry her.
* It’s Yanagiba’s turn to come down with a cold. However she is staying at Wagnaria! Higashida doesn’t have the heart to kick her out but since he can’t take care of her, he has Nagata do it. Miyakoshi gladly welcomes Yanagiba’s stay since she gets to test her porridge. Not so fast…
* Yanagiba and Nagata try to communicate with Saiki whose butchered Japanese is still hopeless. They think it is to help improve his Japanese. They let him read a relationship advice column and it only reminds them of their similar unrequited love with Higashida.
* Yanagiba thinks Nagata is always coming here because Higashida tells her to. It was true at first but with him dating Miyakoshi, she now views her as a friend. They’ll still be friends no matter who he is dating. This has Yanagiba jab back this only shows how much her love for him really is. Nagata is still worried about him and would like to help make him feel better. Although we know most of his anger is usually towards Yanagiba. Maybe Nagata is also stressing herself out thinking Higashida will die over Miyakoshi’s cooking.
* Now that Yanagiba has returned to normal, Nagata caught her cold. So it is only right for her to visit her this time. Yeah, she’ll go anywhere except school.

Episode 10
* Miyakoshi’s mom got really mad when she learns her daughter and Higashida are dating but do not love each other. It’s different for Higashida’s family. They’re so happy about it that they’ve already picked a name for their child.
* Shindou notes that Shiho should just marry Saitou. They will have a family, kids, nice house and everything. Then he wishes to see that all burn down and getting torn apart! Hwahaha! Then he falls into guilt to think like that.
* This makes him think back about the time he rejected Shiho. Before that happened, his friends were teasing him and his dad was shamelessly trying to borrow money from his friends! He even wanted him to marry Shiho to solve his debt problems. So when Shiho popped the question, he was thinking of how despicable dad’s behaviour was and blurted out no. Of course that affected Shiho very much and the rest was history.
* Now he regrets saying that. So he is bugging Kisaki and telling her his problems? You want a solution? She suggests calling her without honorifics. Of course that didn’t work and he got beaten up and nearly died. That was Kisaki’s way to mess with him and get him off her back.
* Because of that, Shiho is in a bad mood. Tasaka and Saitou know something is wrong and have to fix this. They talk to Shindou to ask him to talk to Shiho. He better do it or else if her father finds out, all of them will die!
* Part of the plan is for Shindou to act as his previous tough self. They use Shiho’s beat down as excuse for him to revert to his old personality. Shiho is upset as his tough talking persona and doesn’t believe a person can change personality after a mere beat down. But when Higashida relates about Miyakoshi’s chocolates, maybe this is real?
* Shindou continues to do the tough talking as she quietly listens. When he gets rough at her, he finds pleasure in this sadism. He thought this might be a trap but Shiho looks afraid and weak! For real?! Shiho starts crying that she prefers spending time with the old him when he didn’t treat her like a rich girl. Then he changed and started avoiding and hating her like everyone else. She bullied him because she wanted him to change back. But nothing changed. Shindou becomes a smooth talker and promises things will get back to normal after his debts are cleared. He is about to kiss her but Saitou beats him up for going too far. I guess this is where it ends.
* A few days later, Shindou continues to regret what he has done but is thankful he is still alive. He can’t help think that any choice he chooses will end up in his death. Even the matter of calling her name has become a life and death matter. If money can only solve it… He had to bug Kisaki again so she points out the root of this problem who is no other than his dad. But easier said than done because he disappeared a long time ago.
* Funny how fate works because on the way home he bumps into his dad! He beats him up for the trouble he has caused. Realizing he has not changed a bit (because he is still thinking about him marrying Shiho and thus everyone wins), Shindou tells him to get lost. He’s done. But come home because mom has been worried sick.

Episode 11
* Miyakoshi is such a noob in dating that she is bugging Muranushi for advice. Even when pointed out how should she feel if he is seen talking to another woman (which is right now), Miyakoshi’s reply is that it is rude for him not to seat the customer! Yup. And you wonder why they are going nowhere.
* Suddenly Miyakoshi tells Higashida that she is going to stay at his place tomorrow for a night! Guess what? His parents suddenly won a trip and his sister will be having a sleepover study session at her friend’s place. Home alone with Miyakoshi! That is what he is scared of!
* But you know what is scarier? Miyakoshi saying she is going to eat her own chocolates to go ask St Valentine for advice! Is she toying with her own life?! She instantly ‘dies’ and St Valentine isn’t too happy to see her. Yup, the same abuses. He can’t give her any advice on love. Disappointed?
* Miyakoshi gets the scare of her life when Higashida is also here. She thinks he ate the chocolates from her mouth and thus a kiss. She feels so bad that she wants to eat her own chocolates and die. Uhm, aren’t they already ‘dead’?
* When Higashida wakes up, he notices she is gone. She must have gone home herself. His sister comes in and mentions seeing Miyakoshi in tears running out of the house. This doesn’t look good…
* And so guilt ridden Miyakoshi bugs Muranushi but she slips away and leave it to Shiho. Miyakoshi asks about first kiss. Shiho flusters like hell. It gets worse for Miyakoshi since Shiho says she is keeping it for someone special.
* When Higashida comes to apologize, Miyakoshi gets the wrong idea thinking it was the kiss when it is actually the chocolates he meant. Apparently he didn’t eat the chocolate from her mouth as he kept previous leftovers. Yeah, it came in handy at times like these.
* Miyakoshi thinks about it and can’t let her mom worry since this is between her and Higashida. So she needs to settle this. Why does she look menacing like she is going to beat him up? It’s payback time? Suddenly she apologizes and gives him her savings book. Too bad she forgot her PIN (actually it is on the front cover itself). Higashida realizes the misunderstanding but won’t say anything to correct her since he loves to see her apologize sincerely. But he has to cut it short since it is getting too dangerous when she goes overboard. She finally learns the truth but still decides to compensate by treating him. Shocking, eh?
* Higashida realizes the dilemma of letting her keep the savings book since there is a high chance this idiot might lose it but it is not right for him to keep it too. So he gives it to her mom but she gets the wrong idea when Miyakoshi mentions it was supposed to be his compensation but he wouldn’t take it.

Episode 12
* Higashida wonders if Wagnaria is going to be alright. Because everyone seems to have problems. Shindou worried about his dad, Shiho talking about organs, Adachi looking depressed and only worsens when Miyakoshi with that dumb look apologizes to him because now she feels better after he let her feelings known to Higashida.
* Shiho is talking about organs because she wants to know how many organs can a man live without. Because she wants to harvest them and clear somebody’s debts! Will Saitou be kind to donate his?
* Because Adachi continues to be depressed, Muranushi invites him to her house. So what does it imply when a girl does that when her parents aren’t home? You talk about breaking up! Expecting something romantic, weren’t you? It makes sense because you can’t be talking about breaking up in public, would you?
* Adachi expresses he doesn’t want to break up with her and reveals that misunderstood situation where he saw Miyakoshi on top of Higashida. This makes Muranushi smile and laugh that he was concerned over such trivial matters. But wait. Her smile doesn’t scare him. Could it be he finds it exciting now?
* As Adachi leaves, he quickly pulls Muranushi close to him and kisses her! She quickly slams the door. Next day, he thinks she is going to kill him because she has a knife in hand!
* Guess what Saitou has brought in? Shindou’s dad! He caught him at the pachinko! This makes Shiho draw her sword at Shindou. If he knew the whereabouts of the real debtor, why did he stay silent? He can’t abandon his family even if he is useless. This makes her heart skip. Although, she thinks a little sacrifice is acceptable.
* She is further impressed with him and will abandon her own family to be with him. Saitou is worried because her father will kill him. She suggests bringing Shindou’s dad home instead. In one fell swoop, that is how she ‘killed’ those 3 guys.
* Higashida has to mediate for Shiho’s case. He asks her to go back and think about it as her dad has taken care of her all the while. Too bad she has given all her cash and credit card to Saitou and can’t receive money anymore. As she has run away from home, she is now living at Wagnaria. Shindou can’t bring her to his poor family or he’ll be killed. So he is going to live here with her?
* Saitou manages to come back alive. Shiho’s father would have wanted to kill him had not he used Shiho’s whereabouts as his insurance. He also brought Shindou’s dad to him and he got an 8 hour lecture. From the way he says his fate, Shindou thinks his dad was thrown into the sea.
* Shiho has no idea what to do. Thinking that there is nothing between them now, she confesses to him like old times. He finds her cute when she is not sadistic and hugs her. He then pushes her down but his common sense prevails. But Shiho wants him to show further proof of his love. He just pecks her forehead. They can do the rest when everything is settled. She is further awed and continues to fall for him. But he is scared of the kinder Shiho and prefers her to dominate over him?! So used to being a masochist, eh?
* Saitou brings Shindou’s dad in. He’s not dead by the way. It seems dad found his calling as a fisherman and hauled up a fortune enough to cover almost all his debts. Unfortunately he wastes it all on horse racing. He won enough to cover all that is owed. Then he blows it all in pachinko. You can’t blame Shindou for punching him. Twice. He wants to borrow Shiho’s sword to finish him off. But Shiho is so impressed that he is trying to settle this for their future that she grows flowers on her head?
* Finally Higashida finally asks what is bothering Miyakoshi. She wonders if St Valentine will be alone without them. He assures not to worry about him so she thinks she can be Higashida’s life saver if her cooking improves.

Episode 13
* Higashida dreams of St Valentine saying goodbye. Does this means he won’t appear anymore? Miyakoshi is worried this means they can’t come back from the other side. Thinking of dying again? Somehow she is motivated to cook more. She is serious and you can see the real motivation in her eyes. This makes Higashida worried since she feels responsible for making him her taste tester.
* One day she comes in lifeless. Something is wrong. When he walks her home, he finds a dark aura coming out from her house! All she did was cooking, right? I don’t even begin how to explain the filth and mess just from it. Miyakoshi is really sorry and repentant she sucks this much. She considers herself a failure as a cook and human being. Since this cooking is so much worse, it makes the chocolates seem better. She assumes this will be the last time and wants him to take a last bite so they can say goodbye to St Valentine.
* Despite the chocolates taste bad, he didn’t die. This is when St Valentine descends on them. Wait a minute. Maybe they are already dead! Just kidding. St Valentine came to their world just to tell them that their mutual thoughtfulness has brought about a miracle. Now they don’t have to put their lives in danger and cross over to this side. He gives Miyakoshi his last advice: Just stop cooking.
* 6 months later, Miyakoshi has grown her hair long since Higashida says he prefers it. Nagata on the other hand has cut hers short. It’s her way of giving up? I guess it will be less confusing the next time if she falls in love again. Yanagiba views her as such a great friend that she has decided to give up on going to school forever.
* Shindou is working at some construction job and Shiho is really treating him super nice. It’s like she is already his wife (she has since returned to her home). They could have gotten a bit romantic if not for the bodyguards firing a warning shot to remind him to get back to work. This prompts Shiho to note that money is fated to keep them apart. He counters it by saying it was money that brought them together! So cool!
* Adachi talks to Muranushi during her break time that he is going to quit and go work in his family sushi restaurant. The more he talks, the more knives she puts on the table! Before she takes it as a sign he doesn’t want to see her, he invites her to come work with him. He would love to keep continuing be with her. She goes blank for a while but notices he is nervous while saying this. And also missed her chance to blush. She hugs him agrees. Her smile doesn’t scare him anymore. Now to go tell Sakaki about quitting…
* Kisaki seems to be teaching Hime about money. Yeah, she’s flaunting it at Sakaki. Kisaki shocks him by doing her job for the first time. But she leaves Hime in his care.
* Miyakoshi has finally cooked! Instant noodles! Higashida comes in and drops the bombshell. Let’s break up. WTF?! While he puts on his usual poker face, Miyakoshi goes through a lot of emotions. She ultimately blames herself for turning him like this.
* Once that is done, Higashida drops another bombshell: Please go out with him. Apparently their first date was based on the understanding to improve her deadly cooking. Now that is done with, he wants to start anew. Is Miyakoshi happy or embarrassed that he loves looking at her depressed face? He explains he found it a waste of time about her cooking mishap but that slowly turned into amusement. He finds it funny she getting flustered and embarrassed. He might not be able to say he loves her but he doesn’t want any other guy to have her. Happy Miyakoshi gets motivated to work and bring his smile back.

Please Take Your Job Seriously
I have to admit that this spin-off sequel hardly made any impact on me. I find it hard to view it better than the original or worse off. On par then? As because this is basically a gag anime, the style of jokes and how everything plays out to the interaction of the characters have this very familiar feel. It doesn’t break any new grounds. Therefore once you get to know the characters’ personality and traits, it is more of recycling the same gag again and again. Like how people who ‘died’ eating Miyakoshi’s chocolates will go visit St Valentine. Higashida must be his frequent customer at this rate. Miyakoshi doesn’t learn and tries her cooking again another time. Hence it is hardly exciting because it feels familiar but in a different form. In this case, the characters. Because with them being so wacky with their own personal issues and drama, you hardly see them do their waiting job properly. I wonder if this is the curse of Wagnaria.

Of course the final episode tries to show us that there are changes and ‘development’ among the characters when they make a u-turn from all the running jokes that we have we spammed with to give the characters a new direction and a breath of light. No more death defying cooking from Miyakoshi, no more pitiful bully victim from Shindou, Shiho’s an angel, Saiki’s Japanese has improved a lot although some accent still remain, Adachi and Muranushi quitting and even the unexpected lazy Kisaki starts to get her ass moving and do some real job. Heck, even that grandpa ghost that patrons Wagnaria for Muranushi has even passed over peacefully. So instead of blaming the characters for being stale and being predictably the same from start to finish, I figure that is why the ‘changes’ for a somewhat feel good ending and throw us a bit off our balance. I mean, we’d be downright annoyed to see the tiring punch line of Miyakoshi poisoning Higashida with her poison cooking as the final scene to end the series, right? I guess the only one who didn’t really change is Yanagiba who still refuses to go to school. Some things never change.

Speaking of the characters, they might be new faces but if you have seen the previous seasons of Working!!, you can tell that they are just a different reincarnation of those characters. Just mix up their personality and their physical outlook and voila! You have a bunch of new characters. I am very sure veteran viewers would start to compare the old and new characters like how I did. Like Higashida is similar to Takanashi but without glasses and without all that liveliness. Instead, the broodiness of Satou is now in him. The lively idiot who was Yamada is now in Miyakoshi. She was also Wagnaria’s eternal freeloader (one who stays there) and she is replaced with Yanagiba (though she doesn’t stay, she can be viewed as one as she eternally hangs out here) and for a very short while, Shiho. The lazy Kyouko is now replaced with slacking Kisaki and Kyouko’s lack of facial expression goes to Muranushi. Though, both the managers remains useless and powerless. I can’t say Adachi and Kouno are clones of Satou and Souma as they are more toned down. Remember Yachiyo always holding a sword? It’s Shiho’s turn now. Remember Taneshima as the cute little thing? Yeah, we have Hime, St Valentine and the raccoon now. As for the physical looks, Miyakoshi looks a lot like Inami and Shindou looks like Satou’s long lost brother. I could go on with the list but I think you get the point.

Thus the new characters they may be charming and cute in their own way, they fail to somewhat resonate in me because like I have already said, they are just a new look for something familiar we know. Despite having slightly more characters than its predecessor, some characters feel like they do not really make an impact like Sakaki whose presence is so scarce that it is hard to remember this guy has ever existed. I don’t know, are managers of Wagnaria lack any iron will? Kisaki also doesn’t feel like anything impactful because she just slacks, smokes her cigarette and watches over Hime. Even the newest guy Saiki isn’t anything more as he becomes Kisaki’s gopher and is reduced to a comic relief whenever a joke needs to be done in language barriers. Because Kouno doesn’t do pranks or have an evil heart like Souma, his limited jokes makes him feel irrelevant and boring.

Then there is Yanagiba who has completely made Wagnaria as her home and Nagata’s one-sided crush to add some little drama but hardly impacted anything. Saitou also has his one-sided crush on Muranushi but that feels irrelevant too since I see his job as mainly to prevent Shiho from going berserk with her sword on Shindou. Others side family characters like the carefree family of Higashida (if only real life everybody was this happy), Muranushi’s exorcist mom, Miyakoshi’s professional chef mom and Shindou’s gambler dad add a little colour and variety but hardly memorable in the long run. But in a way it won’t be fair to compare these characters to the original since the predecessor had 3 seasons to flesh things out. Thus if Higashida’s quirky family isn’t memorable compared to Takahashi’s sisters and mom, a single season here proves that minor characters like them need more screen time to capture the viewers’ hearts. I wonder if Higashida’s dad has already found a job because otherwise why would his son continue to work at Wagnaria… Or maybe Higashida has some sort of motivation to stay this long as a part timer? I can only think of a killer cook…

So I can greatly theorize that the reasons why some characters aren’t prominent and not impactful is because the series is trying to focus on the 3 pairs of couples: Higashida-Miyakoshi, Shindou-Shiho and Adachi-Muranushi. That is way these pairs get so much screen time played out between them and sometimes the joke repeats itself and drags out so long that it gets a bit boring. At least the romance got somewhere even though it is just by a bit. Better than Takanashi being a punching bag for Inami, right? You know it will be the running joke of the series when Miyakoshi’s cooking is so bad that it kills and over the series she tries to improve on it but only makes it worse before finally giving it up completely in the end. Good riddance? Then we have Higashida who is trying to tolerate her behaviour just because he can’t be the bad guy and become a full blown jerk. It is supposed to be another running gag as he makes his comebacks against the idiot but it becomes annoying after a while to see them interact. Did all those poison cooking turned him into a masochist and fall in love with her? Ah yes, perseverance pays off. If you don’t succeed at first, try and try again. Because a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Oh Miyakoshi you sly girl…

But the character that really made me ‘feel’ the most and having the most ‘impact’ on me is Shiho. Surprised? Well actually, at first she started out looking cute and all. But slowly when she starts showing her true colours of being a sadist over Shindou. I really didn’t like her being a bully over Shindou even if it was for comedic and character development purposes. She was fast becoming the most hated character in the series in my books. Sure, she might be acting tough in hopes that guy would go back to his original roots whatsoever. But I can’t really stand the way she asserts her dominating personality over what is clearly a very pitiful guy in very dire circumstances. Reminds me of today’s feminism… Therefore I want to say that I admire Shindou for being a strong dude who has to be strong and tolerate her bullying but then again I keep thinking he might just be a masochistic idiot despite crying in our faces each time he faces Shiho’s cruelty. Even if Shiho did change for the better in the end, the damage was done. I just couldn’t see her in a new light. That flower-popping-on-her-head girl thingy feels so fake and artificial.

So the only couple that really made a big leap in terms of advancement (if I should call it that) is Adachi-Muranushi pair. Again, there is this running gag of Adachi being fearful of Muranushi because he once saw her scary smile. He tries to avoid her, she tries to understand, they meet, it usually doesn’t go well, sometimes it ends with misunderstanding, usually Adachi is left feeling with more depression or regret, repeat cycle. They are the only couple who kissed for real and officially dating (the other 2 pairs only got it going for real towards the very end). Sure, you can argue that Shindou and Shiho have that childhood promise but it wasn’t anything officially and they’ve been dragging this issue with lots of assumption for years. With Shiho always at the edge of turning into a yandere, do you think real love existed in the early parts for them? Higashida and Miyakoshi may have dated but everything about their relationship is so artificial since cooking was the main factor for them to see each other. Therefore it makes Adachi and Muranushi being the most realistic even if it by means still a long way to go.

It might be a no brainer for me to say but the artwork and animation style remains very close and similar to its predecessor since it is done by the same production company, A-1 Pictures. That is why I have said before some of the characters look similar. With everything in bright colours and looking almost cute, it might look like a show for younger audiences but I doubt it would be once you get to know Shiho’s behaviour. And Kisaki smoking on TV is bad for kids, right?

Yuuichi Nakamura fits as Higashida since I have this stereotype view on his voice playing characters who get mad like Gray in Fairy Tail and Kyousuke in OreImo. Well, he certainly didn’t blow his top as much as his other character roles but I always have this feel that he might just go into that outburst. Great emotional control? On the other hand, Haruka Tomatsu is recognizable as the lively idiot Miyakoshi because she sounds like her other similar character roles like Punch Line’s Rabura. Also recognizable was Sayaka Ohara as Muranushi’s mom. It was shocking to learn that Nana Mizuki was behind Kisaki’s voice. I would never imagine it was her. She sounded so different. I think. And Youko Hikasa was behind Muranushi?

For the rest of the casts, they are Kensho Ono as Shindou (Hakuryuu in Magi), Sora Amamiya as Shiho (Akame in Akame Ga Kill), Kouki Uchiyama as Adachi (Ichika in Infinite Stratos), Hiro Shimono as Kouno (Keima in The World God Only Knows), Momo Asakura as Yanagiba (Ayumi in Charlotte), Ari Ozawa as Nagata (Sakura in Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun), Souma Saitou as Saitou (Kain in Kyoukai No Rinne), Kazuyuki Okitsu as Tasaka (Andre in Prison School), Yoshimasa Hosoya as Saiki (Rom in Show By Rock), Kousuki Toriumi as Sakaki (Cecil in Uta No Prince-sama series) and Hideyuki Umezu as St Valentine (Akadama in Uchouten Kazoku).

The opening and ending themes have that familiar ring to the themes in the previous seasons of Working!! Eyecatch! Too Much as the opener by the trio of Miyakoshi, Muranushi and Shiho has this very familiar vibe to the cute and lively openers that you have heard in this series. Like as though it is just a variant of it. But we wouldn’t mind it since we’ll be distracted with all the wackiness and catchiness. The ending theme is where the guys show their singing chops just like in previous seasons. Muchuuryoku Fever by the trio of Higashida, Adachi and Shindou have this fun carnival feel to it. The final episode is a variant with the aforementioned female trio joining in for one big group song.

This might be trivial for me to bring up at this point but when I first heard about this sequel spinoff, I was expecting the series to take place online looking from the title. You know, maybe a virtual café or something? Maybe that is why I didn’t feel any excitement since there are no online elements as the place is the same ol’ Wagnaria. Maybe WWW is actually the visual representation of the heartbeat rate of Higashida as he has to deal with Miyakoshi’s poison and the weirdoes in his workplace. Really. So far so good for him, right? He died many times and came back alive. He also had to put up with lots of workplace drama. His family is sh*t. And here he is still maintaining his sanity. And I thought only the internet can screw you over in such a short amount of time.

Overall, not really a bad anime per se but it wasn’t anything exciting to me either. Same style of jokes and setting in the form of new characters might be able to fool new anime viewers who are too lazy to go back and watch the original Working!! series. It is still entertaining and cute if you look at it as a series on its own but older viewers cannot help but keep comparing it to the original because of so many similarities. Different but it’s same yet different and similar. Yeah, it’s confusing. You don’t know whether to like it or to call it crap and be disappointed. It’s like you ordered normal fried rice but they brought out paella instead. Or maybe they just messed up your order.