Hataraki’d Out

What sort of irony is it that I relax to episodes of Hataraki Man after work?

That said, this is one show that is full of ironies. And in a way a very much a show after my own personal experience (and all too common of one). If Matsutaka’s episode-ending statement in episode one didn’t grip you, you probably would have given Hataraki Man a pass?

Well, regardless if you do or do not, be wary that at the end of this TV series there’s a very down-to-earth reality check. Coated with somewhat unreal circumstances, as anime often do, but one that brings this series some street cred. In some ways the Dilbert-esqe experience check is required for full enjoyment of this office interpersonal drama, it probably will appeal not to just those who are dealing with it or have dealt with it, but more so to those who struggles with these fundamental issues in a more honest manner. How do you live your life?

That said I’m not even sure the typical blog-reader would care for titles like this; it’s designed to give realism and express through a cartoon-like exaggeration that makes this all the more charming (instead of the slapstick delivery real actors would have to do for the same) than a live action show. It’s not that it couldn’t be done, of course… But these characters aren’t drawn to be fap targets, so right off the bat there’s a lot less to distract the viewer.

Slogging through the episodes, now that I’m done with watching all the fansubs (a probable requirement for full enjoyment of the show), that exact question bothered me repeatedly: just why is this show animated? Perhaps the answer I drew up didn’t satisfy me, but somewhere between my 2D complex and being distracted by people and not drawings of people lies the key. It smells a bit like loneliness, but even that is ironically appropriate for a blog entry about Hataraki Man.

Just that, if I were you, I wouldn’t take any of the advices it gives seriously, as true as they may seem…