Wagnaria

Summary: >

Sota adores all things small and cute, so when he encounters a high school girl with the appearance of an elementary schooler looking for employees to help out at a family restaurant, he can't resist signing up. Sota's like of small things may make him an oddball, but pretty much everyone employed at Wagnaria is is a wacko in some way or other.

Thoughts: >

Wagnaria (aka Working! with following seasons using various numbers of exclamation points) started with a gimmicky formula which ground me down pretty fast. Repeating gimmicks I didn't find funny to begin with made me dread watching this one to the finish, but after a few episodes I found I myself often laughing. It's hard to say if I adjusted, or Wagnaria's grew into it's comedy. I'd say the latter.

Characters have a given set of quirks, but none of them "makes the show". Instead it's their reaction to situations, interactions with each other, and evolving relationships that push Wagnaria often in unexpected directions. Sota took the job at Wagnaria because he was interested in Popura being so small. I figured this relationship would end up romantic. Instead gets far weirder (and thus more awesome) than I could have imagined. Sota continues to adore Popura's petiteness (on a chaste level). Popura on the other hand, ends up worshiping Sota as an ideal of femininity... when he's dressed up like a woman. Many of the situations are a lot like this, they start fairly simple, but Wagnaria is always tweaking character interactions. You might be wondering if anyone working at Wagnaria is normal. Yes there is one girl who is normal. In fact she's so normal she's weird...

Wagnaria is simplistic, but resources are well utilized. Following seasons continue with the formula, and so far it doesn't feel the least bit tired. The show has its ups and downs, with the second being the best comedy wise, but the third season full of interesting plot developments - yes the story does progress.

I enjoyed Wagnara, even if we didn't get along at the start. It's entertaining, with a steady level of good comedy. It rarely deviates from its formula, but I'd certainly like to see more of the series made. That says a lot.

Screen Caps: >