Wagnaria!! | 40 Episodes | SUB | VRV
Final Verdict: This was the kind anime I haven’t seen in a while and it was so refreshing to watch.
Wagnaria is what I would consider to be a true slice of life anime. The characters are interesting and relatable, but still wacky and unique. The situations they get into are funny and awkward and most of the story focuses on them navigating their friends — and crushes — at work. The main character is Takanashi and he’s obsessed with tiny cute things, so when Taneshima — a tiny girl — asks him to work with her at a family restaurant, he doesn’t turn her down. That’s where the story kicks off.
While working there, he meets plenty of people, but none are as interesting as the people with him behind the counter. Kyouko is the manager, and she’s a former gang member who does nothing but eat all day and tell everyone else to work.
Todoroki is the “Chief” and she’s infatuated with Kyouko. She’s pretty simple and extremely kind and good at her job, but she carries a katana on her hip at all times and is completely unaware of Satou. Satou is probably my favorite character because of his resemblance to Sanji from One Piece. He’s tall, blonde, and a cook who smokes, who constantly fights with the person he’s probably closest too. He’s been in love with Todoroki from the moment he met her pretty much and has been harboring a secret crush for her for four years.
Souma is the other cook in the kitchen and while a troublemaker and ever watching presence over everyone, a pretty decent guy who always seems to hang out with Satou. He’s also the older brother that Yamada claimed and she’s a runaway who’s living at the restaurant. There’s also Inami who has androphobia, which is an intense fear of men, and Taneshima who is cute and adorable and probably the most “normal” one of them all.
This anime has a lot of great points in every episode. It moves at a good, steady pace, so you never feel like it’s moving so fast you can’t keep up or going so slow you just want to stop altogether. Each episode is a different day (or two) in their lives and as they get more comfortable with each other and spend more time together, the situations change. Even binge watching it, I feel like Takanashi’s crush on Inami and Satou’s crush on Todoroki grew over time. I love that it didn’t feel forced and that we got to see all the awkward stages of them. I especially loved that Takanashi and Inami liked each other because I wouldn’t have guessed that relationship from the beginning and it was a pleasant surprise.
I also like the variety of characters and the fact that it didn’t center around just one of them. True, the main character was Takanashi, but the story is told with the mindset that there are several people working at the restaurant, even Matsumoto who we often don’t see because she doesn’t hang out with everyone else much, but she’s there! And the anime makes an effort to point that out. I think that’s a nice touch and adds a bit of relatability to the anime that wouldn’t have otherwise been there.
The anime is based in a restaurant environment, and the characters actually work. We see them serving customers, taking orders, organizing, greeting, cleaning, taking breaks, and doing everything else. Again, this was a touch of realism and relatability that I’m glad they didn’t skip over. It makes these characters something you want to continue watching and is a great way to keep the story going. There’s a heartfelt conversation, but break’s over — back to work. There’s an argument or conflict with someone, but they’re not on the schedule — wait several days to see them again. You want to talk to someone and ask for advice, but someone called off and you’re short staffed — no time to talk. Those little things felt extremely entertaining to me. This also helped me to feel like, their lives would continue on after the anime. I didn’t really feel like I hit a brick wall at the end, I just feel like I left the restaurant and can go back whenever I feel like it. It’s rare that I finish an anime thinking that I have complete closure. All of my questions were answered, and while curious about how they’d be in the future, I don’t feel like I’m missing vital pieces of information. I finished it feeling 100% satisfied with watching it.
There were times where I felt like certain things were exaggerated — Takanahi’s obsession with little things, his sister’s drinking habits, Inami’s reactions in some situations — but I never felt it was too over the top. Even though it’s slice of life, it’s still anime designed for entertainment. The only trouble I had initially was with the first season. The quality of the animation just isn’t very good compared to the others and moves a bit slower than the rest of the seasons, but I wouldn’t say it detracts from the anime. I think it’s just something to be prepared for if you watch it from the beginning like I did.
I honestly loved this anime and would rank it in the top 10 slice of life anime I’ve seen. He’s just… good. It left me feeling happy and content. I felt for these characters — I laughed with them, stressed along with them and cheered for them when things finally turned out the way they wanted. I would definitely recommend this if you like slice of life / comfort / romance anime. It’s got so many good things, it’s not one I would recommend passing up.
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