Hataraki Man joins Omoide Poro Poro on the very short list of anime with a female main character who’s older than 25. It’s another series to have aired in the famed Noitamina-timeslot. It’s an anime about a workaholic. I originally dropped this series because I didn’t think that such a concept wouldn’t be worth exploring. So I was wrong.
Hataraki Man is a series that’s always critical of itself and its characters. Throughout only eleven episodes, it shows how the female lead (Hiroko) and her colleagues deal with their jobs, how they manage their stress, why they work the way they do and what goes on inside their minds. Every episode focuses at a different side-character, along with Hiroko. What we have here is a well-written series with characters you can connect to. Some episodes also refer to events that happened in past episodes, creating a series that feels whole, instead of a bunch of random episodes.
It’s almost a shame when the final three episode take the focus more away from the side characters, onto Hiroko. Don’t get me wrong: it’s here where the series manages to deliver some powerful climaxes, but somehow it feels a bit out of place in this series. Because of the extra attention to Hiroko, several side-characters end up left behind without development, even though they had enough potential to be put under the magnifying glass. The final three episodes also try to stuff a bit too much bad luck for Hiroko in too little time, and the result feels sort-of soap-opera like.
Nevertheless, we’ve got ourselves a very fine example of Noitamina here. It’s got energy, a good rocky soundtrack, OP and ED, the setting is very original for an anime, and I feel like anyone who’s dealing with stress. Although the animators do need to pay attention to their romanji a bit. ^^;
Blablabla, Honey and Clover, you know the refrain. 🙂
I really enjoyed this series, though I wish it was the usual 13 episode length.
i could not find many things that i like in this anime so that i continue watching so i can’t say much about it…..
psg holds the best for last …… but everyone here is saying that Honey and Clover is so good(i think the same) but after so many praises he might not like it or expect something different and we will get a harsh review,being said over and over again that a anime is great the person might watch it to get over it and because of that he might be disappointed even if the anime is very good but he cannot enjoy it at that moment but in the end i don’t think psg is that type of person but who knows 😀
for such an ordinary subject matter of “working life”, it’s actually an unique theme for anime. I really liked this series.
I only got into this because my anime club was showing it, but it was worth it in the end! The fact that it was made by Hideaki Anno’s wife made it that bit sweeter 😉
What’s with all the noise about Honey and Clover? Let the guy get to it when he does!
Ha! I told you it was good. Considering that slice of life is a fairly large genre it’s surprising how few actually occur in a workplace.
Although I feel guilty doing so, I do want a H&C review because I think part 2 ruined the good thing of part 1.
Wooo Hataraki Man! (I’m sure psgels is tired of reading HnC in all his comments… crap I’ve fallen in the trap!) Though Hataraki Man was a pleasant watch at the time, its short length didn’t give it much of a chance to leave a proper impact, but good stuff nontheless 🙂
What’s the point in reviewing an anime everyone thinks is a keeper? (H&C) Go for the obscure, psgels!
Ooh, this reminds me to finish up this series.
And double hee to the romanji bit.
lmao at the romanji! XD
But Hataraki Man is definitely one of my all time favorites. I’ve seen it last year before I started working and it was such a great boost. Now I’m far from being a workaholic, but it’s great to see people so dedicated to their work.
And the cast is all super brilliant. It’s definitely a step up from teenage shoujo angst fest. 😛
I love this anime. I was rewatching it recently, so it was a pleasant surprise when I saw you reviewing it. What I like so much is how relatable the characters are. And the show is not boring, like many slice-of-life series, since it focuses on the side characters. I admit I have a bit of Hataraki Man in me, which is probably why I like it so much.