Spoiler :
On the one hand, it was a decent slice-of-life anime in the sense that the drama never got boring inspite of the shallow characters (it's anime...what was I expecting?). I can't believe Ohana's feelings towards Ko managed to be interesting even after 26 episodes when in fact nothing really happened between them.
On the other hand, I found the emphasis on work ethics really off-putting. Is it just Japanese mentality or a reaction to the economic crisis that the working class ought to be disciplined with this nonsense? The show is so serious about that it's a little bit ridiculous. Is it really about a teenaged girl growing up or about the same girl slowly conforming to her exploitation? Unfortunately it seemed to me like the show leaned towards the latter option. Further clues signaling about this right wing attitude are provided when the show demonized the part time workers in the episodes where Ohana's class visited that big inn. Yeah, who would quit her job when she only gets limited working hours, a lot of hard work for a minimum wage and a boss who does nothing but yell at her? Evil bitches! And Ohana's grandma, was she supposed to be a strict old woman with a human heart in the end? I thought she was as an exploitative bitch to the end She paid salaries according to her own will, exploited and physically abused her underage workers and decided to close the inn without much concern for her employees.
On the other hand, I found the emphasis on work ethics really off-putting. Is it just Japanese mentality or a reaction to the economic crisis that the working class ought to be disciplined with this nonsense? The show is so serious about that it's a little bit ridiculous. Is it really about a teenaged girl growing up or about the same girl slowly conforming to her exploitation? Unfortunately it seemed to me like the show leaned towards the latter option. Further clues signaling about this right wing attitude are provided when the show demonized the part time workers in the episodes where Ohana's class visited that big inn. Yeah, who would quit her job when she only gets limited working hours, a lot of hard work for a minimum wage and a boss who does nothing but yell at her? Evil bitches! And Ohana's grandma, was she supposed to be a strict old woman with a human heart in the end? I thought she was as an exploitative bitch to the end She paid salaries according to her own will, exploited and physically abused her underage workers and decided to close the inn without much concern for her employees.