Wishing to be independent, 16-year-old Maika Sakuranomiya is desperate to nail down a part-time job so that she can afford to study abroad. Unfortunately, her applications are constantly rejected due to the menacing look she unintentionally makes whenever she smiles, despite her otherwise cheerful disposition.
After yet another failed interview, she chances upon Café Stile, a coffee shop where the servers interact with the customers while roleplaying distinctive characteristics. The Italian store manager, Dino, becomes infatuated with Maika's cuteness at first sight, and offers her a job as a waitress with a sadistic nature. Coupled with her inherent clumsiness, she successfully manages to serve a pair of masochistic customers in accordance with her new, ruthless persona. Alongside Kaho Hinata as the tsundere and Mafuyu Hoshikawa as the younger sister, Maika decides to make the most out of her unique quirk and cements her position in the cafe with merciless cruelty!
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Stark700
What’s better than a cafe with delicious food? A cafe with cute girls to serve you of course! It gets even better. These girls have some exaggerated personalities. From sadistic to tsundere, it’s a place that really gives customers a hell of an experience. Blend S is honestly an anime that I found ridiculously fun to watch. Starting from the beginning, it shouldn’t take long for viewers to recognize that the anime has a lot of fun with itself. The selling point of show is the comedy as every main female characters’ personalities are beyond the normal norm. Honestly, I lost count how many timesI laughed in this show because how over the top it is. From Maika’s sadism to Miu’s older sister behavior, it’s a series that really became self-aware of its intentions. Indeed, Blend S’ storytelling isn’t accomplished through its plot. Every day consist of workplace sitcoms that cleverly delivers its humor. I’m also surprised how smooth the pacing the show felt. It felt like every episode is able to connect with each other and staying true to its premise and genres. The show doesn’t need to really rely on story at all to deliver satisfaction.
Of course, it’s the characters that puts value into the comedy. Here’s the thing: the female characters that work there have some deceptive personalities. Maika is one of the guiltiest examples as she displays traits of sadism in almost every episode. Early impressions of Maika can be surprising as such a sweet innocent girl that can be deceptively sadistic on paper. The words she use and way she talks to her customers become a source of recurring humor. However, be aware that it’s pretty much a parody. Maika isn’t truly malevolent and actually worries about how to treat customers better. The way she snaps back to a more apologetic personality is infectiously amusing to watch. Then, there’s Kaho Hinata, a girl that plays the role of a tsundere. In truth, she’s not a tsundere although the anime really try to get her over as one. Mafuyu Hoshikawa brings in a feel of innocence because of her appearance although in truth, her age is older than she appears to be. In fact, she is one of the more mature characters in the show. This trio is mainly the core of the series that are able to capitalize their personality to astonishing levels.
There are also some other characters that are worth taking notice too. This includes the inspiring idol trap Hideri Kanzaki and the older sister role model, Miu. Although not featured as prominently as the core characters, they still bring it a lot of personality. Through character chemistry, they bring a handful amount of colorful moments to the show that can be deceptively fun to watch. On the other hand, I can’t really say the guys in this anime are memorable. Dino and Koyou are the only two main guys although their role is portrayed more as side characters. They only shine best through character interactions with others (especially Maika and Dino) rather than by themselves. In fact, Dino is portrayed more as a butt monkey that no one can take seriously. This anime also does a fair amount of ship teasing between the cast although nothing really gets serious. Remember, it’s a show that make fun of the working environment. Working at a cafe is mostly seen as part of the blue collar occupation category yet this anime is able to bring the fun out of that. Also do note that the series does occasionally go beyond their restaurant such as the outdoors and even the beach.
As a comedy-slice of life, I think Blend S simply did the best with what it had to work with. Some viewers will point fingers at the dead plot or repetitive jokes. However, I confess that it always feels refreshing to see a show like this step up to the plate. I’ve only read parts of the manga but to say the least, the anime captures the overall mood of the anime accurately and consistent with the character personalities. The way it expresses them is what really gives this show its meaningful value.
I was surprised that A-1 Pictures were announced to be adapting this anime. It didn’t really fit with their style but thankfully, they manage to pull it off. For starters, Café Stile has a surprisingly amount of realism. If you ever walked into a café, then you would expect it to look something very similar to the one in this show. Then, there are the character designs. The waitresses in the show wear their work outfits with certain colors. It’s adorably charming and very fitting for a show especially since the waitresses are the main attraction. Character traits are also evident such as Maika’s height (and occasional ponytail hairstyle), Miu’s oneesama face, Kaho’s signature twin tails, or Hideri’s deceptive look. However, the biggest selling point of the visual style is the character expressions. It reflects the false personalities of the characters as parodies and works in wonder. Maika’s “sadistic” smirk and Kaho’s tsundere reactions are just a few examples. To say the least, A-1 Pictures convince me that they can handle a show like Blend S. Oh and there is some fan service but rather than adapting it in some alluring way, it’s used to portray the credibility of the setting.
Oh boy, the OP song. “Smile, Sweet, Sister, Sadistic, Surprise, Service” became a meme that went over. You can look up the song on Youtube or some popular video streaming site and see many parodies of it. Those words reflect the fake identity and personalities of the characters. Beyond that, I am also somewhat impressed by the character voices in this show. Maika in particular is noticeable for her ability to shift her tone of voice through certain frames. Miu’s oneesama voice gives off a mixture of mature and sexy vibe that is hard to ignore. Finally, there’s Hideri…and the character is really able to surprise you because of the voice.
Blend S is hardly blend but instead takes great care of its characters. Through their personalities, they are able to sell the show’s immense amount of humor to viewers. Playing as characters that go against stereotypical archetypes isn’t easy but to me, Blend S really worked itself to accomplish that.
HellLyter
Sometimes it just takes and endearing cast and fun situations to make me Smile. Blend S doesn’t boast an intricate plot with elaborate detail and it quite frankly doesn’t need one to be successful. This is a very Sweet anime that managed to be enjoyable and consistently entertaining, which was honestly a Surprise to me since I didn't really have any expectations coming into this anime. Maika with her unintentionally Sadistic looks ended up being my favorite part of the show, though this doesn’t mean that she overshadowed the rest of the cast, who all managed to stand out in their own ways. Even thereally minor characters, like Maika’s Sister, had their moments. Overall, I’d have to say that A-1 pictures did a fine Service to the anime industry by releasing this show.
The basic premise of the show is that a high school girl named Maika wants to get a job so she can pay for the expenses to study abroad. There’s just one problem; nobody wants to hire her because she has a naturally nasty look in her eyes. Feeling dejected, Maika’s fortune changes for the better when the Italian manager of Cafe Stile, Dino, hires her because she’d be perfect at playing a sadistic waitress in his restaurant. His strong penchant for dark haired Japanese girls also played a part in his hiring of Maika. Long story short, Maika finds success at her job and formulates strong friendships with her coworkers.
Basically, each episode showcases different scenarios in which the characters end up in comedic situations. Now these types of shows can either be hits or misses. It ultimately depends on the quality of the characters and the jokes. Fortunately for Blend S, it got both departments right. Let’s briefly analyze the prominent characters to see why they positively contribute to the success of the show.
Maika is the protagonist, and she really is a gentle and innocent girl. She wants to make customers smile and always tries to do her best. Though thanks to her menacing glare and awkwardness, she oftentimes ends up being a picture perfect sadist, much to her chagrin. Though its her unintentional tendency to act like a sadist that makes me and the customers at Cafe Stile adore her so. I was afraid that the emphasis on her vicious glare would end up getting old, but it actually didn’t. It was used in many different scenarios throughout the anime’s runtime that kept the humor revolving around it fresh and fun. Though she’s great on her own, what really makes her shine is her chemistry with the other characters, specifically Dino.
Dino is the manager of Cafe Stile, and its very clear that he is a masochist (and a pervert in the eyes of his employees). He has a one sided love for Maika and has nosebleeds whenever she does something remotely cute. He’s actually one of the better male leads that I’ve seen in recent memory, because while many act too serious to be entertaining characters, Dino’s silliness makes him very fun to watch. Whether it be happily getting stepped on by Maika or failing to get his feelings across to her, Dino never failed to bring a smile to my face whenever he appeared on screen.
Kaho acts as the tsundere at the cafe, though in reality she would be better described as a game addicted shut in. She’s a nice character, though I personally like her best when she interacts with Akizuki, the chef at the cafe. He’s also a recluse and has no experience with women, so his interactions with Kaho usually end up being both cute and comical. Mafuyu is the final original cast member and is the little sister at the cafe. When she works, she puts on a smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts and acts like a loving, bubbly imouto. However, she really is a 20 year old college student who rarely shows emotion. Its an amusing contrast, and since I’m a fan of both of her personality types, I ended up really liking her character.
The other two characters worth giving a shoutout to are Miu and Hideri, who start working at the cafe in the latter portion of the anime. Miu is a dōjinshi artist and a pervert while Hideri is…well, lets just say that Hideri is the “surprise.” Now all of these characters are decent on their own, but when blended together, they really stand out. They just compliment each other remarkably well, which makes for an enjoyable viewing experience.
Blend S was refreshing. Many anime that I’ve seen recently have tried to construct an intricate story filled to the brim with “epic” plot twists and the like. While some succeed, many more ultimately fail, and watching them ends up becoming more of a chore than a pleasant viewing experience. With Blend S, I was able to relax and just enjoy some light hearted comedy, which can honestly be all that’s needed to make a show great. Blend S is by no means spectacular, but it's a nice show to watch if you just want to see some lighthearted fun.
Zaber_san
There are six words starting with "S" you should remember, plus another word starting with "S" you have to add to make it an internet pride. "Smile, Sweet, Sister, Sadistic, Surprise, Service" - these are the holy words that starts with "S" that summarizes the whole anime itself. I was wondering why its called "Blend S".... Now when I finished it, my first guess was correct (though this is my opinion only). A mix of attributes of the characters. Words that starts with "S" that characters are assigned to. Blend S is an anime this Fall 2017 that offers us a cafethat have the employees acting like anime characters. Though this cafe is not an ordinary cafe you always go to like Starbucks or Costa Coffee. The cafe is called "Cafe Stile", owned by an Italian manager. A crazy one. The staff composes of 5 girls and 2 boys (4 girls and 3 boys specifically when you watched it). Maika, the clumsy employee who smile in a sadist way, which makes the people keep on going in there (along with the manager liking her so much).
Kaho, the gamer who blushes to customers... Basically she's a tsundere...
Mafuyu, the most smallest one, though the most mature one in concept. Although on service, she is the "imouto" type (little sister). Well she is technically a dangerous loli. Miu, a doujinshi author who.. writes those stuffs and have imagination like those. She is the "Onee-san" type (big-sister) who always seduce the customers (not in a bad way though). Hideri, the "suprise" character from the six words. She is the "idol" type who always wants to step on stage to reveal her cuteness (i dont know if I should put "she" or "he" on this person). Then comes the boys which are Dino, the manager and Kouyou, the shut-in gamer but the one who always helps Dino.
Story:
The story follows Maika, who recently got employed in a cafe. A weird cafe. That is the starting of the story of Blend S. We were shown that Maika will be one of the main focus on the plot and as the episode goes the story revolves not only to Maika but the other staff of Cafe Stile as well.
With all of them getting screentime on almost every episode, it is reassuring that all of them have important roles to the progression of the plot up to the ending. I'm going to tell you this. Blend S' focus (On my opinion) of the story or product of it is quite difficult to understand. Summarizing it is possible but not quite easy as each episode is like this episode happens on the other day while this happened on that day etc etc. Or should I say in safer side, the story goes in random places though there are a linkage on some episode... Although I can see as a random anime full of colors, there is one obvious good thing that this anime offers. We see this thing on every characters especially the main girls of the series. They have different traits, though this trait doesnt really show them what they are at homes, school or online. Right.. This girls offers us that a person can be sweet, loving or a tsundere but only on the outside. What matters most is on the inside. We have seen characters revealing there
true identity behind doors of the cafe. They always have hidden things lying in the hearts of them and this things should never be taken light of outside. It is with their own privacy although all of them seems fine showing it to other staff members (as I guess they are friends). Although this inside traits cannot be fulfilled on strangers. Why? The answer is work itself.
Many people tend to have different personalities either they are at school, work and especially at home. Everyone wears a mask outside and pulls it out at home. All of us have unique personalities that not even our parents know about. It is a matter of being human. It's life. Here on this anime we saw the struggles of Maika of how can she express her natural emotions to be appealing to customer. Turns out her sadistic side is very pleasable to the folks of the cafe as well as the other characters. Each one have secrets that they do not reveal often to strangers but to those only for their friends. Those who can trust him/her. For example, it is stated in an episode with Mafuyu (when someone asked Mafuyu to go on a date) that no one will like her if the customer will know the truth. People like her for having a childish personality, though she is sure that no one will like her if she shows her true attitude. Blend S gives us a trip to a happy, cheerful and joyful anime, though have some hidden values regarding their own personal roles.
Characters:
There are limited characters here on the story. You can count the characters by your fingers I bet, though this gives this anime an advantage. English teachers will always say that when writing a story, the fewer the characters, the easy and good the story will be. Though the characters of Blend S are not few or not more (its in between), this gives the author as well as the director a good screentime for every character. Come up with a good situation that the character will participate then finish. I already explained the main ones though there are still some like 'Owner' (the dog) and Maika's brother and sister. There is really not much of an importance to this characters but there is one. It gives information to the characters involved with it. Sure the dog is for Maika and Dino and Maika's brother and sister is for Maika. What about the others? Well, simple. Others will share. For example, Kaho behind the scenes is a shut-in gamer. This attitude applies to Kouyou also so both of them have sharing traits. Miu writes doujins so she knows those things. There is an episode when Kouyou stopped her to say a word that doesnt know the meaning by the other characters so they share personlities as well. Mafuyu's scene with Kaho having study sessions also shows that Mafuyu has an attitude of a mother then Hideri being the idol is very obvious that she wants to stand out more. Finally there's Dino, whom we all know the personality because of his persevarance and so much love sick to Maika. All of the are on phase and makes the anime watchable.
Art:
There's nothing really to talk about with the art here. I can describe the art like a white light going into a triangular glass prism then divides into different colors. Thus, the art is like painting. Lots of colors though its rather simple. Its appeal to the audience is fine and pleasant.
Sound:
You know the opening is already good when it turns into something that the people of the internet will be happy on. The ending is quite unique as it features chibi characters which is cute and nice on my perspective.
Overall thoughts and Enjoyment:
I am not a fan of this type of anime out there, though I have to be honest that I enjoyed watching it. We encountered different traits of the characters reflecting different anime personalities, as well as their hidden personalities relating to our real life attitude at work, school or at home.
Therefore, I recommend you to watch it as its score for me is decent. Being simple or decent is quite beautiful you know.
Piezuri
*insert original "S" joke* Blend S is A-1's attempt at making Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu Ka?, and it's a fair attempt, that falls short because of the bland unlikable characters, unlike the characters of GochiUsa. I had high hopes for Blend S, I thought it would be the first A-1 show that I actually like, but sadly, I was wrong. Story: 3/10 What story? Do you really think A-1 would try to compliment this show with an overarching story like the one in New Game? A story in a Slice of Life CGDCT show is something that can make said show even better, because the events happening complimenteach other instead of being random one-shot episodes. Blend S does not have a story. It tried to, with various character introductions that come later on in the show and the last """confession""" episode, but it fails at doing so.
Basically, Blend S goes as following: Character introduction>episode dedicated to the character>random episode>character introduction>rinse repeat. This would be fine if the characters in the show were actually charismatic and fun, which they are not, something I'll address in the Character section.
The humor in Blend S relies mainly on visual gags. It's the typical humor you'd expect from a CGDCT show. It's boring, unoriginal, and didn't make me laugh a single time. Although, I wasn't really expecting high comedic value out of a show like this.
All in all, Blend S presents episodic stories that could only be interesting or fun to watch to the crowd that enjoyed Gabriel Dropout earlier this year.
Art: 7/10
For once A-1 do not have a noticeable animation drop in their show. The art style is similar to the one in Eromanga-sensei. It's simple and "gets the job done", after all, I wouldn't be expecting a memorable art style from a CGDCT A-1 show.
Sound: 5/10
The opening is catchy, especially since the "Smile, Sweet, Sister, Sadistic, Surprise" sequence made itself into a meme. What this shows suffers on is the unremarkable voice acting. Aside from Hideri who is voiced by the one and only Tokui Sora (Nico Yazawa's voice actor), who did an amazing job at her role of sounding like a girl and a boy at the same time, the rest of the cast is quite bland and doesn't really stand out.
Character: 2/10
Good thing that Kaho exists, because dear lord the rest of the cast was painful to watch. The cast would be fine if this show were a short, because the characters wouldn't get boring by episode 6, but the same cannot be said for a full 12 episode show. As you'd expect from the premise of the show, every character is reduced to 1 or 2 traits. These traits are kept as they are since episode 1, and get little to no development. If every character was introduced in episode 1, you could literally watch every episode in the order you liked. Worst part, is that one of my favourite character types, the onee-san, ended up being sidelined, and thus, being bland.
The problem here is the untapped potential of the situation the characters are being put into. Personally, watching Blend S, I expected that at some moment the theme of "faking character" was to be brought up, you know, "Forgetting their own personality because they have to fake one for the job they have to do". This theme would make for some interesting character interactions and/or development, but apparently this was too much effort for the scriptwriters.
Enjoyment: 3/10
I gradually started watching this show just for the moments with Akizuki and Kaho. Since the show is way too centered around Maika than it should be, if you do not like Maika, you won't enjoy the show.
Overall: 3/10
Blend S should truly just be called "Bland S"
If you're part of the crowd that enjoys shows with zero character development and no plot like Gabriel Dropout, go ahead and watch Blend S, as you'd surely enjoy it.
Would I recommend Blend S?
Just go watch GochiUsa.
Naneo
This anime is not all about part time work. There is also a romance bit here and there, but the main thing is about bonding and having fun with your coworker. First thing I wanna point out is the romance bit kinda weird. They have a big gap on their age. One is a schoolgirl, one is a manager. So if you are not into it just skip this anime. This is a really great anime to relief stress after going home from work yourself. Story is easy to follow because there aren't like big plot or something. Just some schoolgirl doing a part time jobto go overseas. The shenanigan Cafe Stile produce is so entertaining to not make it a boring anime, considering this anime premise is not engaging. Every episode filled with hillarious moment. And the joke delivery is on point. I never gone an episode without laughing. One problem tho. The only thing that makes the story looks like progressing is when they introduce a character. So when an episode doesnt introduce characters, it feels like just exist to fill the 12 episode count. Because there are hardly any meaningful story at all.
The series also does a great job of introducing the other characters and their roles at the café. Each character has their own unique personality and backstory, and the series does a great job of exploring them. The anime OP point that out. Everyone except the cook have 2 personality. What I love about it even more is they're not perfect. So we can relate to them, its a hospitality job after all. Sometimes their true personality slipped out in front of customers. Always interesting to watch them interact with each other in the backrooms, their rich personality and the context given. The series also does a good job of balancing the comedy with more serious and heartfelt moments, making it an enjoyable watch throughout.
The animation is of course a good quality, with detailed and expressive character designs. The voice acting need to be praised too, with the actors bringing the characters to life in a charming and humorous way. Not to mention they also sing the OP and ED song. Both of it are in my playlist now. Most of the time, its all takes place inside a room. And when they go outside. They didn't miss the opportunity to make the background so beautiful.
Really enjoy this anime, definitely will rewatch this in near future. Oh yeah and read the manga too. This anime is so iconic with that OP. There are tons of people creating memes with various scene and characters, which makes it even more popular. I decided to watch this anime because me myself get my first job too. Although it is not a part time work. I can relate and relax watching it after my 12 hour shift. Thats all I wanna say about this anime. Thank you for reading my review.
PhoenixKola
A comedic slice of life story that follows the antics of employees of a particular maid cafe. Make no mistake, the show is a witty comedy first and a SoL second. If I had to say something bad about Blend-S it would be the plot. Like any other SoL there isn't a sense of anything important happening anytime soon, expect a ton of pointless goofing off. Music has a very smooth selection of instruments (like you'd see at a real cafe) that are low-key and relaxing, though a bit underwhelming.Pieces are overly simple in my opinion, though fitting. If I had to say something goodabout Blend-S it would be the comedy. Brilliant lines are delivered with a great deal of personality. The voice acting and lines combine for a surprisingly funny experience. Visuals are well above average. Everything from backgrounds, to character art, and animation are very pleasing and well detailed. The fast paced episode format is very entertaining, never slowing down for a second of idle, dry dialogue. It will definitely remind you of the 4-panel slapstick comedy manga style.
Overall there are some weaknesses, but as long as you're in this for the comedic content it is quite satisfying. There's a consistent fanservice theme that some might dislike, it isn't too extreme in my opinion. Watch for laughs and antics plus a bit of sexiness, but don't take it too seriously. I give it a 8.5/10.
TL;DR Version: Hilarious SoL with great visuals. Slightly predictable and repetitive, but still creatively brought to life.
6Win6dAn6l
A1 Picture is back at it again, with lowest common denominator entertainment…. but I kind of enjoyed it this time. Blend S is not a good show that explores the human psyche but it neither is an insultingly bad show or one that is boring. I think the main Issue is that the show isn’t really capturing the zeitgeist of slice of life and decided to be kind of dull. Slice of Life anime’s are about growth and character interaction. This show is completely one note in that regard. None of them felt like they grown as a character or have that much of aninteresting dynamic in the end, which really hinders the show immensely. Of course this isn’t to say that all slice of life should be about growth theres plenty out there that is good that isn’t “Mangaka and His Assistant”, “D-Frag” or “Oshiete Galko-Chan” are prime examples of that. But those shows are far funnier and had some interesting dynamics in the show that kept it above from the rest.
Blend S is an anime based on the manga of the same name. The show is similar to Working and Is This Order a Rabbit, where it is mostly work slice of life that takes place in a café/restaurant. The show centres around Maika a High School girl, who got a job in a “wacky maid café” where all the girls plays an anime quirk whetter it’s tsundere, little sister, or an Idol. Which is an interesting concept and they even played with it being that the jokes centre in their clashing personality of each of the character and the quirk they play. Kaho is a sweet heart who has to play a tsundere, Mafuyu is a stone faced mature 20 year old who has to play a little sister etc etc. This is all fine and good but though I chuckle and even laugh once or twice, a level of growth or anything interesting done with it. The jokes in the end were just “ HAHAHA KAHO HAS TITS” or “HAHAHAHAH MAFUYU IS A LOLI”. Which plays in the biggest issue this show has the show lacked so much personality. Though I think the characters are fine, I feel a majority is kind of one note the exception being Mafuyu and Maika. The are a lot of wasted potential here an example would be Kaho and Akizuki, who are shown to have somewhat an on screen romance, but it never went anywhere. Akizuki is a fish eyed weeb whos awkward around women and Kaho is a cheerful beautiful weeb who spends all of her time playing games but is also a massive scaredy cat. They did play with it here and there. But they were forgettable, and the dialogue they share wasn’t interesting. It wasn’t, as funny and intelligent like in Lucky Star where the dialogue felt like satire or as memorable and cutthroat like in Bakemonogatari. Overall it just felt dull. The main character though not completely one note didn’t really grow on me, she was the most boring character I the fray. As her arch of wanting to learn about other culture was barely mentioned and her romance with the manager Dino which had some pretty funny moments such as when Dino was arrested for when he got to close to Maika. Felt manufactured, its your typical “Oh he’s in love with me…. Oh I’m tooo dense to notice hahahah tehehe~” It was disappointing to say the least. The show could have benefited greatly if it stopped emulating popular tropes and instead playing around with it. The beach episode was one of the worst beach episodes; it was just dull and insultingly boring, the side characters were also a huge let down. To the shows credit however, I want bored at least not all the time. Most of the time I feel the show had a little bit charm into it, its dull and repetitive with them repeating the same joke just with a little variety. But part of it has grown on me and some episodes aren’t as bad as the others. I like the part where Mafuyu talks about relationship and her interaction with the cast. I think Kaho and Akizuki though I’ve mention to be kind off dull. I think has some potential into it.
Animation wise, its pretty, A1 picture the cancer of the studio they are can make some good visuals, though not very interesting it’s at least pleasing to the eyes. I particularly like how they animate Mafuyu and Hideri. Character design wise ill give them prop a majority of them I do like. Mafuyu, Maika and Kaho are pretty design though a little uninspired they have interesting facial expressions and overall I find kind of a good blend (Pun not intended) of interesting design choices. Note Kaho is like incredibly hot and Mafuyu is like incredibly cute while Maika is kind of a sweet spot design where it just kind of works.
Music wise its……. serviceable no pun intended. Though its not all over the place like some other A1 shows, it’s definitely not catchy or memorable. It goes for the OP and E. D was kind of disappointed I expected better. Voice acting is pretty good; it features a lot of newcomers, though I do feel the Seiyou for Akizauki and Miu can pretty bad. With Miu a lot of the times I kind of wished she more of memorable voiced, but in the end it felt so boring and even when she’s being a perv she doesn’t really do much with her vocal range. With Akizuki it was ok but anyone could have played this role. If this anime’s goal was to build new seiyou stars, then it failed. None but a few of the cast really showed their range or show how unique their voice. I think the show could have benefited from having Veteran seiyous on the show voicing the supporting characters.
Is it a bad show definitely not there’s moments that I genuinely laugh or even chuckle a little. There’s no one particularly annoying or even insultingly bad. The show is not great or even good. But its definitely not a bad time waster or a good laugh or even an introduction to slice of life that isn’t too slow….. Just don’t expect to come out of it completely satisfied. The show was too busy emulating what was popular it never became it’s own thing and if it wasn’t for the Meme it spawned I don’t think anyone would bat an eye watching it. I came in the show with low expectation and I wasn’t blown away but I wasn’t horrified with what I find. Overall it’s ok; personally check out the show I mention in the first paragraph instead, but if you find the show entertaining I get it, the wacky and warm setting is still welcomed but in the sea of anime this is one that isn’t special or anything. I’m feeling a decent 5 to a Hard 5 on this.
Best Girl: Mafuyu Hoshikawa (Will actually waifu)
Best Boy: Akizuki Kouyou
Best Episodes: Episode 10, 8, 5, 3
Worst Episode: Episode 7, 11
5/10
LazyPanther
Imagine any generic comedy/harem/action anime with the essential beach/maid-cafe/hot springs episode, remove the rest of the plot-driven episodes and take out the following: 1- Story 2- Character motivation 3- Any conflict 4- Action 5- Any meaningful relationships What you are left with is Blend S(hit).All the characters are one-note to the point that the show itself defines the characters in 1 word each.
This show is just a series of events full of cliches and blatant pandering to otaku culture. There might be a few funny moments but nothing that hasn't been done better in every other generic anime.
A more accurate description of the show will be
"A 26 year old manager of a Cafe hits-on & makes advances towards his 16 year old naive employee,
gets rejected/misunderstood repeatedly,
Hence Comedy"
bruh46
Blend-S made a bombastic entry into 2017 with a decent enough premise to draw many people in. However, it let this premise down with terrible performance in nearly every category. You’d think that a show with such a self-aware plot could deliver to most otaku flawlessly, right? Plot- 4/10 A highschool student named Maika finds a job at a cafe where all waiters must fulfill the role of an anime/manga character cliche. Instead of making bright remarks on the plethora of overused gags and character traits in anime, Blend-S proceeds to bombard viewers with fanservice and over-the-top one liners. Either way this ruins the “slice-of-life” aspect asabsolutely nothing feels natural in this anime. Comedy is key for such an anime’s plot yet it seems completely deprived of any decent comedical material.
Characters- 1/10
Blend-S manages to have the most dislikable cast I’ve seen in any slice-of-life anime thus far. Nobody acts like an average, believable human being except some side characters. What I found most jarring about the cast of characters is that after work where they’re paid to be cliches, they still are completely summed up by another cliche.
Maika in-work is sadistic while out-of-work she simply looks sadistic and glares menacingly at everyone accidentally. Like that’s believable. Dino is a borderline pedophile, Miu is a pervert, Kaho is a gamer, etcetera. I’ve seen harems with more character quality than Blend-S.
Art- 5/10
In one word, average. Very average. This seems to be the norm with most slice-of-life’s, but in most cases art direction is accompanied with a clever joke setup and punchline. Blend-S falls short here thus the art really doesn’t have any support.
Sound- 5/10
Aside from the opening there are virtually no memorable tracks. Nothing special here.
Enjoyment- 3/10
Most gags revolve around fanservice, cliches, or Dino’s (utterly terrible) relationship with Maika. Did I mention there’s little to no humor in any of this? I only managed to laugh once through roughly 4.6 hours worth of content. Simply put, Blend-S isn’t very enjoyable.
Overall- 3/10
Blend-S really isn’t worth watching due to the lack of plot and decent comedy. The only likable scene in the entirety of this anime was the nighttime conversation between Kaho and Akizuki in episode 5. While this almost redeemed the show, this progress was utterly demolished by fanservice galore between the two. I’d recommend nearly any Slice-of-life over this, so good luck finding one soldier. This concludes the review.
GonzyChan
When is it the best time to watch an anime with cute girls in maid outfits parodying adorable anime tropes? Anytime. Whether they can be enjoyable to watch or not is anyone’s prerogative. But how often do we get these shows? Entirely too often, in my opinion. With that said, when one of them clicks, they become a worthwhile, laugh-out-loud experience. Blend S proved to be the funniest slice of life anime of 2017. It comes down to the jokes, characters, comedic situations, and dialogue. These aspects meld together successfully to make an enjoyable anime that pulls off even the most stereotypical jokes that have becomea staple in anime of this nature to the point of mockery. So how do each of these four aspects work great with each other?
For starters, the jokes are very quirky and over-the-top. If you aren’t a fan of that style of humor, then Blend S may prove to be difficult to muster. It isn’t incredibly over-the-top like Seto no Hanayome or, more recently, Himouto Umaru-chan. It’s over-the-top when it needs to be. Whenever the animation switches from the standard designs of the characters to the dis-formed, chibi-like art style, that is where the comedy shines brightly. Thanks to its hilarious-looking art style and great performances by the main cast, most of the jokes hit than miss in every which way. A few times, they repeat the same jokes, and they do not necessarily hit as hard as they did the first time, but they don’t completely sour the experience too much.
The characters each have a distinct characteristic that gives them a unique feel to one another. Sure they aren’t anything new to see, but Blend S knows this and plays around with these stereotypes for us to laugh at and marvel at how it treats them. However, they don’t just treat them as stereotypes and nothing more. That would make them seem hollow and uninteresting. They still have a bit of depth to them in terms of how they portray their distinct quirks with each episodic theme they are put into. All of the voice actors play a significant role in this success. The biggest highlight of the cast would have to be Azumi Waki as Maika. She can portray a female character with a darling personality without it being too sugary for some, with the dark, sadistic side to counteract it to balance it out; hopefully, she will get a ton of more lead roles after this one.
While each character holds themselves up tremendously, what sells this show significantly is the chemistry between them. It is always a blast to watch an episode and see what kind of things they will say to one another or what type of situation one gets into and how the others will react to it. The dialogue plays a part in this success and also comedic timing. There have been times when I went crazy with laughter at what characters say to each other and their reactions. Especially with the character, Dino, who is played masterfully by Tomoaki Maeno, who you can tell is having a blast playing as him. Whenever Dino and Maika are on-screen together, it almost always ends with someone having a cramp from hysterical laughing.
I have mentioned before how art design and animation play a huge role in magnifying the show's humor. Looking at it beyond that, it’s a relatively simple-looking anime. Nothing stands out as anything eye-catching to write home about. Nevertheless, simplicity does not always mean a negative in some cases. Especially regarding the slice of life shows which can be limited to how you can animate them. What does out is how beautiful the colors are in the background and characters. All of the characters have a great look and make them shine to grab your attention.
A feel-good anime is something anyone would love to see now and again. Blend S is one that I think fits that description accurately. There is no tough melodrama involved, no violence, no sharp conflict, and no significant threat looming in the shadows. Just an anime, you can pop up at any time and feel good the following day. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.
Grade: A-
TheKondor876
Spoiler-free review incoming. To note: Blend S is an anime adaptation of a manga series by the same name. The following review is based off the merits of the show as an anime, and the existence of the source material will be ignored. The Premise: Blend S is a wonderful show that follows the adventures of Maika, a girl who has a naturally scary face due to her eyes, and her friends and co-workers at the themed cafe, Stile. The cafe is themed so that every waitress has a "character" to play to entertain the guests. The Story: Blend S is structured so that each episode has its own littlestory or two to tell. As such, there's not really a large overarching plot. There is, however, and overarching theme that is present throughout the show, and that is purely a story of friendship and relationships. As the show progresses, we see more of how the characters interact with one another, and how their involvement with each other might have caused them to change over time.
The individual stories we see in each episode, however, are not to be ignored. They're all quirky and downright enjoyable. Truly a comedic slice of life with some substance.
The Characters:
In Blend S, each character has their own personality that is unique to them, as well as the "character" they have to play for work at the cafe. Maika is a sweet and innocent girl who plays a "sadistic" role as a waitress, with varying levels of difficulty, of course. Due to her normally sweet disposition, she often has trouble being sadistic when she puts effort into it, but funnily enough has no trouble at all being sadistic by accident. Her friend Kaho is another girl Maika's age who is really into playing video games and plays a "tsundere" character for the cafe. Serious college student Mafuyu plays an"imouto" character in a complete 180 from her usual disposition. Miu is a teenaged adult manga artist who ends up playing a...questionable "onee-san" character. And Hideri shows up to play a very energetic "idol" character. Along with Akizuki the chef and Dino the Manager who are both otakus, we have a wonderfully quirky cast to follow.
The characters don't necessarily receive large amounts of development all throughout the show, but they all have a few episodes where they really get to shine. We get to learn more about these characters, and they often times learn lessons, leading to some amount of development as time goes on.
The Art:
The art of Blend S is right up A-1 Pictures' alley. All of the characters are distinct and have a very typical A-1 style. If you generally like their art, you'll probably like the art in this show. The colors are bright and vibrant. The animation is nothing mind blowing, but you generally don't see any mind blowing animation in slice of life shows, anyway. It's overall very solid in that regard.
The Sound:
To start with the voice acting, I have not seen the English dub of the show, so I can't speak on that front. As for the Japanese VAs, I feel that they all were able to solidly nail the personalities of the characters they voiced, even more so because some of them had essentially two characters to voice depending on the cafe character associated with their main role. The background soundtrack was nice and nothing was overbearing. Of special note, of course, is the show's opening, Bon Appétit, which was catchy and entertaining enough to spawn the "S Stands For..." meme that overtook the internet for a short bit.
The Conclusion:
Blend S was fantastically quirky and enjoyable. The cute characters always managed to find themselves in entertaining situations, and the "characters" they had to play always gave a reason to laugh. Admittedly, I would have liked to see more of the actual cafe work so we could see more of those "characters," but I still enjoyed what we got. The individual stories were all fun, and I really like the show overall. I would certainly give this delightful show a watch if you're wanting a nice slice of life comedy.
As a side note, however, if you're not a fan of fanservice, you might want to evaluate whether or not this is something out of the realm of possibility. This show does have some fanservice in there. But as someone who doesn't find needless fanservice appealing, I didn't mind anything so much in Blend S. I feel in the instances where it existed it served a purpose, and nothing was over the top or anything like that.
And now a recommendation for your alternate viewing pleasure. If you just so happened to enjoy Blend S, I would send you to take a look at Wagnaria, also known as working. It's another show placed in the setting of a restaurant, but it has more of an overarching story and the characters are just as quirky. Really enjoyable show.
Thanks for reading. o/
kokuborou
Blend-S is a funny and enjoyable show that mantains its composure until the end and doesn't turn into a teen melodrama . The usual anime stereotypes :tsundere, imouto, sadistic,trap etc. are well used for the ironic comedy in this anime.Don't be fooled by the cute girls and moe atmosphere its content has a lot to offer. The story is set in a cafe were a bunch of cute girls who let's say have a unique personality work, using their other personality trait to please the needs of customers.Despite having a moe atmosphere overall the final product is a really enjoyable anime with some references fromold gold anime (Ashita no Joe) and ironic comedy for the purpose of criticizing the japanese society making you laugh until you get a stomach ache.
The characters are cute ,sweet and adorable the perfect stuff for this genre. The funny interactions between them but also the slice of life elements manage to flesh out their unique personality traits, their odd side but also their lovely, adorable and serious character. Everyone in this show is interesting and appealing even the dog manages to stand out in a positive light.
Unfortunatelly some characters weren't explored enough and the show focused too much on Maya casting a shadow on the other girls and guys who work at the cafe. Still it's worth your time and you will have a blast watching it!
Gregiboi
Oh boi - Blend S - the mighty overmemed and all around fuckfest of an anime, filled with everything you could ask for - smiles, sweetness, sisters, sadistics and a literal trap. Sounds like a perfect utopia to me, but what do I know. The anime in general has a fresh touch of all of them combined. All of them well mixed to the story, brought out with the art, sound and characters for the maximum enjoyment. (Friendly reminder - the following is purely based on my opinion). • Long story short, the story is great. It's like a revamped version of all our loved andstale anime series. It had the story that you'd expect from an anime that looks like this, but it has extra spice. Spice that just makes it perfect, in a way that you know you shouldn't like it, but you still do. In summary, it has everything that you could ask for, plus more - it's a perfect dealio. There were moments where it was getting a bit repetitive, but it was overlapped by new and surprising (semi-)funny skits and scenes, which made it exxxtra enjoyable.
I rate the story 8/10
• The art is amazing - it brought out the characters and their specialties really well. From their cute looks to sadistic eyesights - it managed to show the emotions in every situation. Different scenes had different feels to it, thanks to it being animated with different and variating styles. Also I have to mention that the background imagery was veri gud, having it's own style of "sketched"/unfinished characters on the background. One would argue that it's laziness, but it honestly fits and only
I rate the art 9/10.
• There isn't too much to say about sounds. It was good as expected. It had quality voice acting and music to back it up - Pretty gud overall.
I rate the sounds 8/10.
• I personally absolutely loved the characters and the design of them. It had something for every taste - big titties for normies, cute looks for weebs, a loli for perverts and last but not least, a trap for dem geis. Every single one of them looked according to their role and had their "special personality" (which really was the main point of the anime). The way that they all had different personalities and the play on differencing 'real' and 'staged', really made the anime, what it is - a semi-masterpiece.
Really loved the characters - I rate them 10/10.
• Enjoyment - I absolutely loved its fun way to bring out different styles and personalities. Honestly surprised how this overmemed and simple looking anime about a cafe could bring me this much enjoyment.
Personally, I really enjoyed watching it - I rate the enjoyment 9/10.
Overall - Blend S is overall lovely. There really shouldn't be much more to say - it's a semi-masterpiece and I really enjoyed it.
This is why I rate it 9/10, would meme again.
Thanks for wasting your time on dis~
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Normal_Jabiru
A lighthearted romp to pass the time that got a few laughs out of me. Each character had their own little quirks that endeared me to them, despite the fact they aren't the most complex or unique out there. Everyone has a fun dynamic with each other dripping in the essence of its 4-koma origins. Hideri, Kaho, Kōyō, and Mafuyu were the characters I had the most fun watching, especially the snappy banter between Mafuyu and Kōyō. They're similar in vibe, but bring their own fun traits to the table. (pun intended) Basically, I liked them all, with the exception of Dino, but I’ll getto him later.
The production quality is fairly consistent, and the art is soft and serviceable. I like some of the tracks of the OST, as they make for calming background noise while doing things around the house. Though nothing is stand-out-amazing, the tracks are very soothing to listen to on their own, and compliment their scenes pretty well. For once, I was okay with the generic background art, as it puts the focus squarely on the characters and their wacky antics. This is a comedy show, first and foremost.
Even though I thought the cast was charming, and they kept me engaged, I still couldn’t enjoy myself sometimes because of the worst character, Dino, and the fact that the rest of the cast cheers him on. He isn’t the most boring character, he even has his own charm, but the thing that made him basically unbearable to me was the fact that this 26 year old man has a crush on a 16 year old, and everyone else condones it and is actively rooting for him by the end. As someone who is his age, I can't even fathom having a crush on someone that young, and the age gap in emphasized by her looking so young and tiny compared to him. He's quite literally a pedophile, and Mafuyu and Kōyō routinely threaten to call the police on him/beat him up, which makes them aware of its inappropriate nature; It's even more confusing as to why they're suddenly chill with it in the last episodes. I understand it's a gag show, and things shouldn’t be taken seriously, but the adults around Maika constantly allowing this grown man to creep around her puts a bad taste in my mouth. The sad thing is, I like dynamics similar to that of Dino and Maika, but the 10 year age gap is so distracting, and sours everything for me since the show can't make up its mind as to whether or not it's messed up. If it didn't draw attention to it, I'd be able to tolerate it more, and just kind of ignore it. I don't derive humor from watching an infantile 26 year old (unsuccessfully) hit on a dense 16 year old. I would much prefer spending time with the other members of the cast.
There is a second implied relationship in the series with Kaho and Kōyō that isn’t as creepy?? but it's still suspect. (Kaho is 17 and Kōyō is 21.) Mafuyu is by default my favorite since she doesn’t have inappropriate relationships with the kids, and actively stops them from partaking in anything sexual, at least at work. But she gradually becomes more passive about the creep shit, so the note I ended on with her was meh.
Prankster_001
Hello Fellow MAL Users if ur reading this anime review of mine u need to read this loud and clear: Well Blend S is a funny but totally fine show and btw this is my personal review about it: Story:8 It's just fine though and an OK factor for a SoL and comedy anime Art:9Just also an OK Factor and it's more polished art unlike the previous works from A-1 Pictures
Sound:7
Just good enough to my liking the Music's just fine
Character:9
Well the characters are just damn great (except the trap one) and well Maika give me the chills when she does her sadist expression :|
Enjoyment:9
What's not to like this anime anyway i give this a 9 for that
Overall:9
If u want an anime with cute girls in a cafe setting with SoL and Comedy genre in it I Want You to watch Blend S i recommend this to people who wants anime with cute girls even to Newbie MAL users out there
for those who had read this anime review of mine i would say Thank You For Reading This
Wilt18
Blend S is definitely that guilty pleasure that you don't tell your friends about. The story is meh, the characters are pretty simple, and it's not doing anything groundbreaking, but it's definitely a show you can sit down, turn off your brain, and get more than a few laughs from it. Story: 3 This is a slice-of-life, moe anime so as you might expect there's not much of a story line. The premise itself caters to your heavy anime watcher so it's not something you would recommend to someone getting introduced to anime. Maika Sakuranomiya is a girl trying to find a job to raise money inorder to travel abroad, but having no luck due to her scary glare. However, Dino, the owner of a cafe that contains waitresses with different personalities (i.e. tsundere, imouto, etc) scouts her out as his "sadistic" girl. This does sound a little creepy considering Dino is an older Italian man with a weird black hair fetish and Maika is a high school girl, but nothing really happens. I will admit an anime covering this premise itself sounds interesting but also very cringe at the same time. However, I decided to give it a try due to the iconic opening/meme, "smile, sweet, sadistic.." and did not regret the decision.
Art: 8
Personally I enjoyed the art style a lot. It's definitely more to the moe end, but all the characters have unique designs that makes them stand out. I also haven't seen the little fuzzballs used on Maika's hair in anime before so that was definitely a nice change up. Also, I loved the art style for Maika's sadistic faces. Even if it got repetitive, I found it hilarious every time.
Sound: 8
For me, the OP and ED are the main things I listen to for sound in addition to the voice actors. The main way I measure how good an OP and ED is depends on how many times I skipped them and I can gladly say that I did not skip Blend S's OP or ED once. I'm sure if you're familiar with even a little of internet culture, then you'll know the iconic beginning of the opening. There's a reason it became viral because it's soooo catchy. The rest of opening is pretty solid as well. I definitely will have nostalgia when hearing it in the future and the animation that goes with the opening is great. The ED isn't as good as the OP, but the little animation that they had going on kept me every time as it shows Maika traveling and meeting all the characters and evolves as the show goes on and she meets new characters (which I love). The voice actors are pretty solid. None of them stood out exceptionally to me, but they were able to express themselves well.
Character: 6
The characters by themselves are pretty 1-dimensional. Dino is middle aged man in love with a high school girl, which seems to be his main personality trait. Maika is a timid, clumsy girl who tries her best to be nice and give good service but that only ends up making her even more sadistic, playing into her role. Kaho is a gamer girl who plays a tsundere in the cafe. Akizuki is probably the self-insert character as he is also a gamer and seems to have a thing going with Kaho. Miu is forgettable. Mafuyu plays the imouto (younger sister), but is ironically older than both Kaho and Maika. She is the "straight woman" for Dino. Hideri is an idol who comes later.
I would say the main strength is how the characters interact with each other, which often lead to comedic situations. I will mention there are even interactions shown between the members without Maika, which I liked as it makes them seem like their whole personality and life is not dependent on the MC (something that I feel is way too common in anime). I wasn't a big fan of the Hideri-Miu interaction, but I loved the Kaho-Mufuyu one and thought that added a lot of depth to both characters.
Enjoyment: 8
I would definitely classify Blend S as a "guilty pleasure." It's that cute anime that you watch but don't talk about with other people since it's also kind of cringe. The characters were a lot of fun to watch for me and watching Maika try so hard to only end up scaring the customers even more with her sadistic look was entertaining.
Overall: 7
Blend S is not something that I would recommend as an anime you should see before you die, but it's definitely a show that can help you relax if you've had a tough day or are looking for a short show to binge in between the intense 100 episode action anime you just finished and the next one you're about to start. It's funny, the characters are likable, and the OP and ED are solid.
thetsundereguy
Well Blend S was actually a pretty nice anime to watch and that made me laugh from time to time. This anime is a Slice of life so you don't get a lot of story here, but the relationships that are develop through the series are pretty cute and enjoyable to watch. I personally like all the characters from the series and it made me laugh a lot, but there are some parts that are boring. This anime is pretty cute and nice to watch if you want some comedy and romance but without the drama. The art and animation are pretty nice and cute,I like the designs for most of the characters but sometimes the animation seem laggy. I personally enjoy it and I used to looking forward watching every week.
I Recommend you to watch this anime if you like slice of life and rom-com.
( •́ .̫ •̀ )
pokeruls
***spoiler free*** Before we start I should let you know how I rank my anime. To start off I don't rank anything below 5, I just feel like an awful human being. This means if I rank something 5, it's pretty much the worst thing I've ever seen. A 6 is yeah it has some good points but still pretty bad, 7 means it's average, i might be able to see how people can get enjoyment, however, I didn't get any enjoyment. 8 is my average where I get a bit of enjoyment and I don't think I need to go any higher. Now onto the review!!! Ifyou read my previous paragraph you will see what I said about a rating of 7 (which I gave this). After reading other reviews people said they couldn't stop laughing/smiling. I could. In fact, for a comedy, I think this show maybe got 2 sharp exhales through my nose that some people may consider a laugh. For a comedy to get 2 laughs out of me, that's pretty weak. But hey maybe I just don't have a high enough IQ.
The main point that I can't stand about this show is the creepy pedo vibe that comes with it, let me go a bit more in-depth about that. The main character Maika Sakuranomiya can't find a job and Dino/The Manager offers her a job at his cafe because for him it was love at first sight. However, let me note that Dino is 26 and Maika is 16. A ten year age difference. Is this not a little creepy to anybody else? The best way I can describe it was a similar feeling to what I got when watching Eromanga Sensei when the MC has a harem of lolis. Maika is also completely oblivious to this when it comes to love she is about as thick as Ichika Orimura, the MC from Infinite Stratos. If you're trying to tell me this isn't creepy what about the episode where this 26-year-old guy is helping a 16-year-old girl look for a swimsuit.
Ok back to the normal review format
Story - 6
Minimal story except for the characters getting more friendly with each other. Basically, they all work at a place called Cafe Stile where each waiter has their own personality which I will get onto later
Art - 8
Nothing special
Sound - 9
I gave this a 9 because just about everybody knows the op, however, I wouldn't say the ost is anything special
Characters - 7
Kōyō Akizuki - You're average otaku that seems to have an interest in Kaho Hinata (another character, see below) I get this feeling that Akizuki is supposed to be the most male relatable character
Kaho Hinata - I assume to be the majority of viewers best girl, mainly because she is a gamer and she is thicc and that's what your normie otaku is into. Her personality is tsundere, you know, "It's not like it did it for you or anything baka!"
Dino- As I've said before, don't really like him, a bit of a creep
Hideri Kanzaki- BE AWARE, IS TRAP, gets introduced in about ep 9 or 10 which seems a bit late as this is only a 12 episode anime. His personality is Idol
Miu Amano - Is a manga hentai artist/author (forgive me I can't remember the correct terminology). She spends most of her taking notes of whats happening at the cafe so she can make it into one of her 'stories' later. Her personality is the big sister that helps feed her 'little brothers' (customers)
Mafuyu Hoshikawa - Your everyday loli that's an otaku. Her personality is a little sister. "What can I get you Onii-chan?"
Maika Sakuranomiya - The MC. As sharp as a rubber band. When she smiles she looks pissed off and hence got the personality of sadistic.
Enjoyment - 7
I think I covered this in my first paragraph.
Tl;dr
Some people enjoy it, I thought it was pretty average, I thought there was some underlying pedo vibe and I don't mess with that
Eoussama
Ever been, or at least heard of those fancy butler and maid cafés? with the aristocrat ceiling decoration, full high quality skirting board of the era. Those cafés are more appreciated for their atmosphere and special customer service which make you feel like a legitimate duke being served his afternoon cup of tea. But, of course, everything can be parodied, or at least copied to an extent. With the rise of Anime, Otakus were flooding from nowhere replacing the stereotypical millennials demanding a freedom of speech for their fresh odd tastes, and so there was an explosion in the medium of Otaku cafés where waitresses andwaiters (mostly waitresses for reasons) cosplay as a specific Anime character and server their customers on a more Anime-like way. That intro took long enough. “Blend S” is a wholesome slice of life light-hearted comedy show with 12 episodes that expands on this idea. But instead of experiencing the life-changing experience (according to Weaboos) that is being in on of those cafés, and keep in mind, it's past 2010, so as most people enjoy looking at other people play games, you could possibly get an enjoyment out of seeing imaginary customers being served the traditional Anime way. Or maybe, you know, enough of imaginary things, and actually go outside and make some actual friends. If you'd rather not, then stick along the review.
- Story (7.0/10):
Sakuranomiya Maika, a high school student with charming black hear lacks confidence in her casual smile as referred by pretty much everyone to be vicious, and that of a sadist, having spent a long time looking for a part-time job but with no luck whatsoever to be accepted in one. One day while she's running to catch a job interview in time, she dumps into a foreigner from Italy, that's where she met her new job's manager, Dino. Well, lucky her, she gets recruited into an Otaku café called “Stile” where all the waitress are supposed to play a stereotypical treat from the wide weird world of Anime, and she just happens to put her sadist smile into work, and be the sadistic Anime character that disses and humiliates customers out of service, I know, I also have an exclamation point of view on these type of fetishes myself. The story plays out nice and at a considerable story progression that gives you something out of everything. Fanservice is, of course, present, but thank God they weren't suggestive with it, so rare and knows its time that it lets you beg if there was more. Along the way, the manager struggles to spend time with Maika who he develops a crush on, but thanks to their strong friendship bonds they make it out of every other bitter-sweet day of work.
- Art (7.5/10):
This is one type of animation that I really enjoy. On wholesome and quite slice of life shows like this one, you don't really need the near perfect fluid animation to keep you focused as it lacks punch exchanges and epic bullet time stunts. All you will ever need is a clean, well maintained and consistent art style, and that's what Blend S delivers on. The color palette, for instance, is very vibrant and open, you see a variation of tints all at once, for each character theirs, no gloomy lighting or dark lazy colors, everything from the hair or the shiny eyes feels full of life, and compliments one's characteristics and treats. The alteration between the main art style and its respective minimalistic chibi version is only fermented by the smooth translations between serious and comedic conversations.
- Sound (8.0/10):
In general, the voice acting cast did a great job. So as lovely as the character designs are, they get cute feminine voices to add the topping on an already tasty looking cake (No sexual meaning after this). There were some near perfect English lines here and there that weren't worth the cringe shivers at all and were actually above average from what you'd expect from Japanese voice actors.
The opening and theme songs were just as good, speaking about the opening in more specification. After all, it's thanks to it we got the legendary “Blend W” parody that makes me shed tears every time I listen to it, if you still haven't seen it, then you're missing a lot, but just don't fall under the mistake of seeing it before you get familiar with the show's opening, that would sure give you some nasty nightmares.
- Character (7.0/10):
This is, for me at least, a rare moment, to find a slice of life with no annoying characters is just glorious on its own. I enjoyed every single character and what it had to offer. With Stile being an Otaku like café, it presented a fitting roaster of employees, first you have the sadist Maika, and then the Tsundere Kaho, then enters the young sister Mafuyu (an actual adult in a loli body, so you're safe their boys), there is also the big sister figure Miu, and lately, the surprise character ;) (I know some people aren't going to like this one, at least I didn't), Hideri. And with that we conclude the female employees, leaving the manager Dino, and the chef Akizuki.
What's great about these characters is everyone is unique, every character has at least two episodes centered on them, giving them the leading spotlight to express on themselves, leaving at least compatibility with a possible pair from the other side, which starts a cult of shipping very early on.
- Enjoyment (7.0/10):
Slice of life anime should all be enjoyed the same, that's a type of shows that isn't meant to hype you up or anything, but rather to enjoy while you're chilling after a hard day of work or school. The show addresses a lot of problems with its character, resulting in a variety of topics to discuss each episode, which doesn't render the events predictable and repetitive. I had my couple of laughs along the way, I shipped the two I wanted, and I wasn't disappointed in anything the show fails to deliver upon. Not what I would call a yearly-rewatch material, but it wouldn't hurt to see it with another friend.
- Overall (7.3/10):
Yes, aside from the memes, which in this Anime's case are dead (sorry for that, but facts are facts), you should probably clear some time and give “Blend S” a try. It's not by any means some life-changing experience Anime that you must see, but it doesn't fall short from entertaining you, which is a rule of thumb of every show. And rest assured, the content is (considering there are few sexual sighting and references) semi-family friendly that you could recommend out loud without having fingers pointed at you.
