This is review number two hundred and sixty eight. This anime is part of the Fall 2013 lineup. Yeah, I’m still in this goddamn lineup. I’ll be here awhile as well since I have a lot of twenty four episode plus anime to finish before I skip to 2014. Anyways, the show I’ll be reviewing is called or or Yu-sibu. It’s a twelve episode anime about a hero that got a job reluctantly. The title says it all. Oh, except he has a bunch of sexy co-workers and a lot of boobs to enjoy. Light novel titles doesn’t tell everything about the story, it seems. Let’s read on.

Story

This anime is about a hero named Raul Chaser. He is skilled with a sword and has powerful magical ability that can go up against the demon lord and vanquish him to forever give peace throughout the kingdom. Along with his fellow heroes, he would storm into the demon lord’s lair and finally defeat this evil. There is one problem though. The demon lord is gone. His reign of terror was brought with him when he left. It came abruptly but peace is achieved and everything is back to normal. For Raul Chaser though, who has lived for the moment to try and kill the demon lord only for it to be taken away for him, this was a devastating blow. With the world no longer needing heroes, Raul was forced to get a job. He now works at an appliance store named Leon with his wish of slaying the demon lord now well behind him. Hell is has seemingly frozen over though when Raul Chaser discovered that the new employee of Leon is the daughter of the demon lord. Apparently, she has lost her purpose as well and has decided to take a job. The store manager has decided to assign Raul, former hero trained to slay the demon lord, to teach Fino Bloodstone, daughter of the reigning demon lord, the basics of how to properly do their job of selling appliances.

Taking the Pants Off

I seriously doubted this anime. The premise sounded like it’s the same as Hataraku Maou-sama wherein a demon lord got a job in the human world and was very content at his current life. Yu-sibu sounds exactly the same. The premise is about a hero who got a job and soon found love for it compared to his occupation as a hero. Apparently, light novels can also run out of original ideas. I just find the whole premise to be distracting and I seriously had time a hard time warming up to it. Add the fact that it had a slow start, a character driven story and a non-episodic structure then you have an anime I think most people will have a hard time enjoying. It has a small number of votes in my review poll so it certainly was lackluster to some people as well. I’m still not really sure if I understood the appeal of the show but I can tell you that it does grow on you as you keep watching it. This anime is like cooking a soup. Most of us would prefer having the dish served up to us steaming hot with the appropriate garnishes. This show requires us going through the prep work, slowly cooking it in high heat and getting yelled by your mother because it lacks salt before we can enjoy it. It’s a deliberate slow progression that does give you a wonderful payoff at the end. When you reach the final episode, you’re already in love with the one dimensional characters. You’re accustomed to the slow pacing it had and you’re enjoying the rather mundane premise for what it’s worth. This anime is a show for the truly patient ones that love highly perverted shows with little story in it. It might not pick up at first but the eventual anime experience waiting at the end is something I think was well worth the wait. It also has a lot of boobs in it if you’re still not interested.

This show had a really slow start. The first few episodes just feature the everyday routine of Raul at his job. He goes to work in the appliance store that has a slow business, crosses the street to have his lunch at a convenience store and usually make small talk with his co-worker or handling oddball customers. The whole idea of him being a hero that kills monsters and raids houses for potions is apparently just a backdrop of the show. He just happened to be one but he is now a minimum wage worker and the story is mostly about that. It is dull. Nothing intriguing happens at all. I was hoping a story would materialize soon but it doesn’t. The first episode ended with Raul discovering that the newly hired personnel is actually the demon lord’s daughter and majority of the first half involves nothing but the two of them talking. I think that was the point though. The main appeal of the show is to feature the mundane dullness of a working life. Basically, nothing really big happens when you work. You just talk with your co-workers, experience work related problems and occasionally being lectured by your boss. The anime was trying to focus on that in its really rough and raw form. Sure, there are boobs and fan service but it isn’t really the kind of payoff you’d want from a show about demons and heroes. It’s actually a bit ingenious but the setup takes way too long and the lack of a main story makes the whole experience a bit vapid.

The anime is ultimately being carried by its character. The first half is mostly about Raul teaching Fino the basics of their job. Their interaction is really the only thing keeping the show alive. They are pretty clichéd characters but the ways they talk to each other really fill the show up. Raul is the straight laced kind of guy. He has some bitter lemons about having a job even though he has built his entire life to being a hero. Being in a store selling air conditioners to people isn’t the dream he had in mind when he was slaving away at the hero academy. No, he wanted to slay the final boss but he was denied of that. He then saw the change happen. All the armor and equipment shop closed down and he soon find himself feeling the wrath of the corporate world. Seeing Fino, the demon lord’s daughter, act so carefree stirs those bitter lemons inside him. He is a very complacent guy but he has some girls looking his way. He is too busy making sure his salary lasts for the rest of the month though to notice them. Yeah, he gets some boob action and fan service moments from time to time but he is mostly a serious guy doing his job more than anything else. He is also trying his best to mentor Fino.

Fino is a crazy character. She isn’t accustomed to the human world so she would do demon practices and it would freak people out. Majority of the first half is about various situational comedies where she causes some mishap and Raul is trying his best to fix them and then lecturing her afterwards. She would laugh like a mid-level dungeon boss talking to customers as if they are drawing swords at her. She would greet people with some insults and she calls the color green as “the gall bladder color”. This would make people try to run away from her. She doesn’t mean most of the screw ups she does and Raul tries his best to teach her the proper way to go about with things. She is a very dedicated person though and this really attracts Raul. Her genuine determination to doing her job properly really motivates Raul to love his job even more and that’s really the main core of the show. The two main characters are slowly gaining a mutual understanding as they do their everyday job together. Raul also spends a lot of time seeing Fino half-naked and this spices up their relationship a lot as well. Their lively interaction really makes this anime special and I tell you right now that you will not enjoy this anime if you can’t grow to love seeing Raul and Fino together. I certainly was indifferent at first especially when the first episode felt a bit forced and hollow. As I said, it does grow on you and the two characters grow on you as well.

The first half of the anime is really just a bunch of non-episodic stories strung along together. As you progress, you are also introduced to the rest of the characters. It’s done pretty routinely. Characters just appear and the focus is still on the various themes of each episode. It was a bit confusing at first because there are too many one dimensional characters and not a lot of story to balance things out. Non episodic stuff about how to greet people or how to work at a convenience store is good but the anime still feels directionless with the way it shy away at a main story. There is a steady progression with Raul and Fino’s relationship and that’s really the thing carrying the show. As more characters are introduced, the scenarios slowly grow as well and the interaction becomes a lot livelier. At the end of the first half, you’ll soon grow to love the characters and, really, excitedly await the next non episodic mischief they’ll have. It’s shocking but the progression is really smart. It doesn’t take long before you’re attached to the characters and you’ll soon love the slow pacing of the show. The scenarios will become more familiar and the new exploits becomes amazing knowing how many characters are there to keep it interesting.

At the second half, there is a sign of a story at this point. Leon is the only appliance store at the capital but they soon found themselves having serious competition. The largest chain store in the country, Amada, has a newly opened store at the capital and it poses to damage the business of Leon. The employees must now join forces to find a way to keep business going and prevent Amada from stealing their business. The story is still about the two main characters building their relationship but it is contained in a story about their store having a strong rival. The episodes are soon about this small store going up against a mega store. They think of plans to try to keep business alive while they marvel at the resources and corporate power of the mega store. I actually like this small story of the anime. It tells us of how small time businesses are more customer friendly than mega corporations. Small business will take care of you because their attention is focused on your satisfaction while big businesses are mostly concerned about your money. It is a pretty real thing and the anime has nicely incorporated it in its story. It tells us that big businesses only care about their profit margin while small businesses are just concerned about making their customer happy. As the show progresses, you are treated to how Amada has strong methods to turn the tides their way. They have lower prices, more updated products and sales that the other store can’t match. You’re also treated though to how Amada will resort to shortcuts just to turn the tides their way. The idea that “it’s just business” is often the mentality behind Amada’s action. Meanwhile, you’re also treated to a more friendlier approach by Leon. They provide free services that Amada would add as fee, they tend more to their customer and their needs and they aren’t profit minded as the other store. You might be wondering how a story about two stores having a rivalry can be good. The first half was really building up to this. It tried to make every character appealing. It made the mundane work life interesting and it made the audience accustomed to the work Raul and Fino is doing. So the idea that this routine will be threatened is a serious concerned for the audience as well. Of course, it’ll be of concern if you can even reach the second half. This anime is hard to appreciate and I’m not surprised if you can’t get over the fact that the characters are mostly one dimensional. Reaching the second half just watching the characters bicker isn’t the kind of thing most people watch an anime for and I do understand if you can’t find the show appealing as well.

Towards the end of the anime, another story also appears. As I said before, the show had a great payoff at the end and it’s mostly about this final story. The rivalry between Amada soon reaches a decent conclusion when Leon finds themselves having great business.  Their sales are as good as ever and all is well. Raul and Fino has a wonderful relationship at this point where the two characters cherishes the experience the other has given them. News soon spread though that the hero system will be brought back. Raul will have a chance to become a hero again because rumors said that the demon lord is coming back. I don’t want to spoil it but Raul is now torn between his lifelong dream and the wonderful life he is now currently living. Is he ready to abandon his life at Leon and end his relationship with Fino just to become a hero again? Of course, Fino is affected by this big news as well. Being related to the demon lord can be a big bother when you realize that the final boss is coming back and now she must make a choice as well. The way this story unfolds is really the best part of the show. The slow build up from the directionless first half to the endearing second half culminates into this final plot point. It appears at the end and it provides a really great pay off for the audience. As you see all the elements come together, it does make you feel glad that you sat through an anime that has no main story.

This anime is about a fantasy spin at work though and I think the appeal was just a bit too strong to appreciate. I admittedly find myself being a bit impatient at the rather uninteresting development of the show. If there is one thing I liked about the whole concept of work presented in the anime, it’d be about the trials and tribulation of having a job. Perhaps this show has more appeal for people that actually have a job. Fino has this wide eyed enthusiasm for her work while Raul is complacent and only works to sustain himself. Seeing Fino get excited about doing great at her job or getting overly excited for her first pay check gets Raul to appreciate his job more. This experience isn’t foreign to me. I recently had a job and I feel for Fino. The excitement for doing a job you like is really an amazing feeling. The anime has captured it amazingly and it makes the experience special. The hard work you put into your work and the rewards that you reap from doing a good job was nicely captured by the show and I really appreciate that aspect of the anime.

The characters are all one dimensional. As I said before, the interaction makes the show special. The characters are generic at best and some of them are blatantly annoying because of how overdone their personality is. I find myself really hating some of the characters. Fino may come off as grating at first and it was a bit hard to watch. They do grow on you. The cute quirks the characters have make every interaction special. There is Raul the serious guy and Fino, the annoyingly loud girl. There is also a girl that enjoys looking at appliance catalogs, the co-worker that gets molested at work by an old man, the even more annoyingly loud girl that works at the convenience store, the laidback assistant manager, the kuudere mechanic and the happy go lucky manager. All these individuals make the work routine feel fun and interesting. Seeing them caught up in various mischief during each episode has a nice appeal to it. It’s easy to see that they’re poor one dimensional characters but the show works it to their advantage. Every mundane scenario works great when you see the different characters act in it. It’s a bit hard to explain unless you actually see the show for yourself. The one dimensional personality also passes when you simply just see the characters display fan service. There are a lot of scenes that involves the girls being exposed or groped by some creatures and it keeps the show lively as well.

I have never heard of this studio called asread. F*ck them as well for releasing a show in the longest lineup of my reviewing journey. They have a long list of shows they participated in and majority of them are in between animations going all the way back from the 80s. KyoAni started out like that as well so it gives you an idea just how hard it is to penetrate the industry. They have made a bunch of OVAs though including a Corpse Party OVA. I think it’ll be a long time though before they make something more prominent. A show like Yu-sibu is a good place to start though. They have this strict discipline when it comes to the story and I certainly want to see more shows given the same approach. This steady build up in a show is rare nowadays and asread should learn to take care of that talent of theirs. I have heard of Kinji Yoshimoto though. This dude directed the Queen’s Blade series. I guess he’s responsible for all the fan service of the show and I do think it’s a nice element of the anime. It can be a bit overdone but nobody hates overly done Ecchi. Oh wait. Yeah, he should take it down a notch or maybe just get rid of those censors. The blinding light censor is never a fun thing to watch.

Sight and Sound

Character design is pretty decent. All the characters have this eye candy appeal with the way their design looks polished. The problem is that they’re all generic designs though. Female characters are your typical sexy girls with big boobs. I do appreciate the bright color palette though and the nice proportions on the characters. The hair design is also a nice detail because of how it flows beautifully for each character. As I said though, it’s generic and even the outfits are pretty normal. The uniforms are cute but not that special. I am fond of the outfits though because of how it adds to the sexual appeal of a character. It has a tight blazer to accentuate the breasts and a small skirt to make it easy to look up into it and give the show some decent panty shots. The convenience store outfit is pretty cute as well. It’s a huge uniform that covers the short shorts of the characters so they look like they’re in their pajamas with the big shirt and the stripe designs. It’s not much but the great proportions and the sexy curves do make the characters interesting despite the generic design. The male characters are generic as well. Raul looks like your typical lead character with a decent face. Most male characters don’t stand out as much but they do have some clean looks as well. I guess a bishie design is asking for too much in an Ecchi show like this one.

The show has a nice RPG aspect that was nicely captured by the visuals. I love the carriages that are dragged by some huge seahorse. It is surprisingly cute as they cross the street so unnaturally. There are also some slime monsters in the anime that looks like something from an FF game. There are also other familiar elements like some skeletal monsters and other traditional RPG creatures. It gives the anime a nice adventurous appeal even though the show never really focused much on it. It had freaking three headed dragons yet it’s a show about working at an appliance store. Geez. There is also some nice design on the heroes of the show. I love All A’s design. She has something like a whole body stocking underneath her armor but she also exposes a lot like her chest and her legs despite being in armor. It’s pretty inspired and probably the only design in the show that I really like.

The animation is pretty great. The normal conversation scenes are nicely animated. The facial reactions are captured by the animation and the flow of the conversation was engaging because of how the characters were able to convey their personality through each scene. The animation gave the light novel justice and it was able to elevate the show from its mundane nature. Normal scenes like walking or running looks pretty good but I also admire how detailed fight scenes are. The movement is a bit fast so you can hardly keep up but you can also see how complex each motion is. The frame rate is pretty high and you’ll notice how a character would almost dance as they fight a monster and it’s coupled by the static movement of the camera. It also had some great effects that really make each fight exciting despite being short. Queen’s Blade also had some great..um…animation so I guess the director knows what he’s doing. I would’ve loved to see more fight scenes though. Majority of them happened in the later parts of the show and it was a something I think the show needed a lot of.

The fan service is pretty prominent. Most scenes have girls half naked with their breasts exposed at every opportunity. In the first half, you’ll see a lot of scenes where Fino is sleeping with only her panties on and Raul completely lusting over her. There are also a lot of bouncing boobs and just plain boob shots as they jiggle around and stuff. There are also scenes where bras are exposed and it’s mostly a celebration of the female chest. It’s an Ecchi anime so it’s not that surprising. I’m a bit disappointed though because of the censors in the show. It has blinding censors where they block out the nipples and it’s pretty annoying. High School DxD showered us with this. There’s no reason to hide it now. There are also some scenes where characters are covered in white stuff and a few moments of some girls squeezed by some tentacle monsters. It’s your typical Ecchi. I mean, I’ve seen worst.

The anime’s OP is “Extra Revolution” by ZAQ. It’s a really sickly sweet song. I guess it’s a cute song but the singer’s voice is really annoying. It’s a bit sharp and she does high voices pretty sloppily. I heard it once and the squeaky voice just didn’t sound right to me. It has a nice rhythm to it though and it is pretty catchy if you can block out the annoying voice of the singer. The OP sequence features all the characters dancing to the song. It also has a lot of fan service much like the anime and it does feature the work routine that happens in the show. It also suggests a harem element with the way it hints at the girls all liking Raul but it didn’t really happen in the show. Maybe it was leading to that but it was subtle at best in the anime.

The anime’s ED is “Sticking Places” by Sphere. I honestly didn’t hear the ED song that good. It has a nice arrangement to it. I mean, the verse was good and it has a good chorus featuring all the voices blending well together. I’m mostly distracted by the ED sequence though. It features Raul in his hero armor acting all cool as he draws a sword about to fight a dragon on top of a volcano but then it shifts to a bunch of shots of the girls in the show all naked covering their breast which transition into a scene of the girls in their bikini striking sexy poses in the forest. It had a song? I was too busy being blinded by the fan service.

Overall Score

6/10 “The slow build up to a satisfying climax and the interesting look at being part of the work force makes this a pretty good anime.”

It had a really slow start. It only got good towards the second half which are six episodes in. It has a lot of engaging characters though that makes the show special. It also has boobs. It has a lot of boobs. If you enjoy a lot of Ecchi in your anime then you should try this one out. If you like strong characters in your show then you’ll like this one. If you’re a fan of nicely laid out story with a nice build up and a decent climax then you’ll like this show. It takes a bit of patience but the experience is certainly worth it.