© Shotan/Shogakukan/You are Meido-sama. production committee
Congratulations you are a servant lady: It took a few episodes, but it finally gave itself a chance to breathe, even if just a little. It finally breaks the pattern thus far of introducing a new supporting character, they make an episode a hit, and then they put them on the shelf—doomed not to be seen again for more than a few seconds at most. For the first time in a long time, we get an episode that’s almost entirely about Yuki and Hitoyoshi (although other supporting characters also make brief cameos). So that said, I’m glad this anime is finally getting a much-needed win. I just wish the episode itself was better. The anime still doesn’t quite know what it wants to be, and this week, we’ll see Servant lady Attempts – and, in my opinion, fails – to be a romance series.
I know this could be hot, but I just don’t buy Yuki and Hitoyoshi as a couple. It feels very forced – like it’s just happening because they happen to be the two main characters. If the anime is going to force this, there are better ways to do it than just having supporting characters comment on how much they look like a couple and then having them go on a Christmas date. If the anime is always going to go this route of bringing them together, I hope it does that in some way that reflects in some way what their dynamic means. Don’t forget, Hitoyoshi is both Yuki’s boss and her classmate. Their union could have a huge impact, but no one wants to talk about it? Hitoyoshi, in particular, didn’t want to mentally struggle with the idea that it would lead to the intense realization that he still loved Yuki despite the possible consequences? This is really low hanging fruit, come on.
That said I don’t see any chemistry between the two of them. At least to me, it felt like a dime a dozen where the protagonists got together because they were the protagonists and that was it. I really hope that whether or not they dance to become a couple doesn’t become the focus of the remaining two episodes, because that’s my least favorite thing to come out of this anime so far.
As if to solidify that, our experience this week was nothing short of amazing. Mainly about Hitoyoshi and Yuki going on a Christmas date, but almost nothing happened on the Christmas date – Yuki said how much she loved hearing Hitoyoshi say he liked Yuki, because it sounded like he was saying he liked her , that’s it. Literally. They walk around for a while, communicate, and the next thing we know Hitoyoshi is talking to his sister about dating. No meals together, no shopping, no movies—not even a montage of all the cool things they did while out and about. As far as we know, they went home after the exchange! And there’s not much preparation – in fact, we don’t see a scene of Hitoyoshi’s sister helping Yuki pick out clothes until a few minutes into the date. The episode where Yuki goes on a date felt like a gold mine! There is so much you can do with an idea like this! The fact that this show doesn’t do anything with it is a huge waste.
But lest I sound too negative, I will say that I loved the snowman-building part earlier in the episode, where Yuki learned the despair of seeing the snowman you worked so hard to build suddenly destroyed. But it’s ruined by a particularly naughty Taro Kamimochi – who we see appear again, if only briefly – so it’s still a pretty cute moment.
With only two episodes left, I’m becoming increasingly less optimistic that we’ll see some noticeable improvement before the show ends. With a few weeks between us, I think the show has lived up to its expectations – to be clear, I think it’s just trying to be a comedy series that focuses on Yuki as a Handmaid’s Tale. Yuki is a student. I know I’ve said this in a few reviews over the past few weeks, but it bears repeating: remember this is an anime about Yuki being a maid? Every week we feel further and further away from that goal, which might not be such a bad thing if it were replaced with something more valuable. Or at least, if this anime can figure out what it wants to be.
grade:
you are a servant lady Currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
