"Life changes based on who you cross paths with"
The above line is a direct quote from Episode 12 of A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace also known as This is a Workplace Where You Can't Help But Smile, or Egao no Taenai Shokuba Desu in Japanese. It may not seem like a groundbreaking statement, but it is something that we working adults rarely stop to think about.
The need for basic necessities drives us to not expect anything more than the tolerable in our professional lives. Of course, this isn't the case for everybody. But for many of us, careers are simply seen as a means to an end.
But what happens when your career is an actual passion? What if you are one of the few who dreamed of and worked hard to reach a profession that is more than just a source of your next vacation, game console, or body pillow?
A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace is an anime that gives us a look at what that world can be like—and how someone can avoid becoming jaded and losing that spark.
 |
| Futami, our main heroine, is an emotional wreck who panics at the prospect of submitting her storyboards in the middle of the night |
Anime about work or passion is a rarity. But what makes A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace different from other shows you may be familiar with is that the story starts with its main character, Futami, already standing on the doorstep of her dream.
Futami is not some unpolished dreamer just starting out on her journey to become a mangaka. Before the beginning of the series, she was an assistant to a successful manga artist who had already produced several hits.She also secured her first serialized title, To Subaru, a manga revolving around the board game shogi, for a monthly shoujo manga magazine after years of toiling away and being rejected by her previous editor.
By all accounts, Futami has done well for herself. She is financially stable enough to live in a comfortable apartment that doubles as her workspace, and she has achieved what she had been working toward for years. That being said, she is still a rookie in an industry saturated with other young, passionate artists.
Futami now finds herself in the position of a creative lead who needs to balance creative expression, tight deadlines, and commercial viability. Creative expression is nothing new to her. But the pressure of the other two components is.
And this becomes the source of much of the comedy in A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace.
Futami is undoubtedly a genius. Once inspired, she can get into the zone, lose herself in her own world, and create. Even during her school days, she was entrusted with drawing illustrations for the cultural festival, a detail touched upon in one of the show's flashbacks.
But she is also a shy and insecure person who understands that both she and her manga are dispensable and can be replaced. This fear never leaves her throughout the series. Because of this, her determination to produce the best work possible often results in her beating deadlines just by the skin of her teeth.
 |
| Futami asking her editor, Sato, why she never compliments her |
Luckily for Futami, her workplace is populated by a cast of supportive coworkers.
 |
| Futami, in sludge form, meets her new editor, Sato, for the first time |
As I already mentioned, Futami was subjected to constant rejection. Her previous editor, Toda, constantly shot down her ideas because he preferred more traditional shoujo love stories over her shogi-based manga.
After Toda was transferred to a different department, fate granted Futami a new editor in Sato, who believes that any story can be made interesting if it is done right. Sato fights for Futami's manga, To Subaru, and helps get it serialized. She also gathers all sorts of reference materials for Futami and isn't against chatting with her in the middle of the night to review outlines and storyboards. She may not be good at communicating with Futami, but she is the foundation Futami needs to produce her art.
The relationship between the two expands beyond the normal business relationships that us adults in the corporate world are subjected to. Unlike most of us, who maintain a certain level of distance from our colleagues, Sato and Futami have a ride-or-die level of commitment to each other that I would personally deem inappropriate and overbearing in my own work life.
But this is what works for them. And this also warrants the yuri tag for the anime.
Futami is also supported by Hazami, or Ha-san as Futami calls her. Ha-san is Futami's young, gifted head assistant who has no current plans of getting serialized. Aside from working on the manga itself, Ha-san has to deal with Futami's second-guessing and poor health habits. This leads to Ha-san extending her responsibilities to cooking for and scolding her boss.
 |
| Ha-san looking after her sick boss |
Ha-san serves as the straight man for the show. But more than that, she represents a lot of us viewers who aren't particularly passionate about our work.
She wanted to be a mangaka, but she realized that she didn't have a story she wanted to tell. She was then offered an assistant gig, which allows her to make a living while continuing to draw. To Subaru is not her passion, nor does she aim to create something like it. She's like an employee who doesn't want to get promoted and is content with where she is. And there's nothing wrong with that. She is happy just being part of Futami's team and helping make To Subaru the best story it can be.
And then there is Nashida, Futami's former colleague from her days as an assistant mangaka. Nashida crashes at Futami's pad after getting her manga cancelled.
While Futami's career is on the upswing, Nashida comes in and becomes a new headache for Ha-san.
Nashida gets jealous of the support Futami receives and wallows in her cans of beer, much to Ha-san's chagrin. She sees how Sato gets Futami a shogi consultant in Toko and a second assistant in Nekonote. She also sees Ha-san cooking for and taking care of Futami.
This is a stark contrast to Nashida's experience. She works alone, with her assistant working remotely, while her editor—the same Toda who initially worked with Futami—stifled her creativity and only cared about selling.
But even though there is a great divide between her career trajectory and Futami's, there is no resentment between them. Just understandable jealousy. Though Nashida saw Futami as a rival during their days as assistants, her introduction episode quickly pulled her back into likeable-character territory.
Nashida is like the hardworking person who got laid off and is just trying to get herself back out there. She is shown to be good at her work and does a lot of research for her craft. She just needs a bit of time to digest the first big blow to her career.
And her hanging out at Futami's home not only adds life to the place, but also reminds Futami of the realities of her field.
Throughout the show, we are introduced to other characters who help Futami in different aspects of her career. She learns how it takes a team to make To Subaru more successful. And all these characters help drive the anime's main point.
A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace is not an in-depth look into the manga industry. Don't expect it to delve into the insane working hours of the characters or go deep into the different teams that handle the marketing and selling of their work.
Though it is an evident aspect of the story, the anime is not limited to a story about a young adult going through the world and chasing her dreams.
Futami is not lucky simply because she is a gifted genius with great ideas shooting out of her brain. She is lucky because she has people like Sato, who believes in her vision and will go to great lengths to support her. She is lucky because she has Ha-san, who keeps her eyes on the work and snaps her out of her episodes of self-doubt. She is even lucky to have Nashida, who livens up the place.
A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace understands something that us working adults will eventually learn, regardless of whether we are doing something we love or just working for a paycheck: work SUCKS. Deadlines are usually unreasonable. And when you wake up tomorrow, your work plan will have a fresh batch of headaches for you to deal with.
But having the right people around can really make a difference. The show isn't saying that having the right people can magically relieve us of work-related stress. But the burden does become easier to carry.
And that is what it means when the show says, "Life changes based on who you cross paths with."
While A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace shows how the people at work can help dealing with work-related stress, Snack Basue is an anime about a bar where people unwind and get away from the realities of aduthood. Check out my post about it, Snack Basue Anime Review: A Comedic Reprieve From Everyday Life
No comments:
Post a Comment