Are You Going to Watch the New Blend S Anime?
A new anime season is upon us, and as usual I’ve rolled up my sleeves to sample the new shows so I can tell you which are worth watching. One I’ve liked right off the bat is the new Blend S anime, a cute show about a girl named Maika who has trouble finding a part-time job because she’s got a scary and sadistic-looking face, until she happens across a job at a cafe called Stile. While the “cute moe girls working at a coffee shop” has been done before, most notably with Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu Ka?, this show has more of an edge to it, since the girls are required to wear different personas while they work, which are sadistic, tsundere, imouto, onesan and surprise idol. I liked the main character right off the bat because she reminded me of Mrs. J-List, working part-time jobs to save money to study abroad, which my wife also did, secretly making preparations to study at the University of Wisconsin without telling her parents, because she knew they’d never give permission to go. The scene where Maika spills ketchup on customers was funny, too, since this also happened to my wife. Her first job was at a Denny’s, but when she dropped a full tray of food on a customer, the manager suggested another line of work might be best for her. I hope you’ll watch the new Blend S anime!
I write a lot about how the Japanese are incredibly hardworking, sometimes even working through the night to finish projects, which we see in the New Game anime and elsewhere. One of the best things about running J-List is getting to work alongside my diligent Japanese staff, who never let me down. Of course, no country is perfect, and a big problem Japan faces these days is ブラック企業 burakku kigyo or “black companies” which abuse their employees in various ways to maximize profits. The hallmark of a black company is requiring that employees work “service” (unpaid) overtime, or don’t pay overtime at all, in violation of Japanese labor laws. In the worst cases, these abuses can lead to 過労死 karoshi, or death from overwork, as happened to a 24-year-old employee at mammoth advertising firm Dentsu last year. Two things might help the situation in the future. First is the way social media brings light into dark corners, which is raising awareness and should force these companies to behave more responsibly. Also, Japan’s rock-bottom unemployment rate of 2.8% means there are more jobs than people to fill them, which should enable workers to demand better conditions or find better companies to work for.
We love selling products by top Japanese artists, and one of our favorites is Coffee Kizoku, who’s been creating the most dreamy ero art for years. We’ve gotten in new products by him, including a new artbook as well as his 2018 calendar, English-translated hentai games and more. Browse Coffee Kizoku’s products, or see the new Top Illustrators category we made.
