3 Episode Impression: Blend S

Synopsis

Maika Sakuranomiya wants nothing more than to be able to travel and study abroad. But due to a certain issue with a look in her eye, not many companies are in search of her. One day as she makes faces and questions what she can do to change in front of a cafe window. She attracts the attention of the cafe manager and ends up being hired as a maid. But things aren’t that simple as the cafe calls for each maid to be a certain type of character. For the meek and innocent Maika, she was chosen to be a Sadist.

The Good

The fall season has brought on a whole bunch of action series but amongst the bundle there are a few more lighthearted works and this is one of the ones to watch.If you’re feeling a need for a breather or a light laugh to end the day with then this is the series for you. The first striking point that the three episodes have pointed out so far is on how dynamic each character is, and not just in design and color. Sure, they have the stereotypical points to match the stereotypical character theme the anime has, but in just 3 episodes the series has managed to show a variety of sides to  certain characters while not overplaying things.

The style and tones of the anime is also a delight to see, though the majority of the work holds a bright palette due to it being a “cute” type of anime, it manages to blend well without being overly bright. The fact that the artist decided to color coordinate the uniforms of the characters adds a unique mark to the series and further distinguishes each of the characters. Just the overall style, design and animation makes for very smooth looking scenes and a sweet looking art style.

Even the romance, which was a surprise point of the first episode was smoothly handled for the series. Honestly, when it comes to this type of anime you would have the girl trying to get the oblivious boy to notice her but here it is the other way around and is actually quite refreshing.
The emotional portrayal of the characters was quite endearing and you can feel the affection of the manager though roundabout it may be at certain points.

The Bad

While the character dynamics were largely well done, there was at least one character that wasn’t able to meet the cut. And that is the chef, Kouyou Akizuki, in the beginning we get an interesting concept of this gruff chef who have an interesting relation with his work. But then the second episode comes around and instead we get this  perverted side to him who likes, female action so to speak. It continues onto the next episode with him somehow telling that a specific doujinshi is some sort of rare edition and the entire thing just seems forced somewhat.

Here they had the opportunity to create more interesting and dynamic type of delinquent character, but instead they went with the stereotypical male, and not even the good type either. But he is not the only one who could use some improvement, but with this character it is on a more lesser level.  It was established early on that Sakuranomiya came from a rather sheltered home life and is rather innocent/naive in many aspects, but there is only so much you can stretch out that trope.

Then there is also the comedy of the series. For the most part the series holds a cute and solic character comedy to it but there are moments when the comedy ends being somewhat overplayed such as the misunderstanding of the manager with other characters or Sakuranomiya’s level of obliviousness.Story, art and design wise, the anime did great, but in terms of character and comedy, they could have done much better with the potential that the showed in the first episode.

Conclusion

This is the type of series you want to go to when you’re looking for a series that leaves a good laugh and has some cute visuals and story to go with it, this is that series. More than having a solid style and design, the series with only 3 episodes managed to create dynamic characters with different sides to to them There is room for improvement on one of the characters and their relationship, On a side note, the opening and ending theme of the series is another point that a viewer can get a kick out with how bright and colorful they are.

Rating: 7.5/10