Servant x Service - 7 & 8

"Self Prevention, There Are People Where You Can't See" and "A Dangerous Sprout, Beware Tanaka's Grandson"

"My fish dream is my sex dream"?

Episode 7

It's a bit tough to write things in retrospect, especially retrospect that's taken several months, but I'll try to do my best to talk briefly about these two episodes, which I did not get to cover on RandomC.

Chihaya's Dilemma

I do not envy Chihaya's situation much. I don't think she has a bad boyfriend, per say; Ichimiya is a good guy, if a tad inattentive by nature, but the real problem in the relationships seems to me to be Chihaya's expectations. It's bad enough that she wants Touko to know (though that's only bad because Touko is a spoiled piece of work), without her constantly worrying about what sort of boyfriend she wants Ichimiya to be. It's true that in some ways, she just wants his attention, but there are other things about him that she's actively looking to change as well, and instead of talking out her problems, she gets angry and leaves him blundering about in the dark. That's a bit tough for an airhead like Ichimiya, and it's definitely not very healthy for the relationship as a whole either.

Saya and Tanaka

Tanaka has definitely got issues. And unfortunately for Saya, she's got issues with two generations of them. It's bad enough that she's being almost forced to consider a marriage with a total stranger, but it's a bit more daunting when that seemingly responsible stranger becomes a total nutjob around Hasebe. Perhaps it's Hasebe's special effect, drawing the nuttiness out of everyone, or perhaps it's just his phenomenally bad luck when it comes to his general happiness, but it seems that he turns Tanaka's crazy switch on as soon as they meet. Whatever his issues with Hasebe, however, it's Saya who's stuck in a weird place now, and she's definitely regretting her inability to deal with Tanaka Senior.

Episode 8

Some People Are A Little Too Nuts For Their Own Good

That would probably be a good theme for a paper on literature, hmm? Tanaka is definitely a little overbearing in more ways than one, and unfortunately he doesn't have a whole lot of consideration for others. He's the sort of person who tends to rope people into his problems and goes along at his own pace, and he's quirky in that anime way (which tends to be laced with stupidity). But this time, it seems he's picked the wrong person to rope along in Lucy, because he hasn't factored in properly the fact that Hasebe is actually in love with her. His rivalry with his old "friend" is odd in that it doesn't have much malice in it, Tanaka just wants to honestly help Hasebe, though through the unusual method of putting him in his place. However, that's bound to end badly (and badly it ends) until he gets a clue.

The Date

And there you have it folks: there's always a better time to cash your chips in. I feel bad for poor, naive Lucy for getting trapped in an uncomfortable situation (and she can't really say no again since Hasebe's been so nice to her, thanks to societal politeness), but I also feel a little relieved to see Hasebe catch a small break. The poor guy can't get his feelings across at all; it's not even a case of her openly rejecting him but of her being unable to understand that there is a genuine interest, and that's kind of sucky for anyone in love to experience. However, Hasebe is not to be underestimated even if he's sometimes to be pitied; he's got Chihaya on his side and Lucy is now honor-bound to go on a date. Hopefully then she'll finally see what's been in front of her all along.