Servant x Service - 9 & 10

"Do You Have It? Mental Capacity and Accumulated Feelings" and "Things Will Work Out Later, But Good Things Can Also Cause Regrets"

I find Momoi to be a lot cuter than Touko, not too surprisingly.

Confessing once is hard enough, but poor Hasebe seems to have no choice but to keep slamming headfirst into the wall. Thankfully, it does look like some cracks are finally showing…

Your Relationship Is Only As Strong As Your Communication

There’s definitely a problem with your relationship when one side is always brimming with unvoiced anger and the other can’t figure out the source of that discontent. See, Ichimiya may be as thick as a brick wall and slightly insensitive to Chihaya’s needs, but Chihaya is also at fault here; you can’t assume that your partner will always pick up all the clues, no matter how obvious they might seem to you. There are always times when someone needs something to be spelled out for them, especially when they’re involved intimately with the source of the problem, and some people just really need to be told things straight out. But even so, you could be the most perceptive person in the world and be in an unhealthy relationship due to a very important lack of communication. Clearly we can tell that Chihaya is unhappy with the way she and Ichimiya are going at the moment, and clearly, we as outsiders can tell that this tends to happen because Ichimiya has next to no clue as to how to keep his girlfriend happy, but is that really all his fault? Some of it, definitely, but not all. If Chihaya were more vocal about what bothers her, I can guarantee that Ichimiya would make less mistakes, nor would he misinterpret that kiss and slap, or stay as mystified by the end of it as he was before it. Ichimiya is just a person after all, and we can’t all guess at what the people around us want and think all the time, no matter how dear they are to us. Long story short, it’s time to communicate, children, and it’s time to listen well.

Skirts? EGAD

Goddess, Lucy you are my soulfriend. You are I, for I know what it is like to stare down a skirt in horror and feel utterly embarrassed to think of wearing one. And I also know what it’s like to feel like you don’t belong somewhere because of your plainness, and avoid all stores like the plague unless they are the book (or game) kind. And yes, the thought of a date is terrifying. But Lucy has some communication problems of her own, ones which are starting to wear out but which very much concern Hasebe. As of the last few episodes, it’s become clearer than ever that Hasebe is pretty much head over heels for Lucy (Abbv.) Yamagami except to Lucy herself, and Hasebe is definitely not the one to blame here. He’s confessed, taken her out to dinner constantly without hiding his affection, declared his intentions numerous times, and still, she refuses to take his feelings seriously. I can relate to the self esteem issues hugely, but Lucy takes this to the extremes, making the moment when she finally gets how serious Hasebe is that much sweeter.

MARRIAGE?!

Leave it to an office comedy for the misunderstandings to go awry, but the fact that Hasebe reacts the way he does just goes to show how far he’s fallen in love and how much Lucy is driving him insane with her naivety. Perhaps it’s seeing him lose it that opens Lucy’s eyes a bit, or perhaps it’s just how sad and pathetic he suddenly seems when saying what he’s always said with a straight face, but if his getting rid of all those girls’ addresses doesn’t clue her in, I might be next in line to throw a sumaho at the floor.

Episode 10

Coming Out

I can’t help but feel bad for Chihaya and her somewhat wayward attempt to out her relationship with Ichimiya to Touko; it’s clear from most people’s perspective that she and her senpai are dating, but when it comes to people like Touko or Lucy, who are blind to most everything, telling the truth is more than a little risky. But though Chihaya comes out and says what she feels she has to, Touko isn’t quite ready to listen, even if she likes and trusts Chihaya quite a bit more than she’s probably willing to admit. I have a feeling that things might be alright in the long run, even if Touko has a bit of a fit at first.

Regretting Your Regrets About Regretting

Tanaka is definitely an interesting guy, and no where near subtle. I can’t decide if he genuinely likes Hasebe or if he is jealous or a bit of both, in that rival-love sort of way. His motto about doing things without regrets is something I personally try to live by, but really, living without regrets is impossible. No matter what choices you make you’ll always feel that tinge of curiosity and dissatisfaction at some point, that maybe, things could have gone differently. So should you regret not regretting? Sometimes it can’t be helped, though Saya’s distaste for Tanaka has unfortunately only dug her deeper into the mire of regret by sheer irony and unluckiness. Maybe she’ll find he’s not so bad, even if he is ridiculous. Love blooms in unlikely places sometimes.

Coddling Spoiled Children Isn’t Really Helpful in the Long Run

I think by now you either love Touko or you hate her (*cough*), but I don’t think you can deny she’s pretty spoiled in some ways and not selfish enough in others. For one thing, it’s obvious she wants to go to college, but she’s so immersed in her brother complex and trying not to be bothersome (even though she’s bothersome in other ways) to Ichimiya that she’s willing to put aside her real desires instead of following them through. I think she’ll find quickly enough that not following one’s dreams is never satisfying even if you are content later, and this is definitely one of those cases where she will regret not doing what she can to go to college. On the other hand, why should a whole section of civil servants try not to upset her with the fact that their boss is a stuffed animal? Is it really okay to coddle and spoil her like that, rather than just having her face reality (bizarre as it is?); she’s not a little child anymore after all, and embarrassing or weird as that is, I can’t help but feel Ichimiya and the others should stop letting her throw tantrums everywhere, especially not at people’s jobs. Though I do have to admit that her fears that she’d broken everyone psychologically are hugely amusing regardless.