I have certain expectations for a slice of life anime and Rokuhoudou is kind of crushing all of them as it delivers some fairly compelling, if very laid back, viewing. Your thoughts?
This may very well end up being my surprise hit of the season the way it is going. While the blissful relaxation is continued, this episode really pushes the drama that has been kind of building underneath the beautiful food and cups of tea. The group are approached to take part in an event at a department store but right from the beginning it is clear that the guy who recruited them is up to something, though it doesn’t seem to be blatantly malicious. More like a cat playing with a toy before discarding it.
The end result is some light drama in amongst some very great food shots and a general feeling of ease. I’m not bored while watching because in amongst the serving good food we have a building drama that seems to be furthering the traditional versus corporate argument that comes out in a lot of anime but it is all nicely balanced with no aspect really taking over other than the characters themselves.
I still don’t recommend watching this anime while hungry.
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Thanks for reading.
Karandi James
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I found it interesting that Tsunozaki referred to the guys as “Rokuhoudou” and didn’t bother with names, even though it’s revealed he had connections to find out what their names were and everything as an implicit threat. It really shows how two-faced that guy is.
There’s a real attention to detail in this anime that is fantastic to watch. I’m kind of looking forward to where they go with this storyline.
As a lover of slice-of-life anime who loves food and beautiful men, I really loved how calming this anime was. I also liked the point that you brought up in your review in how well the story balances the traditional versus corporate issue and allows the characters to move the direction of the narrative. Compared to other lighthearted slice-of-life anime I’ve seen that take place in a cafe, this one is strictly about the shop and brings up realistic issues that can happen to a business like in this episode and in the second episode. This anime is definitely one I’ll keep watching for sure.
Ep 2 definitely changed my view of the series… Ep3? Man. This could get very good.