Wagnaria!!3

Episode 7

Well, that was fast. I accused Wagnaria!!3 of dragging its feet with the plot last week, and the show came back with this stunner of an episode. Maybe the creators also got tired of taking it slow, or maybe the narrative momentum simply became too great to contain. Whatever the case, this episode takes off running and doesn't look back until the end credits roll. Ask and ye shall receive, I suppose.

After the tense encounter with her brother, Yamada decides that her best option is to hide out at Takanashi's house, whether he wants her there or not. She finally explains why she ran away from home in the first place, revealing her difficult relationship with her mother, and the fact that her brother once ate some natto that she'd been saving in the fridge (the latter was apparently the final straw). The rest of the restaurant staff does a predictably poor job of encouraging Yamada to go home, and the situation only escalates when Yamada's mother finally shows up. After some uniquely airheaded soul-searching, Yamada finally takes a step toward reconciling with her family.

Wagnaria!!3 typically sneaks in one or two sentimental moments per episode, but it's a whole new ball game this week. The Yamada family drama is the main focus from start to finish, and it's handled quite well. Yamada's roundabout explanation of her circumstances makes for a surprisingly strong scene, as does her eventual decision to take another shot at getting along with her mother. Considering that her role in the series is often to imagine drama where there is none, this storyline plays out in a relatively subtle fashion. Rather than going for big emotional theatrics, it just sets the characters in motion and lets them react in whatever way feels natural.

Lest we forget what show we're watching, this episode also sprinkles in moments of comedy wherever it can. Yamada's flashback builds to an emotional tipping point, only to artfully deflate itself with her comparably petty reason for actually leaving home. As they await the outcome back at the restaurant, the rest of the cast riffs on the notion that Souma acts more like an older brother than Kirio. Even Yamada's personal epiphany is amusingly self-serving, as she pivots from thinking of herself as a lousy daughter to deciding that she must therefore be an adult. Even in its most emotional moments, Wagnaria!!3 never forgets its identity as a comedy.

The one point where the humor and drama fail to coexist peacefully is in the characterization of Yamada's mother. The notion of a person coming with an instruction manual is an amusing play on the difficulties of getting along with one's family and wouldn't be out of place in a more lighthearted storyline, but it doesn't quite fit with the atmosphere of this episode. It's just too incredible to play well in the more thoughtful scenes, and it feels like the show is trying harder than necessary to get in extra laughs. Balancing comedy and drama is difficult to pull off, so it's impressive that this is the only point where Wagnaria!!3 trips up. Thankfully, the episode still works well overall.

Giving reviewers what they want is a dangerous game, because now I expect the series to maintain this newfound ambition next week. Even if there are a few faults in the execution, I love seeing Wagnaria!!3 push the limits of what it can do as a workplace comedy. The good news is that there's still plenty of material to work with. Yamada will have to find a way to go back to her real family without leaving behind her created family at the restaurant, and we've still got several bundles of romantic tension to unpack. The future is more uncertain than it's ever been in this series, and that's pretty exciting.

Rating: B+

Wagnaria!!3 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Viewster.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.