A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace

Episode 13

It's fitting that the finale of Wonderful Workplace starts with probably one of the more forced yuri parallels the show has ever had. I understand that Kaede explains her logic for wanting to visit Nana's family, especially when it was confirmed that the signing event was something that she unprofessionally blindsided Nana about. A lot of the humor in the first half of this episode was extremely predictable since it leans into the idea that Nana bringing her editor to her family was being framed in a similar way to if she was bringing her fiancé to get the family's approval. It was cute, but that wasn't really what I was focused on for most of this episode. The finale didn't have any big grand revelation or even a massive change. This episode was structured no differently than the rest of the series, but that's OK. The show was always about those little moments of celebration in the life of a creative, so the finale should follow suit.

Like the previous episodes, this one was divided into two halves, with the first one being about Nana reconnecting with her roots. We got introduced to Nana's family and got an actual explanation for why she was so dedicated to writing a shogi manga. Turns out that this manga was born out of the experiences that she had with her siblings growing up, and her family has been overall supportive about her endeavors. I love the dad's line about how nowadays it's really hard to have a reliable job or source of income, so you might as well just do what you want, so that way you don't live without any regrets. That's a lesson a lot more people need to listen to. It's really funny that Nana ended up growing up with so much anxiety, specifically because she had to bear the responsibility of going into this profession mostly on her own, but it's nice that she has a family that allows her to take on that profession without any extra baggage.

The second half of the episode has a bit of a slow buildup, but I do like that the ending technically does do what I wanted the series to do. Nana has always doubted herself, or doesn't think that she has nearly as much of an influence on things as she does. She inspires people, she draws people in, and she has a talent that a lot of people want to see nurtured. Meeting the editor-in-chief and having them directly say to Nana's face that her manga has contributed to the different types of stories that people are submitting to the magazine that they publish for is probably one of the highest forms of praise that you can get. It was a nice, tender moment that was perfectly matched to the fact that Nana technically agreed to take on more work when she's already a nervous wreck who barely meets her deadlines. But that's exactly how the show has always been.

The life of a creative person can be very rewarding, and you can reach a lot of people, but it also requires a lot of hard work, planning, and dedication. I love how this series became a weekly refresher for me. It always left a smile on my face and reminded me why I work so hard at creative endeavors. It's been a while since I watched a show like that, and I feel very privileged to get the chance to write about it every week. I'm sure my mind will be overtaken by other shows and projects that come up, as my life arguably isn't that different from Nana's. But for this brief moment, I'm very happy with the time I spent with this series. Hopefully, other people will give it a chance.

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A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.