A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace

Episode 9

Another chaotic day in the life of our favorite little ball of anxiety. This is the first episode that featured most of the extended cast all in one setting. The only person missing was the assistant who works from home, which makes sense because she was established as a shut-in. Still, I'm surprised it took roughly nine episodes to have this happen. This is also the episode that introduces the dog that has been so heavily featured in the show's opening and ending. There are only a few episodes left, yet I didn't realize the dog's absence until now. Maybe that's a testament to how much I was enjoying other aspects of the show that relatively obvious things were very easy to overlook.

This episode definitely felt a lot more chaotic and sporadic, with the most scenes I think an episode has had. The only overarching theme was this idea of community. Even if Nana is the main creator who needs to sign off on everything, she can't get very far on her own. No creator can. You need assistance, you need an editor who is willing to support you, references, and to converse with people who have experience in fields that you might lack. Almost everybody here, except for maybe Arisa, does contribute to the manga that Nana writes. I like how this idea was pushed, and even the smaller story segments, like the interview with Nana about what it was like getting her series greenlit, really do show that certain things in her life just wouldn't be possible if people didn't have that much faith in her.

This is also the only other episode so far that gives us a little more insight into Arisa as a character. For the past few episodes, she has just been there as the butt of the joke. It's actually funny how much everyone puts up with her nonsense when she doesn't reasonably contribute to anything that is going on. I will say I did like that things started going a bit better for her once she got her first fan letter. Sometimes, all it takes is hearing that your work impacted someone positively to turn things around. I feel like this sweet moment was earned, considering that we had just spent roughly four episodes hearing Arisa constantly complain and be a depressed alcoholic over her series ending. But now she has a new series to look forward to, and I'm happy for her. It doesn't feel like it's a major event that will completely change the course of the show, but this show is all about celebrating those little victories.

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