My Senpai is Annoying – 12 (Fin) – All Grow’d Up

The Fall’s cutest, sweetest, most life-affirming series ends on a suitably cute, sweet, life-affirming episode all about Futaba and Takeda. With Sakurai and Nakama’s relationship status in a good place, it made sence to focus on the main couple, who have been a lot more on the fence about where they stand despite their obvious chemistry and mutual affection.

Futaba’s growth as a salesperson, which she largely attributes to her senpai’s care and guidance, results not only in her scoring a good deal, but gives Takeda the confidence to send her off on a solo presentation that she then nails. This allows him to score a company-saving deal, and he’s soon surrounded by impressed ladies who want to throw a drinking party for him.

Not really in a hurry to watch other women fawn over her senpai, Futaba still insists Takeda join them at the party while excusing herself. With everyone else off doing something, Futaba ends up going to the usual izakaya alone. She immediately realizes it’s not nearly as fun there without Takeda, which…girl I’m sure if you asked him out so it was just the two of you, he’d have agreed in a heartbeat!

As the draft beer flows, Futaba reminisces on her first day at the office when she was a green(-haired) rookie. She immediately makes it clear to Sakurai that she’s not some doll to fawn over, while Takeda buys her a can of soup but then mistakes her for a junior high student, making their introduction as senpai and kohai thoroughly awkward.

Still, Futaba marvels at how far the two of them have come. She probably loathed the man who thought she was a little kid, but now that she knows Takeda and he’s helped her so much, that’s not the case anymore. Color me 100% un-shocked that Takeda blew off his own party as soon as he could to join Futaba, and just in time to keep a drunk salaryman from pawing her.

While a pretty dense fellow, Takeda has never been one to mince words or obfuscate about his general feelings towards Futaba. And yet he’s certainly not one to realize his feelings are romantic, nor is he bold enough to come right out and say that. What he can say, and Futaba can easily accept (with no small amount of blushing) is that he knows drinking with her is a lot more fun than drinking with anyone else.

He takes this a step further on their walk to the train station, after both he and Futaba have had a little too much beer. Nevertheless, it’s the perfect amount for him to be able to say that no matter who Futaba “ends up with” (in a general sense), he promises to always be there to protect her “until then”. Mind you, I’m sure both he and Futaba would be just find if that “someone” ends up being him!

After that lovely little nightttime scene and the credits, we get one more cute scenario—the famous Umbrella Walk. Futaba forgot hers, but Takeda’s is more than wide enough to accommodate her beside him. When she gets self-conscious and moseys over to the end, he draws her closer with his beefy hand. She freaks out, and calls her senpai annoying, but in truth there’s no one she’d rather be with under an umbrella.

My Senpai is Annoying – 11 – A Very Good Year

Like the Valentines, cherry blossom viewing, and Christmas festivities, the end-of-year office party at a cozy izakaya is another way to reap vicarious enjoyment of a work culture that doesn’t really currently exist for me, as I work remotely for an out-of-state company. While I still wish the dudes would bother Sakurai less, there’s something just really nice about watching Futaba and her co-workers and boss drinking together and talking about their holiday plans.

Takeda says he’s just going to “veg out” for New Years, Futaba isn’t quite able to summon the courage to ask to hang out. That’s not a problem for Sakurai, who takes Kazama aside and invites him to her and Yuuto’s home for some homemade udon and celebration. It ends up being just the two of them for New Years Eve when Yuuto suddenly remembered he had made plans with a friend for the night.

Whether this was his mentor Natsumi teaching him how to properly isolate a couple, or simple absent-mindedness on his part, Sakurai is so flustered by Kazama’s arrival the udon burns and they have to have instant ramen for dinner. It doesn’t matter to Kazama; he came to see her and is happy he did. When the two laugh at the same joke on the TV, they look and feel like a cozy old married couple.

While Futaba wasn’t able to spend New Years Eve with Takeda (she has a quiet evening with Natsumi, and gets a call from her gramps who is on a very manly fishing trip, she and Natsumi end up encountering Takeda at the shrine, and Natsumi soon makes herself scarce so the pink kimono-wearing Futaba is alone with Takeda. Her prayers for the new year don’t include anything related to getting closer to him, but it happens anyway as they share the same fortune: The one you’re looking for is right next to you.

The fact Kazama still “doesn’t know how she feels” about him truly stretches credulity by the week! After he and Sakurai are assumed to be a couple by a live TV camera crew, and he starts blabbing about having spotted Futaba and Takeda, even going so far as to show the reporter a picture of the two sleeping together, Futaba runs back to the shrine to beat Kazama with her kinchaku.

He wakes up lying in Sakurai’s lap, and when she asks if he was looking at her chest, she’s appreciative when he honestly said that he was. Clearly it’s fine if it’s him. As for the photo a passing little girl took on her toy digital camera of her stealing a kiss while he was still asleep? That’s the very evidence Kazama needs to be sure Sakurai feels the same way about him…only Sakurai is too bashful to let him see it. Oh well…there will be other opportunities.

My Senpai is Annoying – 10 – Buns, Basketball, and Baths

The most inscrutable character in Senpai has to be the eccentric, mischievous Tsukishiro Mona. She’s such a mystery I kinda want a segment that explains her more, though like the alien in Alien (or the Cylons in Battlestar) perhaps the less known, the better. All we know is, she can get away with grabbing a dieting Sakurai without fear of HR reprimand, inadvertently shoving Sakurai chest-first into Kazama, an innocent bystander.

The next segment threw me off a bit because Takeda seemed not to recognize Tsukishiro outside of work. Turns out she loves pork buns, and accepts his challenge in an eating contest at his favorite hole-in-the-wall eatery. It also turns out she’s only ever eaten them cold, so not long after biting into one of those steaming beauties, she resigns. When the two talk about it at work, Futaba is left out and feels a little jealous, but Takeda can read her like a book and offers to take her out for more buns.

Kazama is proving quite the catch for Sakurai as it’s revealed he was once quite the basketballer, and so makes the perfect tutor for her brother Yuuto. She arranges to watch the two practice and even makes a lunch, but doesn’t count on Natsumi, Takeda, and Futaba showing up, resulting in a game of Horse that merely turns into a two-hour-long duel between the two basketball aces of the group: Kazama and Natsumi.

Making it clear that she didn’t get to spend as much time alone with Kazama as she wanted, Sakurai orders an end to the contest. Reading the room, Natsumi departs for the bathhouse with Yuuto (whom she’s taken under her wing as a protégé), Takeda, and a sleeping Futaba. That frees Sakurai and Kazama to have an adorable little private dinner of vending machine hot dogs. Honestly these two could read the phone book together and it would be lovely to behold.

In the meantime, Natsumi remarks on the fact that Futaba hasn’t really grown much since middle school (though isn’t trying to be mean about it), while Yuuto gets some seemingly valuable tips from Takeda on getting bigger (eat a lot, rest a lot), only to learn that Futaba does all the things Takeda recommended to him, and yet remains wee. But as Takeda says quite correctly, she’s fine the way she is!

My Senpai is Annoying – 09 – Once More Unto the Beach

Futaba initially thought she’d be going on a trip to the beach with just Sakurai and her brother Yuuto, but Sakurai also invites Kazama (of course), Takeda, and Natsumi to make things more “fun”…which is to say, more interesting. What results is the two core couples having a blast together, with the added thrill of showing more skin.

As expected, Takeda is a mountain carved out of granite, but it’s to the show’s credit Futaba doesn’t show up in a school one-piece, but a cute polka-dot halter/skirt combo. While towing her really far from the shore, then teaching her to swim, Takeda makes it clear her outer characteristics aren’t as important to him as how hard-working and kind she is on the inside. At the same time, he says she looks cute.

After a day working up an appetite on the beach, the group heads to the inn for a sumptuous feast where Futaba fills Takeda’s oft-empty rice bowl, but shushes him when he talks about Futaba’s cooking. Clearly, he availed himself of her offer to make him Hamburger Steak. Meanwhile, fifth wheel Natsumi keeps herself entertained by watching Futaba and Takeda get along and making sure Yuuto, the only kid there, gets some attention.

That night, after fireworks, Sakurai and Natsumi try to get Futaba to admit that things are “going well” with Takeda, considering how close they are, but Futaba, embarrassed, just wants to sleep. Meanwhile their room is close enough to the guys’ that Kazama can hear them, and between that and Takeda’s snoring, doesn’t get any sleep. That morning, he and Futaba eavesdrop on Takeda and Sakurai talking about them in a way that makes their ears red.

On their last day on the beach, Kazama is too fatigued for more activities, so Sakurai stays with him under the umbrella, then suggests they head to a konbini for drinks. She also picks up an ice cream, and when it reminds Kazama of old times, she offers him a sip, which is really offering him an indirect kiss. He declines, but Sakurai, knowing Kazama well, had a second ice cream just for him.

As the sun gets low, Takeda and Futaba end up tiring themselves out to the point the latter is curled up on the arm of the former, giving their friends an opportunity to document with photos how close they truly are. Those photos probably aren’t 100% okay with the HR department, but then again they aren’t in the workplace. Besides, Sakurai and Kazama don’t mean any harm. They’re happy to see their co-workers happy.

The next morning back at work, Futaba is embarrassed to reveal how tanned she got at the beach, having previously been accustomed to being shaded by her gramps’ umbrella. When Takeda arrives just as tanned, it confirms to the whole office that these two had a lot of fun together on their summer break. That said, with both Takeda and Futaba intent on maintaining that they’re merely “senpai and kohai”, who knows if anything further will come of it than what we’ve got…which really isn’t so bad!

My Senpai is Annoying – 08 – Not Just Another Day

It’s Golden Week, and this episode is all about our two couples. Kazama and Sakurai go on the date to an aquarium that Kazama was brave enough to propose. Kazama likely believes he isn’t “worthy” of Sakurai or that he’s “out of her league”, but Sakurai likes him for who he is and he shouldn’t overthink things. Instead of worrying about how he could say or do things differently to make their date better, he should just enjoy the damn date!

Futaba has her Golden Week all figured out, sourcing her plan for the week from periodicals touting the proper route to becoming “a capable woman.” Of course, this is nonsense, as we know that as someone who has lived on their own since junior high and has a good job and wonderful friends,

Futaba already is a capable woman. But when the scenario of a horror TV program is eerily similar to hers, suddenly she doesn’t want to be alone. Takeda, sensing Futaba’s anxiety in just a 27-second phone call, comes calling, and Futaba is elated.

Kazama may be extremely self-conscious throughout most of the date, but Sakurai is having a perfectly good time watching cute sea animals, and especially when they meet a dolphin named Souta (Kazama’s first name) who has the same “unfriendly stare”. There’s even a stuffed Souta that Sakurai photographs with Kazama and laughs about, but Sakurai isn’t laughing at Kazama, she’s laughing because she’s having fun with him.

Futaba and Takeda also have fun on their day off, going to an arcade then out to ramen at Takeda’s go-to spot . They mention to each other more than once that this day kinda feels like work, but that’s only because they’re together.

Between the laid-back atmosphere of the ramen joint (unlike all the other restaurants busy due to Golden Week) and Takeda winning Futaba a crane game plushie simply because he wanted to, it’s a very good thing that things feel so normal and right when they’re together, at work or not.

After leaving the aquarium, Kazama suddenly has a notion and asks Sakurai to stay put until he comes back. But again, Sakuai becomes the target of unwanted attention, this time from two strangers who really want her to try mafé, with one of them even grabbing her arm.

When Kazama returns, he rescues Sakurai by borrowing a line from a shounen manga, of course. Kazama claims Sakurai is “his”, which is not always okay in some situations, but obviously Sakurai is into it and not about to contradict him. Also, it goes both ways, with Kazama being every bit hers as she is his.

Once again Kazama is embarrassed about his words and actions, but has no reason to be; for the only person who matters—Sakurai—he was very cool, and once again proved himself as someone who has her back. As they walk to the train, she uses his first name Souta to thank him. Of course, the item Kazama went back for was a Souta the dolphin plushie, so she could’ve been thanking him…but c’maaahn. She was totally thanking Kazama the guy!

As it has with previous episodes, Senpai continues to excel at portraying warm, cozy instances of two couples enjoying each others company. Kazama and Sakurai seem well on their way to dating, and even if Futaba and Futaba aren’t, they’re definitely much more than just co-workers.

My Senpai is Annoying – 07 – Doing What You Love

This week is the Futaba-Natsumi friendship origin episode, and I’m here for it! They’re honestly such a wonderfully cozy pair of BFFs it didn’t matter if we didn’t witness them meet, but I’m so glad we did. Poor Futaba’s GPS is going haywire so she decides to follow someone in the same fuku…only for Natsumi to start running at top speed!

Despite Natsumi leading Futaba not to school but the arcade where she intends to play hooky, the two become unlikely but fast friends in the back row of the classroom. When it comes time to join clubs, Futaba expresses her wish to join the art club because she loves to draw.

Natsumi hates competition ever since a boy tripped her to win a relay on sports day in grade school, but Futaba, unaware that Natsumi is harboring that bad memory, tells her if she loves doing something—in this case running—she should do it, or she may regret it if she doesn’t.

It’s almost verbatim the advice Natsumi gives to Yuuta when the two encounter one another running in the evening. Yuuta likes basketball, so he should play, even if he’s not the best at it. You can’t get better if you don’t try! Meanwhile, Futaba and Takeda end up having a little mini-date of sorts when they’re tasked with saving a spot under one of the blooming cherry trees for an office after-hours function, which honestly looks like a ton of fun.

After complementing her hair color and her drawings, Futaba recalls how it was Natsumi who gave her the courage to join the art club. Futaba would draw between classes in her sketchbook, but one day a couple of bullies decided to mess with her, which…why would you mess with Futaba?! Why would you want to do anything but protect her with your life?

For Natsumi, the answer is she wouldn’t. For the crime of making her beloved Futaba cry, one of the bullies gets a devastating punch to the face. She then tells the boys that it doesn’t matter if she “sucks” at drawing; she’s doing what she likes to do, so lay the fuck off!

The boys wisely learn the error of their ways, and their apology isn’t forced or obligatory, as he actually explains why what he did was wrong and regretted doing it. He also realized that both they and Futaba are in the same boat, in their case joining the baseball club despite being crap at it because they like baseball, dammit!

As for Natsumi, she doesn’t get in trouble because the boys went to the teacher to explain that they were in the wrong. Futaba thanks Natsumi by telling her they should call each other by their first names only. With that, a legendary friendship was forged, which continues into their adult lives now that they both live in Tokyo.

Takeda enjoys Futaba telling the story as much as Futaba clearly enjoys telling it, as her eye shimmer with love as she described how her friend supported her in pursuing her passion. We barely set one foot in the office this week, and that’s okay, because it was simply lovely to learn more about Futaba and Natsumi. As for Futaba’s senpai, it’s pretty clear he’s not “annoying” as the show’s title says, but I guess My Senpai is Someone Who I Like Hanging Out With and Talking To would be a bit too long…

My Senpai is Annoying – 06 – If You Love Your Child, Send Her on a Journey

This week we finally meet Futaba’s enormous grandfather. It all starts with Sakurai using a photo app filter to make Takeda and Futaba look like they’re wearing traditional wedding garb. Sakurai “accidentally” sends it, and Gramps shoots back a torrent of texts wondering who this “big lug” is and “what rock he climbed under”.

Takeda joins Futaba at the florist where she intends to buy herself a birthday bouquet, only for them to learn they share the same birthday. How goddamn friggin’ cute is that? Minutes later, Gramps arrives on his hog to give Futaba a second bouquet, grabs Takeda by the scruff (he’s slightly bigger than Futaba) and asks him what the heck he’s doing with “his” Futaba, and Takeda makes Futaba blush by saying she’s not an object and belongs to no one.

The two butt heads, but part ways without tearing each other to pieces. The next day Futaba goes out with Harumi for some day-after-birthday cake. Gramps, who spent the night at Futaba’s on the floor, tries to understand young love better…by going to see Your Name.! He perhaps learns the wrong lessons from the Shinkai masterpiece, and later texts Futaba the cryptic question “Who are you?”, which goes unanswered.

Meanwhile, Gramps and Takeda keep bumping into each other, and whether it’s fishing, batting cages, or trash pickup, they engage in intense competition, each time going too far and eliciting strange looks from bystanders. The two end up developing a mutual respect for each other, which tracks, because they’re almost the same damn person! Gramps also waxes nostalgic about what a cute kid Futaba was.

Takeda learns that Futaba decided to live on her own in Tokyo when she was just 16, and Gramps let her, because he trusted her, and agreed with her that she needed to learn to become less dependent on him. That said, when Takeda goes to a public restroom and Futaba is accosted by three punks making light of her stature, she requires Takeda and Gramps’ assistance to get rid of them. That begs the question: certainly while living on her own all those years this happened more than once?

Never mind; I love the dynamic between Futaba and her doting gramps, even if it isn’t particularly complex. And I also love how Takeda and Gramps learn to get along. I’m sure he would have preferred if Futaba were going with someone more traditionally handsome than Takeda, but he can’t argue that Takeda is a stand-up guy, and someone he can trust with his beloved granddaughter.

My Senpai is Annoying – 05 – Heartfelt or Courtesy?

Valentines Day is drawing near, and for the first time Futaba has someone to make chocolate for besides Natsumi. The question is, will she have the guts to both make and offer homemade chocolate to her senpai? My friends, she will. But first, we meet Sakurai’s little brother, who Futaba and Natsumi first help when he’s lost, then Takeda helps by beating up some punks trying to shake him down.

This is all before either Futaba or Natsumi even know Sakurai is his big sister. When there’s the option to all have ramen together for dinner, Sakurai reads the room and heads off with her brother…she can tell Futaba was hoping to eat with just Takeda on that particular evening.

Sakurai ain’t no fool. While she may come off to some as oblivious to all of the attention she receives from men—both at work and back in high school—in reality that’s a kind of defense mechanism. Other girls resented her for being so effortlessly popular, overlooking the fact that Sakurai was (and is) a sweet and gentle young woman who never freaking asked for all that attention.

By grabbing some ramen with Takeda at an intimate little spot he’s been going to since high school, Futaba learns a little bit more about her senpai. It’s a simple, no-nonsense place…right up until the chef brings out some nonsense about a “chocolate ramen bowl.” That’s when Futaba learns he’s not a big fan of sweets, which is a good thing to know this time of year!

When the big day arrives, Futaba uses her resourcefulness to craft a chocolate with matcha powder that’s less sweet and thus more appealing for someone with Takeda’s palate. He’s charmed by the presentation with the little bear drawing, and when Takeda praises the taste, Futaba flashes the biggest, stupidest, most wonderful smile you could ask for. If she’s trying to hide her true feelings, she does a terrible job!

Meanwhile, Kazama retreats into his own little world of binge-drinking Monster and the resulting partial catatonia that comes with it, all because he saw Sakurai walking with and laughing with a tall guy with blonde hair…who was actually just her little brother walking on a ledge to appear taller.

After giving courtesy chocolate to the other guys, Sakurai seeks Kazama out and legitimately wants to know what’s been up with him. Then she gives him a simple Meiji bar (the equivalent of a Hershey bar, only better), which he interprets as “courtesy” chocolate.

This angers Sakurai, who says chocolate is chocolate and it’s te thought that counts. The reality is that it is heartfelt chocolate, even if she bought it at a konbini around the corner. Compare that to the expensive Godiva chocolates Takeda got from a client simply as a thanks for his and Futaba’s hard work.

For Sakura, the bar for Kazama means more than the chocolates she gave to the others out of courtesy. It’s a gesture of affection, but also of thanks for his being different from the others in a way that appeals to her. You get the feeling they’re just both on the same wavelength, and when she hears about his misunderstanding, Sakurai has a good laugh, and Kazama is so relieved Futaba catches him wearing the biggest grin she’s ever seen on him.

My Senpai is Annoying – 04 – Futaba and Takeda’s Dizzy Fever Days

Despite wearing the fluffy scarf Takeda gave her for Christmas, Futaba catches a cold. She has to take off work, it’s the first time she’s had a fever since living on her own, and she’s never felt lonelier. Just as her thoughts go to some dark places, she determines she needs to eat something…but the fridge is empty.

Just as she opens her apartment door for an ill-advised trip to buy food, Takeda is on the other side, a bag of groceries in hand. He finds his way around her kitchen and whips up a hot bowl of the udon he knows she likes. It’s exactly what she needs when she needs it, and it isn’t until he’s already left that she realizes he’s seen her apartment in a less-than-ideal state.

The next day, Futaba is all better, and it soon becomes public knowledge in the office that Takeda went to her place to take care of her. But he almost wasn’t in time because of his antiquated company cell phone. He wants a smartphone to keep in better touch, so Futaba offers to go shopping with him. In one regard, it’s to pay him back, but it’s also a fine excuse to hang out with her senpai on their day off.

Futaba also tells Takeda she’d take care of him if he ever got sick, but never expected that to happen until Takeda calls in sick one day. Takeda is similarly out of food and about to head to the konbini when he finds Futaba at the door with groceries. Their timing is so perfect, her finger is on the doorbell but hadn’t pressed it yet!

Futaba whips up a bowl of hot rice porridge with extra scallions and ginger, and Takeda is legitimately impressed by her cooking, saying she’ll make a fine wife someday. After eating Takeda falls asleep, and Futaba finds herself alone with a guy in his room for the first time.

She looks at all the manly things around her (and the tie she gave him that he now wears regularly), then gets as close as she dares to his face, even touching his chin stubble, the prickliness of which causes her to shout and wake him up. At that point she gives him a chop to the back and makes her escape, wondering what the heck she was thinking.

The next morning, Takeda is back and right as rain, and thanks her—in full earshot of Sakurai and Kazama—for coming by his place to take care of him. Later, he asks her if she’ll cook for him again sometime, even boldly requesting Hamburg steak, which is a dish I’m sure she could nail easily.

As an unrepentant sucker for episodes where one half of a couple gets sick and the other rolls up their sleeves and takes care of them, an episode like this where both sides got to do this was basically catnip. Little by little, these two lovely people are growing closer to and comfortable with each other as more than just co-workers. I wouldn’t call them an official couple yet or anything, but they’re well on their way!

My Senpai is Annoying – 03 – The Neckties that Bind

We learn two things when Futaba gives her scarf to a nursery school kid who lost her own: one, Futaba is bigger than some people, and Futaba has a kind heart. Takeda just happens to witness this good deed, and Futaba shivering afterwards, so he makes the obvious move: giving Futaba his scarf. Futaba is embarrassed, but also happy.

It’s cold because Christmas is almost here. Futaba and Sakurai end up the Office Santas this year, but after mulling it over in her mind and talking to Harumi about it, she only wants to be Santa for one person: her senpai, as thanks for all he’s done for her since she started. A necktie is the appropriate gift, but Futaba is quickly overwhelmed by the variety.

Thanks to a sales rep’s assistance, Futaba finds the right tie, though I think she should have gone with the flowers or pandas…the better to mark her man with something cute! The problem is, between her and Sakurai’s Santa duties and the extremely busy day at the office on Christmas itself, Futaba just can’t fund the right time to give Takeda the gift. Granted, her standards for “the right time” might be a bit too high!

After wrapping up a meeting at another office for a meeting, Futaba believes she’s found the perfect time, only for her stomach to growl, which to Takeda indicates they should go to dinner. She suggests Christmas chicken, even though it’s not Christmas—a decision neither she nor Takeda regret and had me salivating for some chicken myself.

Back at the office, Kazama is waiting outside for Sakurai, who sees him looking at photos not of herself, not Futaba, in her Santa outfit. She teases Kazama a little, to the point he pulls his scarf up and gently asks if she wouldn’t tease him quite so much. After walking her close to her home, he finally works up the courage to ask her to a belated Christmas dinner. Sakurai is overjoyed and immediately accepts.

Between this immensely cute “normal” couple and the slighly more unique dynamic of the tiny kouhai and her immense senpai, we’ve got two wonderful romances in the making, and I can’t take my eyes off either. When Futaba finally gives Takeda his gift, he takes the opportunity to give her his gift to her: a big fluffy scarf to replace the one she gave the little girl.

While Futaba is exasperated the next day when it’s clear Takeda thinks the tie she gave him is “too nice to wear”, instead proposing he put it “on display”, there’s no denying that receiving a new scarf from him the previous night totally made her end of year.

My Senpai is Annoying – 02 – Largesse Oblige

It’s interesting to think there’s a symbolism to her tininess beyond simple novelty. At her point in her life, just starting out on those bottom rungs of the Ladder of Adulthood, it’s easy to feel as insignificant as a water flea sometimes. Fortunately Futaba’s work environment isn’t a toxic one, and she’s got a big ally in her senpai.

When their chief sees that Futaba wants to go to lunch with Takeda, he cancels his plans with him, and they can finally clear the air. Takeda tells Futaba not to worry about what she said about wanting to be his wife; it was the liquor talking, and it’s a senpai’s job to look after his drunk kouhai.

But while Futaba is glad her comment didn’t give him their wrong idea, the underlying frustration is that it’s not entirely the wrong idea! Futaba doesn’t like the idea of Takeda not seeing her as a real woman, and even uses the “kouhai” label to avoid confronting that inherent tension.

Futaba’s self-consciousness the kind of attention she wants from Takeda versus finding the guy hella annoying is contrasted with the fact her co-worker Sakurai Touko (Hayami Saori), who gets too much of the wrong attention for her physique and turns down any guy who tries to ask her out…except for Kazama, who has never asked her out.

Futaba’s bust envy is compounded when she meets her sporty friend Natsumi in the park for a shopping trip. Futaba can feel all of the eyes on Natsumi in the park while she’s utterly ignored, or otherwise considered a child. That said, Futaba doesn’t take it out on her friend, and the two end up having a great time.

Then Futaba gets her hands on a pair of free bear buns, then slips into the changing room to try them on for size. She immediately likes how “ladylike” she looks, only for Natsumi to peek in and take a photo or two for her own enjoyment.

The incident throws Futaba off to the extent that she forgets to remove her chest padding before boarding the train home, and ends up running into Takeda and Kazama. Futaba is again disappointed that even when Takeda sees her, he doesn’t seem to even notice her bigger bust. We learn later when Kazama asks him about it that Futaba truly didn’t see anything different about her.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about her; just that different people have different priorities. Futaba’s heart was in the right place all along as he managed to catch a creep taking upskirt shots of her. He gives the guy a judo throw when he tries to put up a fight, then leaves him to the cops. Futaba is buoyed by the knowledge her senpai truly does care about her, whether or not he sees her as a real woman, which…the jury’s honestly still out!

Something for which the jury’s verdict is already in is the budding relationship between Sakurai and Kazama, which started with him giving her a “wrong number call” to get her away from another co-worker asking her out. He’s super shy and coy about it, but she knows what he did, and has possibly been turning all the other guys down because she likes Kazama.

In any case, Sakurai is the one to ask Kazama out to dinner, and he’s not stupid enough decline. While bust comparison is one of the oldest and most played-out bits in all animedom, this show managed to make a go of it with its thoroughly charming characters…not to mention above-average animation with a great face game and subtle, lovingly rendered gestures.

My Senpai is Annoying – 01 (First Impressions) – Climbing the Stairs of Adulthood

I’ve been remiss, fellow anime lovers…for the last five weeks I’ve beeing missing out on one of the best rom-coms of the Fall. Fortunately it’s not too late to go back and rectify that error, bow deeply, and accept responsibility for the mistakes that were made. Like a true salesperson!

For those who like me have not availed themselves of it, this is My Senpai is Annoying, a workplace slice-of-life romantic comedy featuring the pocket-sized Igarashi Futaba and her office senpai, the truck-sized Kazama Souta. Futaba has a bit of a love-hate relationship with Kazama, but as the episode progresses, we see there’s a lot more love than hate.

The love goes both ways, in different ways. Futaba hates having her hair tousled, but after making a mistake on her first big sales pitch, Kazama takes responsibility and won’t brook any dispute about it. He even makes sure that the last can of sweet red bean soup (which I’m still kicking myself for never buying when I was in Akiba) finds its way into his kouhai’s teeny-weeny hands.

We learn through their interactions (and their chemistry is magical) that Kazama isn’t just being a good senpai, but harbors a genuine desire to look after this bitty go-getter, who is loved by everyone at the office for her chipper attitude, but also feel down and off when she’s feeling down and off. I can’t say I blame him, as Futaba is lovable right out of the gate. As Futaba goes, so goes the office, and Kazama helps Futaba out of the doldrums.

That’s because Kazama is such a loud, brash, upbeat guy. He’s a gigantic cuddly bear, and if Futaba is honest, she actually can’t get enough of him, even if he’s “annoying” some times. After some drinks at the pub, Futaba is honest whether she wants to be or not, asking Kazama, when he says if he had a wife and kid he’d want a kid like her, she asks why she can’t be his wife. It’s a sweet to behold as it is mortifying for Futaba.

I’ll have four more episodes of this or something like this please!