Blend S [Review]
“High school girl Maika Sakuranomiya has trouble finding a part-time job because of how scary she looks when smiling. However, she is scouted one day by an Italian man who is also the manager of Stile, a café where its waitresses are given unique traits such as tsundere and younger sister. Maika is given a sadist trait because of her looks and has to adopt a dominant and cruel persona when servicing customers, particularly masochist ones.”–Blend S (manga)
Story:
Blend S came out sprinting with the first episode, the delivery of the gags and the introduction of the character were hilariously done. Also using cliche character tropes but in a more direct way made it feel very refreshing especially when it isn’t the characters’ real nature. Maika’s relationship with her co-workers, especially her interactions with Dino, are fun to watch as they grow closer together through the shenanigans that happen during a typical workday.
Artwork & Animation:
The character designs are adorable and cater to their “work” personalities, but also compliments their normal sides as well. The opening is very colorful and has a lot of impacts, but the anime itself doesn’t have that punch. Don’t get me wrong the animation is still good, but there needs to be a middle ground in the difference in quality between the opening and everything else.
Character(s):
Like I said in the story, there are cliche character tropes like the little sister, tsundere, and sadist etc. but that’s not their true nature. The switch up of the cliche character types creates these new interesting characters like Maika, who although comes off as mean and abusive is actually sweet very and tries her best to make everyone happy. The opposite traits create these interesting characters that hard to not love them.
Sound (OST & Voice Acting):
The soundtrack, much like the anime, is very whimsical. My personal favorite is “Comedy Blend (American)” which premiers an eccentric piano in the background and a pair of recorders playing the melody. But it also features peaceful piano and guitar pieces as well as full-on orchestral scores as well. There is also a variety of character songs that make their way into the anime during certain episodes!
Enjoyment:
Blend S definitely brightened up my day every time I watched it and the fact that the opening turned into a trending meme made it that much more satisfying!
Overall: Score 9
Blend S breaks the mold of cliche character types and creates a hilarious combination of characters that are both great character design and an entertaining setting. Moe anime is great but Blend S stands to be one of the better ones and that’s saying a lot!
Best Girl: Kaho Hinata
As most of you know I have a soft spot for tsunderes, especially blonde and twin-tailed. But rather than only being a tsundere, Kaho’s outside of work attitude is a down to earth and nerdy otaku. Which gives her the title of best girl.
KiritoNarukami 