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Grow Up Wakako, You are 26, not 6.
The food is great as always but I have an issue with this character. Well first of all her “pshuu” is just weird and annoying. It wasn’t annoying in the anime for obvious reasons. But this grown woman is trying too hard to be cute. And random waiters/restaurant staff acting like this average looking woman is Miss Universe like the Okinawa episode where the waiter was like “Look at this girl everybody! Isn’t she cute? Let me give you some free food!!” Ick..
In season 2 for some reason this 26 year old grown woman keeps talking about “It’s so much fun growing up! When I grow up I want to be like that old woman over there!” She sees the older woman tuck her hair behind her ear, and Wakako imitates it and says “Is this the grown up thing to do?” As if she’s 5 year old trying to grow up wearing adult high heels. The only problem is she’s not a child. She’s a grown adult with a job acting like an infantilized child. It ends up looking like she has age regression issues or arrested emotional development (I don’t think that’s what they were going for). Her childish behavior in an adult’s body is annoying so I’m docking points for her acting. Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of genuine innocence in adults- it’s a very endearing quality. But many people try so hard to be cute without real innocence in their aura, so it looks like a mimicry or cheap imitation of innocence. Wakako just looks disingenuous to me. Grow up and stop acting like a preschooler and as if everyone around you is terribly old and you’re a baby. Her acting is appropriate for a 6 year old but not a 26 year old. Her “Pshuu” becomes even more irritating in this context.
Episode 8- what’s with the first 10 mins of this episode? The potato salad place where two weirdos show up in the restaurant, one with a mask on and clownish behavior- it’s not entertaining or cute or funny. It’s just highly irritating like wtf did I just watch? This series is starting to really irritate me. And what’s with Wakako’s thoughts appearing on screen and/or looking into the camera and making weird expressions. Ick. Second dish- she went to a restaurant to get a tuna can with onions and mayonnaise? Is this a joke? What’s with her hysterical expressions “ii neeee!!!” and dramatic background music and “pshuu!” For a can of tuna and mayo she could have made at home? 800 yen is too much for that. I find it amusing that Wakako is getting more nosy, poking her head into others’ conversations or food, deliberately staring at them until they give her the side eye.
While I do generally love the chill guitar background music in the series, sometimes the BGM tends to be nonstop, jumping from one tune to another without a break, but I don’t mind it so much. But the intro song to season 2 “Imasugu oshiete hoshiii…” is just as cringe as Wakako’s “Pshuu” in the middle of a crowded restaurant while people look at her like she’s crazy. The first season was so much better in every way.
All that said, that mapo tofu episode inspired me so much that I ran to my nearest Hmart to get all the ingredients to make the dish! I heard restaurants make a huge profit on mapo tofu since the ingredients are so cheap and it’s easy to make. Anyways despite all my complaining I will continue to finish the series.
In season 2 for some reason this 26 year old grown woman keeps talking about “It’s so much fun growing up! When I grow up I want to be like that old woman over there!” She sees the older woman tuck her hair behind her ear, and Wakako imitates it and says “Is this the grown up thing to do?” As if she’s 5 year old trying to grow up wearing adult high heels. The only problem is she’s not a child. She’s a grown adult with a job acting like an infantilized child. It ends up looking like she has age regression issues or arrested emotional development (I don’t think that’s what they were going for). Her childish behavior in an adult’s body is annoying so I’m docking points for her acting. Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of genuine innocence in adults- it’s a very endearing quality. But many people try so hard to be cute without real innocence in their aura, so it looks like a mimicry or cheap imitation of innocence. Wakako just looks disingenuous to me. Grow up and stop acting like a preschooler and as if everyone around you is terribly old and you’re a baby. Her acting is appropriate for a 6 year old but not a 26 year old. Her “Pshuu” becomes even more irritating in this context.
Episode 8- what’s with the first 10 mins of this episode? The potato salad place where two weirdos show up in the restaurant, one with a mask on and clownish behavior- it’s not entertaining or cute or funny. It’s just highly irritating like wtf did I just watch? This series is starting to really irritate me. And what’s with Wakako’s thoughts appearing on screen and/or looking into the camera and making weird expressions. Ick. Second dish- she went to a restaurant to get a tuna can with onions and mayonnaise? Is this a joke? What’s with her hysterical expressions “ii neeee!!!” and dramatic background music and “pshuu!” For a can of tuna and mayo she could have made at home? 800 yen is too much for that. I find it amusing that Wakako is getting more nosy, poking her head into others’ conversations or food, deliberately staring at them until they give her the side eye.
While I do generally love the chill guitar background music in the series, sometimes the BGM tends to be nonstop, jumping from one tune to another without a break, but I don’t mind it so much. But the intro song to season 2 “Imasugu oshiete hoshiii…” is just as cringe as Wakako’s “Pshuu” in the middle of a crowded restaurant while people look at her like she’s crazy. The first season was so much better in every way.
All that said, that mapo tofu episode inspired me so much that I ran to my nearest Hmart to get all the ingredients to make the dish! I heard restaurants make a huge profit on mapo tofu since the ingredients are so cheap and it’s easy to make. Anyways despite all my complaining I will continue to finish the series.
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