Working Class Anime

[PictureGuy]

I'm a bit late for this one, with yesterday being Labor Day. I was thinking about working class anime. I did not come up with much.

What I am looking for is an anime where the job is a major part of the story line or at least a recurrent theme. For example, take Hell Girl: Three Vessels. As I recall, in episode 1, we see Wanyudou working on a road crew. Doesn't count. It is not part of the main story and it only happens once. In Figure 17, the father works in a bakery. Again, doesn't count as it has nothing to do with the main story or theme.

Also there is the type of job. It has to be either blue collar, or a lower level office job. A clerk is OK. A lawyer is not. A janitor is OK. A doctor is not. Let's say its the type of job which either is often unionized, or low pay, or goes nowhere. No executives. Just plain old working stiffs.

I could not come up with many. Only two and maybe a third come to mind.

Aggretsuko. This is sort of a dumb, but fun anime which satirizes the modern work place, while raising some good issues. Retsuko is a cute, little panda bear, who represents the working woman. She is a lower level accountant in a job which leads nowhere. She has a sexist boss, annoying co-workers, and a non-existent love life. She releases her frustrations by singing death metal at a karaoke club. It's an odd look at the lower level office worker.

The Devil is a Part-Timer. Satan takes refuge in modern Tokyo. To support himself and his demons, he finds work at a fast food restaurant, making new friends and advancing to assistant-manager. OK, I didn't say they had to be serious anime. Occasionally, he relies on his old powers to protect his friends, but mostly he and his demons are becoming very human.

Nana. Put a question mark by this one. Nana leaves home to strike out on her own as a working girl in the big city. As I remember, she does take on various low paying jobs to support herself. But the focus of the series is on her relationship with her roommate, also named Nana, who wants to become a famous rock singer. Naw, forget this one. Nana's jobs are not really the focus, but minor plot devices.

You have any? Tell us something about them.

[Takatofan1986]

*Sees an excuse to talk about Yakitate!! Japan... Jumps on it*


Yakitatie!! Japan is about a guy who has "Solar Hands" that makes amazing bread, but that's only part of the story. He gets a job at one of the two biggest bread chains in Japan, Pantasia (Fictional, I'm pretty sure). But it's the south branch which struggles to stay afloat. So at the beginning of the series, a big theme is trying to save the store and their job. No spoilers in case, but later in the series, the struggle gets bigger from there.


Not sure if Cowboy Bebop and Space Dandy count, as they are both bounty hunters.


I had a few more listed and then I went back and re-read what you were looking for. ^^ There were quite a few I have where working is a major theme, but low level jobs is a little harder. .

[PictureGuy]

Yakitatie!! sounds like it would count. But Cowboy Bebop and Space Dandy, both great, I am not so sure about.

I forgot to mention, they have to be REAL jobs. So professional vampire hunter or professional super heroes don't count.

Yakitatie does sound like the hero has super-powers, but he's a baker. So that's OK.

CB and SP I was going to say don't take place in the real world we know, but then I remembered I did put down The Devil is a Part-Timer. Do you know any devils working at McDonalds or Burger King? Don't answer that. I'm afraid of the answer. I guess if I can list The Devil is a P-T, you can list Cowboy and Dandy.

[Takatofan1986]

Yakitatie does sound like the hero has super-powers, but he's a baker. So that's OK.

OH, Sorry, I didn't explain well enough. I don't know if it's a real thing or not, but in the show, Solar Hands just means that your hands are naturally warmer than most peoples, and it's rare. Others do things like work out extensively to get "Solar Gauntlets" that come close to simulating the effect of Solar Hands. So it's not really a super power, though it does give him an advantage.

[PictureGuy]

OH, Sorry, I didn't explain well enough. I don't know if it's a real thing or not, but in the show, Solar Hands just means that your hands are naturally warmer than most peoples, and it's rare. Others do things like work out extensively to get "Solar Gauntlets" that come close to simulating the effect of Solar Hands. So it's not really a super power, though it does give him an advantage.

So slipping kryptonite into the batter won't harm him?

[Takatofan1986]

So slipping kryptonite into the batter won't harm him?

lol, nope.

[Kumagawa]

Hataraku Mao Sama

About the devil working at McDonald's

Go watch it

[PictureGuy]

Hataraku Mao Sama

About the devil working at McDonald's

Go watch it

You mean The Devil is a Part-Timer? Yeah, I mentioned it. It's a good one. Although for copyright purposes, i.e., to avoid a lawsuit, the fast food restaurant has some other name. But it is not far off from being a McDonald's. I think the rival across the street was a Kentucky Fried Chicken.