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I May Be a Guild Receptionist (TV).




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Edjwald



Joined: 03 Aug 2017
Posts: 1786
PostPosted: Thu Dec 26, 2024 7:08 am Reply with quote


I May Be a Guild Receptionist (TV)

Full title: I May Be a Guild Receptionist, But I'll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time

Source: Light Novel (ongoing @ 8 volumes, written by Mato Kousaka, illustrated by Gaou)

Demographic: Shounen

Animation Studio: CloverWorks

Genres: action, adventure, comedy, fantasy

Themes: medieval, monsters, sorcery, superpowers, workplace

Plot Summary: Alina Clover signed up to be a receptionist for the Adventurers Guild, thinking it would be her ticket to the good life. Unfortunately, her dream gig becomes an overtime nightmare whenever adventurers get stuck clearing a dungeon. To save herself from paperwork, Alina beats down monsters herself to solve the problem. Now, she just needs to keep her activities a secret.

Air Date & Platform:
January 10, 2025 (Friday)
Available on: Crunchyroll

Episode Count / Runtime: Pending

[EDIT: Fancy opener stuff added. -TK]
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Edjwald



Joined: 03 Aug 2017
Posts: 1786
PostPosted: Fri Jan 10, 2025 2:15 pm Reply with quote
Welp, I thought this was all good. The voice acting was good, the animation, character designs, and backgrounds were good, and it doesn't look like the show's going to be a one joke premise either, which was my biggest concern. We've already got different kinds of menaces, supporting characters, and hints of a deeper mystery.

I had fun, personally. Kaching!

(I don't know why my watchlist would have a bell attached, but that's the sound I pictured).
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 2861
PostPosted: Fri Jan 10, 2025 2:59 pm Reply with quote
That was indeed a good first episode. Everything is present for a fun season with enough interesting elements to make it last. The destruction of the previous civilization is probably a thing of importance, mr skelly seems to be doing something sketchy and despite not wanting to Aline will probably have to step in to help the Silver group. It is also nice to see the perspective of the guild for a change.

This is one of the few new shows for which I do not have to make a list of negatives and thus it is a stayer.
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 3001
PostPosted: Fri Jan 10, 2025 7:42 pm Reply with quote
#1

The premise makes for the ideal escapist fantasy which light novels from Japan are well suited towards, but the presentation for this unusual story is great and I for one have this series down as my guilty pleasure of the season.

It's clear the author of this franchise has personal experienced the unique hell that is the doom loop of never-ending unpaid overtime, and unlike our protagonist the author must have quit the job to escape the doom loop rather than resort to the unique Gordian knot solution which our titular receptionist has recourse to in order to maintain what she sees as her dream life of a stable job with generous benefits coupled with zero overtime to allow her to enjoy life outside of work (now that's work/life balance for you, especially with the lengths she's willing to go to maintain that balance).

Given her day job, it's no wonder our titular character has the attractive character design to match it. The premise might be absurdist enough, but there's no questioning she won her day job because of her looks, figure and ability to put on an acceptable public face for an entire day. The animators don't hesitate to show off our protagonist's figure with her side job outfit, which is far more revealing than her day uniform. That aside, the main question for the casual viewer is how on earth she's so strong and why she has that killer war hammer which is so different from the "standard" equipment and skills her erstwhile characters are equipped with.

The main story now is how our receptionist can keep her secret safe (as she clearly doesn't favour the adventurer's lifestyle despite being just as well qualified for it) without pesky adventurers trying to recruit her by getting her retrenched. Of course that's not going to be enough to make this story sustainable, and since this franchise apparently has plenty of volumes to rely on there must something else in the formula which won this franchise its animated adaptation in the first place. I'm looking forward to finding out what that is.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 24398
PostPosted: Fri Jan 10, 2025 9:05 pm Reply with quote
Considering that in most fantasy shows, a guild receptionist is the absolute most secondary of characters, of course I could not resist checking out one where the guild receptionist is the lead character. I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed this. I love the discrepancy between her polite, professional public mask and her inner bitch on wheels. Most slacker characters are male, so again, the show is going a bit against the grain with good effect. Very interested to see where this goes.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 2861
PostPosted: Fri Jan 17, 2025 4:13 pm Reply with quote
Alina is not doing that great in the luck department. The first episode already had her coping with some stuff but dealing with an annoying adventurer, losing your home and getting your hidden identity exposed is beyond unlucky. Said annoying adventurer sure was a crazy bastard, he went from feeling annoyed/not respected straight into a murderous spree with wanting the raid boss to go wild in the middle of town. I suppose he is now getting his head chopped off.

Finally, the hidden quest that was inside the relic makes me curious, that sure caused something to happen. That time skill the guild master has also seems pretty OP.
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Edjwald



Joined: 03 Aug 2017
Posts: 1786
PostPosted: Fri Jan 17, 2025 6:34 pm Reply with quote
smurky turkey wrote:
Finally, the hidden quest that was inside the relic makes me curious, that sure caused something to happen. That time skill the guild master has also seems pretty OP.

It sort of depends. If I got it right, he can observe the past but can't interact with it? It's OP in a supportive or intelligence gathering capacity, but if he was squaring off against a Final Boss that could easily kill him, it wouldn't matter how much info he could gather by going into the past if he kept having to come back in increments closer and closer to the moment of @$$ whupping. "Hey, wait! I know your high school locker combination!" Blink! "I can tell you how to ask out that ogress on floor 3! No!" Blink! "Ghak! Your mom wanted you to be a Demon King lieutenant!"

Anyhow, still loving the show. That origin story wasn't what I was expecting, but it kind of makes sense. Given her histrionics and tunnel vision, if the blessing was bestowed on the person who prayed the most intensely....
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 3001
PostPosted: Fri Jan 17, 2025 8:17 pm Reply with quote
#2

A bit of background on how Alina ended up with that enormous hammer, but the premise is so silly it fits in with the general theme of the franchise. I don't believe the explanation is as simple as it first appears, but that might have to wait until the end of the series before it's divulged, if at all.

I don't blame her for wanting to keep her current lifestyle no matter how much everyone wants her to change jobs given her hidden skillset, after all anyone who's worked the overtime doom loop AND has to deal with a 30-year mortgage in a society which has no concept of disaster insurance would much rather stay alive with steady pay and have a decent work life balance rather than risk life and limb as a freelance employee for unstable earnings and no danger pay. It's all come down to a very silly deus ex machina event which brings Alina's secret to more unwanted attention, but the saving grace for her is the guildmaster doesn't intend to fire her for breach of employment contract. If she somehow wins her duel (which she most likely cannot refuse), then she might be able to keep her secret and her day job first.

It's actually amusing the Silver Sword guild member is head over heels for her, for whatever reason he seems to have given up on getting her to join his guild and wants her instead. He's got plenty of competition; if word gets out to the public who Alina really is she'll probably pack up and leave town rather than deal with the harassment. Of more pressing concern to him is the mysterious quest the stone he tried to return last week has given; if he or Alina somehow crack this (supposedly murderous) quest the rewards should be enough to pay back Alina for the damage to her house. It looks like next week is going to focus on him while Alina deals with paperwork and domestic woes, so it's his turn to show what he can do when he's not being incompetent against bosses.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 17, 2025 8:33 pm Reply with quote
My favourable first impression has been strengthened. Sucks that her crib got crunched but presumably the show is establishing why she decides to join up with Silver Sword (I'm presuming this happens, I don't have any specific knowledge): i.e. the need for cash.
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