My Senpai Is Annoying

Episode 12

Now we have reached the end of My Senpai Is Annoying, a show that definitely didn't wow me with anything new or unconventional. However, I would argue that it never needed to. This was a show about people fostering little connections. It's a show that establishes how, even when you enter the world of adulthood, you sometimes still carry those needy and “childish” aspects of yourself with you, and I appreciate the fact that the show never really says that that's a bad thing. Futaba is a character that I think a lot of people can see themselves in…short jokes aside. She's a woman that wants to be recognized by the workforce and by the people that she respects. She's worked hard to get to where she is and has put up with many antics to get to that point. While I think this episode would've been a bit more impactful if we actually got more insight into the office environment of her sales job, I can also see that focusing too much on that would have taken away from the more casual connections that she made with everybody.

This episode highlights both how far she's come and how a lot of that growth is tethered to the titular senpai. We get a sense of how strong of an impact these two have made on each other even if the time they spend together may not be permanent. Futaba almost seems to subconsciously prepare for this throughout the episode as she pushes her senpai away so that he can have more fulfilling experiences without her despite her own interests. I have certainly been in her shoes more times than I am willing to admit, which is why the overall conclusion, while predictable, was still nice, and if you watch the show up until this point, then you know that it would be out of character for Takeda to do anything differently than show up and feel that he is more comfortable just sitting alone drinking with her. Maybe it's out of obligation, or maybe it's out of some deep-seated romantic feelings that are growing and he's just not aware of them yet, but it doesn't feel any less genuine because it's perfectly in character with what has been established since episode one.

In other words, we've basically come full circle, and while it might not be a perfect circle depending on what specifically you might have been looking for, it is no less one with subtle shading and the dimension to make said circle no less appealing. This has definitely been one of the best standout slice-of-life shows that I've watched this year. It's been a joy sitting down and getting my weekly dose of young adult wholesomeness and I hope we get more shows like this moving forward!

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My Senpai Is Annoying is currently streaming on Funimation.