Kono Kaisha ni Suki na Hito ga Imasu is one of a long list of winter series which got virtually no comments despite being rather good. In this case it’s a little easier to understand. In its infinite wisdom the streaming industry elected to ignore it completely. That means anybody who wanted to watch it subbed had to go about it the old-fashioned way, which in this day and age a lot of viewers either don’t know how to do or can’t be arsed. It’s a shame, because not only is this a good show but one I think would have gotten a decent following. It’s a strange decision to say the least.

I ended up being very fond of I Have a Crush at Work, myself. It’s a series which never seemed to waver from it’s identity, which isn’t surprising given that it’s autobiographical. There was certainly drama here, but no melodrama. It was never in doubt that Masugu and Yui would wind up together. In all these ways it stands as a contrast to Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka, with whom it shares enough superficial similarities to be a logical comparison point. In addition to being much more grounded, this one was more of a relationship pair diary. 365 Days was more a laundry list of all the ways in which marriage can be a nightmare (though by no means always is).

I have no idea how the manga ended, but I assume it was more definitively than the anime. Given that it was fifteen volumes this adaptation was never going to try and cover the whole thing. A timeskip to the manga end was a possibility, as was something anime-original, What I suspect is that we got something that stopped around the middle of the manga, perhaps with a bit of tweaking to give this episode a hint of relationship benediction. That would bother me more if, as I said, I was never really in any doubt about how things will end up.

Now, as to the B-couple – who sometimes eclipsed Yui and Masugu in interest level – things were less settled. It does feel a bit unsure between Hayakawa-san and Somei-kun. They face much greater challenges than the main pair, no question. Somei is chill as the other side of the pillow, but he couldn’t help but brag on his older girlfriend a bit around the campfire. This was making Hayakawa really nervous – she’s clearly nowhere close to ready to come clean. Later on Masugu and Yui stumble on the pair of them walking together in the woods, and – while the boys already knew anyway – now all four of them are aware of what the score is. On some level I imagine that makes them all feel better about it.

As I predicted, Masugu isn’t being transferred after all. Just given new duties (and I’m guessing no new pay) thanks to his certification. The twist is that it’s Yui being transferred. But not to HR – she’s going to the PR department. She takes a positive view on this, so good on her. It strikes me as all the more reason she should have jumped at the chance to join the New Products group, where Kiribayashi-san was keen to bring her. She could have done that transfer to a place where she was really wanted, on her own terms. Now she’s going to have to put in a couple of years in PR before the company would even consider it. And in reality, Kiribayashi would probably have moved on by then to someone more decisive.

The other major development here is that Yui finally spills the beans, to her two buddies from Planning. I get it – emotions were running high with the news and all, and they were close to a reveal on the camping trip. But should she really have done that on her own, without checking with Masugu first? It seems like the sort of thing they should have done together. Mind you one of them knew anyway, and I suspect there are a few folks at the company who strongly suspect the truth. But Pandora’s box has been opened. You can’t pick and choose who you tell in an office romance – once the spell is broken, everyone will know soon enough.

The closing sequence is a flashback, interestingly enough, brought on by the wedding (officiated by Seki Toshihiko, ROFL) of Masugu’s friend Tamura-san. It’s only been twelve episodes so I’m not sure it was necessary, but maybe this is some of that tweaking to give the anime a bit of closure. It’s a low-key way to finish a low-key series, so in that sense if fits perfectly. The chemistry between these two is strong as ever, and they make a nice balance between physical attraction and genuine emotional compatibility. As romcom couples go, they’re one of the most low-maintenance around.

While it’s natural to be a little vexed at Kono Kaisha ni Suki na Hito ga Imasu’s length given the manga’s, and at the lack of streaming, the truth is that getting an anime at all for this series is sort of a miracle. Workplace romcom has evolved into one of the more consistent subgenres in anime, and it’s always nice to see a good one like this get the chance to shine. There’s definitely an audience for smart anime about adults – if there weren’t, they’d never get made. But they’re always going to be a pretty small minority of the schedule, so I appreciate the ones we get all the more.