Ah, Christmas in Japanime.  It just wouldn’t be the same without fried chicken and snow – though of course Japan is the only place where fried chicken is “traditional” for Christmas (despite their being convinced it’s an American tradition).  And the fact that in a typical Tokyo winter it snows anywhere from zero to two times, and usually (though with rare but occasionally spectacular exceptions) there’s no measurable snow at all.  Of all the ways Japan is different from the West – and they are myriad and diverse – its approach to Xmas has always been one of the most interesting to me.

There’s nothing especially deep or profound about Senpai ga Uzai Kouhai no Hanashi.  It’s just a very straightforward romcom, which means it either succeeds on its charm and wit or it doesn’t.  You can’t cheat or trick your way out of that.  Fortunately this series succeeds robustly in my view – more so in the anime than the manga (which I’ve now read quite a few chapters of), because the anime has beefed up the plot and character aspects in the knowledge that the gags probably wouldn’t be enough to carry it.

Series like this are a real joy, all the more so because they’re rare in anime now.  They just make you feel low-key good and de-stressed, and when I find a good one I find myself looking forward to it intensely every week.  This time around we find Futaba-chan giving away her scarf to a grade-schooler who’s lost hers (at least its a good fit).  Much to her horror this is seem by Takeda-san, who she makes swear never to tell anyone at work.  Which of course he promptly does, the first chance he gets – and that’s about as edgy as Senpai ga Uzai gets.  I find it hard to get too upset about this, because Takeda just doesn’t mean any harm – he thinks it’s adorable.  And who’s to say he’s wrong?

As far as the office Christmas situation, I place the “Santa lottery” thing in the same suspension of disbelief category as office romance.  As in, the way Boss-san does this is a real bad idea – you never risk putting anyone in a situation where they could feel harassed or humiliated.  Having been the boss myself I know, the best thing is to put the damn suit (or whatever embarrassing thing it is) on yourself and give your subordinates a chance to see you humble yourself for their amusement.  But of course as with the romance, you don’t get much of a story by following common sense.

As far as Igarashi and Sakurai-san being the two “winners” I’ll chalk that up to plot convenience and not foul play, but it certainly proves a winning scenario for the men in the office.  For Igarashi-san the bigger issue is whether to get a gift for Takeda – which Kurobe-san eventually convinces her to do.  Then it’s the matter of what to get – something she can pass off as a “gratitude for senpai” gift but still subtly suggests “I want to climb all over you like Mt. Fuji in August”.  I never knew a man yet who was happy to get a necktie for a present, but there’s certainly no more low-risk mangift than that.

Not to be left out, Sakurai and Kazama-san continue to progress as the “normal” couple in the premise.  His phone full of pics of her as Santa certainly can’t have come as any surprise to her – she may play the innocent but it’s pretty obvious Sakurai knows the score and is perfectly happy playing in the game.  Being as Xmas is primarily a romance holiday in Japan, there’s really no ambiguity when it comes to being invited out for dinner – it has only one meaning, and these two are now basically a couple.

As for the A pair, they’re still a ways behind.  And it’s not quite as clear that Takeda is aware of how things stand as the other three romantic mains in this cast – he may very well be, but if he is he’s quite a good actor.  After much dithering Futaba finally gives him the tie on their last office visit of the year – and he’s gotten her a prezzie too of course, a muffler to replace the one she gave away.  Her irritation at his hesitation to wear the tie she gave him is the funniest part of the episode, but the irony is, it’s probably the most positive sign yet that she’s doing more than tilting at windmills here…