History Manga / Working

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/working_with_aoi_6348.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Clockwise from center left: [[LesYay Yachiyo]] [[TeamMom Todoroki]], [[JapaneseDelinquents Kyouko]] [[AloofDarkHairedGirl Shirafuji]], [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair Hiroomi]] [[ManipulativeBastard Souma]], [[AloofBigBrother Jun]] [[TranquilFury Satou]], [[TeamDad Hyougo]] [[ExtremeDoormat Otoo]], [[CutenessProximity Souta]] [[{{Megane}} Takanashi]], [[GenkiGirl Popura]][[SpellMyNameWithAnS /Poplar]] [[HeightAngst Taneshima]], [[DoesNotLikeMen Mahiru]] [[WaifFu Inami]] and [[TheKlutz Aoi]] [[AttentionWhore "Yamada"]] (Not Pictured: [[LivingProp Maya]] [[IJustWantToBeNormal Matsumoto]])]]

->''"Someone, one one! Someone else!"''

''WORKING!!'' (AKA ''WAGNARIA!!'' in English-speaking territories) is a comedy / slice-of-life / romance {{Yonkoma}} by Karino Takatsu. The manga was published in Creator/SquareEnix's ''Young Gangan'' magazine from 2005 to 2014.

Popura Taneshima is a short girl who works at a family restaurant. One day her boss gives her the ultimatum to go out and find some more help, as no one wishes to apply for the job. After spending an entire day asking, she accidentally bumps into Souta Takanashi, who thinks she's a lost child, and proclaims herself to actually be 17, a year older than he is. Souta ends up taking the job and quickly learns about his new dysfunctional co-workers.

Despite its massive popularity, it originally started life as a spinoff to ''[[Manga/WWWWorking WORKING!]]'', a similarly themed 2002 webcomic which was also set in a Wagnaria restaurant. When Takatsu decided to adapt it for ''Young [=GanGan=]'', she moved the action to another part of the same town, focused on a different branch and its staff, and [[ExcitedShowTitle threw an extra exclaimation point in the title]] for good measure. Though the two are mostly unrelated, you can expect to see characters cross over from time to time.

Its well-known anime adaptation aired in the spring of 2010. The series has been picked up by [[Creator/NipponIchi NIS America]] in their anime collection in an English sub-only format under the title ''Wagnaria!!'', with polarizing reactions from the fans regarding to the title change. Furthermore, their license for the first season expired in November 2015, causing it to fall out-of-print. A second season was announced in 2013, but not before an April Fools' prank making it look like a spinoff show about the ''WORKING!'' cast was getting animated and released on VHS. A third season of the anime aired as part of the Summer2015Anime season, while the (hour long!) GrandFinale, titled ''Lord of the Takanashi'', was aired during the Fall2015Anime season, on Christmas Day no less.

All three seasons can be watched at [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/wagnaria Crunchyroll]] under the name ''Wagnaria!!'' in the following regions: [[note]]North America, Central America, South America, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.[[/note]] In Germany and France all three seasons were once available on Viewster under the names ''Working!!'', ''Working!!2'' and ''Working!!3''. Seasons 1 & 2 had English subtitles, while Season 3 was simulcast with German, English and French subtitles.

After many, ''many'' years where the webcomic was subject to AprilFoolsDay jokes for the anime (and finally getting printed as ''Web-ban WORKING!!''), an official anime adaptation of the predecessor manga was announced under the name of ''Manga/WWWWorking''. It aired during the Fall2016Anime season.

Compare to ''Manga/ServantXService'', another WorkCom by Karino Takatsu, this time focusing on the misadventures of a group of government employees. Not to be confused with ''Working'', the '90s WorkCom starring Fred Savage of ''[[Series/TheWonderYears Wonder Years]]'' fame, or with the musical ''Working'' by Creator/StephenSchwartz, the songwriter for ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''.
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!!Tropes included ''WORKING!!''

* AccidentalMisnaming: Popura cannot call Takanashi properly by his name, instead calling him "Katanashi". Inami got confused with that until she found out that he only lets Popura call him that.
* ADayInTheLimelight: The omake to volume 6, which spans two complete non-4koma chapters, focuses on [[LivingProp Maya Matsumoto]], and reveals just ''why'' she's so hung-up over being normal.
* ACupAngst: Being the smallest woman at Wagnaria, Inami falls into this frequently (though not as much in the anime).
** It certainly doesn't help that the 12-year old Nazuna is already bigger than her.
** The anime doesn't seem to play it up until [[spoiler: Takanashi, crossdressing]] is shown to be larger than her.
* ADayInTheLimeLight: Maya Matsumoto, who was largely relegated as a LivingProp, gets much more screen time in episode 13 of Season 2. While it's not dedicated solely to her, she has a much bigger speaking role, and helps Popura with an important decision.
* TheAlcoholic: Souta's older sister, Kozue Takanashi, is practically the anime poster child for AA. It's quite hard to find her actually sober.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Poor, poor Jun.
** Yachiyo's feelings for Kyouko might also fall under this.
* AloofBigBrother: Jun.
* AlternateCharacterReading: Episode 9 features Kotori, whose name is an AlternateCharacterReading of [[spoiler:Takanashi]]. To be more specific, [[spoiler: Takanashi -> Kotoriasobi.]]
** This refers to a Japanese saying - [[spoiler: "There are no hawks (taka nashi) where little birds play (kotori asobi)".]]
* AndTheAdventureContinues: The last episode of season 1 ends with Inami, Souta, and Popura lining up to greet some unseen customers as the camera pulls back from Wagnaria.
* AntiRoleModel: All of Souta's older sisters.
* AttractiveBentGender: [[spoiler: Takanashi, when he cross-dressed as Kotori, got hit on by some of the male customers.]]
* BareHandedBladeBlock: Otoo pulls one off against Yachiyo.
* BigDamnHeroes: Done by the Wagnaria crew for Souta in episode 14 of season 3 after his mother attempted to force him to quit working there. Inami goes there to talk to her, backed up by Nazuna, but their attempts don't seem to sway his mother at all. Only after their other coworkers show up does she then reconsider. [[spoiler:Especially Popura, who surprises her when she sees how short Souta's coworker is, yet sees that he's fallen in love with Inami, who is much taller and outside his usual "loves little things" category.]]
* BigEater: Kyouko.
* BishieSparkle: Souma-san has ''black and grey'' sparkles whenever he's happy. Considering [[ManipulativeBastard who he is]], and that [[ItAmusedMe his happiness means someone else's unhappiness]], this makes sense.
** Kotori has some the first time she shows up.
** It appears on other characters from time to time, such as Souta and Yachiyo.
* BlackMail: Nazuna, with the help of Souma and Aoi's mother, attempts to do this towards her mother in episode 14 of season 3 in an attempt to help Souta. [[spoiler:She shows off a picture of her mother when she was a younger, showing that she was very short, and not too happy about it. Subverted after her initial shock, and she tells Nazuna to go ahead and show her sisters the picture.]]
* BlandNameProduct: Apparenty Wagnaria is based on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saizeriya Saizerya]].
* BlatantLies: Yamada during her intro claims a lot of things, but Souta sees right through them. However, he is forced to play along since it seems everyone else believed her claims and [[CassandraTruth probably wouldn't believe him]] anyway.
* BlueWithShock: Satou gets a lot of this when dealing with Yachiyo, especially when she's being particularly clueless about his feelings. Episode 10 takes it to new levels, when she tries to serve him the way she does Kyouko.
* BreakingTheFourthWall:
** Satou complains when [[BishieSparkle Bishie Sparkles]] appear around him.
** In episode 10 of the first season, Souma and Aoi briefly summarize what happened in episode 9 with Souta crossdressing as Kotori to talk to Mahiru's father. Afterwards the camera switches angles, and it's revealed they were technically telling Kyouko about it, though Souma mentioning "the previous episode" is what brings this trope into play.
* BrilliantButLazy: Apparently, Souma spends all that time and effort collecting blackmail on his co-workers so he doesn't have to actually do any of his own work.
** With Jun and Inami, though, such tactics are [[StealthPun hit and miss]].
* BrownBagMask: Mahiru wears one in episode 5 of season 3, after being asked by Izumi to meet her brother and attempt to hook the two up, and not realizing Izumi meant Souta.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: One has to wonder how some of the characters manage to keep their jobs at the restaurant, or even how it manages to stay running due to their weird quirks, such as Yachiyo carrying around a katana, and Kyouko being a fairly lazy and indifferent manager. Popura mentions in episode 2 that many of their customers like the danger, but Souta is thoroughly confused by it.
* ButtMonkey: Aoi, to a degree. The girl ''never'' gets even a smidgen of sympathy--except from ''Souma'', of all people.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Souta of all people. He lays into Inami's father over his method of parenting that resulted in Inami becoming violently androphobic. Souta may or may not be doing this for Inami, rather for all the abuse he's been forced to take as a result of Inami's fears.
* TheCameo: The cellphone lady and her co-worker at the phone store Satou and Yachiyo visit in the second season are actually characters from ''CU no Oneesan'', one of Karino Takatsu's older web comics (found [[http://gahako.com/rakusere/cu1.html here]]).
* CanNotSpitItOut: One source of tension is Jun's rather obvious crush on Yachiyo, which he absolutely refuses to admit (certainly not in front of Yachiyo herself). Of course, (considering she probably doesn't [[StraightGay swing that way]]) he's permanently stuck in the [[LetsJustBeFriends "friend" zone]], so he gets to hear all about how much Yachiyo loves Kyouko. At length. It's pretty much as sad as it sounds, yet still funny thanks to {{schadenfreude}}.
* CherryTapping: Done to Souta's glasses in episode 2 of season 3. They've withstood tremendous abuse, such as getting hit by Inami. However, in episode 2 of season 3, Yamada lightly taps his face with her teddy bear Daisy after they discuss its nigh-invulnerability. Said tap then ends up breaking the lenses.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Used on Nazuna in episode 2 of season 3 when Kazue's ex-husband, Tooru Minegishi, wants to report to their mother, and his boss, about how they're doing. It turns out that Minegishi is TooKinkyToTorture, and Souta didn't want her picking up any bad influences.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Early in the first episode, a couple other people can be seen working with Souma and Satou, but are never seen again.
* ChristmasCake: Gets played with for Kyouko, Kazue, Izumi, and Kozue.
* ClingyJealousGirl: Yachiyo towards Kyouko. Even if it's something so simple as giving Kyouko food, Yachiyo will get angry.
* CloudCuckoolander: Aoi, although most of the cast has a rather strained relationship with reality.
** Of course, her behavior could also be a case of {{obfuscating stupidity}}.
* ColorFailure: Kazue whenever her ex-husband, Tooru Minegishi, is mentioned.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In episode 5 of season 3, Nazuna hears that Souta had a fight with Mahiru, his "girlfriend". Hilariously she thinks that Mahiru not hitting him hard was what caused the problem in their relationship.
* ComicallySerious: What makes Satou hilarious is the absurd situations he always faces while still maintaining an aloof composure.
* ContrivedCoincidence: The executive assistant to Souta's mother, Shizuka Takanashi, ''just so happens'' to be [[spoiler: Yamada's mother.]]
* CoolBigSis: Subverted with all of Souta's older sisters:
** Kazue is a short-tempered, physically-abusive lawyer who throws big books at Souta's head.
** Izumi is a struggling romance writer and reclusive shut-in who can't take care of herself.
** Kozue is an alcoholic lush incapable of keeping a job or boyfriend, despite hitting on men as much as she hits the bottle.
* CrazyJealousGuy: Two examples:
** Satou towards Yachiyo whenever she's fawning over Kyouko. However, he takes it out on Popura instead, usually by making fun of her height, or playing around with her hair.
** Souta invokes this trope in episode 4 of Season 2 when he suspects Inami's constant staring at Satou means she must like him. However, he tells Souma that the feelings he's having are like training a dog not to bite the owner, but the dog does it anyway, then shows affections towards another owner. Souma however, knows it's not true, but plays along anyway because he finds the misunderstanding [[ItAmusedMe funny]]. He also invokes this trope whenever Kirio is around Inami.
* CreditsRunningSequence: The ED has Souta, Satou and Souma running; {{Lampshaded}} in that at the end of the sequence they all stop to catch their breath.
* CrossOver: Working!! Reorder act like this to the main series and Web-ban. Sayuri, Masahiro, Yuta, Shiho, Kisaki and Sakaki have appeared and interacted with the main group.
* CrossPoppingVeins: Nazuna displays one in episode 2 of season 3 after Izumi makes multiple complaints while the two are heading to the grocery store. However, she quickly reminds herself that she loves her sister.
* CryCute: Most of the female characters when they do it for non-comedic reasons.
* CuteClumsyGirl: Popura, Aoi.
* CutenessProximity: Souta is a buff for them. Perhaps it runs in the family, as Popura provokes this from Souta's oldest sister Kazue, of all people, leading to [[MarshmallowHell a very close encounter]].
** Sometimes this is coupled with [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny Attention Deficit... Ooh Shiny!]]
** Kotori provokes a similar reaction from Popura, much to Souta's dismay. Episode 10 has Souma selling photos of Kotori-chan to Popura, who reacts much as Souta does around her.
** Souta gets afflicted with this quite heavily in episode 1 of season 3 when the lost little girl from episode 5 in season 2 shows back up while her mother is visiting. He spends much of the day behind the scenes in the back of the restaurant, while the little girl clings onto his back like a backpack.
* DatePeepers: Souma, Yamada, and Popura were originally going to spy on Inami and Souta during their date near the end of the first season, but Satou immediately stops all of them, either with bribes, or threats, before they can get anywhere near the two.
* DeadpanSnarker: Souta. [[InnocentlyInsensitive Or maybe he's just insensitive.]] [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Or both.]]
* DemotedToExtra: Poor Popura. She starts out as the main instigator of the story, but later is mostly used to provide commentary on what happens in the restaurant. Besides Souma, we know the least of Popura's background out of the main cast.
** Otoo as well. He was introduced in the first volume of the manga alongside most of the main cast, and seemed to be designated as part of it. In contrast to the anime, he was actually present and working normally around the restaurant. However, he eventually gets overshadowed by Souma and Yamada upon their introductions in volume 2.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: In episode 13 of Season 2, both Satou and Souma talk about "normal" things, and Matsumoto eventually starts hearing that word in every sentence they say during that scene.
* DescriptionCut: When Souma asks Satou how to avoid Mahiru's daily dose of MegatonPunch.
--> '''Satou:''' Take this for example: You're cleaning in a storage room and [[DoesNotLikeMen Inami]] shows up.
-->''(Inami shows up in front of Souma. Souma goes BlueWithShock.)''
* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: When Nazuna comes by the restaurant to help out in episode 3 of Season 2, she makes Yamada look fairly worthless, as she knows more about the job than the latter despite only working there a few days and not being paid. Yamada then develops a dark aura, and mentions getting rid of her, to which Souma tells her it's not a good thing to be thinking. She then thinks the next sentence, but her aura is so dark Souma knows what she's thinking.
** Souma himself sometimes does this, usually when teasing Satou about his lack of progress with Yachiyo.
* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: The opening theme song's melody is playing as background music in the restaurant in episode 9 of the second season.
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: All three openings are sung by [[Creator/KanaAsumi Popura]], [[Creator/SakiFujita Inami]] and [[Creator/EriKitamura Yachiyo]] while the endings are sung by [[Creator/JunFukuyama Souta]], [[Creator/DaisukeOno Jun]], and [[Creator/HiroshiKamiya Souma]].
* DoesNotLikeMen: Mahiru has such a deep seated fear of men that simply being ''near'' them results in {{Megaton Punch}}es.
** To further prove it's in her head, she has little problem when a man uses a feminine sentence structure - at first, anyways.
** Or just look at when she first meets Otoo-san, she doesn't even care if Souta's a guy when there's another guy around, better the guy you know than the guy you don't...
** Deconstructed, or at least discussed, when Souta asks her if she would hit young boys, the elderly, or crossdressing men. It manages to thoroughly confuse her, and she can't give a proper answer other than she'll "use her instincts."
* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: Double subverted. Inami's called out a bit for hitting men, but otherwise little effort is made on stopping her or helping her get over that. In fact, when Takanashi in the second season gets fed up and calls her out, HE is seen as the bad guy, and Aoi breaking a few plates gets punished much worse than Inami ever gets for breaking faces.
** And now, thanks to a misunderstanding, Souta's younger sister has got it into her head that [[TooKinkyToTorture Souta actually likes that stuff]].
** As of episode 7 of season 2, he was able to clear it with Nazuna that he is not a masochist. This also helps him get out from his HeroicBSOD.
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Hilariously played with in Chapter 197, where all of the Takanashi siblings dreamt about their mother and after learning about each other's dreams the next day immediately concluded them to represent a PortentOfDoom (except for Nazuna)!
* DynamicEntry: Kozue does it to Youhei in episode 9 of Season 2 after he nonchalantly says he sees a beautiful woman sitting at the table in the restaurant.
* DysfunctionJunction: A light-hearted version, certainly, but there aren't very many "normal" psyches among this bunch.
** Well, we haven't taken a look into Maya Matsumoto's psyche yet.
*** The last episode makes it seem that her desire for normality is so intense that it comes off as weird to other characters, so the trope probably holds.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Pretty much for all the characters in love, they have to work through quite a bit to get their happy ending, such as Inami having to "rescue" Souta from his mother.
* EasilyForgiven[=/=]DoubleStandard: In reality, beating up people on a regular basis would likely land you in jail, and/or fired from your job.
** Apparently you're forgetting Kyouko's juniors - leaving the cops out is just good sense.
* EveryoneMeetsEveryone: Hilariously done in [[{{Flashback}} Chapter 116]], which not only revealed how the main cast members got their jobs in Wagnaria, but also the reasons for them being employed were a result of Kyouko taking Otoo-san's specifications for new employees too literally!
* EvilMatriarch: PlayedForLaughs. The mother of the Takanashi siblings appears to them as such (except for Nazuna) as she evokes various fears amongst them.[[note]]To Kazue she will mercilessly comment on her failed marriage; to Izumi she will order her to do household chores; to Kozue she will ignore her; to Souta her presence reminds him of his history of cross-dressing.[[/note]] It does not help that she is a politician adept in the art of manipulation.
* EvolvingCredits: When Aoi Yamada joins the cast, the OP and ED are changed to include her. The same applies in season two for Haruna Otoo, Youhei and Mizuki Mashiba, and Kirio Yamada, and in season three for Toru Minegishi, Kikuno Yamada, and Shizuka Takanashi.
* ExcitedShowTitle: Gets more excited with each subsequent season!!
* {{Expy}}: So we got a cool, smoking cook whose blond hair constantly covers his left eye. [[Manga/OnePiece Where did I see that before, hmmm....]]? Not to mention the AllLoveIsUnrequited angle.
** There's also [[Manga/LoveHina Kyouko]]'s clear Expy-hood.
** Speaking of [[LightNovel/{{Durarara}} generally stoic blond smokers with a penchance towards violence when annoyed]] and [[LightNovel/{{Durarara}} manipulative bastards]]... although it ''is'' entertaining to see some role reversal in who gets one over on who.
*** You are forgetting [[LightNovel/{{Durarara}} the brown-haired guy with glasses and a strange taste in women]]... And the three men have the same voice actors, too!
* EyesAlwaysShut: Yachiyo and Otoo. Hiroomi also does this at times, but keeps his eyes mostly open (so he won't miss any of the interesting stuff happening in the restaurant).
** In Yachiyo's case, her eyes open once in episode 7.
* FaceDoodling: Happens to Popura when Satou is upset, and to Yamada when she's being too ... [[JerkAss Yamada]].
* FeverDreamEpisode: Episode 6 of season 3, in which Popura has a dream where she's a MagicalGirl and Souta is the BigBad of a magical kingdom. Jun the "Sugar Fairy" tells her he's turning everyone tiny, and it's up to her to stop him. Unfortunately her magic attacks are completely useless against him, and worse, makes her smaller every time she uses it. [[spoiler:In the end she "defeats" him when he suffers a NoseBleed from getting hit by CutenessProximity after seeing her mini-form.]]
* FirstNameBasis: Yachiyo to Kyouko. When Kyouko has to leave for business in episode 10, she tries this with Satou-san. It doesn't end well.
* FoodAsBribe: In episode 13 of season 1, Souma, Popura, and Aoi all plan to spy on Souta and Mahiru on their date. To stop them, Jun then says he'll treat Popura to lunch, and tells Aoi that Souma will buy her some clothing. However, for Souma, Jun simply tells him to join with them, or he was going to punch him in the face. Souma does [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] the difference in treatment/bribery between the girls and him.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The little lost girl from episode 5 of Season 2 can be seen with her mother right after the credits in episode 2 of Season 2.
* ForgottenFirstMeeting: Kirio tells Souta that he fell in love with the fourth Takanashi child, who was really Souta dressed up as a girl, since his mother used to bring him to their house. He then tells Souta he's perfectly okay with him being a WholesomeCrossdresser. Souta beats him up shortly afterwards.
* ForTheEvulz: When Souma isn't trying to blackmail his co-workers into doing his work for him, he's usually trying to arrange embarrassing or irritating situations for the people around him... pretty much [[ItAmusedMe because he thinks it's funny]].
* FreezeFrameBonus: In the second opening, when Popura dashes past the camera as the title card shows up, one can see a tiny Yamada holding onto the end of Popura's ponytail.
** During the first season opening song, if you pause it at the right time, you'll notice that one of the marching mini-Popuras has a different facial expression than the others. She also moves her arms differently than the rest of them.
** In season 2's opening, one of the flying mini-Popura has an exhausted look on her face as she flies with the others.
** Continuing the trend, season 3's opening has Aoi disguised as some of the mini-Popuras.
** In episode 3 of season 3, the shift schedule which Satou kept on staring at actually listed all the Wagnaria part-timers in the order of their length of employment[[note]]Todoroki is the longest-serving, followed by Satou, Souma, Taneshima, Inami, Matsumoto, Takanashi, and finally Yamada[[/note]].
* FreudianExcuse: The reason for Souta's love of little things (and hatred for huge ones).
** To elaborate: Despite being sixteen he's shorter than all of his older sisters, and his younger sister is almost as tall as he. All of his older sisters bully or abuse him in some way, and he suspects his younger sister will eventually turn out the same way.
* FreudianSlip: Kirio accidentally does this with Takanashi while he's dressed up as Kotori in episode 12 of season 3. He initially seems oblivious to the fact, but after telling Kotori that whoever she loves would accept her, he then calls him Takanashi. Kirio also relates a ForgottenFirstMeeting incident, and gets beaten up afterwards.
* FryingPanOfDoom: If both Jun and Souma are in the kitchen, and some of what Souma does happens to affect Jun in a bad way, this happens.
* GeniusDitz: On occasion, Yamada demonstrates an extraordinary depth and variety of skills, despite spending most of the time making up for her [[CuteClumsyGirl clumsiness]]. [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation It makes one wonder if]] she's actually as [[CloudCuckoolander spacy]] as she seems, or if she's [[ObfuscatingStupidity hiding a much greater intellect]].
* GirlsAreReallyScaredOfHorrorMovies: Well, it was a scary book Yamada was reading, but it puts Popura in this mood in episode 11 of the first season. Then Satou [[ItAmusedMe spooks her]] by saying he saw a headless woman in the back of his car, then tells her you shrink when you're sleeping, then says he met a bear the other day. She screams during each one, and he wonders if she's easily spooked. Takanashi later scares both Inami and Yamada when they claim they weren't scared staying in Inami's house rather than spend the night with him and his sisters.
* GirlyRun: Yachiyo is susceptible to this, which is perhaps caused by her carrying a sword.
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: At one point, [[spoiler:Souma]] buys Aoi a stuffed bear. She names it "Daisy" and treasures it immensely.
* TheGlomp: One is done in episode 3 of season 3, following an awkward evening drinking out by Yachiyo and Jun, due to weird advice she was given by other women. However, she said she had fun, [[spoiler:and hopes that he would stay with her forever. Jun then immediately hugs her very tightly and says the same thing to her. Then he has an OhCrap moment when he realized what he just did and tries to downplay it. She's mostly speechless, and falls to her knees, perhaps due to not knowing how to react to these newfound feelings.]]
* GoneHorriblyRight: Inami's overprotective father did everything in his power to make her completely afraid of men, as well as secretly using weights to increase her strength so she could defend herself. Unfortunately for him, her dislike of men is so bad now that she'll even deck him.
* GrandFinale: The hilariously-titled ''Lord of Takanashi'', an hour-long special aired during Christmas Day 2015, is this for the whole series.
* HeadbuttThermometer: Yachiyo just melts in Kyouko's arms when the latter does this to the former.
* HeroicBSOD:
** Souta suffers from one in Episode 7 of Season 2 when he sees Inami chatting with Kirio.
** He suffers another one in episode 5 of season 3 after a fight with Mahiru from the previous episode. However, he shows it by cleaning the house too much, to the point that Kazue says they're going to go blind from how sparkling and shiny everything in the house is.
* HideYourLesbians: While the heterosexual crushes are often put in a more serious light, Yachiyo's feelings for Kyouko are purely seen as a source of jokes.
* HighPressureEmotion: Inami in episode 2 of season 3 after Souta gets extremely close to her to get a look at who was approaching him. She wasn't sure what to do, as he was BlindWithoutEm due to Yamada accidentally breaking his glasses.
* HimeCut: Aoi.
* HopelessSuitor: Souta invokes this trope on Inami in episode 4 of Season 2. After [[SustainedMisunderstanding misinterpreting]] her constantly staring at Satou as her liking him, Souta asks her if she has someone she likes. She says she does, but he tells her she should immediately stop pursuing him, because he already likes someone else. Inami becomes visibly sad, until Souta mentions Satou's name, to which she immediately tries to clarify the situation. She then tells him she does have someone she likes, but Souta is once again surprised, not realizing that she actually likes him, but CannotSpitItOut.
* HotSpringsEpisode: Episode 8, without the actual bathing in the hot springs scenes.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Popura and Souta... and virtually every other male character in the series. The only way you could avert this trope with her is to get some grade school boy to stand next to her. Inverted in that Souta is small compared to his sisters, including his younger sister (see below).
* HugeSchoolgirl: Souta's youngest sister, Nazuna, (12 years old) is on her way to being this, and is already kind of this for her age group, being able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her brother and sisters despite being in grade school.
* HypocriticalHumor: Mahiru fears men because she thinks they're violent and they might have a weapon. She says this while hiding behind ''Yachiyo''.
** Not to mention that almost ALL of the violence in the series is Inami hitting a guy, usually before he even finishes a sentence.
** In episode 4, Yachiyo tells Jun that walking around with a knife is dangerous when he's looking for the sharpening stone in the kitchen. She says this while sharpening her katana.
** In episode 9 of Season 2, Kozue laments to Inami about the latest guy she broke up with not liking violent women, so she gives him a German suplex. Inami immediately thinks about the irony in her statement.
** Souta is frequently warning Kirio to stay from Inami, ostensibly because there's a serious danger that she could hurt him. Souta gets so annoyed that he tends to blow off this warning that eventually Souta starts using painful submission holds on him to try and chase him away. Kirio eventually [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the fact that Souta has hurt him way more than Inami ever has.
* IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn: Inami, regarding Souta. Less sexually implicit as it is romantically implicit - but it still gets the same reaction out of her.
* ImTakingHerHomeWithMe:
** Souta said this once about Popura going into a CornerOfWoe.
** Again when Souta finds a lost girl in the parking lot.
** Souta's mother attempts to do this to Popura in episode 14 of season 3, attempting to take her back to work with her. She even has her held in one arm, prompting Souta to tell her not to take Popura.
* IncestSubtext: Not explicitly stated, but it's more of a vague attraction played for laughs and... drama? Perhaps it's even a complex. Anyway, three of the Takanashi sisters do seem a bit too dependent or close to Souta. One grew up for the purpose of helping her older brother, one is an apparently always boyfriend-less, hopeless HardDrinkingPartyGirl, and the last is a romance novelist who can't do anything by herself despite being 28.
** While drunk and incoherent, the HardDrinkingPartyGirl sometimes asks Souta if he wants to have sex with her. No inhibition indeed.
** Izumi is incredibly possessive of Souta because he's so kind to her (read: she can't do anything without him). After hearing he has a girlfriend (supposedly Inami), she becomes even more depressed than usual and decides to clear her mind by going outside for fresh air. Alone. For someone like Izumi, that's an act of suicide. She even leaves a letter that sounds like a final farewell.
** It's becoming increasingly clear that Nazuna would do ANYTHING to make her brother happy, no matter the personal troubles it causes. Taken just a little further, her devotion would cross into a unhealthy degree -- if it's quietly not there already.
* IncompatibleOrientation: Jun is in love with Yachiyo, who is lesbian. Or at least, she is [[SingleTargetSexuality with regard to Kyouko]]. Kyouko herself seems to have [[{{Asexual}} no interest]] in guys ''or'' girls, preferring gluttony to lust.
* InstantBandages: Kyouko's clipboard even gets these.
* InsistentTerminology: In the first episode, Popura is corrected by Souta Takanashi at first about mispronouncing his name. She tries to say it correctly, but has a really hard time doing it, so ends up sticking with "Katanashi" instead. However, due to her small stature and his [[CutenessProximity attraction to such things]], he lets her get away with it. When Inami tried it, [[BerserkButton he kind of lost it]] and freaked her out.
* ItRunsInTheFamily: According to Izumi, love of small things runs in the Takanashi family. Although only Souta appears to exhibit that love to obsessive levels.
* JapaneseDelinquents: Kyouko used to be one. The Mashiba twins, being Kyouko's henchmen back in high school, also count as reformed versions of these.
* {{Keigo}}: Aoi uses very polite speech levels throughout.
* KewpieDollSurprise: Popura does this a lot.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Inami's ''brutal'' assault on the [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative Souma]] feels less cruel.
* TheKlutz: Aoi Yamada cleans up plates from the floor on a regular basis.
* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: Happily subverted. In Episode 11, Kozue forces Inami into Souta's room. She then hears them saying things like "Are you sure? It's my first time doing this..." Yamada is curious as to what they might be doing, and Kozue tells her they're "doing what guys and girls do behind closed doors."
--> '''Yamada:''' Playing card games?
** And wouldn't you know it, ''[[spoiler:[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin they were playing card games]]]]''.
* LampshadeHanging: For a comedy series, it's rather good about this. The FridgeLogic example and ThereAreNoTherapists example both qualify.
* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: Maya Matsumoto.
** She was seen throughout the show, including in the OP, but did not get a speaking role until the last episode.
** This actually ends up being a good gag (despite missing out on using a potentially good character). Maya is obsessed with being straight-laced and [[OnlySaneMan sane]] when stacked against her coworkers. The fact she only appears at the end to berate the rest of the staff on how weird they are shows how steadfast she is in her commitment to be "normal" (though it comes back to bite her because she's developed a normality complex). She shows up to work, does her job, doesn't get involved with her coworkers' eccentricity, and leaves without making much of a fuss. So we see her in the background and ignore her, ''which is exactly what she wants.''
* LikesOlderWomen: Yachiyo, a lesbian version. Though that may just be a SingleTargetSexuality for Kyouko.
* LivingProp: Maya Matsumoto, who actually appears in the OP.
** Curiously, [[LastEpisodeNewCharacter she gets a speaking part in the last episodes of every season]].
** Izumi, one of Souta's older sisters, invokes this trope near the end of Episode 3 in Season 2. A whole day passes by with the various characters going about their day, while she's sitting in the same exact position the entire day. At the end of the night, as the other family members are gathering around the table for dinner, she finally says she has to get stronger first. They all then wonder if that's all she did that day.
* LonersAreFreaks: Maya doesn't like to socialize with her colleagues, which makes the others think she's a bit weird.
* LoveConfession: [[spoiler:Halfway through season 3 Satou finally manages to tell Yachiyo his feelings for her, he skips work for a week after that due to the amount of effort it took. In the same vein, It takes Souta the whole 3rd season to be able to confess to Inami. Thankfully both couples end happily together.]]
* LoveEpiphany: Inami has one at the end of episode 9 after Souta's [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech scathing speech]] to her father about secretly training her to hate men. Of course, him being a NiceGuy and giving a present on White Day in earlier episodes helped too.
** Souta starts to realize he may have feelings for Inami in episode 13 of Season 1, but immediately tries to beat it out of his head, and says out loud that she's just a dog. [[RightBehindMe Just as she returns with some juice.]]
* LovingAShadow: Kozue often gives the impression that it's actually ''Mizuki'' she is after, and that she is merely using Yohei to give herself an excuse for doing so.
* LoveTriangle: [[TriangRelations Type 5]], Jun -> Yachiyo -> Kyouko (-> food).
** Also played with. Yamada sees Popura fawning over Souta and thinks one of these is developing between those two and Inami--it turns out that Popura is just admiring [[spoiler: [[WholesomeCrossdresser "Kotori"]] for being everything she wants to be]].
* LyricalColdOpen: Both opening and ending themes of Season 1 and the opening theme of Season 2.
* MadeOfIron: With sisters like his, it's no wonder Souta can withstand all of that stuff Inami does to him.
* ManipulativeBastard: Souma. Jun's probably only the one who's immune to Souma's schemes. Nazuna's also showing hints of this.
** Apparently Aoi is turning into Souma's kryptonite.
*** Inami was immune due to the fact she would give him a MegatonPunch just for being in range.
** Nazuna also seems to enjoy being able to control the behavior of her older siblings.
** Jun completely out-manipulates Souma in the last episode.
* MarshmallowHell: Popura gets this treatment from Kazue when she first meets her in episode 12 of season 1.
* {{Meganekko}}: Maya, Kazue.
* MrViceGuy: If not for his maniacal obsession with miniature things, there isn't much to criticize Souta for.
* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: Souma somehow managed to sense [[spoiler: Jun hugging Yachiyo]] at the end of Episode 3 of Season 3 (an omake in Volume 9 of the manga in between Chapters 164-165), though he had no idea what actually happened.
* MysteriousPast: No one is quite sure where Aoi came from (though it's hinted that she ran away from home), no one is sure why she decided to run away and work at the restaurant, and ''no one'' knows where she learned how to plant a bug on someone's clothing. [[spoiler:All of this gets revealed, of course, in the third season, where not only is it revealed that Aoi's reason for running away was pretty mundane, but her so-called skills were just an outgrowth of trying to live with a fairly-odd mother.]]
* NeverTrustATrailer: The end of the third season's stinger hyped up the show's GrandFinale as a VideoGame/DragonQuest style adventure, with Inami turning into a fantasy heroine out to rescue Souta from the Demon Queen (his mother), with Poplar as her fairy companion. When the hour-long special finally aired, it was anything but, and actually matched up with the fairly mundane nature of the series.
* NoSenseOfDirection: Otoo's wife went missing a long time ago, and hasn't found her way back. His trying to find her is one of the recurring gags in the series.
* NoRomanticResolution: [[spoiler:Averted come Season 3, where both main couples (Satou/Yachiyo and Souta/Inami) eventually get together.]]
* ObliviousToLove: While there is Yachiyo and her blindness to Satou's crush on her, Souta is just as bad in regard to Inami's crush on him. (Though, to be fair, her treatment of him is not helping her case.)
** In Souta's case, he tells Kirio about Inami being interested in another guy. He then lists all the things he did for her in previous episodes, and based on that, Kirio is able to figure out that Inami's crush is on Souta himself. However, he initially decides to play dumb and pretend he doesn't know, if nothing else because he finds [[ItAmusedMe it funny]].
** In episode 4 of season 3, Kirio flat out tells Souta that those odd feelings he has when thinking about Mahiru means he's in love with her. The next scene shows Popura trying to wake up Kirio, who apparently "passed out" behind the restaurant.
* OfficialCouple: [[spoiler:Inami/Souta and Yachiyo/Satou by season 3.]]
* OffScreenTeleportation: Haruna, Otoo-san's long lost wife, is so elusive that even when she finally appeared in the series, she is still prone to disappearing without a trace. Taken UpToEleven in one occasion where she managed to leave a ''completely sealed room'' without anybody noticing it! Season 3, episode 9 has her describe events from prior episodes she couldn't have been in, leaving one with the impression that she's wandering through space and time.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Popura is ''older'' than Souta. Aside from a sizable chest, you'd be hard pressed to tell.
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: Working Reorder shows that there are connections between the casts of Working and Working!! Web-ban. Kyouko is old friends with Sakaki, the manager from Web-ban and as a result Yachiyo knows him too. Souta is friends with Masahiro, the chief from Web-ban and knows Sayuri as a result.
* OneDialogueTwoConversations: Episode 10 has Nazuna and Inami talking. Nazuna asks if Souta enjoys being punched, while Inami confesses to liking Souta. Except [[PoorCommunicationKills the question Inami answered wasn't what Nazuna asked]], even if the answer is 'yes'. Poor Souta.
** Episode 3 in Season 2 has Izumi asking her sisters questions about Inami and misinterpreting them as descriptions of Popura. The end result is Izumi mistakenly thinking Popura is an underage girl and her brother being a pedophile. Izumi also fears he'll stop taking care of her since he must have a girlfriend.
** In episode 5 of season 3, the Takanashi sisters hear that Souta broke up with his girlfriend. When Nazuna mentions this to Izumi, the latter assumes he was dating Popura based on the the picture she saw of her in Nazuna's cellphone, while Nazuna assumes it was Mahiru not hitting him hard enough that was the cause of the problem. Neither one of them realizes that he actually isn't dating anyone.
* OnlySaneMan:
** Souta thinks everyone working in that restaurant's somewhat strange in one way or another, although he himself [[NotSoAboveItAll isn't any different]], being the ''mini''con he is.
** Seeing how Maya stays out of the craziness she might qualify--[[LivingProp if only we'd know more about her]]. We find out in the final episode that Maya indeed does think herself to be this. So much, in fact, that she tries too hard to be normal and inadvertently makes herself come off as weird.
--->'''Souma''': [[HypocriticalHumor Matsumoto-san is a bit strange, isn't she?]]
* PaperThinDisguise: Aoi once managed to fool (albeit temporarily) Kirio into thinking she's not her by simply wearing a wig.
* ParentalAbandonment: Souta's father apparently had passed on for quite a long time before the start of the series, and the entire family became extremely awkward and switched conversational topics immediately when their mother was once mentioned.
** [[spoiler: The mother finally appeared in Chapter 207. And chapter 245 confirmed that the father is deceased.]]
* PrecociousCrush: Yachiyo's feelings for Kyouko started from here.
* PsychoLesbian: Naturally, when in a series like this a girl has feelings for her female boss, she ''has'' to have some loose screws.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: Invoked temporarily by the Takanashi sisters in ''Lord of the Takanashi'', in which they're ordered by their mother to stop Inami from reaching Souta at their house. This being a comedy, none of them put up much of a fight, mostly because they're okay with Inami dating Souta.
* RealPlaceBackground: The clock tower shown before the OnTheNext segment of every episode actually exists in real life, being located in Hiraoka Park in Kiyota Ward, Sapporo.
* RelationshipUpgrade: [[spoiler: Jun finally spit it out to Yachiyo in Chapter 223/episode 11 of season 3, and Souta confesses to Mahiru in Chapter 250/episode 14 of season 3.]]
* ReplacementGoldfish:
** Jun Satou becomes one to Yachiyo when Kyouko had to leave for a business trip. It was an unpleasant few days for him.
** Souta asks Popura to pretend to be his little sister in episode 8 of Season 2 when he realizes that his real sister Nazuna has grown to be slightly taller than him.
** In episode 1 of season 3, Popura feels that the little girl visiting their restaurant would take over her role with Takanashi. Fortunately the little girl is smart and was about to head home anyway, and he tells her that no one could replace his "little senpai".
* SchmuckBait: In episode 4, Popura tells Satou that she's jealous at how tall he is. He tells her he can make her taller, then simply raises her hair a little. It annoys her, but he tells her not to get mad, because anger kills cells, and that's why tall, cool guys like him are never mad. She immediately buys his explanation.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: In ''Lord of the Takanashi'', Nazuna angrily confronts Inami, doing a WhatTheHellHero on her after finding out Souta isn't really a masochist, and that she didn't like the fact that he was continually punched by her. She then calls Inami out for a fight. [[spoiler:After Inami says she can't hit Nazuna, and explains that he was helping cure her androphobia, Nazuna then says she wasn't actually looking for a fight, and saw that despite her odd relationship with Souta, she was a good person at heart.]]
* SempaiKohai: Popura and Souta, respectively. And played for gags.
* ShipperOnDeck: Yamada, Popura, and Kozue appear to have jumped on the Inami/Souta bandwagon. Even Souma's [[BishieSparkle Bishie Sparkles]] turn light at the thought of them hooking up.
** Izumi also ended up shipping Satou and Inami, though she had no idea about Inami's relationship to Satou; she just appears to Izumi to be a kind person that can look after her as well.
** Souma is shipping Satou and Yachiyo too. [[spoiler: Mizuki's reluctantly on his team too.]]
** Souta's mother is full of this.
* ShipTease: Despite protests from both, Souta and Inami have been teased as a potential pairing.
** And despite the fact that Yachiyo will always go for Kyouko, we have some teasing for Yachiyo and Jun. The poor bastard can't even get let down properly.
* ShoutOut: Inami is voiced by Creator/SakiFujita , who is also the voice of [[Music/{{Vocaloid}} Hatsune Miku]]. Consequently, Inami occasionally wears hairpins shaped like leeks.
** The GrandFinale is titled [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Lord of the Takanashi]]. Even Souta's [[EvilMatriarch mother Shizuka]] is Sauron-like (although her character is more like Elrond), with Inami and Souta as GenderFlip Aragorn and Arwen, respectively.
* SingleTargetSexuality: Yachiyo -> Kyouko.
** Although at one time Yachiyo is seen fawning over Aoi as well, because Aoi looks a little like Kyouko.
* SliceOfLife: The show focuses on staff of Wagnaria while they're going about their day, and occasionally Takanashi's family.
* SmokingIsCool: Satou.
* SnipeHunt: Souma tells Aoi to go find something in episode 8 of season 2 when her brother's trying to find her in the restaurant. Like the trope implies, she has no idea what he wants or where to even look for it.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Poplar versus Popura. She's supposed to be named after [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poplar the tree]] for irony's sake.
* SpitTake: Kyouko does one after seeing Souta cross-dressed in episode 9.
** Kozue does one ''complete with mini-rainbow'' after Yamada told her Inami was interested in Souta.
* StatusQuoIsGod:
** Mostly true, as in most SliceOfLife comedies, though there are occasional minor shifts: Inami learns to at least stand within a few feet of men without hitting them, Aoi Yamada is added to the team, Jun resolves to improve his relationship with Yachiyo, and both Kirio and Hyougo just barely miss finding Aoi and Haruna respectively. However, for the most part things have remained relatively constant in the show.
** Until Season 3 starts tying up one loose thread after another. [[spoiler: Jun and Yachiyo's relationship suddenly makes more progress in a week than it had in 4 years, Aoi Yamada reunites with her family, Haruna Otoo is found, Souta proclaims Inami cured, Souta's older sister reunites with her husband, Souta suddenly straightens out his head over his relationship with Inami, and Souta's mother comes home. Phew!]]
* StealthHiBye: Several characters seem capable of doing this, such as Kyouko and strangely enough, Izumi manages it in episode 3 of Season 2 after her walk outside.
* StealthPun: When Satou is messing with Popura's hair, he is literally teasing her.
* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: When Mizuki claims Satou would "devour" Yachiyo first chance he got, both Yachiyo and and Kyouko immediately imagine him eating her hair.
* SuperDeformed: A large group of mini-Popuras march by Souta in a short scene during the opening for Season 1. Gosh darn it if they don't [[CutenessProximity look adorable too]].
** In general, Popura has a tendency to slip into this from time to time, further accentuating her small stature.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial:
** Inami when Souma talks to Souta about her hairpin.
** Souta shows up for his date with Mahiru as Kotori. A FlashBack then shows that he went to the restaurant first, and Aoi "accidentally" slips and tosses a bucket of water on him. Souma then mentions there's no spare clothes around except for some women's clothing. However, Souta already knew they planned to make him go as Kotori one way or another, so he just gives up and does it, despite the suspicious "mistakes".
** Yachiyo claims to not be worrying about Satou when he asks her what's wrong in episode 11 of Season 2, after she overhears that he likes someone, and wonders who it is.
* SustainedMisunderstanding: One incident happens in episode 4 of Season 2, involving Yachiyo meeting Otoo's long lost wife, Haruna, then having her vanish the moment her eyes are off the woman. This causes some misunderstandings between her and Satou, which Inami later misinterprets. Inami's misinterpretation of the event causes Popura to also misinterpret, then finally Souta, who confronts Inami about it. Satou finally forces Yachiyo to come clean with why she was going through a HeroicBSOD, and after she does, it turns out no one was going to hate her for losing track of Haruna.
** This trope is in play again during episode 13 of Season 2, when Yamada blew a casual conversation she had with Popura out of proportion. [[spoiler: Popura mentioned quitting to focus on school, but decided not to. However, Yamada tells everyone she is definitely going to quit, causing all of them to talk to Popura as if she were really going away. Which then causes Popura to start crying and wondering about it.]]
* TakingTheBullet: PlayedForLaughs in episode 12 of Season 2. After going a long time without punching a guy, Yamada tries to speed up curing Inami's androphobia, so she pushes Souma towards her. Inami instinctively starts throwing a punch at the approaching Souma, but Satou throws Yamada's teddy bear to [[HeroicSacrifice intercept the fist.]] Souma escapes unharmed, but the teddy bear "dies", and the characters send a farewell to it, until Yamada points out that it's merely lying on the floor.
* ThatCameOutWrong: When Souta is being told by Kyouko that employee romantic relationships are forbidden, he tries to justify why he's so interested in Popura. He says he likes small things such as kittens and water fleas. Then he says Popura is like a water flea, and therefore it would be wrong for him to date a water flea, right? Except his explanation makes even less sense to Kyouko.
** In episode 6, when Inami meets Kazue, one of Souta's older sisters, for the first time, she says she "lays him out all the time". She meant she hits him, but it could also be taken as a SexualEuphemism.
** In episode 11, Yamada is looking for someone, which she claims is the product of her and Souma. Both Takanashi and Popura stare at him, wondering what she meant by that. [[spoiler: Turns out it was the teddy bear he bought for her in episode 8, which she named Daisy.]]
* ThemeNaming: All of Souta's sisters have "zu" in the middle of their names. Kazue, Izumi, Kozue and Nazuna. [[spoiler: Their mother, Shizuna, shares this with them.]]
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Inami really should get one. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Souta, who wonders in one episode why Inami hasn't been committed.
** Make sure the therapist is female, though.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Souta delivers this to Inami's father after learning just how far he's gone to keep her completely terrified of men.
* TheRunaway: Aoi.
* ThirdPersonPerson: Aoi, Nazuna.
** Yamada doesn't do this at first; it's just when it's becoming painfully clear she can't remember her own (assumed) name.
* ThrowTheBookAtThem: According to Souta, Kazue has a penchant for smacking him with her law books at any opportunity. She then demonstrates by hitting him in the forehead with the one she's currently holding.
** Apparently that's why she became a lawyer.
* TinCanTelephone: Used in episode 6 of season 2. Popura makes one for Jun as a way for him to talk to Mahiru without getting hit by her as the latter DoesNotLikeMen and usually hits any guy who gets too close to her. He immediately tells Souma to call Mahiru on his cellphone, but Souma refuses, stating that not using the cup phone would insult Popura. Jun attempts it, until Souma starts laughing at him, prompting him to angrily yank at the phone while crushing the cup. They end up using the cellphone afterwards.
* TokenMiniMoe: Nazuna is a borderline case, seeing how she is about Souta's height already.
** Popura fits the role better except for her chest.
* TooKinkyToTorture: Kazue's ex-husband, who also works for the Takanashi's mother. He absolutely loves getting chided by and berated by his boss and his ex-wife, and even tells Souta to yell at him during their meeting in episode 2 in season 3.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Kyouko loves her parfaits, which is why Yachiyo is all too happy to bring them to her.
* [[TheGadfly Troll]]: Despite being under the threat of Satou's [[FryingPanOfDoom frying pan]] and Inami's [[MegatonPunch punch]], Souma still is one.
** Also Satou himself namely Popura.
* TrainingFromHell: A very mild example also PlayedForLaughs in episode 5 of season 3. Izumi mentions that she's spent a little time each day with Kozue to toughen her body enough so she could go find that girl she met from episode 3 of season 2 and hook her up with Souta to cheer him up after apparently breaking up with his girlfriend. Despite this however, she can only sustain being outside under her own strength for short periods of time, and still needs Nazuna to come get her with the cart after she finishes talking to Mahiru.
* TsurimeEyes: Aoi, most notably.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Yachiyo walks around with a katana all the time, and most of the time people don't comment on it. That being said, she has scared away customers before because, well, they were afraid. Of course, they have nothing to worry about, [[BerserkButton so long as they don't insult, attack or hit on Kyouko.]]
* VagueAge: Aoi is dodgy about giving up her age in the anime (when Souta tells her he's 16, she responds that she's 16 as well). She appears to have a 16-year-old brother who refers to her as his younger sister, so she might be the same age or younger.
* VisualPun: When Satou rearranges Popura's hair, he is figuratively and literally ''teasing'' her.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Satou and Souma.
* TheVoiceless: Aoi's mother turns out to be one when she finally appeared in Chapter 188. Though this is due to her spending too much time thinking, as shown by her SesquipedalianLoquaciousness whenever Kirio engages in FacialDialogue with her.
* WackyMarriageProposal: In episode 5 of season 3, Izumi proposes marrying her editor so she could then focus on her writing and have someone take care of her like Souta does. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:her editor, despite the masculine appearance, is actually a woman too.]]
* WhamEpisode:
** Episode 3 in season 3, after Yachiyo spends an evening drinking at a restaurant with Jun. Due to all the weird advice by other women she was given, it's a mostly awkward date, and Jun cuts it short before she starts doing anything else Kozue told her to. [[spoiler:However, she says that she enjoys spending time with him and hopes that he'll stay by her side forever. He immediately hugs her tightly, says likewise, then realizes he probably went too far. He backs off and calls a cab for her, while she's mostly speechless at the sudden turn of events.]]
** Souta trying to find out how he really feels about Mahiru in episode 4 and 5 of season 3. Despite Kirio blatantly saying it to him, it's confusing to him because Mahiru isn't tiny, which is what he's normally attracted to.
** In episode 6 of season 3, Kirio shows up looking for Aoi again. Souma tells her to hide in the attic again or else he would stop being her "big brother". [[spoiler:They still end up meeting, though at least for now she isn't forced home with Kirio]]
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Discussed heavily in episode 4 of season 3 by Yachiyo and her new strange feelings around Jun, as well as Souta and his unknown reactions towards a non-violent Mahiru who isn't hitting him constantly. PlayedForLaughs entirely, as Kirio flat out tells Souta that his feelings for Mahiru are love, and in the next scene Kirio is laying on the pavement behind the restaurant with Popura trying to wake him up.
* WhatTheHellHero: A minor one also PlayedForLaughs in episode 3 of season 3, when Aoi gets mad at Souta because he won't pat her on the head like he accidentally did in the previous episode. She claims that she wasted her time actually working without breaking anything. He then bops her on the head like he normally does, and tells her that's how she should be doing it all the time.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: [[spoiler: Souta, much to the confusion of Inami.]]
** Hilariously, [[spoiler: he looks really good as a girl: he was adorable when he was a child, and he was good-looking enough when he cross-dressed to fool Inami's dad that [[EvenTheGuysWantHim some guys hit on him]]. Of course, that makes him like it even less.]]
** [[spoiler: Apparently, even Popura liked him as a crossdresser more than normally.]]
** Apparently though, Mahiru's mother doesn't seem to be all that fooled by [[spoiler:Souta's]] disguise.
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Nazuna.
* WorkCom: The show focuses heavily on the staff of the Wagnaria restaurant as they work. However, Souta's sisters get some screentime as well, and some episodes will follow the characters outside of work too, such as when most of them went to a hot springs for the day in episode 8 of season 1.
* WoundedGazelleGambit: In episode 14 of season 3, Aoi sets up a ridiculously silly trap using natto under a basket in an attempt to "capture" Souma, who had been hiding from her for a short while. She then claims the trap backfired and called for help, prompting him to come out of hiding from the corner of the restaurant. Aoi then claims her "trap" worked.
* {{Yandere}}: Woe to whoever tries to take Kyouko away from Yachiyo...
** Thing is, ''nobody has'': Yachiyo's bad enough you shouldn't even consider giving Kyouko a present where she can find out.

----

''WORKING!!'' (AKA ''WAGNARIA!!'' in English-speaking territories) is a published comedy / slice-of-life / romance {{Yonkoma}} by Karino Takatsu. The manga was published in Creator/SquareEnix's ''Young Gangan'' magazine from 2005 to 2014.

''WORKING!!'' (AKA ''WAGNARIA!!'' in English-speaking territories) is a published comedy / slice-of-life / romance {{Yonkoma}} by Karino Takatsu.

* ThemeTuneCameo: The opening theme song's melody is playing as background music in the restaurant in episode 9 of the second season.