Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Manga / YuriIsMyJob

Go To

1%%
2%% Image selected per Image Pickin thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16980416340.40997500
3%% Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread
4%%
5[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/watashinoyuriwaoshigotodesu_vol6.png]]
6
7''Yuri Is My Job!'' (''Watashi no Yuri wa Oshigoto Desu!'') is a yuri manga by minman, which began serialization in ''[[Magazine/YuriHime Comic Yuri Hime]]'' in 2016.
8
9Hime Shiraki is an incredibly cute high school girl who has a dream: to become the TrophyWife of [[GoldDigger a billionaire]]. To accomplish this, she has carefully crafted a façade designed to be charming and likable to ''everyone'', even though internally she is selfish and rude.
10
11One day, she accidentally injures the manager of a local [[CosplayCafe themed café]] where all the employees playact as students of an all-girls boarding school straight out of an [[PseudoRomanticFriendship S-class]] [[YuriGenre yuri novel]]. Hime is reluctantly roped into joining the staff until the injury is healed, where she quickly discovers that her practiced façade struggles within the setting and character she now inhabits. She is immediately drawn to another employee: Mitsuki, who plays a loving and kind "big sister" character on the shop floor, but backstage seems to ''hate'' Hime from the very start, greatly challenging Hime's compulsion to be liked by everyone.
12
13The worlds of fictional love and real love collide as Hime attempts to navigate her strange new role and the relationships between the employees of the cafe.
14
15On May 14, 2022, it was announced the series would get an anime adaptation, and the announcement had the first trailer along with several of the voice actors. Animated by Passione and Creator/StudioLings, it has been licensed by Crunchyroll and aired during Spring 2023.
16
17!!Troping Is My Job!:
18* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance:
19** In the anime, Kanoko is first seen in the first scene in Hime's classroom, while in the manga, she doesn't appear until after Hime's first day at Liebe.
20** Nene first appears midway through the anime's first episode, but doesn't play a significant role until the second arc in the manga.
21* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Both Kanoko and Mitsuki have unrequited feelings for Hime, who may return the latter's feelings without realizing it. In the past, Sumika possibly had feelings for Saionji, who was in love with Goeido, while Goeido didn't care about her. Sumika seems to be developing feelings for Kanoko, who is still fixated on Hime.
22* AllThereInTheManual: Each volume ends with a page explaining certain aspects of the salon that are hinted at but never explicitly explained in story.
23* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: After accidentally injuring Mai, Hime gets blackmailed into serving as her replacement in the cafe until the latter's arm heals. [[spoiler:Mai keeps the cast on to trick Hime into working there for a while longer, but eventually, she comes clean.]]
24* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Hime wants to be liked by everyone, and goes through great effort with Yano in particular. After visiting Yano at home in order to cheer her up and patch up their friendship, Hime pushes Yano to say that she likes her before she leaves. Instead, [[spoiler:Yano confesses that she's in love with her and kisses her. This only drives a wedge into their relationship even further.]]
25* BetaCouple: Kanoko and Sumika. While Hime is the protagonist and her relationship with Mitsuki (who harbors an unrequited love for her, although Hime is possibly starting to reciprocate her feelings) drives the plot, Sumika soon develops feelings for Kanoko, who has unrequited feelings for Hime. The story alternates between arcs focused on Hime and Mitsuki and arcs focused on Kanoko and Sumika.
26* BigFancyHouse: Mitsuki had a fairly large house when she was young, and her family employed a maid. Volume 6, however, shows Mitsuki living in a much more modest apartment complex, so it's possible the Yanos fell on hard times in the years in between.
27* BitchInSheepsClothing:
28** Hime manages to put up a façade of a cute girl, but in reality, is a habitual liar. It's ultimately zigzagged, since while she has a self-serving and cynical view of most relationships, she's genuinely kind and loyal to those who she truly considers her friends.
29** [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in Mitsuki's case. While her "kind senpai" character is just an act she puts on for the café, she actually hopes to ''[[BecomingTheMask become]]'' that person. Her actual persona is more socially awkward than anything else, with any rudeness being a mix of BrutalHonesty and an inability to read the room.
30** A far more malicious example is Yoko Goeido, [[spoiler:who had a talent of not doing anything people would approve of, preventing the rest of Liebe from realizing her manipulative nature until it was too late. Worst of all was how she dealt with Saionji, who fell in love with her even though Goeido saw her as nothing more than a plaything. When Goeido returns, she seems pleasant enough, but Sumika immediately assumes the worst about her and demands that Mai ban Goeido from the salon]].
31* BlandNameProduct: Kanoko and Sumika visit a [=WcD's=] in the second arc, and Sumika uses "Ooogle" to research [[spoiler:supporting victims of sexual abuse and violence after Kanoko is assaulted by Yoko]].
32* BlindIdiotTranslation:
33** In Chapter 43, Kanoko remarks that Sumika has stopped trying to convince Kanoko to give up on her fixation on Hime, and Sumika replies by saying that she's on Kanoko's side. In the localization, Kanoko instead says that "At first you'd been saying that she(Hime) should quit," incorrectly implying that Sumika was trying to get Hime to resign from the salon.
34** In Chapter 51, a similar error occurs when Kanoko [[spoiler:asks Sumika to become her girlfriend]]. In the localization, Kanoko claims she is doing this in order to get over her hatred of romance. In context, however, Sumika is the one Kanoko believes hates romance, and Kanoko wants her to get over that.
35* BreatherEpisode:
36** Chapter 21/Episode 12 has the salon workers switch to summer uniforms, which end up showing off Mitsuki's cleavage. It follows the Blume arc, which focuses on Kanoko's inner turmoil and feelings for Hime, as well as an incident that deeply affected Sumika, and the summer arc, in which [[spoiler:Mitsuki makes a LoveConfession to Hime, which nearly results in them going their separate ways once again]].
37** Chapters 40-42 focus on a sleepover with the girls of the salon and some reporters visiting Liebe. It's sandwiched between the Mitsuki and Kanoko birthday arc, in which [[spoiler:Hime and Mitsuki nearly end up parting ways for good after Mitsuki's LoveConfession]] and the following arc, in which [[spoiler:Goeido, who'd caused discord by breaking up Sumika's schwester bond with Nene only to dump the latter, returns to the salon]].
38* BrutalHonesty: Mitsuki tends to say precisely what's on her mind when not in character, which is why not many people like her.
39* CassandraTruth: Sumika warns Nene to stay away from Yoko because she doesn't trust her and she has a history of manipulative behavior. Nene accuses Sumika of only disliking her because she's a lesbian and ignores her, only to get her heart broken a short time later and ends up in tears admitting that Sumika was right.
40* CentralTheme: People putting on façades to be more liked and personable, and learning when to break away from them to show their true feelings.
41* CerebusSyndrome: The series starts off as the comedic acts of a chronic liar trying to navigate her new job, which includes a coworker who hates her and see through her cute girl act. Then it turns out this coworker was Hime's first friend, with their bond being broken as a result of the constant lies. From that point on, while there's still a lot of levity, the focus is more on dramatic stories surrounding Hime and Mitsuki's broken friendship and their haphazard attempts to restore it, as well as the awkward relationships between the rest of the salon members. The anime sees some of this drama start, but ends before it ''really'' ramps up.
42* ChildhoodFriend: Hime and Mitsuki have known each other since elementary school.
43* ChromosomeCasting: All of the significant characters, as well as most of the extras, are female.
44* {{Cliffhanger}}:
45** Volume 1 ends with Mitsuki revealing to Hime that her surname is Yano, and that she is the latter's former friend. The consequences aren't revealed until after the WholeEpisodeFlashback in the following chapter.
46** Volume 6 ends with [[spoiler:Hime announcing her decision to quit the salon]].
47** Chapter 45 ends with [[spoiler:Yoko Goeido]] visiting the salon.
48** Chapter 51 ends with Kanoko making a phone call to someone, during which time she implies that [[spoiler:the caller was the one who convinced her to ask Sumika out]].
49** Chapter 56 ends with [[spoiler:Yoko Goeido]] sending a message to Nene, in which she implies that [[spoiler:she's going to assault Kanoko]].
50* CosplayCafe: The café where the series mainly takes place is themed around typical YuriGenre works set at [[OneGenderSchool prestigious all-girls boarding schools]]; the waitresses dress and roleplay as students from the fictional Liebe Girls Academy, and they both serve customers and act out romantic scenarios with each other for the customers' entertainment.
51* TheDanza: InUniverse, the various girls working at the same cafe keep their first names but have different last names. For example, Hime Shiraki is called Hime Shirasagi at the cafe.
52* DawsonCasting: InUniverse Mai, Nene, and Yoko are all adults playing high school students at the cafe. Mai plays a first year, Nene a second year, and Yoko a third year.
53* DecidedByOneVote: A variant in the Blume election. Since Kanoko's vote(like those of the other employees) is worth that of 90 customers, she had a great deal of leverage, [[spoiler:and could have enabled Mitsuki to win if she'd voted for Mitsuki instead of Sumika]].
54* DislikesTheNewGuy:
55** Mitsuki acts polite to Hime when in character, but in reality, can't stand her. It's an unusual variation on the trope, considering that Mitsuki's actually known Hime longer than anyone else at the cafe, even longer than Hime's friend Kanoko.
56** Sumika, as one of the founding members of the salon, takes an almost instant dislike to Goeido when the latter signs on, often avoiding her or making passive-aggressive remarks.
57* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnFemale: Averted. [[spoiler: Yoko's sexual assualt of Kanoko]] leaves her traumatized.
58* DramaticIrony: In Chapter 50, Hime suspects that Kanoko's dislike of Mitsuki is out of homophobia, not realizing that Kanoko also has a crush on Hime, and is instead romantically jealous of Mitsuki.
59* ElaborateUniversityHigh: Invoked. Liebe Girls' Academy is just a café that's themed to be a highly prestigious private institution for wealthy girls. Any of the actual schools we see, like Hime's high school, are pretty normal.
60* EstablishingCharacterMoment
61** The series begins with Hime being showered with affection by her classmates for how cute she is, before revealing in an InternalMonologue that it's all an act that she's worked on for her entire life, and she hopes to use it to marry a billionaire.
62** Mitsuki's first scene has her acting nice to Hime while in character, but then fiercely rebuffing her when she tries to act like she knows her, setting the tone for her relationship with Hime.
63* ExactEavesdropping: In the past, Mitsuki overheard Hime lying to her friends about not being able to stick it out with Mitsuki. Since Mitsuki believed Hime had been lying to her, too, that was the final straw that ended their friendship.
64* TheFakeCutie: Hime's able to present the image of a cute and adorable girl to her classmates.
65* FirstEpisodeTwist: At the end of the first volume, it's revealed that Mitsuki is actually Hime's former friend from elementary school. It's very difficult to talk about the series or Mitsuki's character arc without revealing this fact.
66* FiveSecondForeshadowing: Hime mentions that her old friend's name was Mitsuki Yano immediately before Mitsuki reaches her RageBreakingPoint and reveals her real last name.
67* ForegoneConclusion: The WholeEpisodeFlashback in Chapter 7 will end with Hime and Mitsuki's friendship falling apart, as well as the rest of the class shunning Hime because of what Mitsuki told them.
68* {{Foreshadowing}}:
69** Hime notices that Mitsuki's eyes look very similar to her former friend's. It turns out that Mitsuki is Hime's old friend.
70** Kanoko is briefly shown taking a picture of Hime on her smartphone, establishing that she has a crush on Hime.
71** The salon employees' assumed last names are similar to their real ones. Since Hime Shiraki becomes Hime Shirasagi, Kanoko Mamiya becomes Kanoko Amamiya, and Sumika Tachibana's real surname is later revealed to be Chibana, it isn't hard to see that Mitsuki Ayanokouji is actually Mitsuki Yano.
72** When Kanoko is talking with Hime about Sumika while in the kitchen, referring to Sumika as a gyaru, it touches a nerve with Nene, who tells them not to talk about Sumika behind her back, and saying that Sumika is one of the hardest workers there. This serves to showcases that Nene and Sumika are good friends, but also hints that [[spoiler:they were former schwesters]].
73* GoldDigger: Hime announces that her goal in life is to use her cuteness to become the TrophyWife of a billionaire.
74* GratuitousGerman: The café is themed around a German slice-of-life story about an all-girls academy, and uses terms such as "Schwester" (sister) and "Kreuz" (cross).
75* GyaruGirl: Sumika gives Hime this impression when not in the salon, especially given her NonUniformUniform of a cardigan and neck ribbon in lieu of a blazer and necktie.
76* HateSink:
77** While all the characters are flawed in various ways but have redeeming qualities, Hime and Mitsuki's classmates not only appear to have no qualms about ostracizing Mitsuki (who, granted, isn't the easiest to get along with), but even spread rumors about her bullying Hime, leading Hime to [[TragicMistake quit the recital]] and indirectly causing Hime and Mitsuki's friendship to fall apart.
78** Yoko Goto[=/=]Goeido. [[spoiler:While she appeared to charm Saionji into falling in love with her, she apparently viewed her as nothing more than a plaything, and cast their relationship aside without a second thought once she had to quit the salon]].
79* HiddenDepths:
80** Hime claims to be putting up a cute façade, supposedly to [[GoldDigger win a billionaire husband]], but is really just because [[IJustWantToBeLoved she fears no one would actually like her]] if they actually got to know her. As a result, while virtually everyone likes her, Mitsuki and Kanoko are her only real friends.
81** Kanoko's inability to talk to anyone besides Hime is initially presented as an endearing quirk that emphasizes that she's a ShrinkingViolet, but as the manga goes on it quickly becomes clear that she's possessively in love with Hime, but knows that those feelings are doomed to be unrequited.
82** When Mitsuki first meets Hime, she's outwardly polite towards Hime, hiding her growing irritation with Hime's incompetence while Mitsuki's still in character. In a flashback in the second volume, it turns out that Mitsuki was overwhelmed with emotion upon seeing [[WeUsedToBeFriends her former friend]] again, and was quite disappointed that Hime apparently didn't remember her.
83** Zig-zigged with Sumika for comedy. In one chapter, it first appears that Sumika subverts this, when she admits to Hime that she isn't actually reading when on the job, making her and Kanoko believe the older girl really is a dumb gyaru who's always slacking. It later turns out to be a case of ExactWords, as after a day of her showing increasing signs of literary knowledge, she explains that really she is an avid reader. She just doesn't read on the job because then she'd obviously be too distracted to do any actual work.
84* HistoryRepeats: In elementary school, people spread rumors about Mitsuki bullying Hime into doing the piano accompaniment with her. In high school, after seeing Mitsuki snap at Hime, the salon patrons start suggesting that Mitsuki forced Hime to be "schwestern" with her. Hime herself brings up the parallel and despairs at this.
85* {{Homage}}: The entire setting of Liebe Girls Academy (and the fictional book series it's based on) is basically the seminal 1998 yuri series ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs'' with the numbers filed off and the French changed to German.
86* HostilityOnTheSet: InUniverse, there are a few examples.
87** The fallout over Mitsuki revealing that she's Hime's former friend, and the resulting increased hostility between the two, causes much of the drama in Volume 2. Thankfully, Hime standing up for Mitsuki helps address some of the problems.
88** Kanoko and Mitsuki are both jealous of the other's closeness with Hime, with Kanoko eventually slapping Mitsuki not long after the latter brings up [[spoiler:making a LoveConfession to Hime.]] Their feud doesn't cause as many problems for the salon as Hime and Mitsuki's does, since they manage to keep it behind the scenes.
89** Not long after the salon's founding, the founding members- Mai, Sumika and Nene- were joined by a newcomer named Yoko. Sumika immediately ([[ProperlyParanoid and rightly]]) became suspicious of Yoko, making passive-aggressive remarks toward her or avoiding her. While Yoko didn't openly respond in kind, this ended up straining Sumika and Nene's friendship.
90* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The chapters are called "Shifts." Each extra chapter is called "(Activity) is (Character)'s job!"
91* IJustWantToBeLoved: Hime lies and puts up a façade in order to make people like her.
92* InconsistentDub: The localization of the manga alternates between putting character names in Western order and in Japanese order. For example, at the end of Chapter 6, Mitsuki's student ID says "Yano Mitsuki," but it says "Mitsuki Yano" at the start of Chapter 8.
93* InMediasRes: The first few pages show the main characters working at the café, in a scene that later turns out to take place at the start of Volume 9, before flashing back to how Hime got the job.
94* InnocentFanserviceGirl: The main conflict of Chapter 21. The new summer outfits place an uncomfortable amount of emphasis on Mitsuki's bust, and while she's personally fine with it, the others are concerned that it's a bit too distracting. They eventually just get her a matching vest to solve the issue, though she is mildly offended by this.
95* InternalReveal:
96** In Chapter 25, it is revealed that [[spoiler:Mai's arm healed by the end of April, and that she continued to wear the cast to manipulate Hime into working at the salon]]. Hime only finds out about this in Chapter 31.
97** In Chapter 46, Kanoko, who'd heard the story of Saionji and Goeido's relationship from Sumika, is confused when [[spoiler:Goeido, who'd just returned to the salon]] refers to Saionji and [[spoiler:Nene the cook]] as if they were the same person, since [[spoiler:Saionji's identity as Nene]] is the one part of the story Sumika didn't tell her. Mai then pulls her aside and tells her the truth.
98* {{Irony}}: Mitsuki, who had been honest to a fault, ends up being well-suited to playing the role of the "kind senpai" at the salon, much to Hime's amazement. Hime, despite being a natural liar, doesn't do nearly as well, since her façade of being a cute and slightly shy good girl isn't as well-suited to her role, and Mai says Hime is better suited to being Lady Blume's little sister than she is to being Lady Blume herself.
99* JerkassRealization:
100** Mitsuki realizes that Hime wasn't lying to her about their friendship when they were younger, and was only trying to prevent the rumors that the stern girl was bullying her from continuing. She feels incredibly guilty afterwards, and struggles to become kinder to her former friend.
101** For her part, Hime has a small one when realizing she should have just told Mitsuki about the rumors back then rather jump into her usual lies, as pretending to throw her under the bus was what destroyed their friendship.
102* KarmaHoudini: Nothing seems to happen to Hime and Mitsuki's classmates after they spread rumors about Mitsuki being a bully.
103* TheKeyIsBehindTheLock: Hime wants to become Lady Blume so that she can use her decree to make everyone love her. Said title is awarded in a popularity contest, so Hime would already have to be loved by everyone in order to win the title.
104* KingmakerScenario: What the Blume election boils down to. At the end of the voting period, Mitsuki has a lead of about 162 votes over Sumika, but each of the five salon employees have a vote that is worth that of 90 ordinary people. Kanoko offers to support Sumika in hopes of having her abolish the schwester system, something that Sumika refuses to do, then votes for her anyway in spite of that. [[spoiler:In the end, Sumika wins against Mitsuki, with a lead of 118 votes, meaning that if Kanoko had voted for Mitsuki instead, Mitsuki would have won]].
105* LoveDodecahedron: Both Yano and Kanoko are in love with Hime. Sumika is in love with Kanoko. Nene is in love with Sumika, but is also dating Yoko [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial who may or not]] also be in love with Sumika.
106* LoveHurts:
107** [[spoiler:Nene, who was cruelly dumped by the coworker who she thought loved her]], tells Sumika that "[[DontYouDarePityMe Crying because you've been left behind is just another part of love]]." She adds that Kanoko should be aware of that, too, and that if Sumika wants to help Kanoko, then there are better ways to do it than just by standing in her way.
108** Even the main couple is no exception. [[spoiler:Mitsuki confesses to Hime, but not only gets rejected, but ends up driving a wedge between the two of them. The two reconcile and Hime is convinced to stay at Liebe, but Mitsuki is forced to accept that Hime doesn't return her feelings, at least not at the moment.]]
109* LoveConfession: In the last few chapters of Volume 6, [[spoiler:Mitsuki kisses Hime and admits that she's always had a crush on her. While Mitsuki is overjoyed to get this off her chest and is finally happy for the first time in the series, Hime (who had been expecting a PlatonicDeclarationOfLove instead) spends the next day in [[ThousandYardStare in barely-masked shock]], deeply uncomfortable with this new knowledge]].
110* LoveTriangle:
111** Kanoko and Mitsuki both love Hime, but she doesn't return their feelings.
112** Sumika has feelings for Kanoko, who loves Hime.
113* MoodWhiplash: The anime's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjUpRKo8ZtE trailer]] features Hime briefly introducing the series, along with a fairly cheerful tone and background music to match. Then, after the title card and credits, the music stops, then Mitsuki leans in and says, "I hate you so much," much to Hime's shock.
114* NonUniformUniform:
115** While most female students wear blazer-style uniforms with blazers, dress shirts, neckties and plaid skirts, Hime wears a V-neck sweater in lieu of a blazer. She switches to a sweater vest in the summer, and encourages Kanoko to do the same if she's too cold in the summer uniform.
116** Sumika wears a cardigan and a neck ribbon rather than a blazer and necktie, as part of her gyaru image.
117* NotQuiteTheRightThing:
118** Hime lies and claims to not be any good at playing the piano when her classmates ask, since they're afraid that if they find out, they'll try to get her to replace Mitsuki. Unfortunately, people start getting the impression that Mitsuki bullied Hime into accompanying her, so Hime quits the recital in order to protect Mitsuki. After Mitsuki overhears Hime talking with her friends, she confronts Hime, ending their friendship. Hime later realizes where she went wrong.
119-->"I should've picked the path that made me happy. I shouldn't have relied on lies."
120** Sumika reluctantly decides to [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy allow Saionji to stop being schwestern with her so she can get together with Goeido, whom Saionji loves]]. [[spoiler:Goeido proceeded to callously break up with Saionji, breaking her heart]].
121** Mitsuki [[spoiler:making a LoveConfession to Hime ends up only serving to drive them apart and undoing their progress in repairing their relationship.]]
122** When [[spoiler:Yoko returns to the salon]], Mai refuses to ban the individual in question, noting that she has no grounds for doing so when the person hasn't broken any rules. This results in [[spoiler:Yoko managing to ensnare Kanoko in her manipulations and ultimately sexually assaulting her]].
123* ObfuscatingDisability: [[spoiler:While Mai really did injure her arm, it healed much quicker than she let on. Mitsuki asked her to pretend she was still hurt so that Hime wouldn't quit the cafe.]]
124* OhCrap: Hime's reaction when [[spoiler:Yano kisses her for the first time.]]
125* OneHeadTaller: While Mitsuki and Hime were about the same height as children, Mitsuki is this much taller than Hime as a high schooler.
126* OneSteveLimit: Played straight. Hime doesn't initially realize that the Mitsuki she meets at the salon is actually her former friend Mitsuki Yano, until Mitsuki shows Hime her student ID. As Hime points out, "Mitsuki" isn't all that uncommon of a name.
127* OnlyFriend: Hime was Mitsuki's only friend when she was younger, due to her overly serious personality driving everyone else away. To a certain extent, the same goes for Hime, since while she had other friends, Mitsuki was the only one Hime was actually close to and cared about. At the start of the series, Kanoko and Hime are each other's only friends, [[spoiler:until Sumika befriends Kanoko]].
128* OriginsEpisode: Hime, Kanoko and Mitsuki all have entire flashbacks showing their backstories, and a later flashback arc shows how the salon first got started.
129* PageTurnSurprise:
130** At the end of Volume 1 is the series' FirstEpisodeTwist. After Hime tells Mitsuki about a former friend who ruined Hime's reputation in elementary school, Mitsuki asks if Hime remembers the friend's name, and Hime says yes, she's Mitsuki Yano. On the final page of the volume before the extras, Mitsuki, having reached her RageBreakingPoint, lays her student ID on the table and reveals that she is Mitsuki Yano.
131** At the end of Chapter 45, a visitor arrives at the salon and Kanoko greets her. Similar to the Mitsuki twist above, on the final page of the chapter, the visitor produces [[spoiler:an old visitor pass that says "Goeido-san,"]] revealing that the visitor is none other than [[spoiler:Yoko Goeido, Nene's ex-girlfriend.]]
132* PoorCommunicationKills:
133** Mitsuki may not have taken Hime's quitting the recital ''nearly'' as badly if Hime had talked to her about it. Instead, Mitsuki hears about it from a teacher, overhears Hime talking to her friends, and comes to the conclusion that Hime lied to her.
134** Hime probably would have had a much easier time at the café and wouldn't make as many mistakes if her employers had straight up told her what the rules were and taught her everything from the ground up instead of just throwing her into the deep end. Downplayed in that even when things are explained to her in a straight-forward manner, it takes a while for her to understand it.
135* PreppyName: The employees at the salon are given different surnames when working, presumably ones that sound higher-class. Examples include Hime Shirasagi(her real name is Shiraki), Mitsuki Ayanokouji (Yano), Sumika Tachibana (Chibana), Mai Mikoshiba(Koshiba) Kanoko Amamiya(Mamiya),[[spoiler:Nene]] Saionji ([[spoiler:Nishidera]]) and Yoko Goeido(Gotou).
136* PseudoRomanticFriendship: Cafe Liebe is explicitly a Class S theme cafe, and the actors' relationships are meant to be portrayed as this. Actual romance and physical intimacy beyond hugging is banned. Averted behind the scenes, where the girls can and do get into romantic relationships with each other in real life.
137* RichesToRags: Implied with Mitsuki's family. They lived in a BigFancyHouse when Mitsuki was in elementary school, but live in an apartment when she's in high school. Hime is surprised to see Mitsuki living in an apartment but doesn't ask about it.
138* ShoutOut:
139** Liebe Girls' Academy seems to be intended as a homage to ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs'', with the prestigious [[OneGenderSchool all-girls school]] setting that uses the formal "Gokigenyou" greeting, girls in older sister-younger sister relationships, and even a re-enactment of the scarf-fixing scene.
140** For a less obvious example, in Episode 12, Mai says that if Hime' popularity is a 10, Mai's is a 6 or 7, but if Hime's "work power" is a 10, Mai's is a 100. This is reminiscent of Sensui comparing his and Yusuke's strength and spiritual energy, respectively, in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''.
141* SickEpisode: Mitsuki falls ill at the start of Volume 6, resulting in Hime visiting her.
142* SpeakInUnison:
143** Kanoko and Mitsuki do this when telling Hime to get her act together, only differing when it comes to what honorific they use after Hime's name- Kanoko uses "-chan" while Mitsuki uses yobisute.
144** At the end of Volume 1, as Hime reveals the name of the classmate who ruined her reputation in elementary school, both Hime and Mitsuki say "Mitsuki Yano" in unison, revealing that Mitsuki is the classmate in question.
145* SpoilerCover: Volume 4's cover spoils the outcome to the major conflict in that volume- [[spoiler:Sumika and Kanoko are shown wearing kreusz necklaces, meaning that they've become schwestern]].
146* SpoilerOpening: The first opening for the anime all but says outright that Mitsuki is Hime's former friend from elementary school, since the two of them are juxtaposed as elementary schoolers, and then as high schoolers.
147* TheStinger: Episode 6 of the anime has a post-credits scene of Sumika finding the pictures of Hime on Kanoko's smartphone, setting up the next arc.
148* StylisticSuck: In the anime, when Hime is thinking about how Sumika and Mitsuki are different while off the clock, illustrations of Mitsuki and Sumika's faces are shown, looking as though they're drawn in crayon.
149* SugarAndIcePersonality: Mitsuki is somewhat cold and standoffish at first glance, but has a softer side, as shown when she befriended Hime as a child. Even after her falling out with Hime, there are some signs that she does care about Hime.
150* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: When you compulsively tell lies, you shouldn't be surprised if people have trouble believing ''anything'' you say. While Hime's intentions for lying to her other "friends" are good, since she wants to protect Mitsuki, Mitsuki understandably begins to question how much she can trust Hime after Hime confesses to being a liar.
151* SwitchingPOV: While most scenes are from Hime's POV, over time, they start featuring other characters' perspectives, such as Mitsuki's or Kanoko's, especially in the extra chapters.
152* SympatheticPOV: In Volumes 9-10, there's the interactions between Sumika and Kanoko. In Sumika's POV scenes, she's trying to be a good friend to Kanoko despite trying to come to terms with her crush on Kanoko and jealousy of Hime, and has an understandable point that Kanoko's unrequited love for Hime is unhealthy. From Kanoko's POV, she's unaware of Sumika's inner conflict, so she understandably becomes confused when Sumika forbids her from talking about Hime, especially when Kanoko is nearing her breaking point.
153* WallPinOfLove: Sumika does this when trying to intimidate Hime into working at the salon to make up for accidentally injuring Mai. She does so again while in character, and does it to Kanoko a third time in an ImagineSpot.
154* WebcomicTime: The series has been running for years and, as of Volume 9, is only up to August of the same year Hime joined the salon. Lampshaded in the Volume 7 bonus content, in which minman notes that the series has spent three volumes in the month of July.
155* WeUsedToBeFriends: Hime and Mitsuki. Hime joined up with Mitsuki to play the piano together but lied to her friends for the sake of Mitsuki's reputation. Eventually, people started thinking that Hime was only playing the piano because Mitsuki was bullying her, and Hime quit, believing it was the only choice to prevent Mitsuki from being made out to be "the bad guy." Mitsuki, shocked by Hime's decision, overheard Hime lying about Mitsuki to her friends, and concluding that Hime had lied about being friends with her (since Hime had confessed to being a liar), maliciously reveals that Hime's friendliness is a façade.
156* WhamEpisode:
157** Chapter 6 reveals that Hime and Mitsuki, unbeknownst to the former, actually used to know each other.
158** Chapter 29. After an emotional conversation between Mitsuki and Hime, [[spoiler:Mitsuki makes a LoveConfession and kisses Hime]].
159** Chapter 31. [[spoiler:Hime announces her resignation from the salon]].
160** Chapter 45. [[spoiler:Goeido returns to the salon]].
161** Chapter 51. [[spoiler:Kanoko starts a relationship with Sumika at the suggestion of an unknown third party who asks her to keep it secret from Sumika]].
162* WhamLine:
163** In Chapter 6, Hime tells Mitsuki about the person who ruined her reputation, and the following exchange reveals that Mitsuki and Hime knew each other in the past.
164--->'''Mitsuki''': And? Did you forget about that person?\
165'''Hime''': I don't think I could ever forget her. Her name was...\
166'''Hime and Mitsuki''': Yano Mitsuki.
167** In Chapter 7, the following exchange reveals the catalyst for Hime and Mitsuki's friendship falling apart.
168--->'''Music Teacher''': Yano-san, are you practicing for the recital?\
169'''Mitsuki''': Yes. Hime-chan should be coming in later. With a little more work, I think she'll be up to speed, too.\
170'''Music Teacher''': You didn't hear? Shiraki-san quit the recital.
171** In Chapter 18, after an argument between Kanoko and Sumika, Sumika meets up with Nene in the kitchen, and the following line reveals that [[spoiler:Nene is actually Saionji]].
172--->'''Sumika''': Nene-san! I still don't get it at all! Why did you [[spoiler:ignore my advice and go to Goeido back then? Why did you choose romance, at the expense of tearing our schwester-ship apart? In the end... all that came of it was making you cry... and quit being "Saionji."]]
173** In Chapter 25, Mitsuki notices something is odd. Keep in mind that this is a flashback to the end of April, which means that it takes place ''before'' the past two and a half volumes.
174--->'''Mitsuki''': Manager, is... [[spoiler:your arm healed by now]]?\
175'''Mai''': [[spoiler:All better! I got to take the cast off today]]!
176** In Chapter 31, Hime makes a surprising announcement after [[spoiler:learning that Mai's arm has healed]].
177--->'''Hime''': Now that [[spoiler:your arm has healed]], it seems like you have enough staff. [[spoiler:This seems like a perfect stopping point. I'm going to be taking my leave of Liebe]].
178** At the end of Chapter 51, Kanoko makes a phone call, and tells the person she's calling about [[spoiler:getting into a relationship with Sumika]]. The last few lines completely recontextualize what happened in the chapter.
179--->'''Kanoko''': [[spoiler:It all went exactly as you said. Yes. I understand. We'll keep this a secret from Sumika-san.]]
180* WhamShot:
181** In Volume 1, Hime goes to the changing room and, assuming that Kanoko is behind the curtain, starts venting about her troubles and admits that her cute behavior is an act. Sumika, Mai and Kanoko then appear behind Hime, shortly before the curtain opens, revealing that Mitsuki was inside the changing room and heard everything.
182** At the end of Volume 2, Sumika picks up Kanoko's phone, and sees that it's full of pictures of Hime.
183** In a flashback in Chapter 25, taking place at the end of April, Mitsuki meets with Mai and Sumika, noticing that [[spoiler:Mai no longer has her cast. While Mai had been without the cast at the end of the previous chapter, this reveals that she's been lying to Hime for months.]]
184** At the end of Chapter 45, a visitor arrives to the salon. She then presents a visitor's pass that says "[[spoiler:Goeido-san]]" and the panel reveals her to be [[spoiler:Yoko Goeido, Nene's former schwester.]]
185** In Chapter 58, [[spoiler: Sumika races to a hotel to save Kanoko from being raped by Yoko. After speaking to the receptionist, it is revealed that Yoko and a traumatized Kanoko are already back in the lobby.]]
186* WholeEpisodeFlashback:
187** Chapter 7 flashes back to elementary school and shows Hime and Mitsuki's friendship, as well as how it fell apart.
188** Chapter 16 shows how Hime met and became friends with Kanoko.
189** Chapter 26 shows how Mitsuki joined the salon.
190** Chapter 47-48 shows how Mai founded the salon with Nene and Sumika, and how Goeido came to the salon.
191* WholePlotReference: The entire backstory of the cafe is loosely based on ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs'' including the sisterly pairings and cross symbolism, and the whole [[GayRomanticPhase Class-S]] setup.
192* YearX: The midterm results for the Blume election are tallied on "May XX, 20XX." However, Mitsuki's student ID reveals that her birth date is July 7, 2001. Since she's a first-year in high school at the start of the series, and is turning 16 that year, the story is presumably set in 2017. A calendar in her family's home shows July 7 as a Friday, confirming that the series takes place in 2017.
193* YouAreTooLate: [[spoiler: Yoko takes Kanoko to a love hotel and texts Nene and Sumika that she's going to rape her unless they come to rescue her in time, which they immediately race out to do. Sumika reaches the hotel (Nene fell behind along the way), and finds Yoko and a despondent Kanoko in the lobby where Yoko tells her that the deed is already done.]]
194* YuriGenre: While Mitsuki and Hime don't start the series on very good terms, there's implied to be something between them. [[spoiler:Mitsuki outright states that she's in love with Hime and kisses her]]. It's also implied, and later stated, that Kanoko has an unrequited crush on Hime, and Sumika's friend Nene (whom she may or may not have had feelings for) quickly realizes that Sumika is in love with Kanoko. Nene and Yoko are just straight up open lesbians in public and don't even attempt to hide it.

Top