When is it the best time to watch an anime with cute girls in maid outfits parodying adorable anime tropes? Anytime. Whether they can be enjoyable to watch or not is anyone’s prerogative. But how often do we get these shows? Entirely too often, in my opinion. With that said, when one of them clicks, they become a worthwhile, laugh-out-loud experience.

Blend S proved to be the funniest slice of life anime of 2017. It comes down to the jokes, characters, comedic situations, and dialogue. These aspects meld together successfully to make an enjoyable anime that pulls off even the most stereotypical jokes that have become a staple in anime of this nature to the point of mockery. So how do each of these four aspects work great with each other?

For starters, the jokes are very quirky and over-the-top. If you aren’t a fan of that style of humor, then Blend S may prove to be difficult to muster. It isn’t incredibly over-the-top like Seto no Hanayome or, more recently, Himouto Umaru-chan. It’s over-the-top when it needs to be. Whenever the animation switches from the standard designs of the characters to the dis-formed, chibi-like art style, that is where the comedy shines brightly. Thanks to its hilarious-looking art style and great performances by the main cast, most of the jokes hit than miss in every which way. A few times, they repeat the same jokes, and they do not necessarily hit as hard as they did the first time, but they don’t completely sour the experience too much.

The characters each have a distinct characteristic that gives them a unique feel to one another. Sure they aren’t anything new to see, but Blend S knows this and plays around with these stereotypes for us to laugh at and marvel at how it treats them. However, they don’t just treat them as stereotypes and nothing more. That would make them seem hollow and uninteresting. They still have a bit of depth to them in terms of how they portray their distinct quirks with each episodic theme they are put into. All of the voice actors play a significant role in this success. The biggest highlight of the cast would have to be Azumi Waki as Maika. She can portray a female character with a darling personality without it being too sugary for some, with the dark, sadistic side to counteract it to balance it out; hopefully, she will get a ton of more lead roles after this one.

While each character holds themselves up tremendously, what sells this show significantly is the chemistry between them. It is always a blast to watch an episode and see what kind of things they will say to one another or what type of situation one gets into and how the others will react to it. The dialogue plays a part in this success and also comedic timing. There have been times when I went crazy with laughter at what characters say to each other and their reactions. Especially with the character, Dino, who is played masterfully by Tomoaki Maeno, who you can tell is having a blast playing as him. Whenever Dino and Maika are on-screen together, it almost always ends with someone having a cramp from hysterical laughing.

I have mentioned before how art design and animation play a huge role in magnifying the show’s humor. Looking at it beyond that, it’s a relatively simple-looking anime. Nothing stands out as anything eye-catching to write home about. Nevertheless, simplicity does not always mean a negative in some cases. Especially regarding the slice of life shows which can be limited to how you can animate them. What does out is how beautiful the colors are in the background and characters. All of the characters have a great look and make them shine to grab your attention.

A feel-good anime is something anyone would love to see now and again. Blend S is one that I think fits that description accurately. There is no tough melodrama involved, no violence, no sharp conflict, and no significant threat looming in the shadows. Just an anime, you can pop up at any time and feel good the following day. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Grade: A-