English Dub Review: Uzaki-Chan Wants To Hang Out! “The Café Owner Wants a Glimpse!”

Overview:

Uzaki (the character) continues to be the worst.

Our Take:

I know they’re trying to set up that she is fond of Sakurai and that’s why she goes out of her way to hang out with him, but that’s just completely unbelievable with how she acts. This episode she makes fun of him at work for doing his job, and for being excited about possibly petting a cat. She also seems shocked and ends up being really intrusive about him actually having other friends (the one thing that she was determined to fix) and also wants to barge in on both his work and home life. I know that they set up Uzaki as someone who is pretty oblivious to social conventions, especially sexual stuff, but she seems to get along fine with other people, but has no recognition that she’s being kind of terrible to Sakurai. Sakurai is a saint for putting up with this.

The one portion where she’s kind of tolerable is the cat petting portion, where Sakurai can’t get a cat to pet him, but Uzaki (someone knowledgeable about cat behavior) steps in to help. After seeing how Sakurai is down about not being able to get the cat to pet him (after insulting him because. Of course.), Uzaki chases after the cat, hoping that she’d be able to catch it for Sakurai. Unfortunately, her short-sightedness leads to hijinks. This segment works because Uzaki’s genuine drive to help is what gets her into trouble, not her being snide and taking subtle shots at Sakurai. She is trying and failing, but that trying works. If she could stop being snide, then this kind of humor could bolster the show. Unfortunately, this side of Uzaki is played down in favor of her being kind of rude. It’s kind of a shame, really.

The comedy in this episode works slightly better than last time, but I think a lot of the humor in this hinges on whether you find Uzaki’s antics to be charming or annoying. I am in the latter category, so this is just an exercise in me feeling bad for Sakurai. Sakurai, maybe you don’t have many friends, but please get one that isn’t Uzaki. Uzaki is unfortunately, the thing that makes or breaks the show and it’s a hard break for me. Don’t watch a humor show if you just end up feeling annoyed.