Sara Talks Anime

I genuinely thought that for me to find this series, considering the subpar way that Crunchyroll has labeled their Fall 2025 shows so far, I was gonna have to play “Season 1 Russian Roulette” when looking for this show. So, I ended up lucking out when it seems like that the first simulcast that’s going to come every Monday (unless Crunchyroll is running behind like they were on Saturday) is the series that I’m looking for. So, ultimately, this could’ve turned out a lot worse.

Now, before I continue, I’m going to address something that may be seen as “the elephant in the room” to some people.

In case you haven’t already heard, people are spreading a rumor (I won’t call it anything other than that until there’s a more reliable source because Twitter posts are not reliable sources) that Crunchyroll has switched or will switch subtitling software from Aegisub to some Israeli subtitling software, and supposedly these changed subtitles are because of that software change. However, there are some issues with that claim, other than the fact that there isn’t a truly reliable source for the information yet.

1. Crunchyroll was able to roll back these types of subtitles on another language of this show’s subtitles to being the style we’re used to, so even if we don’t get a more reliable source that confirms or denies the subtitle software change, that probably should, as from what I’ve heard, the other software is actually less customizable with where you can put subtitles
2. Do you realize how stacked the Saturday simulcast list is this season? They likely didn’t budget their time correctly with that respect, causing them to kind of fall behind.

My guess is that the unstylized subtitles are just temporary to allow them to catch up on finalizing other subtitles, so that people can watch the episode without being completely lost on what’s happening because they don’t speak Japanese.

Anyway, I think this may end up being a hot take, but I actually don’t mind the unstylized subtitles all that much. Yes, there were some scenes in this episode that felt crowded because of the size of the subtitles, but I ultimately think this bigger size is good for those who have difficulty reading the subtitles due to their size, and even if they don’t keep the font, I think bumping up the size of the typical subtitles by like…1 or 2 units could really help.

Hoo boy, I spent a bit too long talking about subtitles! Sorry about that, folks! Now I’ll actually review the episode…you know, like I was supposed to!

A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace follows the rookie mangaka Futami as she navigates the world of being a mangaka being published in a seralized magazine. Of course, not only does she overthink whether or not she should contact her editor, it seems that she’s more on the awkward side.

…jeez, what’s up with me and picking fall shows that star purple haired characters that also don’t do the best socially? First it was the Fall 2023 season with Stardust Telepath, then the Fall 2024 season with Acro Trip, now in the Fall 2025 season I have A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace? Am I just somehow drawn to these shows each fall, or is this all just a crazy coincidence?

Anyway, this series is a fun little slice of life show that gives a little (potentially dramatized, not 100% sure though) look into what the process behind making a manga is. This would’ve been a lot more meta in its source, where it’s literally a manga about making a manga.

But throughout this episode, you get the basic gist of the characters: Futami is the nervous one who freaks out about talking to her editor because of her own overthinking regarding what her editor’s doing, Futami’s assistant Mizuki is the more reasonable one of the main duo, even managing to complete tasks while Futami’s busy freaking out. Then, Sato is the mature editor who seems to round out the trio of characters we’re focusing on.

If there’s one thing that I’m worried about this series being able to consistently do, however, it’s comedy. I don’t know if I missed something more subtle, but it felt like Futami’s only joke in this episode was “I-I can’t send this to my editor! What if she’s getting together with a guy?!” or something connected to that (see: above screenshot), and while that would be funny the first couple of times (and I thought it was funny in the episode), if this is the only joke that she has, it could quickly go stale. And since the translated summary on MAL plays up this series as “A working girls comedy”, I’d expect more effort to be put into the comedy of Futami, the main character.

I believe that a comedy is only as strong as the comedic moments that its main characters are involved in, regardless of whatever role they play in that comedic moment. I’ll need one or two more episodes to be able to get a proper sample size for the comedy in this show, but I really hope that this show ends up being a show that has strong comedy.

The animation is really fun, and I think it’s perfect for a series like this. I genuinely hope that the animation can keep up this quality across the following episodes, as it’s very enjoyable.

I also really enjoy the opening theme of this show, though I think it’s gonna take the ending theme like…one or two more listens before I have the same appreciation for it as I do the opening theme. This is absolutely not the show’s fault, it’s more than likely just a “me” thing.

However, I’m gonna wait one or two more episodes before I determine whether or not to truly recommend this series, just to be on the safe side. After all, for a comedy, it’s no good judging just based on the first episode unless the comedy style isn’t your cup of tea from the get go.

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