Magia Record Story Newbie Maid Carefree Kanagi
Part One
Episode One
An old lady at a grocery store asks Kanagi Izumi for a recommendation from the deli. Kanagi suggests the potato soup and some meat skewers since she knows the customer’s daughter loves them. The customer thanks Kanagi for her help and asks if it’s true that it’s her last day working there. Kanagi says it’s true and is sorry she won’t see her anymore. The old lady is sad to see her go, but she knows Kanagi will do great in her new job. As the day wraps up, Kanagi thanks her old boss for all his help. Her old boss and her coworkers are all sad to see Kanagi go since she’s been so dependable there but she needs the money to help support her family and the grocery store isn’t able to match the pay of her new job. They all cheer her on one last time.
Kanagi makes it home a little later than usual since her coworkers threw her a going away party and even gave her a few small gifts. Her father is sorry he isn’t able to work as much to provide for the family, but Kanagi is happy to do her part. Her father is just worried about how she’ll do at her new job since it’s so radically different from the previous jobs she’s held. But Kanagi thinks the new job is well worth it since it pays her enough that she won’t have to work two jobs anymore and will give her more free time overall.
Episode Two
It’s Kanagi’s first day at her new job, a maid café. Kanagi has the parfait that was ordered already ready to go, but the café is short on greeters so she puts it in the fridge for now. She goes over the different orders and figures out what’s the best order to prepare them in when her coworker comes back. Kanagi had seen her returning and so she had already pulled the parfait back out to hand to her, impressing her coworker with her initiative and preparedness. Kanagi has already learned the pace in the kitchen, but even though she’ll have the drinks ready for the waitresses there aren’t enough staff in the hall to pass out all the food. She considers slowing down the orders so they can catch up, but the manager[1] tells her he’ll help so she can keep doing what she’s doing. Kanagi replies with a “Yes, sir!” but the manager corrects her and says he prefers to be referred to as “madam”.
Things finally die down in the hall and the head maid wishes they had just one more maid to help out. The manager concurs and asks Kanagi to give the maid thing a try. Despite only working there for a week, Kanagi has already mastered the kitchen and has proven how capable and reliable she can be. Kanagi hesitates until the manager mentions that she would get a raise and writes down what her salary would be. Kanagi’s eyes widen at the figure and she tells the manager she’d be honored to take the position. The manager comes up with a new maid nickname for her “Maid Nagitan”. Kanagi says she’ll do her best.
The head maid goes over the basics with her and asks if she’ll be okay. Considering she used to do customer service at her old job, Kanagi feels confident she’ll be able to handle the new work. Kanagi sees this as a chance to earn more money for her family so she sees this as a life or death matter and is determined to do her absolute best. The head maid giggles and says she feels bad for the kitchen staff for stealing Kanagi away from them, but with another maid to help out on the floor she feels like the café will be able to run that much more smoothly. The door bells jingle as they open and Seika Kumi, Leila Ibuki, and Mito Aino walk into the cafe. Mito is excited to finally be here but Leila reminds her they’re there for Seika and tells her to calm down, while Seika is nervous just being there. The head maid tells Kanagi to go greet the new customers and Kanagi approaches them, a serious and determined look on her face. She gives them a curt “welcome” and shows them to their seats. Leila is surprised at Kanagi’s almost cold approach, as she had expected Kanagi to welcome them with open arms and call them “masters”. Kanagi asks why they’re still standing there and asks if there’s a problem. Leila shakes her head and Kanagi directs them to a table once more. Mito thinks she’s kind of out there while Leila thinks she’s more like a soldier than a maid.
Episode Three
Kanagi checks up on their table to take their order but Leila still needs a bit more time. Mito greets Kanagi and asks if she’s really a maid. Kanagi introduces herself as “Maid Nagitan” and shakes Mito’s hand firmly. Kanagi goes to check on the other tables. Mito bounces in her chair and tells Leila that Kanagi really is a maid, but Leila had a different notion of what a maid is. She turns to see what Seika thinks, but Seika is frozen stiff.
Kanagi later returns with their orders and sets the food down. Leila asks if she isn’t going to do “the thing” but Kanagi doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Mito explains “the thing” is when the maids say things like “here’s a dash of love to finish it off” when they serve food, but Kanagi misinterprets this and says she can’t profess her love to someone she just met. Leila looks a bit let down while Mito agrees that’s fair. Another order is ready so Kanagi excuses herself to go serve more food. Mito just laughs at how different Kanagi is.
At the other table, Kanagi serves a man the burger and fries he ordered. This customer also wants Kanagi to do “the thing” but Kanagi declines as she’s no liar. The head maid steps in and takes over, telling Kanagi she needs to talk to her and asks her to wait over there. Once she’s finished, the head maid pulls Kanagi to one side and reminds her they’re a maid café so she expects Kanagi to act more maid like. Kanagi isn’t sure what this means, so when a customer calls one of the maids over, the head maid takes this as a perfect opportunity to show Kanagi. The customer dares the head maid to go against him in a drawing contest on a rice omelet. The head maid giggles and says she won’t let him win just because he’s the master. She turns to Kangi and explains their job is more than just serving food, but making a fun atmosphere for their customers. Kanagi thinks she gets it and tells her she can handle it since she’s very good at games. As Leila calls for a maid, Kanagi goes to attend them. The head maid hopes Kanagi will be okay.
Kanagi goes to their table and asks what they need. Leila is a bit let down to see Kanagi back but Mito asks her to play a game with them. Kanagi asks what they would like to play, causing Leila to be surprised that Kanagi would be willing to play games but not do the thing. Mito wants to do some drawings but then changes her mind and opts for rock-paper-scissors instead. Kanagi notices Seika staring at her and misinterprets it as Seika wanting to do a staring contest. The two just stare at each other intently while it takes Leila and Mito a minute to figure out what they’re doing. After a minute or so, Seika suddenly faints.
Episode Four
The head maid pulls Kanagi aside once more and sternly asks her why she caused a customer to faint. Kanagi doesn’t believe her face was scary enough to cause someone to faint, but the head maid explains that’s not the point as one of the customers was already nervous coming here. Either way, Kanagi is not like a maid in the slightest and calls Kanagi completely hopeless as a maid. Kanagi is surprised to hear this as she thought she was used to serving customers, but the head maid tells her just customer service won’t cut it in a maid café. She tries to explain to Kanagi that a maid’s worth comes from how well she tends to others, but Kanagi doesn’t seem to understand. If she can’t cut it out as a maid and take her work seriously, then Kanagi should go back to working in the kitchen.
Kanagi doesn’t want to since she desperately needs the raise in salary, and her current position gives her enough time to study for school and hunt for Witches. Kanagi tells her she wants to keep working as a maid, but both the head maid and the manager say that won’t be possible unless Kanagi makes some big changes. The manager decides to compromise and offers Kanagi a one week trial period. If she can improve by the end of the week they’ll let her stay on as a maid, otherwise she’ll have to go back to the kitchen. Kanagi thinks that’s more than fair and vows to work with every fiber of her being to become a worthy maid. The head maid has no problems with this so long as Kanagi is able to satisfy their customers. Since the day is about over, the manager tells Kanagi to head home and think hard about what she’s lacking as a maid.
Episode Five
Down by the local park, Karin Misono finishes reading “Detective Maid Mei” which is by the same author as Phantom Magical Girl Kirin. Although the story was short, it really inspired Karin to want to draw her own maid manga. However, she can’t come up with a good story, one that would really knock Alina’s socks off. As she tries to think of what makes a good maid, she notices someone slumped on the swing set nearby so she goes to check on her. Kanagi is dragging her feet as she sits on the swings, trying to think of what makes a good maid. She knows all humans are equal and should be treated as such, so she questions the master-servant dynamic at first before dismissing the thought and tries to think of what makes for a good maid again. Karin overhears her muttering and thinks this is a perfect opportunity to ask her opinon.
Karin approaches Kanagi and asks what she’s doing. Shaken from her reverie, Kanagi looks up. Karin is startled to find it was Kanagi all along and Kanagi is surprised to find that Karin knows who she is. Karin says everyone knows who the boss of the East is and any Magical Girl who’s been around for a year would recognize her. Karin asks her what’s wrong and Kanagi tells her she’s hopeless as a maid. If she had a nickname it would be “Hopeless Maid Nagitan”. Karin thinks that’s pretty long for a nickname, which only causes Kanagi to despair further as she can’t even do nicknames right. Internally Karin thinks that Kanagi is nothing like what the rumors say of her, and she seems more like a sad kitten than bold or fearless. Karin thinks of her as a usually fearless hero, pushed to despair after a fateful event which all culminates in a comeback. Karin has the plot for her manga now! She introduces herself to Kanagi and asks Kanagi to tell her everything. Karin believes she can help and she considers Kanagi the perfect inspiration for the manga she’s drawing. Since Kanagi knows she’ll never figure it out on her own she accepts her help, and since it would be helping out Karin too she doesn’t mind the company.
Kanagi relays to Karin everything that’s happened up to that point. The whole time Karin is taking notes and making quick doodles so she doesn’t forget any parts of the story. Kanagi believes those with the skill to draw are amazing, but Karin doesn’t think she’s anything special since her friend is always saying her drawings are total garbage, but she smiles at the compliment nonetheless. Kanagi points to a doodle and asks what the little sad pig-thing is supposed to be. Karin gets flustered and says it was supposed to be a depressed little cat version of Nagitan until she realizes her mistake. Kanagi just smiles and says it’s okay if she calls her Nagitan. Karin decides to make that the mascot for her manga and summarizes Kanagi’s story to see if she’s got it right. Even though Kanagi is doing it for the money, Karin decides to spin it so her real motive is her family for the manga.
Kanagi just doesn’t know what to do so Karin tells her to leave it to her since she knows lots about maids. She urges Kanagi to get out there and learn and lends her her Detective Maid Mei manga.
Episode Six
Kanagi starts reading the manga at home. The characters in the manga greet their masters warmly so Kanagi takes note and opts to imitate the greeting. She continues to read and thinks to herself they should turn left to avoid a trap, but the maid follows her master’s orders to go to the right. The maid in the story recognizes there may be a trap and boldly goes to defend her master’s honor and will. Kanagi notes that the maid respected her master’s decisions even if she knew she would be walking into a trap. She reads further and comes to a part where the maid lets the master go alone so he can grow and learn for himself. At the end of the manga, the maid strikes a pose and tells them to leave it to her. Her father passes by and asks what she’s reading. Kanagi calls it a reference book she got from an artist and tells him she learned a lot.
Episode Seven
The next day Kanagi meets Karin at the park to return the manga to her. Kanagi found it to be a fascinating read, but she’s not sure that’s all she’ll need to be successful. Karin is sure, and tells Kanagi there’s no way they’ll send her back to the kitchen as long as she does everything like in the manga. Kanagi heads off to work with Karin tagging along for research purposes. She offers to go as a customer so that Kanagi can ask her for tips if she ever needs it.
Kanagi braces herself for another day as two customers walk through the door. Kanagi walks up to them and greets them like in the manga, calling them masters and saying she’s glad to see them home safely. She shows them to their tables with a warm smile. The two boys are surprised by her demeanor and one of them calls her a “cool, but kind” maid. The other boy wonders if she’s one of those hot-and-cold type maid, or maybe even a dom type which excites the two of them further. When Kanagi returns to see what the problem is, she promises them she’ll handle any matter with utmost efficiency. The boys call her a soldier type and really perk up. They respond with military like candor and head to their table. Kanagi wonders how she did and notices the head maid smiling at her, so she figures she must not have been half bad.
She serves a Lovely Rice Omelet to Karin, who thinks the food looks cute. Kanagi asks how she did and Karin thinks she did great, though she had hoped that Kanagi would model her speech and stuff more after the hero of the manga rather than the apprentice. Kanagi felt like the apprentice was closest to her so that’s why she went with him. Karin thinks that could work too and explains to her that cool but kind maids are usually reserved but can sometimes get all warm and soft. Kanagi asks what else she should do to improve and considers Karin her teacher on these kinds of things. Karin gives a big smile at hearing this compliment and tells Kanagi to draw on the rice omelet with ketchup. Kanagi says Karin should do it since she’s the artist, but Karin informs her that’s a thing that all maids should be able to do. Karin says her omelet will be perfect to practice on and asks Kanagi to draw “Kirin”. Kanagi tries her best and doodles something with the ketchup. Karin looks at it sadly and gives her an A for effort but she thinks the drawing looks like some kind of weird animal. Kanagi says she drew a kirin[2], a mythical beast, but Karin wanted her to draw Phantom Thief Magical Kirin and offers to lend her all her copies to read for next time. Kanagi wonders how necessary that will be for her training but the enthusiastic Karin insists it’s very necessary.
Two more customers arrive, Aimi Eri and Natsuki Utsuho.
Episode Eight
Aimi tells Natuski about how all the guys in her class are obessed with maids so she decided to come to a maid café and check them out since maybe the guy she’s crushing on, Hayato, might like them too. Kanagi serves them the Lovely Rice Omelet they ordered and asks them to await their drinks. Aimi is a little taken back with her choice of words as it makes Kanagi sound stuffy. Natsuki figures not all maids are alike and Kanagi offers to draw something on their omelet with ketchup. Natsuki wants her to draw some pom-poms like they use in cheerleading so Kanagi doodles some on the omelet. Natsuki thinks the drawing came out great and asks Aimi what she wants Kanagi to draw for her. But all Aimi can think about is her crush Hayato, so Kanagi writes his name with ketchup on her omelet. Natsuki asks her if she doesn’t want a heart to go with it so Kanagi draws two hearts on the omelet as well. Kanagi goes to get the drinks while Aimi spirals off on another one of her love-filled fantasies.
Kanagi brings them their drinks but Aimi is still loudly fantasizing about how much Hayato would love it if she were to play maid for him. Kanagi likes her enthusiasm, but asks her to please keep it down a little for the other guests. Still, Kanagi thinks it’s wonderful that Aimi has something she’s so passionate about as well as having a good friend to help take some of the blame. Aimi thanks Natsuki for always having her back and Natsuki replies she’s glad to be there for her since she thinks her little fantasies are kind of fun. Kanagi is about to go, leaving Aimi and Natsuki admiring her and calling her cool. Karin motions at Kanagi, so Kanagi stops and does the pose from the manga while telling them to let her take care of any problems.
Aimi and Natsuki just stare at her as Kanagi takes her leave and goes to attend to the other customers. Aimi wonders if she did that just so she wouldn’t feel as embarrassed. Kanagi asks Karin how she did and Karin thinks she did everything perfectly. Karin feels like the catchphrase and pose really made the difference and Kanagi supposes she’s right.
Aimi and Natsuki are ready to leave so Kanagi sees them out the door, hoping they’ll return. Both of them had so much fun they can’t wait to come back again.
Episode Nine
It’s the end of the day so the head maid is ready to review Kanagi’s work. But first she wants to know who Karin is. Kanagi says she’s an artist while Karin tells her she’s Kanagi’s teacher so don’t mind her. The head maid goes on to tell Kanagi that her performance today was a huge improvement over yesterday. It’s still too early for them to celebrate just yet, but Kanagi is on the right track. The head maid even compliments Kanagi on how she handled the two customers that were making a scene. She was impressed with how Kanagi made a funny pose to make them feel less embarrassed (even if that wasn’t Kanagi’s original intentions). Regardless, Kanagi is relieved to hear it went well and promises to keep working at it.
Kanagi and Karin walk home together, with Karin happy about all the praise Kanagi received. Kanagi says it’s thanks to her since she’d still be stuck figuring things out if it weren’t for Karin’s help. Kanagi offers to do something for her as a way of expressing her gratitude, so Karin tells her to read every volume of Magical Kirin. Kanagi is surprised that’s all she wants but Karin insists it’s very important to her so Kanagi agrees to read it, especially since a talented artist like Karin is recommending it to her. Karin is just happy she’ll have someone else to talk about the manga with. Kanagi smiles as she thinks that Karin is just as happy as the two customers were.
Elsewhere the head maid tells the manager she thinks Kanagi did a great job today. The manager agrees she did great but thinks that Kanagi still hasn’t figured out the number one most important part of being a maid. But she still has the rest of the trial week so he crosses his fingers.
Episode Ten
It’s the next day at the café and a customer wants to take a picture with Kanagi. She agrees to let him take the picture, but only if he doesn’t photograph his face. He asks if the reason is because she’s being tracked by a secret organization, but Kanagi says that’s not it and can’t tell him why. He figures that must be secret too and agrees to the compromise but only if she strikes her signature pose. Kanagi smiles and poses for the photo with the same silly pose as before. The customer takes the picture and thanks her as Karin enters the café. It’s almost the end of the week and Kanagi’s trial period ends tomorrow. There’s been no problems so far and the head maid tells them that Kanagi has gotten a lot of good customer reviews lately, even if she’s a bit unorthodox. Karin calls the head maid “Maid-senpai” since she’s Kanagi’s senior but the head maid tells her not to call her hat. Kanagi shows her “artistic master” Karin to her table.
This time when Kanagi draws on her omelet, she draws Karin a proper Magical Kirin on it. Karin compliments Kanagi on her drawing skills and the manager pops up to compliment her as well, startling Karin. The manager apologizes for the intrusion and then comments on how cute Karin looks. The manager warns Kanagi that tomorrow will be her final test to determine if she stays a maid or goes back to the kitchen.
Part Two
Episode Eleven
It’s the final day of Kanagi’s trial period and her test is going to start. Karin is realy nervous since this will determine Kanagi’s fate, which only causes Kanagi to start to become nervous. Karin freaks out and tries to think of a way to get Kanagi to calm down but Kanagi only chuckles and says she’s joking. Kanagi knows she just has to keep doing what she’s been doing and she should be fine. The manager thinks she has the right attitude since it wouldn’t mean anything if Kanagi can only perform well when it’s a test. The manger tells her to be ready and that her test will be to please the next customer who returns. For the evaluation, the manger will be observing if she’s interacting with the customers appropriately (show them to their seats, take orders, pay attention to them, etc.). Basically he wants to see if she understands the basics of customer service. Secondly, he wants to see how well Kanagi can attend to her master’s needs and whether she’s behaving considerately toward them by showing them special care. Karin gets worried since she knows that’s not Kanagi’s forte. Kanagi knows this is her weakness as well but she’s not worried since she’s not the same as before. Lastly, and most importantly, the manager wants to see whether her master leaves with a smile. If she can do these three things then she’ll pass.
The doorbells jingle as Konomi Haruna enters the café. Karin wishes Kanagi luck as she goes to greet her. Konomi had thought this was a regular café and becomes distressed to find she’s walked into a maid café instead. Kanagi greets her master warmly but Konomi immediately recognizes who she is and gets flustered. Kanagi says to her, “I am your maid, Nagitan. It’s my pleasure to serve you. Allow me to show you to your seat.” But Konomi doesn’t know how to react when the boss of the East is trying to show her to a table dressed up as a French maid. Kanagi tells her not to worry since she doesn’t bite but the word bite only causes Konomi to get more flustered and nervous. Kanagi insists once more that she doesn’t bite and walks her to her table. Karin and the manager are watching the interaction and both of them can tell that something isn’t right. The manger calls Kanagi over and asks her if she wants to continue her test since this customer doesn’t seem to be used to places like this so she may have a lot of trouble taking care of her. Kanagi says it shouldn’t matter who her customer is since her job is to please them so she asks if she can continue the exam. The café manager allows her to continue to serve Konomi.
Episode Twelve
Kanagi asks Konomi if she’s ready to order but Konomi still isn’t sure. Kanagi offers to give her more time and will come back later, but Konomi doesn’t want her going back and forth and squeaks out that she’d like a drink. Kanagi lists the various types of drinks they serve at the café, including herbal tea and shows Konomi the menu’s drink page. Konomi looks at all the herbal teas and seems to perk up since she loves flowers and herbal teas, and asks Kanagi for her recommendation. Kanagi suggests the Maid’s Special Herbal Blend since it’s a popular choice so Konomi settles on that. The head maid, manager, and Karin are watching Kanagi and are glad that she’s doing well so far even though her customer is still rather tense. The manger notes that Kanagi is very graceful so she has the basics down pat and gave a good recommendation. Karin asks if she’s passed the first and second parts of the test, and the manager says she will IF she can keep this up, but a worried look crosses his face.
Kanagi serves Konomi her tea. Konomi apologizes for acting so familiar with her, but Kanagi assures her she can act more familiar if she likes, causing Konomi to tense up further. Kanagi offers to paly a game with Konomi to ease the mood but Konomi isn’t so sure. Since she won’t play a game, Kanagi offers to arm wrestle her instead. Konomi is frightened that Kanagi will break her arm so she chugs her tea down, pays, and tries to leave in a hurry. Seeing what’s happened the head maid offers to step in.
Episode Thirteen
The manager and Kanagi stand silently as Kanagi looks down. She already knows what the manager is going to say but the head maid speaks up for her. While she knows that didn’t go as well as they could have hoped, she knows that Kanagi has shown a lot of progress since she’s started. Karin points out how she knows the bsics of customer care and that the customer wasn’t a fan of maid cafés to begin with. She begs them to give Kanagi one more chance, but Kanagi reminds them that a promise is a promise, regardless of who the master was. In the end she couldn’t satisfy the customer’s needs. Kanagi thanks Karin and the head maid for all their help and apologizes for not meeting their expectations. For now, Kanagi has resolved herself to going back to the kitchen. The manager agrees that would be best for the time being, but Karin can’t believe this is how it’s going to end.
Kanagi sighs as she walks home alone. It hurts her that her hourly wage will be going back down but she can’t understand this feeling that something is bothering her.
Episode Fourteen
Kanagi is back in the kitchen, must to the kitchen staffs’ delight though Kanagi has this forlorn look to her. As the day wraps up, the head maid tells her how much the kitchen staff appreciated she was back with them. Kanagi thinks she’s doing nothing special but the head maid tells her she has a special talent for having things ready the moment it’s needed. Kanagi wonders what the difference is since no one ever said they were glad she came back when she was working as a maid. She was just being herself in both jobs so she can’t figure out what’s so different. She reminds herself that what’s done is done but for some reason she can’t let it go, which is very uncharacteristic for her. The manager notes the look on her face and says she must have a lot on her mind. He encourages her to take the time she needs to really think it over until she’s truly satisfied with her answer.
Kanagi walks home and considers what the manager said to her. She thinks back on her interactions with Konomi during her test and knows that something about it is bothering her. She knows a maid should never cause her master to make such a face of worry so she resolves to do what’s need to be done right because she takes pride in a job well done. Regardless of whether or not it was a test, it was her job as a maid to do her duties and she failed to fulfill those obligations. She figures that must be what’s bothering her so she wonders what she should do next. But she just can’t figure out what it was she was lacking. Was she a great maid before that or was she just bad at it that one time? But she can’t come to a conclusion so she decides to find the customer from before and ask them herself. She recalls the school uniform that Konomi was wearing and starts there.
Episode Fifteen
Kanagi enters Konomi’s flower shop just as another customer is leaving. Konomi is shocked to see the famous Kanagi in her shop while Kanagi is surprised that she knows who she is. Konomi says she’s famous amongst all the Magical Girls. Konomi repeats what Karin had said before, that anyone who’s been a Magical Girl over a year knows who Kanagi is. Kanagi says her artist friend said the same thing as Konomi stares at her a bit. Konomi is mostly just surprised at how chatty Kanagi can be since she always thought she would be more of a quiet, scary kind of person. Kanagi considers herself more of a sisterly type and says she would have found Konomi sooner if she’d have known she was a Magical Girl too. Kanagi asks Konomi what she lacked as a maid since she’s inexperienced and can’t even figure out what she did wrong.
Konomi agrees to help as much as she can, but first she apologizes to Kanagi (accidentally calling her Nagitan at first). Kanagi doesn’t mind the nickname since she kind of likes it and asks Konomi why she’s the one apologizing to her. Konomi had thought that Kanagi was a scary person so she thought Kanagi would get mad at her if she acted too friendly because of everything that had happened in the past between the East and West. Konomi knows it was wrong to assume things of her just because of what she’d heard and she knows now how friendly she can be. Kanagi is glad she got to see the real her despite what she’d heard. Konomi also tells Kanagi how really kind she is and that she had gone in there by mistake, not realizing it was a maid café which is part of what made her so nervous. But she realizes now that Kanagi was being very considerate to her, had made a helpful suggestion, and even offered to ease her anxiety by playing a game. Even though Konomi isn’t used to maid cafés and won’t be going back, thanks to Kanagi she didn’t have an unpleasant experience there. Kanagi thinks she was just doing her job and none of that was her intention, but Konomi assures her that she felt like she was doing it just for her even if that’s not what she meant to do. It was like she was being considerate of how she felt. Hearing these words, Kanagi realizes that’s what the manager was trying to get at. One of her duties was to take into consideration what the other person wants and responding to it, and that’s what she was lacking as a maid.
Even though Kanagi isn’t like the other maids, Konomi still thinks she’s good with customers and is a natural at taking care of people. She encourages Kanagi to keep up the good work and Kanagi thanks her for her help.
Episode Sixteen
Kanagi thinks over her recent revelation as well as the things the head maid had told her at the beginning as she walks through the park at night. Just as she has her reasons for working as a maid, the customers she tends to have their own concerns. They go to the café to partake in the atmosphere and it was Kanagi’s job to think about whether it was worthwhile for them. She had simply assumed she was doing the job right without realizing what it entailed. She thinks about Aimi and Natsuki’s reactions and knows that that’s the expression she needs to draw out from all of her masters. Kanagi feels bad that it took her this long to realize it and that she probably made a lot of masters uncomfortable as a result, especially the ones she served when she first started.
Kanagi remembers how she made Seika faint at the café and berates herself for making them feel that way. Her job as a maid is to be aware of her master’s needs so they can enjoy themselves. Now that she knows where she went wrong, Kanagi laments that she realized this too late. She hears someone calling for Nagitan and sees Karin toward her from the distance. Kanagi asks if she was out late hunting Witches but it turns out Karin was looking for her. As she catches her breath, Karin tells Kanagi that she really believes that Kanagi should keep at it and continue being a maid. Even if she made a promise, Kanagi seemed too disappointed for her to call it quits now. A friend of hers at school had once said overcoming what preoccupies you brings growth. Karin promises to talk to the manager for her and convince him to give Kanagi a second chance. Kanagi believes it’s too late but Karin adamantly tells her it’s never too late. Kanagi smiles and tells her she’s right. Karin offers to go with her, but Kanagi wonders if Karin can do her another favor instead.
Episode Seventeen
It’s another day at the café and Kanagi has approached the manager with a request for a second chance. The manager asks her if she’s figured out what she’s been lacking and what she wants to do. Kanagi knows now what it is and proposes she serve the same three customers who left the café when she first started (when Seika fainted). The manager isn’t sure they’ll ever come back, but Kanagi happens to know who they are since she’s seen them around her apartment complex. She wants the opportunity to make it up to them and asks the manager once more for another chance to show them maid cafés can be fun. The manager is silent for a moment but then he brightens up and agrees to let her do it just this once.
Karin is in a different public park. She gets a text from Kanagi telling her their plan is a go. Karin smiles and goes to do her part of the plan. She soon sees Leila and Seika walking down a path and approaches them. Seika looks upset, which worries Karin. Leila assures her that Seika is just really nervous and she’s not mad at all. Karin mentions Nagitan and Leila recognizes it as the name of the really weird maid from the café. Karin tells Leila she’s here on her behalf and wants to extend an invitation for them to come back to the café so Nagitan can show them how fun maid cafés can be as a way of making it up to them. Karin begs them to say yes. Leila says she wouldn’t mind going and turns to Seika for her answer, but Seika is still too nervous to speak so Karin hands them their invitations so they can think it over. She asks where the third one (Mito) is but Leila informs her that Mito lives in another complex so she promises to let her know.
Episode Eighteen
It’s the next day and Karin has arrived early to greet Kanagi. Kanagi thanks her for her help yesterday since the trio agreed to come back to the café. Karin tries to be humble, insisting all she did was hand them the invite but Kanagi insists that it’s thanks to her she’s standing here now. Otherwise Kanagi would still be sitting in the park wondering what she did wrong. Karin takes her usual table and gets ready to watch Kanagi make amends and prove herself with everything she’s learned.
The door jingles and the trio walk into the café. Leila hopes this time their visit goes better but Seika has already frozen up completely. Kanagi greets them warmly, calling them masters and smiling all the while she shows them to their table. Leila is impressed with the proper greeting she was expecting since the first time and follows Kanagi to their table. Karin watches in anticipation as she wishes Kanagi good luck.
Kanagi apologizes for the wait as she serves the girls their three Lovely Rice Omelets. Mito asks if they were made with love, but even though Kanagi had considered saying it, she couldn’t help but be honest. Instead, she offers to draw on the omeletes with ketchup. Leila is shocked to hear that Kanagi would be drawing on them while Mito bounces in her seat since she loves drawing. Kanagi offers Mito the ketchup bottle so she can draw it herself, but Mito can’t decide between drawing it herself or having Kanagi do it. Leila offers Mito her plate so she can draw on her omelet while Kanagi draws on Mito’s omelet. Kanagi turns to Seika and asks what she would like but all Seika can do is stare back at her nervously. Kanagi decides to leave her alone for now. She can’t blame her for being on edge since she did faint the last time she was here.
Mito and Kanagi play rock-paper-scissors with a round of Look This Way[3] at the end of it. After playing a few rounds Kanagi offers to play the game with Leila who happily agrees. She asks Seika if she’d like to play as well but Seika only stutters, causing Kanagi to worry if Seika was angry with her.
Episode Nineteen
Leila assures Kanagi that Seika’s not actually mad, just very shy which is why she gets misunderstood a lot. Mito explains the reason she fainted last time was because she had to make eye contact with someone new. Kanagi apologizes for how she behaved last time but Leila assures her that Seika always gets nervous when there are more people than just the three of them. The reason the three of them came to a maid café last time was because Seika’s class was doing one of their own for this year’s school festival and Seika had wanted to do her best at being a maid. Seika nods and weakly says “Y-yes”. Kanagi apologizes for disappointing them by being such an incompetent maid. Leila tries not to directly say yes but Kanagi tells her she knows it’s the truth. She didn’t understand what was most important for a maid.
Seika actually speaks up and tells Kanagi she thought she was confident before she falters and goes silent once again. Kanagi tells her to take her time as she waits for her to find the words. After a moment, Seika tells her she thought Kanagi was so confident that she knew she could never be like that and lost her own confidence. Kanagi tells her not to overthink it and points to the head maid not far from them. As the head maid smiles and giggles telling the customers that their food was infused with love, Kanagi tells the trio of how experienced that maid is and describes her as the exact thing you think of when you think of maid cafés. Even though Kanagi truly respects her, she herself could never be like that. So instead she tries to do her best in her own way to make her masters enjoy themselves.
Just then the same two boys from before walk into the café, overjoyed to see that Nagitan is back on the floor. They welcome her back but Kanagi is astonished to find they even remember her. The two boys tell Kanagi that they’re big fans of hers. Mito is surprised to learn that Kanagi has fans while Kanagi replies she feels the same way. Kanagi turns back to Seika and tells her that there are people who like her just the way she is, so she encourages Seika to find her own way to as a maid. Kanagi has heard that cool and kind maids are becoming popular lately. Seika isn’t sure she can be cool and kind but she promises to try her best. She even smiles as she looks up at Kanagi and tells her she wants to be a good maid. Karin begins to tear up from how happy and impressed she is by Kanagi’s success.
Seika asks Kanagi if she can take a picture and Kanagi agrees so long as she can hide her face. Leila reminds her she’s a maid, but Kanagi would rather keep this a secret for now since she knows a lot of people in the city. Mito thinks it would be fun if they hide their faces too so the head maid takes their picture. Mito laughs as she looks at the photo, seeing as how you can’t tell who is who in the photo. Leila laughs and even Seika chuckles at the photo. Leila tells her friends they should get going, but Mito was having too much fun. Seika suggests they come back sometime much to the astonishment of Leila. Before they go, Kanagi offers to cast a charm of courage on Seika so she does her signature pose and promises to always be there for her master. She even says her new catchphrase “Just let Maid Nagitan take care of all your problems… got it?” Mito calls her cool while Leila admits that she is indeed a little different from the other maids. Kanagi tells Seika to remember that whenever she gets nervous since thinking about something fun will help her feel less anxious. The girls thank Kanagi and leave the café.
Episode Twenty
Karin is bursting with joy at how well Kanagi did. Kanagi thinks it was because she changed her attitude and thanks Karin for keeping an eye on her. The manager calls Kanagi over to talk and asks her how she thinks she did. Kanagi believes she was able to replace the masters’ disappointment last time with enjoyment and gives her appreciation to the manager for the chance to make things right. The manager asks if she’s satisfied but Kanagi tells her it’s about her duties, not her own satisfaction. The manager looks a bit disappointed, as he’d hoped she would have said she wasn’t satisfied so he could offer her the position. He believes that Kanagi learned something very important and he’d hate to see it go to waste. He asks her what she thinks and Kanagi replies that she’d like to keep being a maid, not just for the paycheck but to use what she’s learned. The manager is happy to hear this and tells her he’s excited to see her unique maid style. Kanagi promises to improve and exceed his expectations.
It’s another day at the maid café as Kanagi serves up drinks to her waiting masters. When a customer orders a latte, Kanagi is already prepared to do latte art.
The customer asks if it’s true she can latte art and draw Magical Kirin. She informs him it’s true but before she can some girls ask for her picture. Kanagi agrees but before she can tell them the girls hand Kanagi a face mask as it seems they’re already aware of her no-face photos policy. She hands a Super Sweet-n-Fluffy Parfait to the next customer who finds her gruff manner rather unusual. Just then Karin calls out for Kanagi to do the thing, as everyone cheers and the other maids offer photos for anyone who wants. Kanagi does her signature pose and says her catchphrase, “Just let Maid Nagitan take care of all your problems… got it?…Master.” The café explodes into a loud cheer as they yell out “Nagitan!”
Karin and Kanagi walk home together at the end of the day. Karin had had so much fun at the café today. Kanagi asks Karin how her manga is going and Karin’s smile quickly fades as she realizes that she never got around to drawing it. Karin knows her friend is going to get mad at her so Kanagi offers to help her with the manga since Karin helped her out so much with her job. Karin asks if Kanagi isn’t going to do the pose for her, but Kanagi reminds her she’s off the clock now. Karin looks down sadly as she realizes Kanagi has gone back to being serious.
References
- ↑ In the JP the manager is what is commonly referred to as an Okama (お釜), which is slang for a gay man. Basically he’s very flamboyant.
- ↑ A kirin is a mythological creature said to look like a cross between a dragon and a horse
- ↑ While the Japanese also enjoy playing rock-paper-scissors, their variation of the game can have an extra bit at the end of it. When a winner is declared in rock-paper-scissors, they point in a direction and the loser must look away from there otherwise they lose the game. In the version that Mito plays, you’re supposed to look in the direction pointed the first two times, but in the wrong direction on the third round in order to win.
External Links
JP Server
- Opening Video Youtube Recording
- Episode 1 Youtube Recording
- Episode 2 Youtube Recording
- Episode 3 Youtube Recording
- Episode 4 Youtube Recording
- Episode 5 Youtube Recording
- Episode 6 Youtube Recording
- Episode 7 Youtube Recording
- Episode 8 Youtube Recording
- Episode 9 Youtube Recording
- Episode 10 Youtube Recording
- Episode 11 Youtube Recording
- Episode 12 Youtube Recording
- Episode 13 Youtube Recording
- Episode 14 Youtube Recording
- Episode 15 Youtube Recording
- Episode 16 Youtube Recording
- Episode 17 Youtube Recording
- Episode 18 Youtube Recording
- Episode 19 Youtube Recording
- Episode 20 Youtube Recording
- Challenge Quest Dialogue Youtube Recording