550https://i.ur.com/PvLWWqy.png There is no requirement for romance elements in media to be wholesome nor that it needs to be something lifeaffirming. However Yuri is My Job is resoundingly successful at making it seem like the dynamics of a yuri relationship even a playacted one for the bemusement of the patrons in the shows caf is the most miseryinducing thing on the planet for virtually everyone involved. Thats not to say that affection romantic or platonic cannot bring sadness or complication because its a given that thats a possibility. Rather the setting for this anime engages in an aggravating pageantry. As the characters act out the Liebe Academy Girl Mission School on a Hilltop the caf acts as a nexus between acting and reality. Realworld romance and romantic feeling insinuation and possessiveness manage to make their way into the cafs world while the cafs world of audiencepleasing Class Shttps://enacademic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/8665379 theatre makes its way into the outside. In theory the divide between the fiction and the reality alluringly muddles to the point where it becomes a question of how much is sincere versus what is just for show and whether what we see are just friendships or something beyond or neither. In practice it creates in its wake a mutuallyparasitic cycle culminating in a joyless melodramatic black hole. I cannot be wholly cruel to this series though the notion of a self you perform that can be turned off atwill as soon as the patrons are out of sight offers an interesting spin something any actor or actress knows quite well. The eyerollingly refined behavior of the cafs characters is something that Yuri is My Job wants you to realize early on is completely false as a part of making its eventual melodrama work. The illusory world of the caf and the theatrics it provides would initially seem like a perfect fit for Shiraki Hime. A master of the faade she has successfully bamboozled her own classmates into framing herself as the enviable girl popular and chic. It all disguises the rather unfortunate truth that she ultimately puts on her faade for the purposes of striking it rich living the lavish lifestyle with a handsome millionaire and never worrying about any materialistic pleasures being out of her reach. Its only when she injures the manager of the Liebe Academy that she is roped into its shoujo mangaesque world and headfirst into its frustrating duplicitous workers. Lies and betrayals underlie all the relationships within the show both occupationally and in reality leaving those relationships to fester even when the narrative implies that closeness will eventually come. It dips its toes into the unlikability lake too deeply. 550https://i.ur.com/Ie33q0S.png Himes initial impression as a detestable golddigger cements the unpleasant tone early culminating in characters feeling either the right to be miserable or the audacity to assume that you can actively interfere in someones affections when at times its not warranted In turn the few occasions in which the characters seem to have achieved a genuine connection or mutual understanding ring hollow. The caf job as both a setting and as an activelypracticed profession create a narrative imbalance between its pageantry and the attempts to cultivate something earnest. The former dominates the latter. Because of this there is little reason to believe that anyone will necessarily change for the better or that the new threads will succeed. For as much as the Liebe Academy story can serve as a metaphorical ground for the characters to explore their feelings the dramaturgical emphasis of the show itself is on maintaining the status quo keeping the caf and its environment effectively in stasis forever. As such the main inclination left behind is that the same misunderstanding mistakes or miseries via lying or secrecy will keep occurring again and again. Much effort is poured into doing essentially everything possible except for actually asking questions pointblank making the scant times this does happen a small oasis in an arid desert. Its this ability to be candid or upfront that proves impossible since nearly each character is in some manner selfish and clings to mindsets or perspectives concerning one another that they either acknowledge are painful or dont see what the problem is. And since romantic and platonic affection is one of the main ingredients within these mindsets tinge Yuri is My Job with a meanspiritedness in such a flavor that drains its melodrama of any alluring spice. 550https://i.ur.com/COx8Bc6.png Just about every insinuation that could be construed as platonic or romantic yuri is depicted as twisted or misguided to the point where its unintentionally alienating I began this review by stating that There is no requirement for romance elements in media to be wholesome nor that it needs to be something lifeaffirming. I sincerely believe this to be true. But it should at the very least be in service of something. Yuri is My Job serves up an aggravating cast in a setting that traps them an unpleasant experience even when it lets you know its in on the plastic veneer inside joke. In the midst of its metacognitive awareness it forgot to have a worthwhile reason to be fun or dramatically engaging.