So often, I watch anime where the main characters are children, because that’s just the nature of the beast. Anime caters to a younger audience, so the protagonists tend to skew on the younger side of the age spectrum. Just to mix things up, however, let’s watch a couple of shows starring adults — working adults with responsibilities.

First up, we have Pardon the Intrusion, I’m Home! Rinko Nakama, a young office worker, has built a shrine to her favorite anime series out of her own home. She loves anime so much that if she doesn’t get enough of it the previous night, she’ll become a zombie at work. Lately, however, one of her neighbors will rudely slam on the wall if she watches anything other than Bunny and Cat Club, an in-universe show starring… well, a bunny and a cat. So… just wear headphones for the time being? Move your TV to the other side of the room? Complain to the apartment manager about your belligerent neighbor? Nah, all of those choices are too sensible. All of those choices are too adult for this adult working woman.

So instead, Rinko mopes around until she catches the notice of Akito, her other neighbor. Akito is a kind, bespectacled young man. Not only does he check up on her, he brings her tea and is even willing to confront the jackass next door. But this is where the show jumps the shark and loses me. I know, I know, it’s just the first episode, but get a load of this. The rude neighbor is such an asshole that he literally destroys the wall separating his apartment from Rinko’s. Time to get him arrested for property damage, right? At the very least, he needs to get his ass evicted. But no, Rinko quickly identifies the asshole as none other than Haruma Usada, the creator of her favorite anime series. In that case, we can’t get him in trouble! What about my animayz?! Also, that broken wall is coming out of her security deposit.

So begins the whacky relationship between these three neighbors! So whacky that Rinko wakes up one day to find Haruma in her bed, demanding that she wake up and make him food… which she happily obliges. Aw, boo hoo, grown ass man is so busy that he has no time to feed himself. Come on, be for real. You can’t seriously tolerate someone this pathetic just because they make your favorite anime (then again, Harry Potter…). Haruma then proceeds to pass out in Rinko’s apartment. Is this ragebait? Is this honestly ragebait? Don’t tell me this is supposed to be a love comedy between a nice but kinda boring dude and a complete and utter loser? Why is this even a choice? You don’t have to pick the boring guy, but definitely don’t pick the guy violent enough to destroy a wall! Two walls, actually, ’cause god forbid Rinko watch other shows in someone else’s home. I side-eye people who merely throw their controllers during a rough gaming session, much less destroy a wall. Either they’re in complete control and they choose to be violent, or they have lapses of self-control, which is just as scary. Those broken walls could be Rinko’s face one day. Welp, so much for putting the adult in working adult.

Our next show is MARRIAGETOXIN. Hikaru, an assassin from the Poison Clan, has no plans to get married. In fact, he’s honestly quite frigid with the ladies. Unfortunately, if he doesn’t find a wife soon, the family will force his younger sister Akari to pump out babies. The bloodline must continue and all that nonsense. Not only is this not something that she wants, she’s also a lesbian in an established relationship. So yeah… kinda messed up. But I mean, we’re dealing with assassins, so you can’t exactly expect these people to be normal. But hey, queer couples can still have babies in this day and age! What about in vitro fertilization?! Well, this never comes up. Plus, I hope this isn’t just some ploy to trick Hikaru into finding a partner. I know nothing about Akari, so I can’t rule out the possibility that she might be in cahoots with the rest of the family. I mean, she did plant the suggestion…

At first, Hikaru proposes to Mei, one of his targets. Mei is a swindler so attractive that he — that’s right, our target’s a crossdresser — even manages to catch Hikaru’s attention. Our protagonist normally has no reaction to beautiful women hanging all over him, but somehow, one glance of Mei from a distance was enough to get our professional killer to run into a wall. But Mei turns down the proposal, and who could blame him? Who in their right mind would marry a complete stranger who, seconds ago, was just trying to kill you? Instead, Mei offers to coach Hikaru in the art of wooing others. A swindler’s gotta be pretty good at that right? Unfortunately, Hikaru is predictably a numbskull when it comes to dating, so we’re going to have all the predictable growing pains. Bro can’t even smile normally (he’s just like me fr fr…).

Going into this show, I thought Hikaru and Mei were going to end up together. And hell, they very well might still do that. So what are we doing? Just wasting time watching this guy date around until he eventually realizes that he’s gay for Mei? Cut to the chase! His sister is already queer, so he might be too! I mean, I’ve never seen someone be so squeamish around a naked man, especially in a culture where communal bathing is a common and accepted occurrence. Hikaru overreacting to Mei doesn’t prove anything, but…

Memes aside, I can’t help but feel like this is just another “will they, won’t they” show but with extra steps. You can already see Hikaru winning Mei over bit by bit. So again, let’s just cut to the chase.