If you’ve worked in customer service, you’ll know exactly how Alina Clover, the main character of I May Be a Guild Receptionist, But I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time, feels. The premiere episode of season one of the anime, originally a light novel, aired on January 11th, 2025, and plans to run for 12 episodes.
You might be able to guess exactly what this anime is about from the title alone, and you’ll most likely be right. I’ll be shortening the anime’s title to Guild Receptionist throughout my reviews for the sake of my sanity.
Use Your Customer Service Smile!
Alina Clover, voiced by Rie Takahashi, has the perfect job. As a guild receptionist, she has a secure and safe job, gets to wear a cute uniform, and can greet adventurers every day with a smile. Most importantly, she can clock out on time and go home – at least that’s what she thought.
Due to the recent sluggish and unreliable adventures, a tough boss hasn’t been taken down, and this causes Alina’s paperwork to pile up so much that she has to work overtime. Alina takes up her own sword (or hammer in this case), and sets out to finish the business adventurers can’t seem to handle, all for the sake of clocking out on time and living a relaxing life.
Maybe I’m being too hasty, but from the very beginning of the episode, this show was exactly what I wanted it to be. Alina just wants to live a carefree life, using as much time as she can to relax at home, but of course needs to make ends meet through her job.
Alina is very relatable right off the bat, from her forcing a smile when a customer gives her problems, to whining about stacks of paperwork to go through late into the night. If you’ve worked in customer service before, you’ll be able to empathize with Alina quickly, perhaps even despite her feisty and self-centered personality. I love the scene where she rubs her face to force a smile while having a terrible day at work – I know how that is.
Guild Receptionist gives us a look into the life of a character that holds a role we often don’t get to explore as much. Many fantasy anime concentrate on the heroes, adventurers, and villains – leaving guild receptionists, tavern owners, blacksmiths, and merchants to take a back seat. Guild Receptionist personally pulls me in by exploring this side role within fantasy anime that is often overlooked.
I Don’t Wanna Get Fired!
Alina displays her strength as she goes after the boss giving so many adventurers (and in turn her) so much trouble. This is the part of Guild Receptionist Episode 1 where animation shines the most, and it’s great to see a balance between more slice-of-life scenes and action-filled ones. It isn’t yet clear how powerful Alina is or how she even got to the level of strength needed to solo a boss, but maybe we’ll get more of that information soon. Alina attempts to hide the fact that she defeated the boss, as she isn’t supposed to enter dungeons without a license and cannot hold a second job while being a receptionist.
The reward of slaying this beat in exchange for a relaxing life might not outweigh the risks in Alina’s case, as an adventurer by the name of Jade learns of her secret. Alina, not wanting to be fired from her receptionist job, threatens Jade if he tells anyone about her actions. Jade, however, notices Alina’s strength and wants her to join his party, Silver Sword. I feel that somehow Alina will need to bend to his will to hide her secret, and she might even become busier than she was before, completely defeating the purpose of soloing the boss.
Guild Receptionist is easily on the top of my watchlist this season, and Episode 1 already has me curious about the original light novel. The animation is better than I expected for a fantasy light novel adaptation, and Rie Takahashi’s voice work is perfect for our whiny little receptionist. Hopefully, the quality doesn’t diminish throughout the season, because I can definitely see this show being my favorite of Winter 2025.
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©2024 Mato Kosaka/KADOKAWA/Ifuru Labor Union
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