I May Be a Guild Receptionist, But I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time – Episode 1

What’s it about? Alina is a receptionist at the Adventurer’s Guild and loves the stability that comes with her position as a civil servant. Lately, though, she’s having to work overtime since many of the city’s heroes are stuck in a stalemate, unable to defeat a certain dragon. Tired of drowning in paperwork night after night, Alina takes matters into her own hands and slays the beast herself. Though this may have caused her more trouble than it solved…

Are you looking for a Gremlin Girl? A female protagonist who’s competent, funny, loud-mouthed, and self-motivated to the point of scheming? Someone you can call “a little shit” with great affection? Maybe add Guild Receptionist to your roster of premieres to check out. Between her calling a legendary dragon a “shitbag,” chugging Fantasy Energy Drink, and very powerfully embodying Office Job Ennui in general, Alina is really doing it for me. She’s charming enough to carry what could have been a fairly bland meta-humor fantasy concept, and I have tentative yet high hopes for the show going forward.  

Plus, I think there’s some interesting thematic stuff going on here. Receptionists, secretaries, executive assistants and other administrative staff—these positions are often dismissed or overlooked, despite the crucial role they play in keeping the wheels turning in an organization, whether that’s a private company, a government department, or, you know, an Adventurer’s Guild. These are often so-called “pink collar” jobs, historically—and stereotypically—associated with women. Is Guild Receptionist offering some commentary on the underappreciated powers of the young women in admin staff?

Well, maybe that’s reading a bit too much into things, but I definitely think it’s tapping into the frustrations and the gendered dynamics of a service job like this. Alina must smile politely as she screams internally at the adventurers who think they can bluster past the Guild’s protocols; and the opening credits show her comforting a co-worker after a customer yells at her. It may be coincidence that the asshole adventurers in both cases were men and the receptionists both women, but I’d like to think that there’s some intention there: these brawny dudes are all too ready to undermine the younger women who they see as being beneath them, despite the fact that without their skilled clerical work no monster slaying would get done at all.

In any case, there are some Big Moods throughout this episode and I think Alina will be very relatable to anyone who’s worked in civil services and/or customer support. And, of course, all that office BS makes it all the more satisfying when she unleashes her true, hidden powers and singlehandedly wallops the hell out of a dragon.

It’s fun, but mind you, it’s not a straightforward power fantasy—there’s plot and stakes in this thing, as Alina is recognized as the dragon-slayer despite her best attempts at disguising herself. When an adventurer spots her, he tries to get her to join his party, both appealing to her honor and attempting to strong-arm her… neither of which work. Needless to say, there’s also something satisfying about this so-called lowly receptionist getting the upper hand against the guy who would normally be The Hero in a fantasy story like this. She doesn’t fully convince him to back off, but he’s on the back foot enough that their power dynamic and its potential cat-and-mouse game is relatively balanced and interesting.

As much as I enjoyed this, there are a couple of things I want to flag. While not as egregious as some other fantasy/isekai shows, the character design is doing That Thing where there’s a lot of variety and facial definition in the male characters, but the female characters all look like teenagers who are exactly the same kind of cute. The Guild uniform includes a ridiculously short skirt, and Alina’s monster-slaying gear has some magical midriff—not to mention the loving panning shot over her lying in the bath when she’s daydreaming about having a night off. All of this isn’t so bad that it undercuts Alina’s strong character writing, but it distracts, and if the show keeps this up it may get… let’s say tiresome.

Sometimes these fantasy/comedy shows can open up with a great premise but fail to turn it into a whole story that sustains itself over a season, and that’s certainly a risk here. But I want to cross my fingers and have faith that, if nothing else, Alina’s fantastic gremlin characterization can carry the narrative forward. I’m definitely giving this at least three episodes, if only to see her get into more shenanigans.