Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 “A First Job and a Partner” gives us more of the slice of life fantasy comedy that attracted me to the anime in the first place. However, this episode also gives us a surprising amount of paramilitary fantasy action as well. I mean, what else do you call it when Sasaki’s superiors slap him into SWAT armor, and send him in on a police raid?

Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 “A First Job and a Partner”: Details

Sasaki and Peeps NA key visual.
It seems that not all is fluff and feathers in this anime.

Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 “A First Job and a Partner” is the second episode (you can read a review for Ep. 1 here) of this first season of this anime. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the novel series of the same by Buncololi. Silver Link (Brave Witches, Bofuri, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!) is the animation studio behind this anime.

Mirai Minato is the director of Sasaki and Peeps overall. Kousuke Arai, Shun Oorui, Akihiro Narita, Shuka Nishimae, Yukari Kuwayama, Kenichi Tokumura, Hayato Kaneko, and Shunichi Uemura all co-produced this anime. Deko Akao is also the overall writer for this anime. Nippon Columbia collectively composed the music of this anime.

Speaking of music: the opening theme song for Sasaki and Peeps as a whole is “Fly” by Madkid. Meanwhile, “Aimai Girl” (曖昧ガール, “Ambiguous Girl”) by Aguri Ōnishi is the ending theme song.

Voice Cast

Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 “A First Job and a Partner” features the voices of Tomokazu Sugita as Sasaki, Aoi Yūki as Peeps / Pii-chan, and Rie Takahashi as Hoshizaki-san. Other important voice roles for this episode include Ryōtarō Okiayu as Akutsu, Mitsuo Iwata as Marc, and Daisuke Namikawa as French.

When and Where to Watch

Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 “A First Job and a Partner” made its streaming debut on January 12, 2024. You can watch this episode only on Crunchyroll. As a matter of fact, you can only watch this anime as a whole on Crunchyroll.

Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 “A First Job and a Partner”: Synopsis

Don’t worry, slice of life lovers. We still see more birb.

Normally, this would be the part of my review where I give you all a spoiler-filled plot summary of Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 “A First Job and a Partner”. As is the case more and more lately though, this is the spoiler-free version of my usual reviews. Largely in part due to how new this anime is. Thus, you will get the official synopsis from Crunchyroll instead. You can read that below:

Sasaki gets the hang of his trading operation in the other world right about the time he gets in over his head in the modern world. He’s (forcibly) recruited into a government agency for psychics, and his first job is right around the corner.

Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 “A First Job and a Partner”: The Good

Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 "A First Job and a Partner" screenshot showing Hoshizaki blushing in an embarrassed look.
Finally! Someone joins the main cast!

If you like the first episode of Sasaki and Peeps, then you’ll love Ep. 2 “A First Job and a Partner”. This episode’s story is more of the same that attracted us in the first place. We’ve got the comedy slice of life isekai fantasy involving a salaryman and his magic talking Java sparrow making massive amounts of moolah involving selling modern commercial goods to a medieval fantasy society. Then we’ve got a dramatic dark fantasy thriller going on in the background of that comedy. It’s this peculiar mix of comic fantasy and dark fantasy that’s gotten me hooked on this anime.

It’s not just the mix of tropes in this episode though. The characters and character interactions of Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 “A First Job and a Partner” are also the major strong point of that episode. In particular, it’s interesting to see Sasaki and Hoshizaki work together in the field in essentially a combat setting. It’s quite possibly the last thing you would ever expect to see in this anime when you see the premise. That also plays into a big part of why I’m thoroughly enjoying this anime. It’s that balance of light-hearted comedy and dark fantasy, like the best chocolate. This anime is definitely leaning towards the milk chocolate side of things, but there’s definitely enough of a hint of dark chocolate in it to make this taste an interesting one.

Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 “A First Job and a Partner”: The Bad

Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 "A First Job and a Partner" screenshot showing the kimono-clad psychic girl breaking through Hoshizaki's ice.
Hey, doesn’t she look familiar to Rising of the Shield Hero fans?

I do actually have one big criticism of Sasaki and Peeps Ep. 2 “A First Job and a Partner”. I don’t like that Hoshizaki was overwhelmed and had to be rescued by Sasaki. To me, it’s leaning way too hard on the damsel in distress routine. Not only that, but it basically also turns Hoshizaki into a faux action girl, given how the anime introduces her as a skilled but hot-headed field agent. It really should be the other way around, in my opinion.

The only thing that mollifies me in that regard is how Sasaki saves Hoshizaki. He doesn’t do it by being a big, tough manly man and brute-forcing his way out of this problem. He does it by calmly (at least outwardly) negotiating with the antagonists like a hostage negotiator. I found that a hilariously refreshing way to resolve this hostage crisis, since that’s exactly what it is. Hopefully in the future, Hoshizaki will be the one who saves Sasaki to repay him for this and to balance things out. Hopefully.