Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 “A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance” pits our robot concierge and her robot staff against what initially looks to be the ultimate in bad human guests. However, once you take a slightly closer look, you realize why they’re acting like that. After all, tanukis are not known for their manners.

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 “A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance”: Details

Apocalypse Hotel JP key art
They are as chaotic as they look here.

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 “A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance” is the third episode (you can read my reviews of Ep. 1 and Ep. 2 here) of this postapocalyptic sci-fi comedy-drama anime series. Uniquely, this anime is an original series not adapted from any manga. 

CyberAgent is producing the anime, with CygamesPictures (Manaria Friends, Brave Bang Bravern!, The Summer Hikaru Died) as the animation studio behind it. Crunchyroll is the company licensing it for its global debut, as well as streaming it.

Production Crew

Alas, we don’t know who exactly is behind Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 “A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance”.

However, as for Apocalypse Hotel as a whole: Kana Shundo is the director behind the anime, with Shigeru Murakoshi as the writer. Manami Kabashima, Ryou Ebina, Atsushi Kimura, Kouichi Sano, and Naofumi Shioya are the producers. Natsuki Yokoyama is the character designer, based on Izumi Takemoto‘s original designs. Yoshiaki Fujisawa is the composer behind the music.

Speaking of that music: the opening theme song for Apocalypse Hotel is “Skirt” by Aiko. Meanwhile, “Capsule” (カプセル) also by Aiko is the ending theme song.

Voice Cast

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 “A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance” features the voices of Saho Shirasu as Yachiyo the Acting Acting Manager, Hiroki Tōchi as Doorman Robot, and Shin-ichiro Miki as Environment Checker Robot.

The other notable voice roles in this episode are Chō as Bumbuku, Takako Honda as Mami, Sumire Morohoshi as Ponko, Mutsumi Tamura as Fuguri, and Yoshiko Sakakibara as Mujina.

When and Where to Watch

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 “A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance” made its airing and streaming (aka. simulcast) debut on April 22, 2025. You can watch this episode only on Crunchyroll. In fact, you can watch this entire anime only on Crunchyroll due to it being an exclusive there.

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 “A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance”: Synopsis

Well, at least they now know that they definitely aren’t alone in the universe.

Alas, Apocalypse Hotel has only just recently started airing. In fact, Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 “A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance” only just made its debut two days ago as of this writing. Thus, you all will get the official synopsis of this episode from Crunchyroll to give you all a taste of the story without too much spoilers below:

“A group of humans return to Earth… but not all is as it seems.”

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 “A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance”: The Good

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 "A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance" screenshot 1
Innocent, they are not.

Just as in the previous episodes, it’s the story of Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 “A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance” that keeps my gaze glued to the screen. However, it’s not quite for the same reasons as in those previous episodes. Mostly because the humor in this episode is a bit on the…crude side. Mostly in the form of a whole bunch of poop jokes. Literal toilet humor, even. However, there are some very prominently tanuki-shaped reasons for why they happen. They may be highly exaggerated, but the way the tanukis in this episode behave is more or less how tanukis behave in real life in the wild. Crude as they are, they’re still neat nature facts, oddly enough.

And yet, despite how crude the humor is, there’s a weird level of heartfelt emotions going on underneath them. It almost feels like Gintama to me, which has that similar combination of crude humor and heartfelt stuff. It makes this episode far more meaningful than it would initially appear to be at first glance.

All of which is enhanced by the efforts of CygamesPictures. Their animation team continues to produce a very good-looking anime, even for the poop jokes. In particular though, I have to give them credit for Yachiyo’s sudden animation changes whenever she hits her limit, so to speak. Her facial expressions are some of the best things I’ve seen in a while, and now I’m looking forward to the next thing that will get her to blow her top. Both figuratively and literally.

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 “A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance”: The Bad

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 "A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance" screenshot 2
You can easily tell this is when she snaps.

Alas, that same crude humor in Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 3 “A Smile Is the Ultimate Ambiance” might be a bit off-putting to some viewers. It doesn’t get anywhere near offensive, thankfully. It’s just merely on the gross side, and no more than that.

Other than that, if you’re looking for a bloody action anime, then this episode is not for you. There are dead bodies, sure, but no blood and gore. This just isn’t that kind of show. If you want that bloody action, then might I suggest watching Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Blue Box, Solo Leveling, and/or Black Butler? Those anime should have more than enough blood and/or action to keep your inner action junkie satisfied.

What do you think of this week’s episode of Apocalypse Hotel? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.