As much as everyone loves fantasy and the surreal world of anime, one still needs mundane things spread throughout a story in order to be able to relate to it. These details make a character that much more lovable in the long run and feed the imagination of viewers by spicing up the dullest aspects of day-to-day life.

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One such consistent theme in anime is working part-time, but it’s always mixed in with something crazy and unusual. More often than not, the part-time job happens in a maid cafe. However, there is plenty of fun to be had in other places too, so long as they serve good food.

10 Ichigo Momomiya Works Part-Time While Fighting Evil (Tokyo Mew Mew)

Ichigo Momomiya from Tokyo Mew Mew

Ichigo is a cheerful and charming girl, chosen to have her DNA merged with that of an iriomote cat. Alongside 4 other girls sharing the DNA of several more endangered species, they use their powers to fight off chimera animas, animals turned into monsters.

Besides saving the world and being in grade school, Ichigo also has to work undercover in a maid cafe while waiting to fight off bad guys. Fans of the magical girl genre won’t soon forget this classic series.

9 Konata Izumi Perfectly Suits Her Job (Lucky Star)

Konata Izumi reading manga

Konata gets a job for no other purpose than to save up money for otaku merchandise. There is no reason nobler for a laid-back, carefree otaku to get a part-time job. The place she gets hired at suits her quirky character just perfectly.

Her friends try to imagine her working in several regular places, but they can't figure out what her job is as Konata is generally very unmotivated and lacks the necessary etiquette for serving customers. It turns out to be a cosplay cafe that she ends up working at.

8 Taki Tachibana Is Living The Tokyo Dream (Your Name)

Tachibana Taki Serving tables

Taki is a high school student living an amazing story. The most peculiar thing happens to him when he swaps bodies with a girl who lives in another part of Japan. They switch places and live each other’s lives without knowing who the other person is.

The girl, Mitsuha, has to learn to impersonate him so as not to destroy his social life. That includes navigating his part-time job as a waiter and the complications of crushing on his co-worker, Gokudera.

7 Misaki Ayuzawa Keeps Her Job A Secret (Kaichou Wa Maid Sama)

Usui sees Misaki in her maid uniform

Misaki is the student council president and takes her responsibilities very seriously. She has a strong, unmovable presence and is determined to keep her position. That reputation is in danger though, given her secret job at a maid cafe.

Related: Cute But Deadly: The 10 Best Maids In Anime, Ranked

Misaki’s family is poor and she works to help support them while also keeping up her duties as a student. There is just one obstacle to deal with... her colleague, Usui Takumi, who is suddenly intrigued by Misaki and follows her around, to her dismay.

6 Takanashi Souta Is A Bit On The Strange Side (Wagnaria!!)

Takanashi Souta wearing his work uniform

Takanashi likes small things. So when tiny Popura Taneshima tries recruiting him to become her co-worker, he says yes. Not knowing exactly what he gets himself into, Takanashi comes to know the peculiar members of a family restaurant called “Wagnaria”.

Among them is their violent manager, a sword-wielding floor chief, and the androphobic Mahiru Inami. Together with his high school senior, Popura, there is never time to get bored for Takanashi.

5 Kaho Mafuyu Has A Hidden Talent (Blend-S)

Kaho Mafuyu in maid uniform

Kaho is a sweet, timid girl, in search of a part-time job to help her put aside money for college. In spite of her cute and petite appearance, her sharp eyes always work against her credibility in every interview.

She is constantly rejected. Eventually, she gets recruited for a quirky maid cafe catering to the more peculiar tastes of their customers. Kaho has to learn how to roleplay a sadistic maid, using her natural mean looks.

4 Souma Yukihira Is A Natural Born Cook (Food Wars)

Yukihira Souma wielding his trusted knife

Yukihira starts his cooking career by working in his small family restaurant alongside his father. He is still in high school but plans to take over the place in the future. His plans are, however, strongly delayed when his dad suddenly closes the restaurant, sending Yukihira to the best cooking school in the country.

Related: 10 Delicious Food That Only Exist In Anime

Here starts his journey of meeting amazing people and overcoming challenge after challenge, all for taking back the restaurant for his own one day.

3 Hotori Arashiyama Is The Opposite Of A Maid (And Yet The Town Moves)

Kotori Arashiyama acting silly

Hotori works part-time at a run-down, wannabe maid cafe after school hours. Her two classmates and friends are intrigued by the idea of such a place they’ve only seen on tv and pay her a visit. To their disappointment, Hotori and the manager of the cafe ruin the ideal by painting a rather rough and laid-back image instead.

That is how Toshiko, Hotori’s classmate, becomes her work colleague and mentor, using her passion and knowledge to transform the place into a proper maid cafe.

2 Even Lord Satan Has To Earn A Living (Hataraku Maou-Sama)

Satan cooking fries

What’s a demon lord to do when transported into a non-magical world where survival depends solely on income? Get a part-time job and a fake identity, of course. With a very conspicuous name like Sadao Maou, the protagonist of this series brings excitement and humor to the daily life of a bland job.

Dragging along the rest of his quirky entourage, some of them human, there is never a regular day in the life of a demon who works part-time as a fry cook.

1 Kaneki Ken Finds Comfort In The Little Things (Tokyo Ghoul)

Kaneki at the cafe Tokyo Ghoul

Kaneki’s connection to his part-time job at a cafe is particularly dark. One does not normally become a human-eating ghoul who loses his human taste buds and can only taste coffee. But that is exactly what happened to the unlucky protagonist of this series.

The customers are a mix of humans and ghouls as the owner of the cafe tries to bring the two species together in peace, even if it's just for one hour a day.

Next: 10 Cooking Anime For Food Lovers