New Game! Episode 2

"So This is an Adult Drinking Party..." (これが大人の飲み会....) is the second episode of the New Game! anime.

Synopsis
After seeing pictures of Hifumi with her pet hedgehog Sojiro, Aoba tries to help her smile more naturally. Shortly after Aoba begins her first job, creating NPC villager models for the game, the others take her out to a drinking party to celebrate her joining the team. As Aoba tries to deal with her co-workers being drunk, Hifumi has her order some alcohol, almost letting her drink some herself.

Plot
After an inner monologue introducing her coworkers, Aoba continues her work until lunch. Yun and Hajime invite her for lunch, but she rejects their offer to complete her work. Yun gives her a snack to stave of her hunger, and eats it after completing her tasks. Aoba asks Hifumi if she is hungry, but she replies that she had eaten her breakfast with her friend, Sojiro. She wonders about it and Hifumi shows the photo. Aoba is surprised that Sojiro is hedgehog and praises Hifumi’s smile on photo. She gets shocked and tells her to forget it by offering money.

Aoba comments that Hifumi has a wonderful smile, and encourages her to do so. She tries to smile but is embarrassed. Aoba helps and tells her to smile using Sojiro’s photo. Kou finds them strange and gives Aoba a rice ball. Hifumi pats Aoba’s head as her way of eating is similar to Sojiro. At home, Hifumi tries to smile at Sojiro, but it hides to its cage. Next morning, Hifumi eats at the cafeteria and remarks that Soujiro dislikes her smile.

After checking in on Aoba's progress, Kou is satisfied and gives her a task: creating villager models. Later, they arrive at a restaurant to celebrate Aoba's welcoming party. Kou states that the company is paying all the expenses, and they can eat and drink as much as they want. Shen then teases her by giving her a spicy takoyaki. Yun mocks her because she is still under-aged to drink alcohol, but sees that Hifumi can handle her liquor.

After a while, Shizuku enters and comments on her fast progress and her first assignment, and leaves after a quick bite. A drunken Kou asks if Aoba has boyfriend, who quickly denies it. She asks the same question to Kou, who claims she is too busy to date anyone. Rin says Kou has drunk too much, but she ends up drunk anyway. Rin requests Aoba to pour beer, but is unsatisfied with her method and asks Kou to demonstrate. Later, Hifumi asks Aoba to place an order for her. She struggles with pronouncing their names, as well as the terms used. She notes how expensive alcohol is.

Hifumi receives her drink and Aoba speculates its taste. Hifumi nervously offers a sip but stops when the waitress arrives. The waitress informs her that it is last call and asks if they have any more orders. While the others place their orders, Hifumi texts Aoba and advises her to not drink as she is underage. With the party over, Hajime helps send Yun home while Hifumi has already left. Aoba, Kou, and Rin visit a bar together. Aoba doesn’t want to drink alcohol and orders “Orange Blossom”, thinking it is a juice; Kou clarifies that it is alcoholic.

After a long night, Aoba returns home and receives a call from Nene. Nene complains that her classmates treat her like a middle schooler. Aoba says it would happen because of her appearance and attitude. Nene asks what she has been doing since she joined Eagle Jump. She explains that she has been learning what adults do, such as ordering alcohol; she later states that she is working on 3D models of Kou's designs. Nene jokingly asks if they are working on Fairies Story 3, and is shocked to find out it is true.

Adaptation Notes

 * The episode adapted a brief flashback of chapter 11, chapter 10, the flashback of chapter 4, chapter 5, and the beginning of chapter 7, in that order.
 * During the flashback in the manga, Aoba spoke in the flashback, but in the anime, she narrates the flashback from the present. Also, no footage of "Fairies Story" was shown in the anime unlike how it did in the manga.
 * When Hifumi shows Aoba a picture of Sojiro, In the manga, she assumes it's a pot cleaner. In the Japanese version of the anime, this was changed to her assuming it was a brush. In the English version of the anime, this was once again changed to her she assuming it's an earmuff.
 * in the manga, Aoba asks Hifumi if hedgehogs are affectionate in the manga. In the anime, she instead asks her if hedgehogs are friendly,
 * In the manga, Kou doesn't state that taking breaks are part of the job. Furthermore, when Aoba offers to repay Kou for giving her a riceball, Kou questions if she's going to repay her with vengeance. This was changed in the anime to her not allowing Aoba do that.
 * In the Japanese version, Hifumi briefly questions if Aoba is Sojiro's friend while the latter was eating a riceball. In the English dub, Hifumi simply states that she's just like Sojiro.
 * In the Japanese version, when Ko and later Aoba question each other on if they have boyfriends, they both reply with "Wh-Why would I have one?", In the English dub, they instead ask each other on why they would ask something like that.
 * Furthermore, after Ko's reaction, Hajime teases Ko by asking why she's blushing like a little girl. This is changed in the English dub to her sarcastically saying that she didn't expect her to have the same response.

Trivia

 * The restaurant has a sign 'Flac' with a sun behind it. 'Flac' could be referencing FLAC, a lossless audio format.
 * The sign also has a heading that reads 'Karaoke & Dining', stating that the restaurant also provides karaoke services.