Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 6 “Our Only Vice Is Service”: Robot Vs. Unexpected Alien Romance [Review]

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 6 “Our Only Vice Is Service” gives us one of the most unexpected conflicts of the anime thus far. Yes, even amidst the rash of alien visitors that Hotel Gingarou has been getting in the centuries since humanity’s end. All because this episode turns into a romance story between robot and alien, of all things.

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 6 “Our Only Vice Is Service”: Details in Brief

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 6 “Our Only Vice Is Service” is the sixth episode (you can read my reviews of Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, and Ep. 5 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 the company streaming it. Kana Shundo is the director behind the anime, with Shigeru Murakoshi as the writer.

Synopsis

Alas, Apocalypse Hotel has only just recently started airing a couple weeks ago. In fact, Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 6 “Our Only Vice Is Service” only just made its debut on May 13, 2025. 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:

“The end times have come to Earth… and it seems they will be staying at the Gingarou Hotel?”

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 6 “Our Only Vice Is Service”: The Good

Honestly, there’s really no doubt that it’s the story of Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 6 “Our Only Vice Is Service” that’s making me give it such a high score. It’s because it gives us something I never expected for this anime: romance. Amazingly, it’s a pretty well-written romance to boot. The developing relationship between Yachiyo (voiced by Saho Shirasu) and Harmageddon (voiced by Kazuhiro Yamaji) actually becomes quite heartwarming and heartfelt all at once over the course of the episode. All in spite of a very rough start involving a near-destruction of Earth. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like, but everyone seems fine with it, so it’s alright.

It’s not even just the romance, or the comedy that we get to go with it. We even get a shonen-style action sequence in this episode, complete with a plethora of explosions. No, I won’t tell you the context behind the action for spoilers’ sake. However, that entire sequence is not only quite entertaining to watch, but it also adds a considerable depth of character to Harmage (their irreverent nickname given to them by Ponko), as well as adding an interesting layer of complexity to their relationship with Yachiyo. There’s very few action sequences that are able to do this well, so seeing this in this postapocalyptic sci-fi anime is quite the surprise, but a pleasant one to be sure.

The funniest part of this romance is that it might not even be a romance at all. The romance idea is first planted by Ponko (voiced by Sumire Morohoshi) to be sure, and Yachiyo and Harmage do have a relationship that seems romantic. However, we never actually get confirmation from either of them that they have anything but a friendly concierge-guest relationship. By the end of the episode, we’re just left wondering if there is any romance between them or if it’s just a strong platonic relationship. Which honestly, quite fits the themes of Apocalypse Hotel in general.

All with CygamesPictures’ signature high-quality animation to enhance it all. In fact, there’s so much of that animation that they shortened the opening sequence and completely deleted the ending sequence just to fit more of it into this episode. It’s a good thing too. All of that animation is nearly feature-length anime film levels of quality. I would go so far as to say that it’s on a similar level to Black Butler. It’s that good.

Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 6 “Our Only Vice Is Service”: The Bad

Alas, for a certain type of action junkie, even the action in Apocalypse Hotel Ep. 6 “Our Only Vice Is Service” may not be enough. Despite all the explosion, beams, and blows; there’s very little in the way of blood and no gore at all. Not unless you count some very dead Nudel worms, but goes into another category. We do see Harmage shed some alien blood, but that’s the limit of bloody violence we see in this episode.

Thus, you will have to look to another anime for any more bloody action. Might I suggest checking out 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 the aforementioned Black Butler? Those anime should have more than enough bloody action or just blood in general to satisfy your inner action junkie.

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

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