My New Boss Is Goofy: Season 1, Episode 1 - It's a little cracked!! (2023)

Momose arrives at his new job already physically tense and emotionally braced for humiliation because his previous boss damaged both his spirit and his health. That trauma makes him hyper-alert, anxious, and instantly suspicious that Yūsei Shirosaki will be another cruel superior, so he spends the day watching for danger instead of settling in.

Because Momose is carrying deep workplace trauma, he interprets Shirosaki's calm, attractive, and easygoing presence as a possible mask for cruelty. His fear is not based on evidence from Shirosaki's behavior in the first episode so much as on his expectation that bosses will eventually turn abusive.

Shirosaki is presented as unexpectedly gentle, approachable, and a little absentminded rather than intimidating. His soft, goofy behavior creates a sharp contrast with Momose's fear, and that contrast drives much of the episode's tension and humor.

The episode highlights Momose's inner panic through his stiff posture, overthinking, and visible discomfort whenever he has to interact with Shirosaki. Instead of relaxing into the new job, he mentally prepares for the worst, which makes even ordinary workplace interactions feel emotionally loaded.

Episode 1 sets up a dynamic where Momose is emotionally defensive while Shirosaki is disarmingly kind and awkwardly charming. Their early interactions build the central contrast of the series: one man expects abuse, while the other keeps proving harmless in ways that confuse and soften him.