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Introduction: Teasing Master Takagi-San returns with a third season that showcases more laughs, more teases, but most importantly more wholesome fluff. On top of that, there is also an upcoming movie adaptation which definitely caught me by surprise. Now that Season 3 is over, how did it do? How did it fare over the previous 2 seasons? Was Season 3 worth the wait? To answer those questions, I'd say yes! Season 3 is amazing and I would consider it to be Takagi's best season as it manages to succesfully continue off of Season's 2 narrative to showcase how Takagi and Nishikata's relationship has significantly changed ... since then.

Art/Animation: The art and animation managed to receive an upgrade. The characters look like they've become slightly older and the visuals feel more bright, vibrant, and colorful. The expressions are also great here as Nishikata's reactions and comedic faces provide excellent fast-paced comedy, even upon rewatch. For the more intimate and slower paced scenes, you start to feel immersed into the characters' conversations and the use of body language also amplifies the impact of the scene as it shows the kind of behavior these middle schoolers go through. Episode 11 for example showcases a very intimate conversation between Takagi and Nishikata, and the cinematography/editing perfectly captures the mood of that scene with its use of lighting and shadows, well-paced dialogue, body language, and excellent background music. We even get some really creative segments with the animation, such as a scenario animated in retro video game graphics. Finally, each episode had at least one title card that was drawn by the manga author himself which is a nice touch. From a visual perspective, Season 3 improved on this aspect.

Story: Season 3 continues off of Season 2's ending, where it shows how Takagi and Nishikata's relationship has significantly changed since then. At face value, for the first half of the season, it would feel like nothing has changed much. The two are still trying to tease each other, with Nishikata mostly being on the losing end. However, despite their dynamic feeling relatively the same, the way they see each other has changed, and if you compare it to the last 2 seasons, you can easily see they have become more comfortable around each other. As stated previously, the series emphasizes quality time as their strongest love language. The more time they spend together, the closer they are able to understand each other. The progression in their character development is handled excellently, as it feels natural and well paced. You get their usual status quo moments, but when it comes to the more intimate moments, they have a lot of impact because their relationship is slowing changing. After all, quality time is where people learn to create special moments with each other. In Takagi and Nishikata's case, from the simple walks home, to the games they play, to even being able to spend Christmas together, each moment they go through is special to them, and in my opinion it highlights the best and most important aspect of the entire series, their chemistry. The season finale in my opinion is thematically perfect as its essentially the culmination of their relationship and manages to succesfully end on a satisfying note, while still leaving room for the movie to focus on its own narrative and find more ways to develop these characters.

Season 3 continues the trend of using anime original episodes, which takes up a good quarter of the whole season. This time, the anime team managed to implement some of the manga chapters into these episodes, occassionally modifying them to fit the context, and adding in anime original scenes to give more impact. As stated in the previous review, the Takagi anime is one of those rare cases where it is able to outdo the original source by managing to write its own narrative while also staying true to the author's original vision for the story. The statement still applies to Season 3, which is honestly good direction on their end.

The story also continues on to the side characters. We get more focus with the side couples like Mano and Nakai, as well as Houjou and Hamaguchi. One episode even showcases the different chemistries between the 3 pairings. The B-trio is back to help provide some nice comic relief, and sometimes their stories are integrated into the main plot. Other characters such as Takao and Kimura play an effective supporting role and help push the narrative forward. The side characters in this season have become more involved, which is a great plus because of how they will help push Takagi and Nishikata's relationship forward.

Characters: Takagi and Nishikata's biggest strength in their development is that their growth relies on the amount of time they spend together, and in Season 3, we see they've become more comfortable around each other. Nishikata becomes more smart with his tactics and competitions, and we even see moments where he even gets Takagi to think rather being replied instantly. He becomes less flustered with his reactions when it comes to being teased, and we even see moments where Nishikata has gotten to better understand Takagi as a person, taking note of her behavior and reactions in certain situations, to which he starts contemplating on how he sees his relationship with Takagi as he does show he enjoys her company. Nishikata even starts to become more aware of his feelings for Takagi, which in turn cause him to make decisions that catch Takagi off guard. On the other side, Takagi is a smart and clever girl, but when it comes to her feelings with Nishikata, we can see that she is emotionally fragile with how she expresses them and uses teasing as a way to show her affection. In Season 3, she becomes more direct with her feelings, as she is slowly trying to grow out of her weakness and trying to better understand Nishikata as a person. We even see Takagi in her most vulnerable state here, making her feel much more human. The development between the two perfectly compliments each other, and manages to pace itself in not straying too far in either direction. If you have been paying attention to their characters since Season 1, then you can see the amount of progression they have went through.

The side characters also fufill their role nicely as supporting characters. The B-trio retains their usual dynamic, and we see the different chemistries between the 2 side couples. Takao and Kimura are great comic relief characters with Kimura still being Nishikata's wingman. The side characters help expand on the middle school setting, which gives more life to the overall atmosphere.

Soundtrack: In Season 3 there is a known total of 13 songs, which is a considerable amount. It has the main opening and an alternate version of the opening, 8 ending songs, 2 insert songs, and an ending song from Season 1 sung by the B-trio. Rie Takahashi and Yuiko Ohara put a ton of effort into the songs this season, and all of them were amazing this time around. Personal favorites include Hana, Snow Magic Fantasy, Santa Ni Naritai, and Kazamidori wo Mitsukete. The background music this time was smartly used. We even get a segment that features no dialogue with the background music only playing. It was an unique Takagi and Nishikata segment, and reminiscences that of a Tom and Jerry segment.

Enjoyment: This season was a blast to watch as it was airing weekly, and I rewatched the episodes multiple times and never got bored of them. My favorite aspect of the Takagi-San series is the relationship between Takagi and Nishikata. Seeing how they have become closer to understanding each other, there were a ton of moments this time around that caught me by surprise, and definitely kept me coming back whenever there was a discussion about it.

Conclusion: My final rating for Season 3 is a 10/10. I know I have a bias when it comes to this series, but I have my reasons to back it up, and these reviews only scratch the surface as to why I consider Takagi-San to be my favorite anime. Season 3 did an amazing job progressing Takagi and Nishikata's relationship in amazing ways and it has a ton of surprises that surpass it over Seasons 1 and 2. The ending is honestly perfect in my opinion, and it was an ending that definitely fit in line with their characters. It was definitely worth the wait and I'm happy to see that we have a movie coming that will continue the story, and hopefully end it off on a perfect note because it has the momentum to do so.

Good sequels are hard to come across, and often times they don’t often live up to the expectations of the original, whether it’s because it feels too similar, or making it so bad that it heavily tarnishes the image the original had due to thoughtless planning.

So in that respect, how does one define a good sequel? A good sequel continues the story but in a new meaningful way, by expanding more than what the original offered. Introducing new characters, settings, and conflicts are generally what sequels tend to do, but a good sequel also adds another layer to their storytelling by introducing new themes and/or ... expanding on older themes, to give the story a much more nuanced look. Finally, the sequel has to leave a positive impact on the franchise, because that’s what makes a good series worth the time investing towards.

Takagi-San Season 2 manages to hit the marks on how a good sequel should be perceived, and this review will mainly focus on how it manages to improve over the first season.

Expanding the Setting:
Season 2 introduces 2 new characters to the series being Houjou and Hamaguchi. In terms of importance, we do see they have some sort of chemistry going on, so it’s refreshing to see another couple on the screen that’s not Takagi and Nishikata or Nakai and Mano. There’s more interactions with the side characters, and Season 2 manages to naturally integrate them into the storyline, making it feel more lifelike and dynamic. There’s also new locations in Season 2 that weren’t present in Season 1, some of which are seen as important when it comes to certain moments in the series, but I will not spoil them here. The art and animation also received an upgrade as it manages to become more expressive with its use of body language, which is a great way of showcasing non verbal communication. The soundtrack of the series retains the multiple ending songs (having 8) and an insert song that left a lasting impression.

Continuing The Story:
Season 2 at first glance may seem like it’s largely the same as the first season. Nishikata attempting to tease Takagi, but failing in the process, and the occasional B-trio plot segments. However, Season 2 continues the story by giving a more cohesive storyline that focuses on the natural progression of Takagi and Nishikata’s relationship that’s continued from Season 1 and how it’s developed in Season 2.

The first thing Season 2 does is shifting the focus of genres. Season 1 focused on the comedy/SOL aspect where Takagi and Nishikata are in the starting stages of establishing a relationship. In Season 2, the romance becomes the main focus, as the audience is already familiarized with their relationship, so the story starts focusing on closing the distance between the two characters. The romance becomes much more apparent, which leads to not only story and character progression, but it makes the dynamic feel more engaging as there are moments here that significantly change the way the two perceive each other.

Another thing Season 2 does that’s an improvement, is integrating the B-trio plots to the main story plots. One of the criticisms most people have with the series, is that the B-trio plots don’t really serve anything to move the plot forward, and are often disregarded as filler that could of been used to develop Takagi and Nishikata’s relationship. Even though some of those plot lines still occur in Season 2, there are times where the B-trio are directly involved with the main plots, which makes them much more engaging characters as we get a third person perspective on Takagi and Nishikata’s relationship. Other characters such as Kimura, Takao, Mano, Nakai, Houjou, and Hamaguchi also start to become aware of their relationship, and become directly involved in pushing Takagi and Nishikata to do certain actions and reevaluate their way of thinking.

Finally, Season 2’s biggest factor when it comes to continuing the story, is the addition of anime original content. To an anime only, they might not notice this, but to a source material viewer, this is huge. With most animes, they tend to follow the source material, occasionally making a few rearrangements to fit the story into one normal length episode/season. However, the Takagi manga doesn’t follow an overarching storyline, and most of its chapters are relatively standalone since they have little to no continuity between them. This gives the anime much more leeway of choosing which chapters to adapt, making a few rearrangements such as adding continuity, to give the story an overarching feel. This is different to when an anime adapts a source material with an overarching storyline, as cutting certain chapters or dialogue can make important scenes feel less meaningful when there is missing context. In Takagi’s case, the anime and manga feel like a separate experience, rather than a faithful adaptation. If one were to ask where they can continue reading the Takagi manga after watching the anime, the best recommendation is to read the manga from the beginning.

Season 1 has a couple of anime original moments to give certain scenes extra fluff. However, Season 2 takes it a step further by giving anime original segments/episodes that weren’t present in the manga, which significantly impact the direction the anime takes with its story. It gives a chance for the anime to explore more of Takagi and Nishikata’s relationship as situations and interactions have more creative freedom. Without spoiling too many major plot details, just know that having anime original content present here, is the season’s biggest strength when it comes to continuing the story in new, meaningful ways.

Expanding on the Themes of Season 1:
In most romance stories, the common theme that’s often explored in relationships is status quo. The questions that are often posed when it comes to this characteristic goes as follows:

1. “How has the relationship changed since the first meeting?”
2. “Has the characters perception of each other changed after spending a significant amount of time together?”
3. “Are the characters willing to, or at least be open, to the idea of changing the status quo?”

In Season 1, Nishikata considers Takagi his rival at first, where his main goal is to manage a successful teasing attempt/comeback at her. For Takagi, it’s shown she has a liking towards Nishikata, but doesn’t often show any emotional vulnerability towards him. As the season progresses, Nishikata starts to become subconsciously aware of his feelings for Takagi, and Takagi manages to show a glimpse of emotional vulnerability whenever she’s around Nishikata. For a Season 1 plot line, this is a good way for the audience to be familiarized with their relationship.

In Season 2, the two have become comfortable with each other, but their perception towards one another starts to slowly change. Takagi becomes bolder and more daring to how she teases Nishikata, leaving him in a state where he is either in clear acknowledgment or extreme denial. Her emotional vulnerability becomes more apparent, yet still subtle, as it gives the Nishikata and the audience an idea on how she views their current status quo, which is shown more evidently in the season’s major arc in the second half. Nishikata on the other hand, starts to become more consciously aware of his feelings, which in turn affect the decisions he makes, as well to how Takagi reacts to them. While he is still focused on trying to tease Takagi, the actions he does here in Season 2, and later in Season 3, start to show he does genuinely value his relationship with her, and would even go as to sacrificing a win in order to make himself and Takagi happy. Again, without spoiling major details, the development and progression between the two in this season is well paced. It manages to keep a balance between maintaining the status quo, but not straying too far in giving too much progression or not building off/regressing the development the first season laid out.

Leaving a Positive Impact on the Franchise:
Season 2's finale left a surprising impression within the community, so much so that it is one of the few animes (that isn't a popular shounen) that is able to continue their story through a third season, as well as a movie on top of it. Most animes don't get the luxury of continuing their story after their second season, let alone their first, so to see Takagi receiving this rare treatment, shows how much Season 2 left a considerable impact, opening its doors for Season 3/Movie to carry out the natural progression and themes of Season 2's narrative to eventually conclude this journey of a relationship.

Conclusion:
Takagi-San Season 2 is an example of how a good sequel should be perceived. It managed to continue the narrative and themes Season 1 laid out, and improving upon those qualities by expanding more than what the 1st season offered. If you enjoyed Season 1, the sequel seasons are definitely worth the watch.

Teasing Master Takagi-San is my favorite anime, and yes I really do mean that. While it may not be a “top-tier” anime objectively, the series has received a positive reception over the years and has garnered a good amount of fans. It’s a cute, wholesome, hilarious and even nostalgic anime that resembles the feeling of being young, reminiscing the days of middle school, and making fun memories with the people we spend time with. Takagi has all of that, and it does an excellent job at making these moments feel natural and organic. It’s the kind of series that serves as a nice breather to ... help balance out from the more deep and complex stories out there, but still having moments for the viewer to keep themselves relatively engaged.

With Season 3 currently out, I thought I go back and review the Takagi anime as a whole, highlighting the charm of what this series brings, and how much it has progressed overtime. While I will admit Seasons 2 and 3 are good sequels that improve the qualities of the 1st season, I still find Season 1 to be quite underrated and there are some nice moments here that people tend to overlook. The season may not be perfect, but it manages to keep its overall narrative consistent which later gets improved in future seasons.

Art: The art and the animation is pretty solid. I love the visuals and how the setting is based on the real life Shodoshima, which fun fact, this is where the author of the Takagi manga grew up in! The anime manages to recapture a couple of the island’s locations such as the school, a few neighborhoods, the shrine, the library, the tunnel, and the bookstore to name a few, and when you look at a side by side comparison to its real life counterpart, the shots are pretty similar, almost looking like a faithful recreation. While Takagi isn’t the only series that manages to recapture Japan’s notable locations and landmarks, it still does a good job at making the viewer feel interested in wanting to visit sometimes.

Moving back to the in-universe stuff, I like the character designs and how they actually look like middle schoolers. A lot of series tend to either overage or underage their characters from their respective age group/school year. This is mostly a nitpick on my end when it comes to those series, so it’s not really a huge issue for me unless it becomes taken too far. Aside from that, the anime does a good job portraying the behavior of most middle school children, from their youthful appearance, to their playful, innocent expressions. Nishikata’s reactions are hilarious and his expressions, complimented by his sounds effects, are what makes the comedy land. Takagi’s expressions are great too ranging from adorable cuteness to playful teasing. Those smug faces she makes are pretty hilarious.

Overall, the art for Takagi is solid. Its got good looking visuals, and the expressiveness of the characters captures the nostalgic feeling of being in middle school, giving a sense of adorable wholesomeness and hilarious laughs. Shin-Ei did a good job in this aspect, which they later improve in the future seasons.

Story: The story follows two separate plots. One focusing on the two main leads Takagi and Nishikata, and the other revolving around 3 best friends being Yukari, Sanae, and Mina.

Takagi and Nishikata Story: In Season 1, the narrative is relatively straight forward, Takagi teases her classmate Nishikata and Nishikata tries to find ways to tease her back, but often finding himself failing to make a comeback, so he continues until Takagi succumbs to his teasing. Its a simple plot that's easy to follow, but still leaves the viewer engaged as to how Nishikata will try to tease Takagi. Season 1 manages to keep this narrative consistent, and gives a similar vibe to a classic Tom and Jerry episode. Although some people may find the segments repetitive after watching a few episodes, the interactions Takagi and Nishikata have leads into the most important aspect of the series, their relationship.

Season 1 focuses on establishing their relationship, how they met, and how they grow closer to each other. In a relationship, this is the initial stage. Nishikata sees Takagi as a rival at first, but as time goes on, he notices that he spends a good amount of time with her, and even though he loses most of the time, he is able to learn and slowly grow thanks to her. The interactions the two have feel natural and organic, and I love how the anime paces itself and its dialogue when it comes to fast paced comedy and slow paced intimate moments.

This in my opinion, is what highlights the series’s charm, because it emphasizes one of the main love languages, quality time. You get invested in how these 2 characters slowly start to think about each other throughout their daily activities, talking in class, going bicycle riding, playing games, walking together, all of which show the natural progression of how a friendship is formed, and only then do these two eventually start to see that they enjoy each other’s company, and later see each other as something more which is something the later seasons start to focus on. It feels organic, it feels natural, its well paced, it has this nice sense of flow when the episode transitions into their next segment. You start to see the relationship change bit by bit, and while Seasons 2 and 3 show this development more evidently, Season 1 has some nice small moments that often go unnoticed, which makes the finale of this season all the worthwhile, opening the door for what’s about to happen in the next stage of their relationship.

B-Trio Story: The secondary plot revolves around 3 best friends being Yukari, Mina, and Sanae, who i will refer to as the B-trio. Their segments consist of the usual slice of life parts that serve as a nice comic relief away from the Takagi and Nishikata segments. Now to be fair, if I had to pick one criticism people have with the series, it’s that the B-trio segments don’t often serve too much to the overall story, and often times their segments can be seen as fillers, which could of been used to develop Takagi and Nishikata’s relationship. Personally, I enjoy these segments and I don't mind their presence in the anime because I find them to be solid comic relief characters, and their segments also expands on the SOL middle school life, plus their segments don't go on too for long so its not that big of a deal, at least to me. If you don't like these segments, then its perfectly fine, because I agree that these 3 as standalone characters wouldn't work, hence them being here helps to serve as a breather to give a quick laugh before transitioning back to the main plot.

Season 1's overall narrative focuses on the starting stage of establishing the main lead's relationship, and focuses more on the slice of life/comedy aspect with small bits of romantic interest. The romance is definitely on the slow burn side, but it does manage to pace itself in giving subtle hints of development worth investing towards which will then be expanded on in the later seasons.

Characters: Takagi and Nishikata may be your typical middle schoolers, but their dynamic is what makes the series enjoyable to watch.

Nishikata is a fun character. I love how expressive he is and his reactions always give me a good laugh, even upon rewatch. His development in Season 1 may not be as impactful to some compared to the later seasons, but he does slowly improve himself after some of the losses he takes, and he slowly starts to learn more about Takagi, not only as a rival, but eventually as a friend.

Takagi is also a fun character. I enjoy her fun teasing side since her teasing isn’t seen in a mean spirited way, but rather showing her affection towards Nishikata. Granted we don’t know too much about Takagi since we mostly see the story through Nishikata’s perspective, so it leaves both Nishikata and the audience having to use visual cues such as tone and expressions, especially with how each encounter with Nishikata slowly strengthens her feelings for him.

Yuki Kaji and Rie Takahashi do an excellent job at making their interactions feel very natural. The dialogue is smooth and well paced, talking at a speed where it’s easy to pick up some of the basic Japanese language.

The B-trio and various other side characters in the series are also your typical middle schoolers and most don’t serve too much importance to the overall plot, just people Takagi and Nishikata interact with if they aren’t hanging out together.

Soundtrack: The soundtrack for Takagi is interesting as it doesn’t follow the standard 1 opening song, 1 ending song, for a 12 episode series. Instead it does 1 opening, sung by Yuiko Oohara (who also does the songs for Mushoku Tensei), and has multiple ending songs (this season has 7) that change every 1-2 episodes, all sung by Rie Takahashi. The songs are wonderful to listen to, and I recommend looking at the lyrics as it does give more insight on Takagi’s feelings.

Enjoyment: After rewatching Season 1, I found it to be pretty fun to watch, even if Seasons 2 and 3 are a definite improvement. A good amount of the iconic jokes were in this season, and the development was pretty subtle. I still got a good laugh from Nishikata’s reactions and I appreciate his motivation to better himself once he starts learning more about Takagi. I also saw the B-trio plots to be fun as well, even if they didn’t serve too much to the story. Finally, rewatching most of the segments in Season 1 helped to see how much the relationship has changed, as there are parallels that correlate to how Nishikata from Season 3 is a different person there than he was in Season 1. He acts less flustered and is starting to become more aware of his feelings for Takagi. All of those small moments of development he had in Season 1 were foundations as to how his character starts developing in the later seasons.

Conclusion: Takagi-San Season 1 isn’t a perfect season, it’s a simplistic plot with a premise that repeats itself, and development that may not be as noticeable compared to many other series that have an overarching storyline, fleshed out characters, and complex themes. So why do I still give the season a 10? Takagi is a simplistic story that works, not every story needs to have this layer of complexity, and simple stories like Takagi are needed to help give the audience something to relax to, a story that invokes happiness, and a story that’s easy to follow but still make it engaging for the viewer to feel interested. It gets the job done of the story it’s trying to tell, and the later seasons manage to improve the qualities the first season had, making the series definitely worth the time investing in. If you’re looking for an anime with good romance, or something to relax your brain with, then I definitely recommend this one.

Boarding School Juliet is a typical shounen romcom that's cliched, predictable, but still a fun read overall. And that's why its a masterpiece imo.

Art - The art is fantastic. It’s visually pleasing to the eye, has a great amount of detail put into it (backgrounds, expressions, etc) and I absolutely love the character designs. Even when the series transitioned from a monthly to a weekly, the art still holds up impressively. The art also captures the tone of certain scenes beautifully ranging from comedic moments, dramatic moments, and action sequences, making you “feel” the vibe each scene plays out. It also has a good amount ... of fantastic spreads and chapter covers that make feel excited every time I turn the page.

Story - The story is inspired from the classic tale, Romeo and Juliet, where Romio and Juliet are secret lovers whose goal is to unite and seek peace within their rival cities. I love how the series manages its tones: comedy for laughs, drama for seriousness, action for awesome, and fluffy romance for wholesome goodness. I also love how the story is constantly engaging, as it slowly builds its setting and character relationships, and each arc is constantly moving the plot forward. The payoff each arc has is really satisfying.

Characters - The BSJ cast is the strongest aspect of the series, and that is due to the various dynamics. The characters have their unique quirks, personalities, and each of them get a chance to shine in the story, even if it is a small part. The character relationships is what shined because I love how they slowly start to grow and influence each other, and I honestly didn't feel there was one character I genuinely did not like. The cast is wonderful, from main, to supporting, and antagonists alike, the author did a good job at putting a lot of care into writing well written characters and giving them a place in the story.

Enjoyment - I really enjoyed reading BSJ. After giving the series a reread, it definitely deserved to have a spot in my top favorite mangas overall. Its the kind of romcom series that speaks to me and I enjoyed investing my time in it, whether its the art, the story, or the characters! And that is what this manga succeeds at, being really fun!

Conclusion - So why do I think Boarding School Juliet is a masterpiece? Well, its able to take a generic, predictable, and formulaic romcom and make it really fun and engaging. When it comes to most shounen romcoms, a lot of the criticisms are towards how cliched they can be (love triangles, how long till they get together, overused character tropes, etc). BSJ is no exception in having its fair share of cliched moments, but what makes it stand out to me is how they are written. A lot of BSJ's great moments are engaging and fun to read through, and while some may think its good and nothing special, to me, its amazing in every category.

If you haven't given Boarding School Juliet a read, I highly recommend it to any romcom reader out there. Its fun, interesting, and awesome to read through. The series also lasted roughly 119 chapters, so if you don't want to read a romcom that's 200+ chapters long, then this series is for you!

Teasing Master Takagi San is an adorable and fluffy series. It’s one that I genuinely enjoy reading and one that I never get bored with despite not having an overarching plot. In my opinion, the joy of this manga is seeing Takagi and Nishikata hanging around together and how their relationship is naturally progressed, like how friends are in real life.

Art - Given that this is Yamamoto’s first work, the character designs may seem a little off for the first 3 volumes, especially if you’re coming from the anime and are used to it’s art style. Once you get to Volume 4, this is ... where the author starts to find his groove with his art style, where it’s now aligned to how we see Takagi today as well as his current works such as Soredemo Ayumu, Fudatsuki no Kyouko-Chan, Tsubaki, and his various one shots.

As for the artstyle itself, it’s a nice artstyle with good character designs. The expressions are wonderful here as it captures Takagi’s teasing nature such as her giggles and smugs and Nishikata’s flustered expressions as he blushes very hard when gets thrown off guard. It gives a wholesome aww and cute atmosphere to it, where I’m constantly smiling at how adorable it is. For the more intimate moments, the author does a great job at expressing their emotions, such as their smiles and blushes, really making you admire how adorable Takagi and Nishikata’s relationship is.

Story - I’ll be blunt and get straight to the point here, if you’re expecting an overarching plot or a story with strong character development, you’re not gonna get that here. Sometimes a simple and lighthearted story like this can still be just as enjoyable. I say that because there are those people that do complain and forget that they’re reading for fluff and get disappointed when the story goes no where. The premise is Nishikata trying to tease Takagi back and it’s pretty much the entire story with a few exceptions with some of the chapters. It’s a very simple and straightforward plot and premise that repeats itself throughout the series. While some might find it a problem, I personally don’t see it as an issue and it doesn’t take away my overall enjoyment with the series. If you do want a Yamamoto series that does have an overarching plot and romantic progression, then Soredemo Ayumu is the series for it.

As I said, the joy of this manga is the relationship between Takagi and Nishikata. Their dynamic feels natural to me, similar to how a regular friendship works. Takagi teasing Nishikata and him trying to tease her back to no avail is very cute, wholesome, and funny. When it comes to the more intimate moments these two have, it’s really wonderful because you start to see how these 2 naturally become close friends, almost to the point where it feels like they become a part of each other’s lives. Yeah I may have over exaggerated that bit, but I find it so wholesome and more natural feeling that I truly enjoy their friendship and the moments they spend together. Even though the premise is simple and repeats itself, I really do not mind it as I enjoy their dynamic and that is what keeps me coming back to it because I find their relationship to be so wholesome.

There are also side stories of Takagi and Nishikata’s friends and classmates which they are nice stories that help change the pace a bit.

Characters - The characters in the series are relatively simple, to which that isn’t a bad thing. For a series like this, the characters are enjoyable, while Takagi and Nishikata are well known for their dynamic. Takagi is such a tease and I love her for that because it really makes the moments she has with Nishikata so hilarious and wholesome, and I feel it’s her way of showing her affection to him because she enjoys his presence. I also love Nishikata and his flustered reactions, doing his absolute best to tease Takagi back but ends up getting thrown off guard when Takagi comes out victorious, they give me a great laugh. As I said before, the dynamic between the two is the reason why I love this series and seeing them together always gives me a smile especially when they have their intimate, or close friend moments where you see them caring for each other to which that is wholesome in another degree.

The side characters, being Takagi and Nishikata’s friends and classmates, are pretty simple characters and are not relatively important to the story, but still have a nice presence to them.

Enjoyment - Overall, I genuinely love and enjoy reading Takagi. Even after rereading, I never got bored with it so that alone it’s a 10/10 in the enjoyment scale. As I said, I love the dynamic between Takagi and Nishikata, their relationship is so wholesome and naturally progressed that I can’t stop smiling. Yeah it’s a simple premise and yeah it repeats itself, but for what it is, it’s definitely one of my favorite fluff stories and I recommend it to anyone who needs a nice lighthearted story and wholesome interactions.

I also recommend watching the anime version as there are scenes that are executed way better in anime format as well as great anime original content, and the voice acting from Rie Takahashi as Takagi and Yuki Kaji as Nishikata is also spot on and done very well to their characters.

Objective Rating: 8/10
Enjoyment Rating: 10/10
Fluff Rating: Infinity/10