Perfecting The Sweet And Wholesome Formula
- Episodes : 12
- Genre : Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life, Shounen
- Airing Date : Jan 2022 - Mar 2022
- Producers : Shin-Ei Animation
Teasing Master Takagi-san is one of those anime that you could always watch whenever you're in the mood for something light and wholesome. You can play any episode of this anime at random, and it will bring a smile to your face without fail. At least that is the case for the previous two seasons. So how did this current iteration fare compared to its predecessor? Well, here's the review for the third season of Teasing Master Takagi-san.
Contains Spoilers
Discussion Time
Nishikata is a middle school boy who always competes with his classmate, a girl named Takagi. They play puns, build the cutest snowman, guess each other's wishes during shrine visits, and all kinds of silly little games.
Unfortunately for him, Takagi can perfectly read Nishikata like an open book. That is how she wins the majority of their little competition and will tease him about it afterward. Nishikata always feels frustrated by his inability to win against Takagi, and yet he is also looking forward to their competition every day. As for Takagi, well, teasing Nishikata and making him blush is always the best part of her day.
1. A Wholesome Romance
As you can probably guess from reading the previous sections, Teasing Master Takagi-san is an incredibly wholesome anime about the sweet and innocent romance between two middle schoolers. Not only that, but the story also has tons of silly little comedic moments that can always make you chuckle.
The best example of this is when Nishikata asks about the number of stairs that they've just climbed, thinking that there's no way Takagi would've counted the steps. Unbeknownst to him, that is actually a very famous spot for couples due to the number of stairs it has, precisely 415 steps, which can be read as "Sweet Love" in Japanese. Nishikata's reaction when Takagi tells him about this fact is simply priceless.
2. There's An Actual Story Progression This Time Around
One of the biggest criticisms of Teasing Master Takagi-san is the lack of progression within the story, which we'll talk about more in the next section. That being said, things are quite different this time around, because there is an actual story progression in this season, particularly in regards to the romantic relationship between the two protagonists.
There are three main storylines in this season that moves the story forward. The first one is during the school festival when Takagi and Nishikata share the stage together. The second one is when they exchange gifts on Christmas. The last one is during Valentine's when Takagi expresses her displeasure seeing Nishikata receiving chocolates from other girls. It might be baby steps, but at least the story moves forward to a much more desirable conclusion.
1. Highly Similar To The Previous Two Seasons
Now let's get back to the main criticism of this series. Yes, as mentioned earlier, there are several key moments that move the story forward in this third season. But for the most part, everything is more or less the same as the previous two seasons. Nishikata challenges Takagi to a silly competition, gets beaten by Takagi, and teases him about it.
To prove this point, you can try and take the third episode from every season and show them to somebody who has never seen this series before. They won't be able to tell that all three episodes come from different seasons. Because both the storyline and the design of the characters are relatively the same. The author has found a winning formula and faithfully sticks to it.
There's nothing inherently wrong with that approach. After all, that is one of the main reasons why people love this series. However, it would be much better if there's a nice balance between telling a formulaic story and actually providing some progression to the story.
Final Thoughts
The third season of Teasing Master Takagi-san provides a fun and wholesome watching experience. You will smile, chuckle, and be showered with warm feelings when you watch the interaction between Takagi and Nishikata.
If you have already watched the first two seasons, then you already know what to expect from this season. Fortunately, there's a little progression to the story this time around, so each episode didn't end up being a total copy of the previous ones.
Do you watch season 3 of Teasing Master Takagi-san? What do you think about this season compared to the previous ones? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Author: Harry
