Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san

This goes for all seasons and the movie, this show is cute, fun and adorable through and through. Can the series be repetitive? Yes, but I’d like to clarify that season 3 alone does so many unique twists on the otherwise routine nature of the show that you should watch the first two seasons for season 3 alone. From having a majority of an episode going completely silent, to putting our cast in a school play, wavy hallucinations and dreams you cannot differentiate from reality. So you find the mind games played between Nishikita and Takagi a little tiresome, alright. Then you might find the ... side characters more interesting or your speed. I’d say that as much as I love the duo of takagi and Nishikita I would raise the roof and yelp in glee when a segment of the show would transition its focus to the side characters. Namely the trio consisting of Sanae-chan, Minae-Chan, and Yukari-chan.

A great addition to the cast that most would agree could very well be in a show/manga of their own. I preferred their segments for the more unpredictable nature and also when it would play off of a prior segment/bit that primarily involved the main duo. My favorite trio bit would be a three-way tie between “presence”, I believe it was called, them at the beach, and the bit in the very last episode where they solve Nishikita’s own, “love quest”.

Maybe you find the trio’s presence so upsetting that you wanna drop the series entirely. Well fret not, for there are also other characters too! Including a side couple consisting of a girl with a forehead that’s somehow even bigger than takagi-san’s and Brock from pokemon. Their relationship is reflective of a typical highschool romance more so than Takagi and Nishikita’s. You wonder why they don’t stick around more often and just go on a double date with them. Speaking of scenarios I wish I had a chance to see, I wish we got to see the rest of the picnic Takagi and Nishikita had with the trio. We hardly get to see Nishikita interact with the trio, let alone any girls that aren’t Takagi san. It would’ve been a hilarious romp I’m sure. There’s also Takao, Kimura, and Hamaguchi which comprise Nishikita’s friend group. Takao’s the lovable and rotund oaf (probably has a thing for Sanae-chan), Kimura is the inquisitive glasses dork of the group, and Hamguchi is shown as otherwise normal, looking more like a typical anime highschool protagonist than Nishikita. Yet he fumbles around his crush, Houjo-san(a girl who likes “mature” types) almost as badly as Nishikita does.

Alright, you despise the entire cast and find their antics annoying rather than sweet and wholesome. You pity Nishikita for losing to takagi-san all the time. Well fear not, despite not happening much, the moments where Takagi is btfo’d by Nishikita makes all his losses worth it. In fact, that was the main reason I kept coming back episode after episode. Because the rare instances he does win against Takagi are so warm, you can feel the love beaming through your screen. “But Nishikita is always winning even when he loses since he always has Takagi-san by his side”. Yeah, but you gotta understand how much my man’s suffering. To us the viewer, yeah the guy should take a step back and realize that he’s set for life. But to him, even if he likes takagi, he’s still losing in some capacity due to the games they play and no one likes losing over and over again. Even if it’s a game of rock, paper, scissors.

Look, all I’m saying is that you should watch this series even if it does get repetitive. Because hidden behind all of Nishikita’s losses, are moments worth cherishing forever, even if he doesn’t acknowledge them. You the viewer can.

Teasing Master Takagi-San’s first season isn’t exactly what I want out of this style of anime, but it honestly did better than anticipated.

I actually do appreciate the comedy within the show between the two leads but honestly prefer the dynamic of the 3 side girls. They are a major highlight for me. As well as Nishikita’s constant need and desire to get one over Takagi. His internal monologue is very believable and grounded for a young boy like that. And it’s also just absolutely funny how he goes from very simply trying to humiliate Takagi in some way to being wary of any possibility she ... can pull one over on him. By no means my favorite kind of comedy but it was enjoyable.

In terms of other stuff, I generally like the music and backgrounds, but the character design took some getting used to. They very much are not my cup of tea and even if I grew used to them, I still don’t think I really liked them.

But otherwise Teasing Takagi San is a mildly good slice of life school romcom that I can mildly recommend to those interested in that kind of stuff.

I'll keep this short and sweet.
I disliked the first season, granted I did accidently watch the 2nd season before the first (because Netflix had the 2nd season but not both). I found this season to be boring and lacking in story, and not that funny compared to it's sequel.
I can understand why people would like this anime, but it's just not for me.
I did watch it all the way through because that's my goal with any anime, but I was hoping it would pick up a bit more in the end. To me, it didn't.
I have yet to see the OVA in between seasons, but ... I gotta find where to watch that first.