Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai (Tada Never Falls in Love)

Love has never really been a concern for Mitsuyoshi Tada, and as the aspiring photographer enters his second year of high school, it truthfully couldn't be further from his mind. However, things just might change after he meets a bright and bubbly foreigner named Teresa Wagner while he was taking pictures of a cherry blossom tree. Nevertheless, after she asks him to photograph her, the two soon separate... only to meet each other again twice more that same day! Finding Teresa just as she is caught in a sudden downpour, Tada invites her to his family's coffee shop to dry off. There, she explains that she was separated from her traveling companion, a no-nonsense redhead named Alexandra ''Alec'' Magritte. When Alec reunites with Teresa shortly after, they say their goodbyes, expecting to part ways for good—but the two unexpectedly show up as transfer students in his class the next day.

Teresa and Alec quickly get used to their lives at Koinohoshi High School and decide to join Tada in the photography club, along with his narcissistic friend Kaoru Ijuuin, the idol-obsessed Hajime Sugimoto, serious class rep Hinako Hasegawa, and the dog-like Kentarou Yamashita. With these two peculiar additions to his equally eccentric group of friends, Tada's second year of high school is about to get even livelier, and he might need to start rethinking his approach to love.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Characters & Voice Actors

Wagner, Teresa

Main

Iwami, Manaka
Japanese

Tada, Mitsuyoshi

Main

Nakamura, Yuuichi
Japanese

Ijuuin, Kaoru

Supporting

Miyano, Mamoru
Japanese

Hasegawa, Hinako

Supporting

Ishigami, Shizuka
Japanese

Magritte, Alexandra

Supporting

Shimoji, Shino
Japanese

Tada, Yui

Supporting

Minase, Inori
Japanese

de Loire, Charles

Supporting

Sakurai, Takahiro
Japanese

Sugimoto, Hajime

Supporting

Umehara, Yuuichirou
Japanese

Yamashita, Kentarou

Supporting

Shimono, Hiro
Japanese

Reinbou Shogun

Supporting

Koyama, Tsuyoshi
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Oowada, Tomoyuki

Producer

Kamata, Hajime

Producer

Ogata, Mitsuhiro

Producer

Iizuka, Aya

Producer

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Opening Theme

"Otomodachi Film (オトモダチフィルム)" by Masayoshi Ooishi

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Ending Theme

"Love Song (ラブソング)" by Teresa Wagner (CV: Manaka Iwami)

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Reviews

Jun 28, 2018

Yas-

Mixed Feelings

There's always that one show you find that starts off excellently and you expect it to go to greater lengths and remain consistent if not become better but then that does not happen every time, partly because a show doesn't bring any originality with it and partly because it doesn't strive to make things even a little unpredictable, that is the case with Tada-kun Never Falls in Love.

Right around the first and second episodes I felt it was amazing since it started off so well, showing a bright artstyle not unlike Doga Kobo’s other more popular (and obviously better) anime, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun. The characters ... felt cheerful and the whole anime gave you a cheerful vibe, now this vibe was obviously continued in the rest of the anime but the differing point is that it was cliched to the extreme. Don't get me wrong, cliches aren't bad, but they have to be handled properly to make the show watchable and not lazily copy over cliches and skin them with your colour and post it as your anime, this is unfortunately what Tada-kun continued to do and it certainly was heartbreaking for me to see that the show I loved in episode one became a cliche machine by the 5th episode (and I'm talking about myself here, others may have started seeing effects way earlier than me).

Being a Slice of Life meant that a concrete plot wasn't exactly on the list of priorities for any anime studio for that matter, so it comes by no surprise that this show as well didn't have one, and since this is very normal and common with most Slice of Life shows in general, I'll make this the one step I'll forgive. But what comes is the rest. One problem only, cliches. Each episode was filled to the brim with cliches, be it a situation, a backstory (not Tada’s), the characters, and unfortunately, the romance.

A cliched romance isn't exactly something I'll throw over to the Lions for, but when it's not even trying to add a dash of originality things start to get messy. I mostly went “Oh so in the next episode preview this is going to happen? Then this cliche will be followed” and it killed my enjoyment in the anime as compared to the first episode. And this isn't a hot springs episode thing, sudden bumps, blushes at the same words, a situation being ruined by the characters’ actions, are all examples of cliches that the show followed (forgive me for being vague, as of the time of writing I've been watching a lot of anime this season so my memory is slightly hazy). “Why is this guy focusing so much on the cliches?” you might be asking. To me, cliches were the one biggest problem the show had, if this was fixed, I doubt the show would disappoint me, but then again, improving cliches is very much easier said than done. And fixing them is important because to keep a Slice of Life fun, especially a romance, you need fresh ideas, Tada had none of that.

Tada-kun’s characters weren't the most unique of ones but I'll have to give credit, they were cheerful but their personalities were once again riddled by the C word (pretty sure you're as tired of reading it as I am writing it, but then again, this was the biggest problem of the show anyway). Although fans were gleefully picking out the ships right from the first episode going “Alec x Ijuuin” and the like it kinda felt a bit boring. I mean, not trying to act nitpicky but a little bit of a surprise is always welcome in a romance isn't it? “No” according to this anime. Although not having a surprise isn't 100% bad per se but yet again, Tada-kun didn't try to make it work. At best this can remind me that the show felt lazy. Doga Kobo tried to make something fun but a little different but didn't want to make the effort for it and got itself trapped within its own plans. Apart from the cat, every single romance in the show was horribly implemented. Tada X Teresa has got to be one of the most irritating romances I've ever seen because both of them acted so stupidly and their shyness for normal things like talking to each other (especially when they first met) has got to be a pathetic way to go about the “falling in love” step of romances. I mean, I despise the “love at first sight” view and Tada didn't help make it better at all. Pin-head and Representative-san’s romance as well wasn't explored and was left shallow. But then again it in itself was shallow from the start. Him not knowing that his childhood friend is the idol he idolises so much? Could you be any more cliche? Before you answer that, Tada already did. Yamashita Dog and Tada’s sister as well were just a one blush game as well. Coming back to Tada, his “romance” with Teresa was random, pretty much non-existent except for the last 3 episodes maybe if you don't count stupid “Oh I saw you look at me and I don't know what to say” crap as “love”... I'm not saying shy romances are bad, but Tada and Teresa made them look pathetic with their random shyness. Sometimes they're super shy and the other second they're pretty much flirting?

People went memeing around saying that the cats had the best romance but funnily enough that turned out to be very much true, until *that* happened. On the other hand the other romances felt average and not out of the box. At many times I found myself predicting what the next situation could be for the characters and when and how the blushes would happen. Perhaps the one romance I could like was of Ijuuin and our secretary Tsundere, Alec (since it is of a cliche I could say I don't have a problem with). The rest meanwhile, were… average like I said. It seemed as if the writers wanted to do something different, they wanted to try to make the show enjoyable in episode one, but the sad contrast in the later episode showed that they were the teenager who after getting bad grades thinks “I'm going to work hard from tomorrow onwards” and right the next day get caught in their usual routine, without any thought or apology for not doing what they promised themselves they'd do.

Now, this show isn't filth, far from it, it's not FranXX, but it's average, it's mediocre. Why? It doesn't ruin everything and burn everything to the ground. It is still an anime you could watch in small increments (perhaps once a week to you binge watchers who are going to watch the show after it airs). It's still an anime that can leave most with a normal face, since it's charm is still present, only drastically reduced from what it could have been, perhaps a mere shadow of itself. Is Tada-kun the show I like to call “wasted potential”? Definitely. Although it didn't go it's own way it didn't veer off into the abyss either, therefore putting it in the middle. What wasn't in the middle would be the artstyle, which I've iterated thrice here was cheerful, bright and very much like Doga Kobo. Apart from reminding me about Gekkan Shoujo, it made it's characters look cute and attractive. Be it Hinako, Teresa or Tada-kun himself, everyone looked cute, and that's not to say about the colourful backgrounds and eye-catching scenery either, those were fabulous and my favourite part about the anime. But then again, cute characters and a great artstyle don't make for a good romance.

Now something that was almost decent was the voice acting. Although it felt bad in terms of the female voice actors the male actors made up for it. I can forgive the female voice acting only on the grounds that Alec and Teresa’s voice actors aren't as experienced in the field as the males were (but I must admit, Teresa’s high pitched voice was VERY IRRITATING) and to be honest, apart from these two, on the male side I found Ijuuin a bit irritating with his voice, I was absolutely shocked to discover that Miyano Mamoru voiced him as a result. But in the end it boils down to how much you enjoyed the show. I for one don't hate the show (NANI), it's just that I felt let down because again, I wanted the show to continue the direction it had in episode one, if it did, it would be an 8 today or maybe even a 9. But not everything goes your way.

There's always that one show that clearly shows the idea the writers had in mind in the beginning but lazy writing can turn the best of starts into an average okay-ish show AT BEST, and it's sad to say but, Tada-kun stays as an example of that. I do hope that we see some improvement in Doga Kobo’s next show, but as of now, I doubt a sequel to this show could carve out something better like Nozaki-kun, although I'd love to be proven wrong. Amaze me Doga Kobo.

Story: 4
Animation: 7
Sound: 5.5
Character: 4
Enjoyment: 5

Overall: 5.1

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Jun 28, 2018

Stark700

Mixed Feelings

What ingredients really make up a good rom-com show these days? I’m not going to lie, I have high expectations when a creator wants to make a show with romance themes. As an original anime, Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai (Tada Never Falls in Love) seems to be a show that would entice me with its premise. Unfortunately, it dropped the ball as each episode passed on and eventually reached the point of being broken.

Original anime like this doesn’t fall into the trap of a weak adaptation. It has no material to follow after all. The story involves Mituyoshi Tada as he meets a foreigner ... named Teresa Wagner during her trip to Japan. As a rom-com, you should definitely expect love to develop between the pair, right? Well, that would be the case if Tada actually understands it. To be fair, love is a complicated subject but for Tada, he treats it indifferently. There’s undeniable chemistry between the two yet the show seems to rarely make a connection between them. However, the first few episodes did draw a big curiosity out of me. Teresa brings in a lot of her own personality and interest into the show as well. The idea of a Western foreigner coming to Japan has a lot of potential. Even from the first few episodes, she shows a lot of curiosity about Japan. It’s also shown that she is an avid fan of Rainbow Shougun, a fictional TV drama with samurai themes. My impression of her from early episodes is that she is a bit airheaded but kind to just about everyone. This is a contrast to Alec Magritte, Teresa’s caretaker who seems to be intensely protective of her friend. Unlike Teresa, she is blunt and often takes aggressive moves to protect her. That doesn’t mean she is a cruel person though. Alec is mainly close to Teresa because of her past and isn’t as easy to make friends with. She often gets into oddball moments with Kaoru because of his flirtatious personality and attempts to hit on her.

You’ve probably noticed by now but the show has a small character cast. The majority of the characters you meet in the first episode are the ones you’ll get to know for rest of the season. This also includes Tada’s classmates such a Hajime Sugimoto from the Photography club and class president Hinako Hasegawa. The show does also make time to give these two a spotlight in early episodes although it’s more of a tease than anything else. To me, it’s goofy and funny although also unoriginal. The idea of a girl living a double life with a love interest being oblivious isn’t new in rom-coms. There’s not much uniqueness to either Hajime or Hinako in terms of character development. They also fall into the character archetype that you can find in any series that takes place at school. Even more questionable is a character named Kentarou Yamashita who enters the show as a comic relief. There’s a comical reason why he’s nicknamed Yamashita Dog with his behavior. The character chemistry he shares with Yui Tada (Mitsuyoshi’s sister) is pretty forgettable honestly. That’s actually a big part that holds the show back from achieving success. It feels like as each episode passes on, the characters become less and less intriguing. Teresa and Tada gets sidetracked as the show tests the viewers’ patience. I say this with an open mind because I want to love them. Even for characters like Charles de Loire, I wanted him to be more engaging in the show besides just being a guy with French nobility. His role as a fiancé to Teresa originally gave me the feeling that he may be a love rival to Tada. Unfortunately, this series doesn’t really capitalize no bringing much romantic drama. Tada is often too stoic and thinks straightforward without much emotion to bring much interest. Teresa is too energetic that contrasts with both characters’ personalities. When you mix these ingredients together, the end product isn’t appealing.

Well, you’re probably thinking if any character in the show is worth paying attention to overall. Thankfully, there is and it’s not even a human. Nyanko Big is a stray cat that Tada found and adopted a decade ago. The furball has a lot of human personality and one episode even focuses on his little cat adventure. This anime needed episodes like this to bring out a more refreshing style of storytelling. Because let’s face it, a majority of the episodes feels the same. I can’t say this without shaking my head honestly because I really expected more from the writer involved. Yoshiki Nakamura previously worked on Skip Beat and that bought out a refreshing outlook on the rom-com genre. What does Tada-kun bring out instead? It’s a half-assed generic anime story that somehow made me care just about anything else than our two main leads. By the time this show reaches near its end, you may be wondering if Tada and Teresa are even worth being the main characters. It’s almost sad to see how the cookie crumbles. I’m not going to lie. The suspenseful subplot about Alec’s love interest made me more curious than to see if Tada and Teresa will get together in the end or not.

Despite my disappointment in the storytelling, there’s a lot of good to say about the animation quality. This was expected as some of the staff previously worked on Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun. In essence, the show is colorful with a sense of youth. The springtime backgrounds really brings out the setting that’s sprinkled with vibrant colors. Character designs also look elegant especially for characters like Teresa, Charles, and Alec. Even comedic moments are timed right with the body language and humorous expressions. There are also windows of moments that makes couple pairings impactful especially for the case of Teresa and Tada. While the show lacks impact on storytelling, the technical quality definitely deserves some praise. Even the photography elements got my attention with the precise shots and camera angles. Similarly, the music of the series brings an element of beauty thanks to the modern talents of Yukari Hashimoto. She also previously worked on Nozaki-kun and there’s definitely a similar feel in the music for both shows. The voice cast also did a phenomenal job at portraying their characters. Nyanko Big especially gets praise from me as a cat that is made larger than life. Even Teresa and Charles deserves some attention for their voice being filled with elegance and charm. They behave like characters of upper class in their home nation and that’s something I find believable.

With all due respect, it’s really hard for me to say that Tada-kun succeeded in the end with what it offered. The show started with a lot of promise but ultimately stabbed itself in the foot. It really felt like a test of patience for viewers that degenerated into a cheesy rom-com story. Characters like Alec and Nynako Big overshadowed them early on and it’s hard to look back. I’m not a big fan of photography and this anime is definitely not worth a thousand words.

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Feb 8, 2019

TakaCode

Recommended

When I reviewed 3D Kanojo Real Girl and Woatku Love is Hard For A Otaku I mentioned that were two romcom shows that were competing with each other? Well, there was actually three romcom anime that were competing each and that anime is Tada Never Falls in love. Unlike the other two Tada Never Fall in Love is an anime original probably meaning it's not as restrictive as the other two it has to follow the source carefully or else fans of the source material would riot. Also unlike the other two where I watched them weekly, I decided to wait until once it finished ...

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Season 2 FiddlePie - Aug 29, 2022	16 replies	by Ricky16 »» Apr 26, 4:26 AM
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Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai

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Characters & Voice Actors

Wagner, Teresa

Tada, Mitsuyoshi

Ijuuin, Kaoru

Hasegawa, Hinako

Magritte, Alexandra

Tada, Yui

de Loire, Charles

Sugimoto, Hajime

Yamashita, Kentarou

Reinbou Shogun

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Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai

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Available At

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Synopsis

Background

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Characters & Voice Actors

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Reviews

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