Wow. Given how absolutely wonderful this third season of Teasing Master Takagi-san has been, I was trying to keep my expectations as low-key as possible going into this ending. After all, there’s a shiny new theatrical release on the way, so I figured the show would save its biggest romantic reveals for the big screen. Now, it is true that technically get a confession this week, so that Takagi-san The movie still has some ammo left in its pocket to work with, but that doesn’t stop “March 14” from being one of the sweetest and most satisfying endings I’ve seen in a romance anime. Even if we didn’t have a movie to look forward to, and this season 3 finale episode was the last we were going to see of Nishikata and Takagi, I would have stayed away from Teasing Master Takagi-san feel completely satisfied. To steal a phrase from new girl‘s Schmidt: “No notes!”
First of all, it’s impossible to underestimate how adorable it is to watch Nishikata slowly but surely rebuild his own feelings for Takagi after Hamaguchi tries to pressure him into confessing to Takagi. At first, of course, Nishikata feels that there is no way he will feel anything other than a friendly (yet fierce) rivalry towards the girl who teases him so much, and his elaborately crafted “Nishikata Quest” will be the ultimate test. of Takagi’s mental strength against his own. It’s just a pure, platonic friendship that’s fueling Nishikata’s urge to spend inordinate amounts of time organizing elaborate scavenger hunts for the girl he spends nearly every minute of his free time with… right? of course, the does it he likes to hang out with Takagi, and he can admit that she is very cute… and his heart begins to sink when he realizes that she is not around to play the usual games with him in class… and he was so thrilled to see her face when she discovered the game-to-end-all-games he made just for her…
That alone would have been enough to dial my heart’s Melt-o-Meter™ to dangerously high levels, but then the show actually goes to great lengths to bring back the sneaky love confession Takagi made with that book with the one who was joking with Nishikata. the way back in Episode 2. Nishikata learns that there certainly wasn’t an oddly specific and direct love confession for Takagi to read in the text of the book, and if what Takagi was trying to sneakily communicate his true feelings for Nishikata, so maybe the dozens of other times she has done similar stunts have also been….
(Dear readers, let me tell you that seeing the truth of all this slowly dawn on our precious idiot’s face has been one of the anime highlights of the past, who knows how long for me. I can only thank the anime gods that text reviews are unable to convey the embarrassing noises he was making during the middle of this episode).
Also, can we talk for a moment about how amazing Nishikata’s boyfriend is going to be once he realizes That she’s already been dating Takagi for two years? Nishikata may have been able to fool himself into thinking that “Nishikata Quest” was nothing more than an attempt to finally surpass his longtime rival, but you and I (and Girl Squad!) all know that his The incredibly elaborate scavenger hunt is one of the most romantic gestures imaginable, and if I had one completely insignificant complaint to make about “March 14th,” it’s that we have to settle for watching Mina and company solve all the puzzles instead of the Takagi herself. Yeah, I’m fully aware that the sight of Takagi falling in love with Nishikata all over again while playing Nishikata Quest would have probably killed me outright, or at least sent me into a shock-induced coma, but damn, that’s a risk I I am willing to take! I need is, Takagi-san!
Ah good. Guess I’ll have to settle for the absolutely delightful final scene that sees Nishikata running after Takagi’s car to make sure he can give her the traditional White Day gift on time. Could you maybe comment a bit on how some of the running animations look a bit out of place, or how the overall timing of the scene feels a bit stretched out? Sure, I could… if I were a monster who hated love and art. I’m not a monster, though, so I’ll just revel in the simple joy that comes from watching two sweet kids get one step closer to expressing how much they love each other. Sure, Nishikata might not say “I love you” in this ending, but you don’t need to. All Takagi needs to hear is that the boy of her dreams wanted nothing more than to see her and give her a little token of thanks, because she truly means the world to him.
That is more than enough for me. whatever comes after Teasing Master Takagi-san it’s just the icing on the cake. What we have here, already, is perhaps as close to a perfect anime love story as you can get.
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Teasing Master Takagi-san Season 3 is currently streaming on HIDIVE.
James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop cultures, which can also be found at Twitterhis blog and his podcast.