Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Teasing Master Takagi-san Season 3
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earl.m
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I have a more negative view of Takagi's actions than most people. In addition to gaslighting Nishikata, teasing him with her body, prodding him on his insecurities, invading his privacy (i.e. concerning hobbies and activities of his that he wants to keep secret) and other things that could easily be perceived as harassment and manipulation were the writing, directing, animation etc. willing to depict it as such instead of framing it as harmless and cute, we can't ignore that Takagi fully knows what she is doing. She is romantically interested in Nishikata, and her antics are part of her long-game play to get him to reciprocate. Takagi exploits the immature male's social tendencies - i.e. competitiveness, honor/shame etc. - in order to get him thinking about her all the time, become fascinated with her, want to spend more time with her etc. It significantly increases the amount of attention that Nishikata - who left to his own devices would have little interest in girls beyond casual acquaintance/friendship level, let alone romance (he doesn't even participate in the venerable male anime character traditions of owning swimsuit magazines or trying to catch a glance at the girls at the swimming pool) - pays to her. Most important: it keeps Nishikata's focus trained solely on her rather than potentially on other girls. spoiler[This is significant because manga readers know that Takagi's actions had their intended effect: down the line Nishikata marries her without having so much as ever dated anybody else.]
I should point out: it isn't that I care about any of the issues that I am raising. After all, I love this show. But I also like the other "imitators" whose female protagonists get criticized for doing the same thing that Takagi does, with Don't Bully Me Miss Nagatoro and Uzaki Chan Wants to Hang Out among them. In a way, the other oft-criticized imitators are worse. In contrast with Takagi, Uzaki rarely ever actually intends to harass Shinichi and certainly isn't trying to dominate his attention. Instead it happens mostly by accident as a result of Uzaki - not the sharpest tack in the drawer - acting on impulse without thinking. Nagatoro and her crew only started bullying the nameless MC because they saw him judgmentally eye them, try to avoid them and then he dropped his comic drawings, which revealed that - as they had already guessed by the way that he was looking at and trying to avoid them - he possessed retrograde opinions of women. Not saying that misogynists deserve to be teased, but merely pointing out that Nishikata is a decent fellow who in no way deserves his treatment. The opposite is true - Takagi teases Nishikata BECAUSE he is a decent fellow as it is why she likes him. The problem: her teasing him is conditioning him to like her back. One is probably thinking: big deal, Nishikata gets attention from a cute girl - and down the line a girlfriend (no reason to treat it as a spoiler ... a shonen gag comedy about middle schoolers isn't doing 3 seasons and a movie just pull Five Centimeters Per Second on us) - out of the deal. But shouldn't Takagi get to have agency in his romantic choices instead of being deprived of it by Takagi's premeditated machinations? Nishikata's lacking Nagatoro's hard edge - and Uzaki's figure - shouldn't exempt her behavior from scrutiny. |
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all-tsun-and-no-dere
ANN Reviewer
Posts: 605 |
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Sir this is a Wendy's
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5823 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Whether you are a man or a woman, both have to get their intended love interest, interested in them. Chasing after your intended choice, the ultimate goal, for everyone living, is to get them to have eyes only for you. He isn't being drugged and he is not imprisoned. He has his agency. In today's cultural minefields I can see why some might not like her actions, but I am not one of them.
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Kirki
Posts: 296 |
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I'm confused, you're describing 'flirting' and portraying it as manipulation and a bad thing. Takagi's 'teasing' is the most harmless and innocent thing. Yes, she's more clever than Nishikata and knows how to deal with him so she always 'wins', but in the end of the day it's just two middle-school kids with a crush playing with each other.
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MFrontier
Posts: 11109 |
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I love how much more obvious the pairs' relationship and feelings get by the episode, especially on Takagi's side. To the point where we even get a segment of no teasing in the UFO story where it's just the two of them hanging out and goofing around like an actual couple.
Also, Nishikata won! Of course, he didn't realize it. |
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Beltane70
 Posts: 3876 |
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I have to say that my favorite part of the episode was seeing Takagi dressed as Lum from Urusei Yatsura during the UFO sequence!
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Amuro1X
Posts: 175 |
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spoiler[Chi-chan showed up this episode!!!]
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MFrontier
Posts: 11109 |
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I was really confused by the opening segment until we saw adult Takagi and it turned out we were watching their kid who is going through her own variant of her parents' romance arc (only she's in the Nishikata position).
I love how Takagi's mask is dropping more and more. Like, she wanted Nishikata to be her prince only for his performance to actually take her breath away. And then look at her reaction when she has to hug Nishikata to prevent him from falling and realizes what she'd done. |
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Minos_Kurumada
Posts: 998 |
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The thing with Chi is that the manga already presented her waaaaaaay back in chapter 31 in a flashforward, the series end has never been an spoiler and the whole thing is written with the premise of you knowing what's going to happen.
That's an special episode to celebrate Tagaki going into a more popular magazine, it's quite good since it's designed to tease the reader not Nishikata. |
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Moonsaber
 Posts: 343 Location: USA |
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It's an anime, wow. Watch something else if it triggers you. In the meantime... CHI-CHAN! CHI-CHAN! So happy to see her show up, and I want more of her. |
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dm
 Subscriber Posts: 1351 |
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So that's what that opening was.
At first I thought "kind of off-model this week", then I thought "This must be some anime Nishikata is watching with role-reversal, I wonder if he's going to try to work the green pepper thing into a revenge plot...", then I forgot about it as the episode went on. |
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Northlander
 Posts: 901 |
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She did actually "lose" once, in the first season. Nishikata just didn't notice it. Can't speak for the following two, since I don't have access to those. Bluray release, stat! |
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Amuro1X
Posts: 175 |
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I don't know if I'll be able to freaking handle it if Former Teasing Master Takagi ever gets an anime.
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MFrontier
Posts: 11109 |
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I think everyone had it pegged that Nishikata would eventually end up the prince, but him pulling a diving save on Takagi with some solid improve was great...and Takagi herself dropping the acting and basically just genuinely confessing to him was perfect.
And that was after we saw her looking at him for all her romantic dialogue, because she was intending it for him. Just a really beautiful and fun episode. |
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dm
Subscriber Posts: 1351 |
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Episode seven
Walking the dog: Nishikata as tsundere. However, I'm afraid that I thought the schtick had run its course a short way into the "return to school" part of the episode. Time to just own up to what's happening Nishikata. Maybe he needs to be teased for not having a girlfriend yet in order to readjust his behavior? Kaguya-sama, Love is war showed that there is life after the confession, after all.... |
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