Karakai-Jouzu-no-Takagi-san-REVIEW-3
My jadedness eventually died out in November of that same year and I started to love romcom animes again.
Fast forward 4 months later where I made a list of romcom anime that I should give a second chance. Skilled Teaser Takagi San was the first anime on that list and I watched the whole series again in it's dubbed form on Blu-ray.
After re-watching Skilled Teaser Takagi San I went from disliking it to loving it to a point it became not only one of my favourite shows of 2018 but one of my favourites romcoms period.
The story follows a young boy Nishikata who mercilessly gets teased by his classmate Takagi. Not wanting to be an easy target he swears vengeance on his classmate Takagi for all the times she's teased him and made him blush out of embarrassment.
Will he be able to make Takagi-san blush from embarrassment even once in the end? Find out in Skilled Teaser Takagi San.
Saying that the story of Skilled Teaster Takagi San sweet is an understatement. This is one of the sweetest and innocent shows I have seen in a long while. Where do I begin? For starters does a fantastic job at establishing the shows innocent nature by having the kids in the series behave like actual natural kids that you will encounter in real life.
No unrealistic, melodrama, no misunderstanding contrivances just actual kids living they youth as people. It is very grounded on that aspect as it makes the world of Skilled Teaser Takagi San unique and refreshing compared to most romcom anime.
The teasing matches themselves range from engaging, smart and addicting. Some would say that the series is way too repetitive for its own and I can understand why however the teasing matches add more to this show then hinder it thanks to brilliant character interactions that never gets old.
The best part of theses teasing matches is that is they were not contrived and mean spirited. Nishikata may do some stupid things during the teaching matches that causes him to lose but the show reminds the viewer that he is a kid and kid's generally would do anything to reach the goal even if it's a dumb move that Takagi often comments on.
Another strong aspect of Skilled Teaser Takagi San is how it's romance. Dialogue wise, especially in the beginning, may not be much however it completely makes by having character movements and body language.
(Spoiler Alert)
Episode 10 is the best example of this as it was the episode that these two would eventually become a couple. From Nishikata bushing more frequently than usual to Takagi getting more physical to Nishikata Skilled Teaser Takagi San showcased that you don't always need long dialogue just to indicate love.
(End of spoilers)
If, there one thing that Skilled Teaser Takagi San does masterfully well that most other romcom anime lack these days is character chemistry.
Despite them having these teasing matches on a daily bases they actually do support one another very well.
Add up to this show's rich comedy that would make anyone and you got yourself a charming romcom story on your hands.
If I had any nitpicks at with this innocent cute love story it would slow pacing at times then again this is a show that features primarily a child character cast and children tend to learn things slower compare to adults.
However, this nitpick is nothing compared to the fact that the show at times still functions like a short despite having 24 minutes of run time. It wasn't noticeable in the first and last couple of episodes but when that slights issue happened it really showed as some episodes did not translate well to the 24 minutes format. This is especially distracting when the show decided to focus on the funny but less interesting trio of girls.
Lucky these small nitpicks that I had didn't damage the overall story for Skilled Teaser Tagaki San as It's a simple, nicely directed and entertaining slice of life romcom.
Naturally, this is a character driven show meaning the characters for a character-driven should bring they're A game. Thankfully the chararters in Skilled Teaser Takagi San are great and charming to watch from start to finish.
Nishikata is a sweet and adorable idiot. He consistently screws up his teasing antics against Takagi, and he always feels bad for screwing up. However, while he may be an idiot he makes up with determination and humanity. Despite him flailing he's very detected to beat Takagi at a teasing match however at the same time he's not a mean spirited angsty brat who wishes Takagi out of his life. This makes him a great character to watch because despite everything that happens to him still a human.
The real star of the show is without the question, Takagi. A first glance, she appears to your typical kindhearted and caring person who loves to tease her classmate Nishikata.
However, there's more to her than her teasing antics. She has a strong crush on him where she is constantly doing these sexual teasing acts just to penetrate Nishikata bluishness.
This makes her an interesting foil for Nishikata to overcome and seeing her tease and outsmart him in the most unpredictable and savage ways was intriguing to watch.
Despite Takagi being my favourite character in the show, there was one slight problem I with her is that she can be a bit of a Mary Sue at times. She's not one of the theses annoying types or anything but at times she can be too perfect for her own good. Hopefully, this slight problem will get fixed in season 2.
Despite that small complaint, Takagi is an incredibly fun and likeable character to watch.
The supporting characters are surprisingly good. While they don't develop as characters they were enjoyable chararters especially the main girl trio who were some of the funniest supporting chararters I have seen from 2018 thanks to nicely done short stories.
I'm glad that the series was able to have a strong cast because it wasn't for the characters then the series would be nothing more than a tedious slog feast.
On to the visuals side of things, Takagi San is gorgeous. The background scenery is masterfully drawn in a realistic way and it only made better with the show smooth colour palette that brings the scenery to life.
Character designs were simple and nicely drawn especially Takagi. Forehead memes aside her design is gorgeously cute to the eye and I really adore her expressions.
The animation may not be as good as the art as the series relays on basic animation techniques for movement but it was still serviceable for what it is.
As for the sound department, it's very good and fits well the cute and innocent show.
This is all thanks to the Hiroaki Tsutsumi did an outstanding job at bringing this charming romcom series to life with the light instrument pieces that play in the background.
Both opening and ending themes are super cute and perfectly fitted the show.
Romcom anime generally have a hard time when it comes to English Dubs as many of them especially back then suffered from subpar audio quality and bad acting. When I decided to watch this show dubbed I was worried that these two cute love birds (Takagi and Nishikata) would be butchered by poor acting.
Thankfully Funimation manages to produce a fantastic dub for it.
Funimation's rising figure Sarah Wiedenheft did an outstanding job voicing and portraying the cute Takagi. Another great performance in the dub goes to Aaron Dismuke voicing the determined Nishikata. Every other performance ranges from good to great.
Great job Funimation.
Skilled Teaser Takagi San won't be winning the best romcom anime award from me but it is still a great, fun and engaging show that I loved from start to finish.
SEE CHAPTERS
The characters were great, funny and nicely written, the visuals for a slice of life, romcom anime were stunningly beautiful and music is sweet.
If you're looking for an innocent and charming romcom anime to watch on a sunny afternoon than Skilled Teaser Takagi San would be a fantastic choice. It's an innocent and charming romcom piece that I hold in high regard.
