Forum - View topicREVIEW: Karakai Jōzu no Takagi-san—Episodes 1-12
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reaslin
 Posts: 42 Location: Europe |
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Actually, she is taken off guard once, at the end of episode 11, I think. It is a very cute scene. |
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klokei07
 Posts: 17 |
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The end of chapter eleven adapts the (arguably) best moment in the manga when Takagi is barely able to continue the act because Nishikata effectively took her off guard when she was teasing him. It's a small character-driven moment that is genuinely great and gives her a lot of dimensionality and, as much as I love the show, I wish the anime and the manga had more of that stuff. |
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James_Beckett
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 283 Location: USA |
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That is a good one! There's also that sweet moment where Takagi gets all giggly over Nishikata's thank you note that I really enjoyed. I just wish there were a segment or an episode where we got to see their relationship fully from her perspective, or something like that; it would have helped Takagi feel just a bit more fleshed out. What I'm *really* crossing my fingers for is an adaptation of the sequel spinoff manga. I don't know if the world would even be able to handle the cuteness. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11581 |
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I tried to watch this when it came out, but I just couldn't take it for more than an episode. Nishikata is cute as a button, so Takagi's constant teasing really made me hate her. It doesn't matter if she's doing it "affectionately." It's like tickling someone. If they're susceptible to it and you're relentless about it, it becomes torture, even if it causes no physical harm and is done without ill intent. "I was just teasing" doesn't cut it.
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Joshua Zarate
Posts: 2062 |
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^To be fair, Nishikata is always trying to tease her back, so it’s less of a one-sided tortuous bullying and more of a competition that Nishikata just happens to keep losing at until he got her near the end of series. I also don’t think he would have let the teasing continually happen as much as it did throughout the series if he didn’t also have feelings for Takagi, so it appears that he’s simply shy of opening up. I think that is a part of the reason why some folks may view the slow build-up of him not being as shy as he was in the beginning as endearing and can enjoy this series. While I understand that some people may still be put off, I had a good time with this show and that’s all I can really ask for.
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Kendra Kirai
Posts: 187 |
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I absolutely adored this show, though I admit that almost every criticism is entirely valid; the repetitive template, the teasing possibly making one uncomfortable, Takagi not having much focus on her own.
To be fair on the last, however, so far as I remember, it isn't until Nishikata gets her that we see anything from her perspective because...well, she isn't the focus, or even main character, exactly. Nishikata is. She's vital, certainly, but the show is about Nishikata and the reactions to the teasing. She's a cipher to us precisely because she's a cipher to him, the only difference being that we're not oblivious 14 year olds and can pick up the obvious sly flirting coming from the more (emotionally) mature and far, far cleverer Takagi. Gina Szanboti, your boy's sweet, but about as sharp as a sack of wet mice. 
Personally, I think this works in the show's favour, to a point. Would it have been as effective a cute romance if we saw Takagi's gears turning the way we saw Nishikata's? His internal panic as he constantly second-guessed himself trying to work out Takagi's angle and initiate an 'attack' of his own drove a lot of the comedy to be had, keeping it from being a slow-moving tidal wave of syrupy-sweet molasses, and keeping us from seeing Takagi's point of view until very near the end, when he unwittingly and unknowingly managed to get her made that payoff feel much more earned. That said, this is all my take, and Takagi-San absolutely relies on you, as the viewer, being open to how adorably sweet and intensely repetitive it is. |
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Cain Highwind
Posts: 315 |
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My sister felt the same way. After a couple episodes, she's like, "God she's such a troll, I just can't..." For me, I kinda liked the trolling aspect but it was the whole "obliviousness" of Nishikata that made me give up on the series (and the show did get repetitive for me too). I'm sure it gets cute near the end, but I just didn't have the patience for it. It's funny the whole series reminds me of an episode of Phineas and Ferb with one of Doofenshmirtz's flashbacks essentially being the same story. |
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Northlander
 Posts: 911 |
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During the first couple of episodes, she wouldn't think twice about getting him in trouble in class, so I had a bit of a hard time then and there. The show softened up on that a bit later, though, so I had a much easier time digesting the back-and-forth. As for him always trying to tease her back: that's probably more because she just keeps on doing it to him. Somewhere during the first two episodes, he actually makes it quite clear he'd prefer her to stop, but she's all "Nuh uh. This is too amusing to me." So I can only assume he's already tried ignoring her, and using more.... reprehensible methods.... of getting her off his back is out of the question as far as he's concerned, so he's pretty much left with the option of trying to do to her what she's been doing to him for as long as they've known each other. Which of course he doesn't succeed at. Bottom line: yes, she does come across as a bit of an asshole -- or a troll -- every now and then, at least during the first couple of episodes. She's no Ai Ninomiya, though, so it's not as much that I hate her than I think she's taking her game a bit too far. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11581 |
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I went back to see what I had to say about it in the Preview Guide and it turns out I didn't even last past the first ten minutes.  But apparently my reasons then were a little different than I remembered: "Nishikata made me so sad in his constant embarrassment I couldn't find any fun in it. I just wanted it to stop, so I did."
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Kendra Kirai
Posts: 187 |
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Yeah, I love the show, but I can't fault anybody for bailing QUICK. It's a thing you either click with or find incredibly off-putting. And since the whole series is essentially more of the same, if you don't pick up what it's putting down in the first half episode, well....
Like I said, it's heavily dependant on how open you are to the premise and it's execution of it. I'd like to say it gets better, or changes things up appreciably, but aside from a slow evolution to more obviously romantic/flirty tones, it really doesn't. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4157 |
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I couldn't think of a better way to describe this show than "pleasant surprise". I thought it was funny, I liked the character designs and colors.. it's just good.
I'm not as fond of the girl trio though; They're holdovers from a separate manga and feel it as they change the genre from "romantic comedy" to "obvious all girl four panel comic" which has so many examples, it's not only an official genre but practically a dead horse. |
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meiam
Posts: 3447 |
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Personally I ended bailing quickly, but not because of the teasing/bullying aspect but more because it really felt like they stretched out a 5 mins episode into 22 mins. Dunno if that ever change, but seeing as one of the main criticism is repetitiveness I guess its more of a take it or leave it things.
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pachy_boy
Posts: 1335 |
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I think there is one other notable moment in Episode 6 with 'Water Tap', in which Nishikata hurts himself trying to help Takagi, and she had nothing but genuine concern for him. There may have still been a semi-teasing nature even then while helping treat him, but she at least put aside her usual pranking and also expressed her appreciation for him. I wasn't sure I was going to make it past Episode 1 because it seemed so obvious it was going to be run-of-the-mill with its concept--yet stick with it I did, and I felt no time wasted. Whatever your thoughts on all the teasing, it came across as no less than a sweet series the whole way through. And that girls trio proved flavorful in their own right. |
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I_Drive_DSM
 Posts: 217 |
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I really like the manga as it spoiler[shows Takagi and Nishikata as adults with their daughter, and she's effectively a true mix-mash of both of them in that she can dish the teasing out but also reacts similarly like her father to teasing]. I was a bit disappointed that the anime didn't bring some of these elements from the manga, and if another season is coming then I hope that happens.
If I could find fault in the series I think the episodes drug out some of the jokes and teasing a bit too long. The roles of Takagi and Nishikata are established fairly early on and for myself many of the episodes often appeared to play themselves out as going back to square one. If there were any chances of character development and elaborating on some of Takagi's 'dimensionality' that's probably where it could have been established. We also probably won't get away from teasing series any time soon. We also have 'Please Don't Bully Me, Nagatoro' which I'm certain due to it being a Kodansha released piece and it's relative popularity will also see an anime when it gets enough material established. |
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