Tada Never Falls in Love

Episode 9

Tada Never Falls in Love takes a big step up this week. That's not saying much given how much this series has been shuffling its feet, but it is a refreshing surprise that's compelling from start to finish, and even more engaging in its first half than its second. Usually, this series's episodes are back-loaded—delivering a first half or even two-thirds of comedic shenanigans before some climactic twist near the end. It takes the pedal off the gas around the halfway point this time, but remains focused on its central storyline.

The episode starts off with an important conversation between Alec and Teresa. Teresa admits her feelings to her best friend, who has mixed reactions. She could tell that Teresa had fallen in love with Tada even before she said anything, but she's also worried about what this means for Teresa as the future queen. It doesn't seem like Teresa needs to marry Charles in order to inherit the throne, since she's the heir, not him. It's more a matter of propriety; she's been promised to this one guy her whole life. It would be gauche to turn him down now just because she's fallen for someone else so suddenly, and it would be more acceptable for Larsenburg to accept a native noble as king rather than a foreign commoner. All this is a big deal for someone as polite and down-to-earth as Teresa, who doesn't usually put her own feelings first. Yet her feelings for Tada are strong enough to tempt her.

This confession makes Teresa much more jittery around her crush. It's true that telling someone can make romantic feelings a much bigger deal than they were before the cat got out of the bag, but it's still funny just how full-tilt Teresa goes into nervous-crush mode. Even her clubmates can't help but notice her switching over to antiquated polite Japanese around Tada. Interestingly, Alec says this Teresa's "usual self." She's probably making a joke, but it makes you wonder just how different Teresa comes off back in Larsenburg—where she's the future queen and carries much more authority and prestige—than here in a foreign country where no one knows her. It also adds to the speculation that Teresa will stand up for her love in some major way.

This episode gives us cute moments where Tada helps Teresa in various ways, like picking up her eraser from the floor, lending her an umbrella, and even catching a caterpillar that fell on her ponytail (touching her hair)! All these adorable little touches do a good job of keeping Teresa's mind on their connection and add much more anticipation for what comes later. It's the sort of thing Tada Never Falls in Love should have been doing for the past eight episodes, basically.

Even the relatively brief club portions deliver well this week. The photos that each member picks for their "star" theme all say something unique about them. It's the subtle type of character development that could have aided this series earlier, rather than replaying some of the broader jokes that fell flat. It also builds up to a climactic development when it's revealed that they're submitting these for a contest that may have repercussions on future episodes. If Tada Never Falls in Love wants to juggle this many characters and stories, I wish it would have handled the balance this way from the get-go.

Even the way the show incorporates the "Rainbow Shogun" works toward its conclusion. Those were some of my favorite bits in earlier episodes, consistently funny in a way when some of the show's other gags struggled. It was both an inventive riff on foreigners' perceptions of Japan and the corny earnestness of old television dramas. In this episode, we see Teresa's early introduction to these stories, when governess Rachel would read Rainbow Shogun books to her and Alec as kids. We see how this directly influenced her decision to study abroad in Japan, and everything comes full-circle a grateful older couple at the cafe gives her tickets to a Rainbow Shogun show. It's the perfect cap to her trip to Japan that could provide prime date material for her and Tada. Something big is going to happen at that show, I'll bet.

Teresa and Alec have to help out at the cafe because Tada suddenly collapsed with a fever. This is kind of a tired plot twist, but Tada Never Falls in Love manages to make it work. It creates just enough dramatic tension to get the whole cast in one place, and more importantly, it gives Teresa a chance to act on her feelings. It's common for illnesses or other tragic events to force a realization of romantic feelings, but Tada's absence from her daily life also makes Teresa bolder. Now that she's kissed him, I wonder if Teresa will be more emboldened to act on her feelings when he's awake. (Ask permission next time, seriously!)

So let's talk about that big kiss. I could see it coming as soon as Teresa was in the room with him alone, although I was a bit surprised she actually went through with it. He's sick and unconscious, after all! This should be a big moment that prompts a lot of conflicting feelings, so it's disappointing how long Tada Never Falls in Love waited to give this couple much romantic build-up. Now that they're on the cusp of a breakthrough, it isn't nearly as satisfying. I picked this show because its first episode did such a good job of building anticipation for this couple, but it mostly spent the seven episodes to follow on barely-related shenanigans.

Much like episode 6, episode 9 is enjoyable but feels like something that should have happened earlier in the series' run. Of course the climactic kiss belongs near the end of the season, but all the little moments that led up to it could have been built in earlier. Teresa and Tada's quiet flirtations and their heart-to-hearts over the last few weeks were heartwarming, but it's disappointing that it took the series so long to start developing its leads' chemistry. It's too bad that one great episode late in a show's run can't make up for weeks of dragging its feet.

Rating: A-

Tada Never Falls in Love is currently streaming on HIDIVE.

Rose is a Ph.D. student in musicology, who recently released a book about the music of Cowboy Bebop. You can also follow her on her Twitter.