Teasing Master Takagi-san Season 3

Episode 4

This week's episode of Teasing Master Takagi-san continues the series' unbroken streak of delivering sweet and wholesome entertainment, though its sketches aren't as inventive or heart-meltingly adorable as the best ones from the season's first batch. Still, any fans of the classic Takagi-san formula are bound to have a good time. Plus, there's aliens!

Before we get to the totally real and canonical addition of space aliens to the Takagi-san canon, the show has to get some seasonal formalities out of the way. I've never been to a school that required uniforms myself, which makes stories like “Uniform Change” a fun opportunity to observe what another culture considers “relatable” humor. It's not an especially groundbreaking sketch, since the central game of the story revolves around Nishikata trying to turn one of Takagi's old tricks around on her by tricking her into admitting she is cold…or, at least, tricking her into just saying the word “cold” in literally any context. We all know how this one goes: Nishikata thinks he has Takagi trapped, but then she flusters him by turning the game into a romantic overture. It's cute enough, especially since this season is putting a lot more emphasis on Nishikata's more overtly romantic feelings for his rival, but it won't win any “Best Sketch of the Season” awards or anything.

I liked the “Lunch” vignette better, mostly because I definitely can relate to the games of cafeteria realpolitik that helped pass the time back in the day. Nishikata's all alone today, since his friends are all sick (or pretending to be sick so they can play a new video game), but we know what show this is. There was never any chance that the boy would get to enjoy his delicious fried chicken bento alone, though Takagi's inevitable theft of Nishikata's precious nugget is softened by the fact that he himself admits that he was glad to have to company. He might not be ready to admit that he totally wants Takagi to feed him while he says “Ahh”, but he'll get there someday. Maybe. Either way, he got one of those delicious bamboo wheel-thingies, so I'd call it a fair trade.

Seriously, though, we need to talk about how the “UFO” sketch ends with Takagi seeing a one hundred percent real flying saucer. I don't know what's more mind-bending: The fact that the Takagi-san Cinematic Universe has officially become a science-fiction franchise, or the fact that Takagi is so taken aback by glimpsing the UFO that she doesn't even tease Nishikata for missing the thing. At least he has photographic proof, I guess? What I really wanted to see was Nishikata steadfastly refusing to believe Takagi because he thinks she's just trying to dunk on him for believing in aliens, but maybe the show is saving that epic plotline for the upcoming movie.

The last segment of the episode is by far the sweetest, though it takes a while to get there. “Night” sees Nishikata going to the public bath, and for the most part it's content to run with the usual Takagi-san shtick. Nishikata is genuinely disappointed when he thinks Takagi didn't follow him to the bathhouse, which is sweet, and Takagi admits that she did some crafty calculus to make sure she arrived early enough to finish with her bath exactly when Nishikata did. This is also sweet, though it is one of those instances that makes me ask whether or not Takagi has any hobbies or interests outside of Nishikata. Our girl needs to maybe wean herself off of Nishikata a little bit, so she doesn't go full stalker-mode on the kid.

The ending of “Night” is cute as all get-out, though, because Nishikata actually wins the game for once! Kind of. Well, he also loses, since he definitely blushed first when Takagi leaned in to check on his face in the dark, but it's all worth it to see one of those mythical instances where Takagi is caught completely off guard by Nishikta's casual gestures of intimacy. She manages to hide her own beet-red cheeks after Nishikata asks to walk her home, but that's only because our hero is very dumb when it comes to romance, and he doesn't even recognize the first time he's ever successfully stunned Takagi into silence.

We see how fast she scurries off, though; we know what's up. This might not be the most groundbreaking episode of Takagi-san, but it does show us that the season is still committed to moving this adolescent romance forward, ever so slightly. For a slice-of-life comedy, Takagi running off from Nishikata may as well be an Attack on Titan-level cliffhanger. We can only hope that this anime doesn't also end with Yūki Kaji's character becoming a psychologically scarred war criminal, though if Takagi keeps on stealing his fried chicken, God only knows what Nishikata will do to get his revenge.

Rating:

Odds and Ends

• Girl Squad! This week's check-in with the Girl Squad is the slightest one of the season: Mina doesn't see that her text to Sane about the winter uniform switch-up failed to send, so Sanae wears the wrong clothes to school. Not much to say about this one, except for the fact that this week's most #Relatable moment was how the weather went from sunny and hot to chilly at the worst possible moment. Living in the Rocky Mountains, that's basically what you get five days out of the week.

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-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.