I had a killer season for sleepers this winter, maybe my favorite ever (or at least most clairvoyant). I’m not expecting to hit so hard again every time, either in terms of batting average or quality, but guessing sleepers and seeing how they play out is always one of the best parts of a new anime season. The first one to come down the pike this spring is Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai, an original series from Dogakobo, and after one episode I’m prepared to say so far, so good. It wasn’t flawless, but it was thoroughly endearing.
A couple of observations I’d throw out there, starting with the fact that Tada-kun plays very much like a manga adaptation despite being an original. It’s worth noting that the vital staff members from Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (director Yamzaki Mitsue, writer Nakamura Yoshiko, animation director Taniguchi Junichirou and composer Hashimoto Yukari) are re-assembled for this show. It’s also worth nothing that three of them are female, and it’s rare in anime to have the majority of the key staff be women (I don’t think that fresh perspective hurt Nozaki-kun any, as it happens).
The key difference between Nozaki-kun and Tada-kun (the series, not the young men) of course is that this show is an original – and presumably, the source manga was a huge component in Gekkan Shoujo’s success. The adaptation was thoroughly excellent on its own terms, though, and that’s what gave me the optimism to call this show a sleeper. There is a plus side to that, too – Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai can tell a story designed to be told in 12 episodes (though that’s not been announced, it’s an educated guess) so – as with the best romances of 2017, Tsuki ga Kirei and Just Because – we should get a story with a beginning, middle and end.
A couple of quite savvy notes in the writing really stood out for me in the premiere. First off, when Teresa “Wagner” (Iwami Maneka, who was in Tsuki ga Kirei as it happens) speaks perfectly good Japanese in asking Tada Mitsuyoshi (Nakamura Yuuichi) to take her picture, he replies with a broken “I…can’t…speak…English”. This happens all the time (especially in Tokyo) – foreigners speak Japanese quite competently and get exactly that response. I also liked Teresa’s quite natural just-a-bit-too-formal Japanese (and Tada-kun’s reactions) and the general sense of awe she shows at being in Tokyo, and the difference in Western and Japanese usage of terms like “mansion” and “grand palace” has caused many a miscommunication. Good observational sense is a tell for a good writer, and this episode has that in droves.
The vibe this premiere gives off is less a real-life romance than a fantasy one – not the kind with youkai or faeries, but movie-style red strings of fate and highly unlikely plot details. First of all, I’m pretty certain that Theresa is a princess or a duchess or something – when she originally stopped halfway through introducing herself and changed to “Wagner” I assumed it was because she had some kind of impossible-to-pronounce Luxembourgish name, but the behavoir of her companion Alexandra “Alec” Magritte (Shimoji Shino) suggests an anime take on royalty and servant. On that topic, BTW, I’m not sure if these two are actually supposed to be from Luxembourg, or a fictional country called “Larsenbourg” (which would clearly be based on it) – cause it sure sounds like that’s what they’re saying.
The actual premise in the premiere is delightfully plausible – Teresa, who’s an inveterate Japanophile especially when it comes to period J-drama “Rainbow Samurai“, gets separated from Alec and Tada-kun (who’s into photography big-time) ends up coming to her aid out of a sense of responsibility for a clueless gaikoukujin (which also happens in Tokyo all the time). He takes her back to his grandfather’s kissaten, where he resides with Grandpa, his younger sister and a truthfully-named cat “Nyanko Big“, who Tada has turned into a web celebrity with his photos. Also a regular at the coffee shop is Tada-kun’s buddy Ijuuin Kaoru (who could only be Miyano Mamoru), who fancies himself an “Adonis” and whose nampa obsession immediately rubs Alec the wrong way.
I’m not looking for photo-realism here – as I said, the vibe here I get is fantasy – but I did love the atmosphere at the kissaten. I wasn’t too thrilled with Alex, who immediately stamps herself as the most stereotypical anime character in the main cast, though if indeed she’s trying to keep an eccentric princess out of trouble in a city many times larger and more populated than her entire country, that would be a mitigating factor. I suspect something like Teresa being allowed to get her eccentricities out of her system by going to a Japanese school for a few months before coming home to “take responsibility” is what’s going on here, but we’ll see. For the moment I like the characters (mostly), the vibe, the look (especially the backgrounds), the romantic chemistry and the music so it’s all good. it definitely strikes me that Tada-kun (like Nozaki-kun) is not a mass-produced model, and anime can always use more romantic comedies like that.
Matti
April 5, 2018 at 7:35 amBiggest question – how funny is it?
For me, there needs to be sufficient amount of comedic “release” moments to counter the romantic/melodramatic “attacks” in these types of shows, at least in the beginning (though hopefully through to the end as well).
Matti
April 5, 2018 at 1:06 pmNever mind, figured you’d be late replying with the timezone differences and all, so I gave it a go. Not great, but not bad either. A few observations;
– MC takes corny-as-heck, done-to-death pictures. (-1 point)
– I was prepared for squeeky sibilance, so MC sounding like he had an actual scrotum was welcome relief. (+2 points)
– Said relief quickly faded the moment his unfunny friend stepped in the cafe. (-1 point)
– What’s up with camera brands doing product placement in anime now? I miss the days of studios “rebranding” them with intentionally misspelled names. (+/- 0 points)
– That Rainbow Samurai is quite the dapper chap, I must say. (+1 point)
– A crying and blushing Golgo is obviously a cheap immitation. I kinda like him though. (+1 point)
– Seems I was mistaken and it’s still highschool based. Japanese and their fuckin “seishun” settings. (-5 points)
Will be following for now, but I’ll retain my usual massive doses of apprehension. The whole “royal/corporate ojou-sama transfer student having MC conquer his fear of flying (you know it’s coming) to get with her” gig kind of reeks, to be frank. Whether the quality of presentation can overcome the mundane-ness of the setting remains to be seen. Probably needs more comedy – hopefully not involving the SM pair of Narcissist-kun and Scarlet-chan (because they tire me) – to keep me for the whole run. The cat helps though.
Haraga Heranai
April 5, 2018 at 2:07 pmThere are two main things that concern me. First, the main character is extremely bland, so far Teresa deserves to be the lead much more. There is a number of potential directions for her story to explore, as Japan-obsessed foreigners are usually treated as a joke in anime. Tada is just a bored Japanese teenager whose affection for photography is becoming a tired anime trope in itself. Just look at Tsuki ga Kirei and Just Because leads, you can easily describe them as bored Japanese teenagers too if you really want to, but they are much better characterized in the first episode.
Second, I don’t understand why this show is set in the past. It only functions as a convenient excuse, as Teresa and Alexandra would immediately find each other and where they were supposed to go if they had smartphones. After Tsuki ga Kirei and Just Because showed effectively how modern teen romance can be portrayed, I don’t want to go back unless I’m given a good reason.
I hope to be wrong, I want to like this show, but it will have to fight an uphill battle for the next few episodes, as by the end of the next week there should be enough decent new shows airing already.
Haraga Heranai
April 5, 2018 at 2:21 pmIt seems I was wrong about the second point, as Tada’s sister mentioned him carrying a smartphone, so I do wonder: why a teenage girl from Europe is not a carrying a smartphone when she travels to another country? OK, we can pretend Alex was carrying it for her, then why were they using a drawn map instead of a map app? It just doesn’t add up.
Guardian Enzo
April 5, 2018 at 3:46 pmIt’s strongly implied that Teresa has good reasons for not being very good at practical things.
As for the drawn map, those are actually still used here by hotels a lot, as map apps are notoriously ineffective in Tokyo (I can vouch for this through personal experience). Also, maybe they hadn’t figured out the whole Japanese SIM thing or something…
Haraga Heranai
April 5, 2018 at 4:37 pmMap apps being ineffective in Tokyo is news to me, so thanks for clearing this up. But I’d argue that the trope of a sheltered ojou-sama who just doesn’t get tech is extremely offensive in 2018. Even if I ignore the sexist part, I can’t imagine a European teenager who doesn’t actively use smartphone in this day and age, no matter who she is. That’s just false preconceptions and lazy writing.
Guardian Enzo
April 5, 2018 at 4:53 pmWith all due respect, if she was actually a princess (which is what I suspect) then her being that out of touch seems quite feasible to me. Especially in what’s clearly touting itself as a romantic fantasy. If you’re offended by that fine, but that’s a stretch to me.
Albione
April 5, 2018 at 11:25 pmQuite liked it, most things with cats are fine. There is one red flag: the childhood flash back that just was randomly inserted. I vow to the Gods that if they conected as children and then forgot about it I shall be miffed…
Ryan
April 6, 2018 at 7:48 amMy immediate thought after watching the episode was that I loved the atmosphere! The atmosphere in the kissaten, in the streets of Ginza(?) and even their beautiful apartment above the kissaten. However, with the ending, it made me worried that their high school will start to become the dominant setting. Hope that’s not the case!
Miho
May 13, 2018 at 8:36 amWhere can i read the manga?
Guardian Enzo
May 13, 2018 at 2:40 pmThere isn’t one, as fas as I know.