To me, there’s a splendid dichotomy at work with Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai.  It’s a series that’s build around the familiar, yet presented in an unconventional (for anime) way.  For that reason, what appears predictable may in fact end up being very surprising (and often has).  And to further complicate matters, the story that more and more seems to be the template for Tadakoi was itself legendary for turning convention on its head and surprising the audience in the process.

My take on this show from the beginning – and I do literally mean the beginning – has been that it was inspired more by golden era Hollywood romance movies than anything else.  And now, nine episodes in, I think it’s safe to say that could hardly be more true than it’s turned out to be.  It is in fact a take on that theme as seen through an anime lens, which is part of the sense of unpredictability – because, of course, the cliches of anime romance are not always the same as those of 50’s or 60’s Hollywood (and indeed, American in general) romance.

That’s why an episode like this one is so interesting.  The premise could hardly be more anime – a strapping, healthy young man spends a few minutes in the rain (in summer) and comes down with an anime cold.  And because it’s an anime cold, he naturally passes out and develops a 104 degree fever. Let me also note for the record that I loved that scene where Tada and Kaoru run through the rain – yes, Ijuin can be a bit much sometimes but the visuals and Miyano-san nailing the moment carry the day here.  In any event, there’s a point to this – it takes us to the precipice of what the story has been building towards, which is that Teresa is in love with Tada-kun whether she wants to be or not.

More than being an homage to Hollywood romantic fantasy generally, Tada-kun is (now almost indisputably) a direct re-telling of 1953’s Roman Holiday (I mean, I think everything you need to know about Tadakoi is summed up in that the scene in the OP where Kaoru is photographing Tada and Teresa is directly from “Roman Holiday” – and then he turns the camera on himself).  If you haven’t seen that film, well- shame on you first of all.  It’s directed by William Wyler (the only director of three Best Picture winners, though this was not one of them) and stars Gregory Peck and the unforgettable Audrey Hepburn in her debut performance.  I won’t spoil the ending if you don’t know it, but Roman Holiday is noted for, among other things, being a bit of a genre-buster in that it seemed very much a product of classic tropes, but took them in an unexpected direction.

We don’t know what any of that means for Tada-kun of course – it’s not constrained by what happened in that film even if it is clearly inspired by it.  But the dilemma at the heart of the story is clearly the same.  We have a princess who’s enjoying a spell of freedom from the responsibilities of being a princess, who falls in love with someone who’s clearly not an acceptable romantic partner for her.  Is that a shocker?  No, it’s been clear that the story was building to this from the start – but this show was never about being mysterious in that sense (and neither was Roman Holiday).  The whole point is – what happens now?