Now that was one hell of a cameo…
As I’ve noted in prior posts, repetitiveness can be an issue that works to the detriment of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san. When an entire series is built around the same basic joke playing out in only slightly different ways, that’s unavoidable. But as I’ve also noted, this series does not have a static narrative – even if the basic premise is consistent, the context changes. The characters change (and grow – to a point). There are certain chapters that readers of the manga were absolutely anxious to see animated – and without question, this was one of them.
Is what I could say, and new viewers would probably believe me without hesitation. Why wouldn’t they? This feels like one of Takagi-san’s landmark chapters – except it’s anime-original. I absolutely like this series best when it breaks from the usual format, and when Takagi-san (the character) gets serious. Everything takes on an additional weight, and the hook feels like the relatively lightweight silly gag that it is once its underlying roots are exposed. That the anime could do this with new material is pretty damn impressive. There definitely are landmark chapters I’m waiting to see – but those episodes will have a hard time topping this one.
Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay to “Camping Trip” is that I almost can’t believe Yamamoto Souichirou (the mangaka) didn’t think of it himself. That’s how perfectly it both fits with and advances the story. The delicious awkwardness of a school trip for kids this age – the excitement, the nervousness, the opportunity for stolen moments of intimacy. Stolen moments of intimacy are what it’s all about for Takagi-san, really – her endgame – but we see in moments like this that as good as she is at teasing, even for her this sort of thing is hard. When we see Takagi-san (the character) blush, Takagi-san (the series) is on its A-game.
The first watershed (pun intended) moment comes when Takagi and Nishikata are on a hike with Nakai and Mano. Even Nishikata-kun gets the hint when Mano suggests a break and Nakai suggests she rest with Takagi-san, but his considerate gesture lands him stuck in a hut with Takagi-san in a sudden downpour. One could see the flaw in Nishi-kun’s “feeding game” immediately, and things follow a predictable course – this is certainly the most conventional part of the episode.
After that, the stakes get raised in a big way. Cooking dinner, then a campfire, then the dreaded folk dance. God, that folk dance – could there possibly have been a more gut-wrenchingly embarrassing spectacle in middle school? Naturally there are urban legends attached to it. In this case, that the last person you wind up holding hands with is the person you’ll fall in love with – as long as you have a crush on them already. There’s not much teasing to this, really, and for once Takagi is just as much at the mercy of the fates as Nishikata – the weight of the moment hangs heavy in the air as it rarely does in this series.
Fate, too, is at play when Nishikata wakes for a midnight stroll and finds Takagi-san stargazing from atop a boulder. She didn’t plan it, engineer it – it just happened. And when they’re forced to hide from Scary-Tanabe-sensei, they get their moment of intimacy – but it wasn’t anything Takagi planned for, and she’s almost as nervous as Nishikata-kun. For once there’s no irony or condescension in her words when she compares him to Hikoboshi from the Tanabata legend – and you can tell that from the blush that’s all over her cheeks. Moments of total sincerity are the rare gems in the crown of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san – but that just makes them stand out all the more.
ED: “Stars” by Takahashi Rie
JJ
August 20, 2019 at 12:04 amI didn’t peg that this was anime-original, but throughout the episode there was a nagging thought that the teasing wasn’t as cruel as it usually is. It seemed to be more purposeful, and therefore was “rewarded” with a genuinely sweet moment under the stars.
Marty
August 20, 2019 at 5:29 amWait, was there a cameo?
Also, not to imply anything, but if we’re looking at patterns, Dororo had a great anime-original episode, Vinland Saga had a great anime-original episode, and they’re both top quality anime here. It bears to say perhaps Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san belong in such esteemed company.
JJ
August 20, 2019 at 6:06 amFor me, ironically, Takagi (the anime) is just too safe – it’s found a nice groove in its sweet and slightly-sour setup but episodes like these are the exception to the well executed, yet otherwise static, formulaic, norm. In this backwater of a season I’ll gladly take it, but nothing in either season of Takagi has reached the heights that Vinland and Dororo have. Even this episode (easily the best of the show so far) is a way off the original compositions in the aforementioned shows – for me those two episodes are currently 2 & 3 for my favourite anime episodes of the year…
Guardian Enzo
August 20, 2019 at 8:25 amI agree, no way does this show belong in that company. But that said, this was still a great episode and easily my favorite of Takagi’s season so far.
As for the cameo, it’s in the screenshots…
HermanGre02
August 21, 2019 at 1:22 amWow, I’ve been enjoying all of the episodes of S2 so far (probably more than S1), but this specific one definitely made me feel a bit emotional. I’ve read people comment how the series’ approach to romance can be so compelling and realistic when done right, and this episode reaffirms that statement. I also noticed that there has been a couple of anime-original segments in between past episodes this season (3 and 5, the latter being one of my favorites so far), and the 1st one had an original finale despite all of the segments being taken from the manga. I now wonder if the staff at Shin-Ei sort of echoes your repetitiveness issue that you often bring up, as when S2 was announced, the manga was already 90 chapters long. And in spite of that they likely felt they didn’t have enough substantial material outside of the standard teasing chapters and they had the necessity to add original stories that advance the characters a bit more. The new question that surfaces is that if the way the adaptation is handled, new content included, influences Yamamoto-Sensei in how newer chapters are going to turn out, especially now that it’s over 100 chapters long. And to answer your question on twitter while I’m at it, I think it’s best to only start bringing up “that” if the chapter that the cold open scene teases actually gets adapted, which is now more likely than before. People who follow the show/manga are undoubtedly fully aware of it once they dig a little deeper, but there’re more casual watchers/readers that don’t so it’s a little risky. I even recall a time I looked up a sub reddit that features the series and seeing all posts related to “that” being tagged as spoilers. Besides, there’s a relatively decent chance it will eventually get some sort of adaptation in the future (like an OVA). Lastly, with the way anime-originals are being the highlight of some of the shows you’re covering, it diminishes old-fashioned preconceptions about them. Usually, new anime fans (especially at a young age) that probably started with long-running Weekly Shounen Jump adaptations old and new tend to dread the idea of non-manga content, even if it’s unavoidable to prevent studios from catching up to the source, and spread that notion everywhere. When looking at other series, genres, etc, it brings a fresh perspective on that subject
Guardian Enzo
August 21, 2019 at 7:08 amYes, I think it’s very possible the anime staff realized they needed to diversify a bit. If so it was a wise choice – as a full-length series especially, Takagi-san ran the risk of being too one-note with a literal adaptation.
Bob
August 21, 2019 at 6:19 amDelicious awkwardness the word delicious to describe how awkward the situation was, made me feel very uncomfortable.