Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san

Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san

Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san anime cover art featuring Nishikata and Takagi
Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san Cover Art

Overview

The general idea of Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san is that our protagonist, Nishikata, is constantly being embarrassed by Takagi, the girl who sits next to him in class. This anime follows Nishikata as he attempts to get back at Takagi by embarrassing her in return.

Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san is essentially the anime version of children teasing each other because they like each other. There’s no deep plot, no magic or otherworldly phenomenon (besides the size of Takagi’s forehead), it’s just two kids playing pranks on each other and that’s what makes this anime so good.

For the most part, this anime takes place either in English class or on the walk home from school. However, there are some episodes which include other settings such as the mall.

Characters

Nishikata is roughly 11 years old and seems to be a below average student, although this could be due to Takagi constantly distracting him in class. Ever since the first day of school he has wanted to get revenge on Takagi for embarrassing him, but she seems to always see through his plans and so they backfire. He’s prone to over thinking situations which is something Takagi uses to her advantage

Takagi is roughly the same age as Nishikata, but she’s one of the best students in class despite constantly talking to Nishikata and playing pranks on him. She’s an expert at mind games and is always able to either predict how Nishikata will retaliate or put him in a situation where he’ll make things worse for himself.

There are a few supporting characters, but the main three are Mina, Yukari, and Sanae. These three girls are friends in the same class as Nishikata and Takagi, but don’t usually interact with them. Instead, they have their own little segments in most, if not all, of the episodes.

I think their purpose is to break up the show so we’re not constantly watching Nishikata and Takagi, but I didn’t find them as entertaining. Mina is the overly hyper one, Yukari is the upstanding class president, and Sanae is the bored one who tends to side with Mina against Yukari.

While I generally seem to like the overly hyper child characters, Mina was an exception, much like Tatsuko from Prisma Illya. Her hyper-ness combined with her lack of understanding about anything just made for an annoying character rather than an entertaining one with chunibyo.

Nishikata and Takagi from the anime Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san
Nishikata and Takagi

Conclusion

I was actually surprised by how much I liked this show. In the end I thought it was an 8/10 which makes it one of the best anime of the season; better than Laid-Back Camp, Citrus, and The Ancient Magus’ Bride which ended earlier this season. There are still a few more anime I need to finish up from this season, but Mitsuboshi Colors seems like it could give this anime a run for its money.

If you’re looking for a wholesome comedy, then Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san is the perfect anime for you.

My review of the next season is available here.

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