This review about Karakai jouzu no Takagi-san 3 contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the chapter yet, we encourage you to do so and then come back to read the review.
Chapter 10 summary
The normal thing is to visit the temple on the first day of the year, so Nishikata goes, meets Takagi and they both make the sacrifice and bow, ask their wishes and then have their first confrontation of the year, which luckily Takagi wins. In this hemisphere, it’s winter and the snow is falling, perfect for making snowmen, so another challenge that Nishikata will lose due to her arrogance, because beauty is found in small things. Winter break is over and the students return to school and tell each other what they did. In it, Nishikata is cornered by Houjou, who asks him what he can give Hamaguchi. Takagi sees them and on the way out he asks what happened but Nishikata doesn’t speak because he promised he would, Takagi apologizes and they move on with things clear.
Chapter Opinion
It wasn’t surprising, I would say it was a normal chapter except for two things, a detail and something notorious. Nishikata mentions that his parents will still be with his friends so he has time, and the other thing is Takagi’s jealous nature (and it only sounds like it jealousy by Fanny Lu, it was not intentional). For the rest, there are no other things that stand out as much, adding a third that is Nishikata’s memory of the feast, something we haven’t seen clearly since the first chapter. So I will say that it was a normal chapter. If I’m not mistaken there are two more episodes to come so I’m hoping it lives up to expectations and that there will be a fourth season or the animation of the spin offof which we have already seen some animated parts.
First visit to the temple
It may seem forced for Takagi and Nishikata to meet up every now and then, but remember that it’s a small town, not Tokyo, and it’s common to go to the temple in the morning, so their casual meeting quite naturally takes place. The most important thing, aside from the challenge, is that Takagi wanted to be asked out on a date, which Nishikata does, albeit for the next year. That’s very cute, although there seems to be an additional explanation for Nishikata’s crush.
The teenager implies he only came because his parents are with their friends, so it’s hard to take that out of the equation. Nishikata didn’t want Takagi to leave because he also feels lonely and she has helped resolve or reduce that feeling considering the forehead is the only one that always seems willing to spend time with him. Can we say that Nishikata is someone who is lonely? I would risk saying yes, and that small detail, while not elaborated on, gives Nishikata a bit of depth.
snowman
There’s a lot of snow and that means building snowmen! So he calls Takagi to a new competition. We already know the result, the most beautiful win and obviously something beautiful will come out of someone beautiful, small but beautiful. Nishikata is arrogant in believing that bigger is better. As much can be said about this as if Nishikata would like to do something big and imposing in order to stand out and thus be noticed by his parents, but I don’t want to imply or look for things where perhaps there aren’t any, although…
Nishikata challenges Takagi because he sees the only way to keep her close so she doesn’t walk away. Their relationship started that way, so subconsciously he can assume that when this is over, she will leave too. Typical of a childish thought, and that doesn’t seem to me like finding another tail for the cat, it’s something that happens in adults too.
New Year
Not much to comment on here, I’ve said in previous reviews that the sidekicks reduced their screen time and gave a little more priority to constructing the relationship between the browbeater and the loser. The three friends continue to shine at school, telling each other what they did over the holidays. Mina wants to be recognized as someone older, Yukari is the one who thinks a lot and does little, and Sanae is practical, so much so that she can walk to collect the money that relatives usually give to children. That’s all.
What was the title?
It must be “gift” or I don’t know, I only saw the kanji and they didn’t translate it (I remember the times when the fan subs them subtitled to the minimum, including the openings and end up and they make notes like “I don’t know Italian” what times). The point in this part is that Takagi got jealous, we know why, because Nishikata was talking to Houjou alone, which is always suspicious. I think the small forehead thinks Houjou is pretty (I won’t say anything, she’s underage), which activates the insecurity of being changed or not being pretty enough to attract the person she loves. I enjoyed seeing this because Takagi has always been portrayed as “perfect” as she is intelligent, sociable, confident and victorious. Here it shows vulnerability.
But the way he is, he accepts that he did something wrong because it was noticed that he was pressuring Nishikata, even I felt uncomfortable. He still understood why Nishikata wasn’t speaking because he had told her, a promise. Maybe that’s why she felt safe again because the boy she’s in love with is a good person.
Those little details made the chapter a bit more interesting, but I still want a season finale to go with it (because at least I don’t know it might be the final season, I hope not).
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