Most of us don’t remember schoolyard teasing in the greatest light. And anime often tends to further that trope, whether it’s the protagonist getting rekt constantly by school bullies or a headstrong girl consistently baiting an ineffectual male classmate in the name of personal amusement and unspoken feelings.
Stories like Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro! and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! have occasionally modified the trope here and there, and remain popular for a number of reasons, including the fact that the cast of both stories tends to run older, with Miss Nagatoro’s character’s being in high school, and the cast of Uzaki-chan being college students.
But for your run-of-the-mill, old-fashioned childhood teasing, there’s nothing like the OG teasing anime, Teasing Master Takagi-san. Revolving around middle schooler Nishikata and his dislike of his constantly teasing classmate Tagaki, the story follows both kids as Nishikata desperately attempts to stay one step ahead of his nemesis, said nemesis Tagaki delights in getting under Nishikata’s skin, and the two slowly start to get along.
The series has had moderate success since the manga was first released in 2013, with two anime seasons created in 2018 and 2019, as well as a VR-based project crowdfunded in 2019 as well. Now just announced this month, the Teasing Master Tagaki-san anime gets a third season. A new teaser trailer shows Nishikata and Tagaki navigating the winter holidays, and also their feelings.
Having our characters get through the winter season together could not be more timely, as we can all relate to both the struggle and magic of the season, as well as the trailer letting us know that the third season of Teasing Master Tagaki-san will drop on January 7th, 2022.
It’s nice to know that fans won’t have to wait as long as usual for the season to drop, a lovely belated holiday present to be sure. In the meantime, if you want to catch up before the newest season begins, both seasons of the anime are streaming for free on Funimation, and Yen Press localizes the English version of the manga. With any luck, the season will also bring you a cute person to watch Tagaki-san season three with, and maybe tease you a little too.
