Recently we celebrated the birthday of Rie Takahashi, the seiyu who voiced some of the most popular characters over the past decade. Writing the post reminded me that I still hadn’t watched the final Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san movie, so I resolved to fix that problem as quickly as possible. Read my thoughts on the finale of Takagi-san in this post!
(Note: this post is spoiler-free but will use screenshots from the film.)
What Did I Think of the Final Takagi-san Movie?
I’m super glad I started watching Teasing Master Takagi when it began back in 2018. It’s a relaxing slice-of-life anime about a smart junior girl who’s always teasing the boy she loves, Nishikata. In episode after episode across three seasons, Nishikata tries to get the best of Takagi-san, but she always manages out-smart him…all the while moving their relationship closer and closer.
A good example in the Takagi-san movie is when Nishikata challenges Takagi-san to a breath-holding contest. Little does she know that Nishikata has been practicing holding his breath in the bath, and he’s sure he can beat her. But when they’re both underwater, Takagi-san mouths su-ki (“I love you”) to Nishikata, causing him to lose the contest.
What did I think of the final Kaguya-sama film? Read my post here!
The Takagi-san movie story: the final summer of their junior high school days is fast approaching. All the other students are aware of this, making plans to make some memories with their crushes together. Although Takagi-san has confessed her feelings to Nishikata before, he thought she was just teasing him again. Or was she?
Both Takagi-san and Nishikata are feeling blue about the upcoming summer vacation because they won’t be able to see each other every day. If only there were some way they could see each other without having a reason?
Learning About Japanese Relationships from Takagi-san
The relationship between the two characters is immediately apparent from the way they address each other, with Takagi-san holding the upper hand because she can call Nishikata by his family name only, without any honorific at the end. Let’s look at examples of how names and relationships work in Japanese:
- Family name with -san added, implying maximum politeness and emotional distance. Nishikawa once tried calling Takagi-san “Takagi,” but of course he failed because he was not manly enough.
- Last name only, which indicates a closer relationship. Takagi-san wins again.
- First name with -san added, which would indicate an even closer relationship, yet still with some polite distance maintained.
- A nickname like Megu-nee or Niku or Anaru. If you’ve been granted a lifelong nickname by your friends, you know you’ve been accepted into the group.
- Given name only, known as yobisute, representing the closest relationship possible. Presumably, Takagi-san and Nishikata address each other by their given names after getting married, though we never learn what those names are.
While these Japanese naming conventions felt weird to my American brain as I was first learning them, I’ll never forget reading one of the Narnia books to my son. In The Silver Chair, the way Eustace Scrubb called Jill Pole “Pole” and Jill called Eustace “Scrubb” felt odd to me…and yet perfectly in line with how Japanese schoolmates might speak. Maybe 1950s boarding schools had some effect on Japan?
The Joy of Hearing Rie Takahashi’s Voice
The main joy of watching Takagi-san is getting to hear the lovely Rie Takagi speak, and the anime is best enjoyed with good headphones to get the full impact of her dialogue. But the voice work by Nishikata voice actor Yuuki Kaji is also amazing, especially when you consider he’s also the voice of Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan.
You Can Visit Takagi-san Movie Locations!
Like all modern anime, Teasing Master Takagi is set in a real location. This adds realism to the story and brings otaku tourism dollars to remote places in Japan that could use an economic boost. As with Haruhi writer Nagaru Tanigawa using his high school as the setting for the anime, or Mari Okada setting Anohana in her hometown of Chichibu, Saitama, it’s a way for creators to give back to their communities.
Takagi-san is set on Shōdo Island (Shōdoshima), a large-ish island in the Seto Sea between Japan’s main island of Honshu and the fourth largest island of Shikoku. Are you going to start planning a trip?
We have the Takagi-san movie in stock! If you’re a collector of Japanese limited edition Blu-rays, the release of the movie is extra awesome. Find it on the J-List site here, or browse our Takagi-san figures here!
Thanks for reading this review of the final Teasing Master Takagi movie. Are you a fan of this series? Tell us below in the comments, or chat with us on Twitter!
We love Japanese ero toy maker Tamatoys for relieving our stress and making 2D anime girls real, and their newest release is the Flatiron Prone Bone Onahole, which you can enter from above and behind. Read a review of the toy here, or find it on the site here!
