Sōichirō Yamamoto (山本崇一朗, Yamamoto Sōichirō) is a Japanese manga artist. He is known for writing and illustrating Teasing Master Takagi-san and Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru. Both series have been published in Monthly Shōnen Sunday and Weekly Shōnen Magazine, respectively.
I don't understand the timeline of this at all... One chapter it's starting to become winter and the next it's summer vacation. We time traveling in this series.
This series remains cute but it’s the manga equivalent of something with zero nutritional content. It’s basically the same story on repeat with a couple of tweaks here and there. It literally gets by on its charm, which is not insubstantial, as nothing about this feels like an essential read.
While still enjoyable enough in the moment, this is not the sort of series that I would really miss if the library stops buying new volumes. Each chapter is just a variation on the same theme. Nicely done, but highly repetitive. If a new one shows up, I'll pick it up, but I bet I'll need to check Goodreads first to make sure it isn't one of the ones I have already read.
I wasn’t a fan of this volume. I found Takagi to be a tad mean spirited in her teasing this time around. I read the second volume so many months ago that I can’t put my finger on why she feels meaner in this volume. Perhaps it’s because the teasing in this volume had more to do with manipulation & entrapment and less about pranks. Maybe the sexual teasing felt too adult for Takagi’s age. Maybe I was just bothered by the fact that she could poke him, but him poking her back was sexual harassment, even if it was stated in jest.
However, now that my gripes are out of the way, I can recognize that this volume is a window of time in the overall character arc of Takagi. After all, this is her story, not Nishikata’s. There was even a moment on page 58 where we could see that the little sadist actually was a feeling human being. We were even treated to a moment of self analysis where she admitted she couldn’t help herself when she was around him. I believe the anime, which was my first introduction to the story, did a better job smoothing out the rough edges of Takagi. She was a more sanitized, cuter, and endearing character.
Not so in the manga. Here we see Takagi torturing the boy of her dreams. She is merciless, and often unkind. She is self-indulgent, pursuing her own pleasures at the cost of romance. She mocks Nishikata relentlessly. She is a precocious coquette who leads her naive victim to her web, delighting in his exaggerated reactions despite pushing her prey further away from her grasp. Arguably, she is more real as a person in the manga. I just don’t like her very much. For that I lay the blame squarely at the feet of the mangaka, Soichiro Yamamoto. He’s the one who is drawing her, after all.
I’d like to see more mischievous close-ups of Takagi’s face as found on pages 38 & 82 and less narrow eyed, half-lidded, arching eyebrowed side glances as found on pages 74 & 100. I find the latter examples leading to her character’s perception as cruel in many of the other reviews I have read. However, there are seven more volumes already finished after this one, so my wishes have little impact on what has followed. I can only hope that Takagi finds her humanity soon so that I can enjoy her journey towards romance a little bit more.
She really is a mean li’l rotter, isn’t she? Too bad she’s so darn cute. Poor Nishikata.
Takagi is just the sweetest little girl to read about. With just enough playful AND CLEVER teasing to keep things interesting. I quite adore her.
Nishikata on the other hand. I mean, I get that he's a boy...but his lack of character development is REALLY starting to show. How can he STILL not know that Takagi likes him?! And if Takagi acts (delightfully) composed for all their shenanigans, Nishikata is the complete opposite of that. And, sure. It was kinda funny for the first few stories of the series....but now.....it's starting to annoy me how predictable and single-minded(ly driven) he is.
Each chapter is a short story describing an interaction between Takagi and Nishikata. It is surprising that Nishikata is not called a perv until well into volume 3 (and he's not guilty). This is a pleasant story that can be enjoyed by all ages. However, it's not in the same league as Yotsuba&! because the stories are more contrived and less real-to-life.
(๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ continues to be a great depiction of young love - the middle-school protagonists here are too cute!! it expertly toes the line between teasing fun and blushing butterflies. this one has some especially cute scenes, especially when they walk home together and try to sit next to each other in class.
Continuan las bromas. En el cambio de lugar al principio Nishikata esta feliz de no sentarse junto a Takagi, pero aun no termina el cambio y ya la esta extrañando. Y en otra broma, es incapaz de hacerle cosquillas, a pesar que ella a el si.
Toujours une histoire que j'aime bien. J'aime bien le côté histoire courte, c'est sympa, ça se lit bien, c'est rapide. Mais je pense que j'ai hâte d'avoir une évolution niveau relation entre eux deux, petit rapprochement etc, mais je pense que c'est pas pour maintenant vu le nombre de tome sortie 😌