Hello and welcome back to my blog! This review is going to be super brief and not in my usual thorough style. So, let’s jump right into it.
Takara is stoic and cold but popular amongst the students at his school. Girls from all grade levels find themselves attracted to him, but he refuses every single one and not always in the kindest ways. Amagi is not popular by any means, but is generally well-liked amongst his classmates. Always happy and looking on the bright side of things, Amagi just wants to finish high school with his friends, graduate on time, and have fun while doing it.
Both Takara and Amagi are on their school’s environmental committee which means they often have to spend alone time together. After so much time, without thinking, Amagi confesses to Takara one day. And to his surprise, Takara wants to date him! And so begins their timid steps into being a couple. However, Takara still sometimes acts cold towards Amagi which confuses him. Once another classmate begins to pursue Amagi, will this be enough to get Takara to open up and show Amagi that he cares for him?
I think this series was decent enough to pass the time, but not anything super special or even that memorable. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into as I only discovered it while browsing Viki for something new to watch. So, it’s safe to say that I didn’t go into this biased in any way. The acting wasn’t especially great. Takara, our stoic love interest, literally had zero facial expressions for the majority of the series and was super cold and aloof despite actually being the one to catch feelings first (we find this out during one of the confusing flashback scenes). And Amagi acted so much like a child that I found it off-putting and mildly embarrassing.
Also, there really wasn’t much of a plot either, but I’m okay with slice-of-life storylines so that part didn’t really bother me. However, I was still hoping for some substance which I did not get. Slice-of-life does not have to be boring or empty. And this series felt empty. Very lacking.
I laughed a lot while watching this though, due to how over-the-top and melodramatic characters were acting. I have not seen a lot of Japanese dramas and this very much felt like they were trying to have the characters act like how characters act in an anime or a manga. It’s hilarious to see, but unfortunately makes for awkward acting in a live action.
One major thing that I did not like about this series is that the story is told in a non-linear fashion and I found myself getting confused because I had no idea where we were in the story. I also did not understand why it was told in this way. I do not think it enhanced the story at all and served no purpose. If the director was trying to go for a unique/creative story structure, then I do not think it was executed well. While I eventually caught on, the moments of confusion impacted my enjoyment of the series. More narration from the characters or even title cards would have been very helpful during these scenes.
Takara-kun & Amagi-Kun is a simple and clean story with no major emotional baggage or difficult scenes to watch. So, if that’s what you’re looking for, give this series a try. I will admit that the only reason I chose to watch it is because I was hoping for something similar to the Takumi-kun series which I really enjoyed when I watched it years ago. But alas, it was not to be.
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