Genre(s): Romance, Comedy, School, Slice of Life
Age-Appropriateness: 8+ (Occasional minor language)
Platforms: Crunchyroll, Funimation for Season One, Netflix for Season 2.
Episodes: 24 (+1 OVA)
TheAwersome Rating: 8.5 / 10 (Sweet and Pure)
Premise: Having a friend that knows you inside out should be a good thing, but in Nishikata’s case, the opposite is true. His classmate Takagi loves to tease him on a daily basis, and she uses her extensive knowledge of his behavior to predict exactly how he will react to her teasing, making it nearly impossible for Nishikata to ever make a successful comeback. Despite this, Nishikata vows to someday give Takagi a taste of her own medicine by making her blush out of embarrassment from his teasing.
TheAwersome’s Thoughts: Loved this one. While there isn’t anything particularly unique or amazing about this show, it’s extremely well executed. It also does a far more accurate representation of Junior High kids than most anime, showing them as the awkward youths trying to figure out their own emotions rather than the super buff very sure of themselves courageous heroes of shonen or the philosophical poets of Your Lie in April. Just some normal kids being normal kids, and it’s great. Definitely a slow burn, because well, it’s Junior High, and most kids never get past the first few embers at that stage anyway.
TLDR: A sweet, pure, funny time that elicits nostalgia that makes you think “You know, Junior High wasn’t all bad.”
This was a show that was impossible to watch without having a big stupid grin on your face the entire time you were watching it. There’s such an honest humanity and innocence to this piece that takes you back to when life was a lot simpler and sweeter. Everybody always talks about how Junior High was the worst part of their lives, and I won’t deny that there is a lot of drama, etc., that happens then, but I honestly think people paint it that way because it’s the first time drama shows its face, and they forget about the innocent joy that was there too. Despite Nishikata being the embodiment of an awkward embarrassed 12 year-old navigating his feelings, there’s that fresh excitement of discovering them and dealing with them that is portrayed wonderfully.
At a Glance Anime 