General Impression: Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai

Synopsis

Mitsuyoshi Tada is a high school boy who aspires to be a photographer and has never fallen in love. One day while taking photos of blooming sakura trees he encounters a transfer student from Luxembourg named Teresa Wagner. Upon learning that the girl had gotten lost after ending up separated from her traveling companion when they arrived, he decides to help her. And when the two ends up getting caught in the rain, he further aids her by bringing her to shelter at his grandfather’s cafe. This marks the start of their story.

First Impression

Given the general vibe of the series, you would expect a light-hearted and cheerful love story. However, the subtlety that it presents gives a surprising highlight for the series. Really just the way that it shows through the silent chemistry between Tada and Teresa is rather interesting. Other than this, the way that some of the characters’ personalities shift from what is expected with their looks is a plus. Basically, the first half of the series shows a nice shoujo with clever execution and fun comedy.

General Impression

With how light-hearted the series started out, the way that it shifted to bittersweet tones midway was a great surprise. Honestly, this writer expected the series would take the route of two characters learning what it’s like to fall in love. To have the series take on the theme of the pains of unrequited love makes for an interesting watch. It not only brings a deeper side to the story and the characters.

Another plus of the series is that it doesn’t go through the usual cliches that have all the characters ending up together midway or some big confession happen. The problem, however, is that there is no real resolution between the characters. We get this emotional moment with them talking about their feelings but there isn’t any real conclusion done from this. With how built up different characters have been, it makes their story rather lacking.

Conclusion

With silent chemistry and an emotional build, the series presents a kind of depth that isn’t often seen with a lot of shoujo series. The way that it gives moments to different characters really expands on the series. Still, their stories seem rather half done given how emotional moments are presented for them but we don’t see any real conclusion to them. It’s the type of story that makes you really think however and the flaws may as well be another layer for the series.

Rating: 7/10