Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai Episode 13 [FINAL]

One would think I would be happy that somehow, someway, Teresa and Mitsuyoshi were able to have a Happy Ending…. But I am left here feeling unsatisfied. The finale was a bit weird, by giving us a snippet of what one could interpret as “Two Endings”, which I feel did more harm than good.

The first one was the anticipated outcome, where they acknowledge they love each other, and leave it at that. The scene frustrated me how neither one of them would hug the other, yet at the same time it was kind of refreshing to see a character actually show self-restraint for once of not wanting to drown themselves in their heartbreak any further. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t agonizing to watch.

And then we get the Happy Ending, which with the way they had set everything up to this point, I have a very hard time grasping how Teresa was even allowed to do this. It’s as though she completely cast side her destiny of becoming Queen so she could be by Mitsuyoshi’s side. The catalyst to that was with Charles breaking up the engagement, recognizing Mitsuyoshi is the one she loves, and wants nothing more than her to have happiness.

At least we got a got a hug, along with an afar shot of a kiss… It tickled my heart, but I am sad that we didn’t get the opportunity to savour the moment. IT LITTERALLY HAPPENED IN THE LAST 30 SECONDS OF THE EISODE. 30 SECONDS!!!!! LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING ME? If they were going to give it to us to begin with, don’t throw us the crumbs, give us the full loaf! GEEZ!!!!! We waited thirteen episodes for this!!!! Of course I feel cheated!!!! After all of that, they couldn’t even give them a decent amount of time to embrace their reunion. Perhaps had they not rushed it, it wouldn’t have felt as half-baked as it did, and make me cry tears of joy as oppose to being frustrated with only being given crumbs, again.

But that doesn’t mean there were moments in the episodes that I enjoyed. In fact, there were two iconic scenes that teared me up, both of them involving Mitsuyoshi acting upon his feelings. The first one was when Mitsuyoshi jumped into the stream to chase after the invitation to the ball. It was a powerful scene because it was a moment when Fate forced Mitsuyoshi to act on his true feelings. Ijuin started off by challenging him, threatening to throw the invitation into the stream when the wind snatched it out of his hand and did the favour. Not only did Mitsuyoshi cry again, but he was full of regrets and hated how he couldn’t heed his own advice. The second moment was  Mitsuyoshi’s confession, telling her how he fell in love with her. Ooh my heart… I thought it was absolutely beautiful, and incredibly sweet how he was always conscious of the fact that by telling her his feelings, would burden her– it was the main reason why he held back in the first place until Ijuin and “Fate” gave him that push he needed.

Final Thoughts

I came into Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai with a lot of excitement and anticipation. I was craving for a good romance! When I first watched the PV, it gave me the chills and I thought to myself, this was going to be a great romance! Well, unfortunately for me, it didn’t quite land on the mark. I was constantly disappointed with how long it took to finally see some meaningful interactions between Mitsuyoshi and Teresa. It wasn’t until the last few episodes we finally start seeing Mitsuyoshi’s perspective and following him on his journey of coming to terms with his feelings.

But in all fairness, Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai had a very different approach to their love story, one that I strongly believe would have benefited with more episodes under its belt. The writers approach’s to the subject of the love was both realistic and refreshing. Together, we the audience, and the characters learned a lot about “what is love?” through the eyes and experiences of others. However this method came with a cost, and that was cutting into precious time that could have been spent on letting us see Teresa and Mitsuyoshi interact with each other more.

And that had to be the biggest letdown of all. Mitsuyoshi and Teresa just click with each other, their scenes together are always so incredibly sweet and precious, and hold so much meaning, that it’s fair to say we all wanted more. They are a mature and sensible couple, who despite coming from very different worlds, have something they share in common and are able to connect to each other like that. For Mitsuyoshi, whenever he’s around Teresa, he is at ease, and feels comfortable enough to open up to her in ways he wouldn’t do with others. The same goes for Teresa, for finds much comfort in Mitsuyoshi and their mutual and unspoken understanding of one another. This is why it is such a shame we never actually got the chance to see them truly flesh out their relationship.

Was the sacrifice of the main couple’s airtime worth it though? I think that all depends on what the viewer thought of the overall execution of the show. I for one, wasn’t shy to highlight my frustration with the other characters taking up screentime, and was extremely ticked off when Nyanko-Big got an entire episode to himself. I was ready to drop it right then and there, yet somehow I decided to cling to the thread of hope that our two love birds would finally start interacting with one another. But it was all in vain, up until the final four episodes, the interactions between Teresa and Mitsuyoshi were minimal at best.

Although I wasn’t particularly a fan of the way the story played out or how and where the time was spent on, with the exception of the finale, it would be discrediting the writers for their refreshing and realistic approach to the love story. Had they had more episodes to work with, I definitely feel they would have been able to properly give attention to all of the characters, without it feeling as though one is hogging the spotlight over the other.

Yet despite its downfalls, I still enjoyed the story it wanted to tell, that was one of the main reasons why I was still able to press on, to see what was going to become of Mitsuyoushi’s and Teresa’s relationship. No matter what, I absolutely wanted to see their ending, be it happy or a sad one, and had even prepared myself for a world of heartbreak. I would say Mitsuyoshi’s character development alone is what made it worth it, because boy he came a long way!

Final Score: 6/10 -Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai is a cute show, but it is one I won’t be coming back to, nor is it one I would recommend to someone who wants to watch a romance. Sure the main couple is incredibly adorable and you will absolutely fall in love with them, but given how they never bothered to fully explore their relationship will likely leave you disappointed.