WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Teasing Master Takagi-san Season 3, Episode 11, "February 14th," now streaming on HIDIVE.
Slice-of-life anime sometimes seem like they exist in a sort of null space where time never really moves forward. Although the seasons may change, it's not always the case that the status quo evolves with them. In total opposition to that trend, Season 3, Episode 11 of Teasing Master Takagi-san makes it clear that that is not the case for its central pair.
It may be true that Nishikata and Takagi have taken their time in officially advancing their romance, but the latest Valentine's Day special showcases just how immensely their dynamic has evolved in the year since their previous celebration of it. But will these developments be enough to make Nishikata rise to his classmate's challenge and finally confess?
From the very start of his day, Nishikata realizes that this Valentine's Day is going to be different when he opens his shoe locker to find three boxes of chocolates, each from a member of the class below him. Not only is he flabbergasted to receive gifts and love letters from girls who he's never met, but he's equally puzzled to realize that he has gotten nothing from Takagi. Seeking someone with whom to process his thoughts, Nishikata tries to broach the subject with Takagi once they're in class together.
However, while Nishikata initially thinks that Takagi will be blown away by his newfound popularity, he is unable to bring it up when he realizes how deflated she is for some reason. Even in response to his attempts to challenge her, Takagi seems in uncharacteristically low spirits, without even making the slightest effort to poke fun at Nishikata. In fact, for some reason, Takagi appears to be avoiding Nishikata -- that is, until she walks in on him returning the chocolates he got earlier that morning, telling the underclassmen that he cannot accept their apparent professions of love.
Ultimately, the entire incident turns out to be a misunderstanding when the three underclassmen confess that they put their chocolates in the wrong locker. This leads to Nishikata feeling relief at the resolution to the awkward situation, although he is simultaneously dejected that he was unable to get chocolates from Takagi... until he has a chance encounter with her at the local shrine -- the same spot where he cheered her up after her fight with her mother previously.
It turns out that the reason Takagi had been acting so aloof was that she saw the gifts that Nishikata had mistakenly received earlier in the day, which made her withhold her own present out of dejection. Luckily, the two reconcile in a moment of tender sincerity involving a pun-based present of sardines, followed by a more traditional gift. Both Takagi and Nishikata admit that they were equally disheartened at their inability to connect over the day, showing just how comfortable they have become with their concern over the other.
Even with everything turning out alright in the end, the difference between Season 3 and Season 2's Valentine's Day specials is apparent. Unlike the more jealous and self-defeating version of her seen in this episode, Takagi previously reveled in the idea that she was able to drive Nishikata insane by sneaking her gift into his locker and watching him panic over it. Likewise, in Season 2, Nishikata was primarily concerned with concealing his embarrassment from Takagi. This stands in stark contrast to the way he bemoans the idea of missing out on a present from Takagi and agonizes over bringing up this year's incident with her.
Yet even with things returning to a sense of normalcy, at least one of Nishikata and Takagi's peers seems fed up with the pair's complacency. Nishikata's friend Hamaguchi, who himself has been working toward a budding relationship with their classmate Houjou, forces a proposition on Nishikata in the last few seconds of the episode. Hamaguchi announces that he will be declaring his love for Houjou on White Day, the Japanese holiday for reciprocating gifts and feelings from Valentine's Day. In turn, he also demands that Nishikata do the same regarding his crush on Takagi.
Given the formula that Season 3 has been following, with each episode advancing the calendar by roughly a month each time, the due date on Hamaguchi's ultimatum is set for the series' next episode. Since Episode 12 of Season 3 is slated to be the season finale, this could potentially mean that the highly anticipated confession, which has been dangled in front of fans from the beginning, is just around the corner. If Nishikata has what it takes to muster up the necessary courage, this last episode of the season could be the one that finally seals the deal on their long-awaited romance.
