When Will Ayumu Make His Move?

Soichiro Yamamoto simply knows how to write a good school romance, and this series is his best work yet. It's not just Takagi turned inside out, as some might say. The relationship between the main couple here is more dynamic and the romance between the two protagonists is much more balanced than with Takagi and Nishikata. The pace is better, the romance develops faster and more naturally, and both Urushi and Ajumu are likable enough for me to start rooting for them early on. Especially Ayumu is great. I like his incredible honesty with which he says exactly what he thinks. I liked most of the supporting characters as well. I was intrigued by the relationship between Takeru and Mikage which was fun and sweet, and it made me wish that things would work out well for them and that they would get a bit more screen time. Even Rin, who doesn't appear until the second half and whose role seems obvious from the beginning, caught my interest, charmed me with her inner strength, and stirred up some strong emotions in me in the last episode. It’s a very good series with nice animation, fitting music, and likable characters. The atmosphere and emotions worked, and I really enjoyed it. The ending is pretty decent, so even if there aren’t any more seasons, it’s a satisfying conclusion to the whole series. On the other hand, I know of another romance anime that has everything I like here and more. So, since I gave My Senpai Is Annoying a 9/10, I have to subtract one point, resulting in a decent 8/10, which is exactly one point better than Takagi, so it all checks out! (09/23/2022)