Tada Never Falls in Love (多田くんは恋をしない) is a Japanese romantic comedy original anime television series produced by Doga Kobo. It aired from April 5 to June 28, 2018, for 13 episodes. The series is licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks while Muse Communication in South and Southeast Asia as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Plot
The story follows Mitsuyoshi Tada, a boy who has never known love. He is taking pictures of the cherry blossoms in full bloom when he meets Teresa Wagner, a transfer student from Larsenburg (ラルセンブルク) which can be assumed means Luxembourg, a European country.She got separated from her travel companion upon arriving in Japan. Tada helps her and brings her to his grandfather's coffee shop. Teresa's travel companion and bodyguard Alec arrives and beats up Kaoru mistakenly thinking Kaoru was flirting with Teresa. They discover the hotel they're supposed to be staying at is actually next to Tada's cafe. The next day, they enroll in Tada's school and are in the same class. Alec agrees on joining the Photography Club on Teresa's request she wants to learn to take great pictures. Mitsuyoshi is actually an aspiring photographer and wants to follow his father's footsteps to be a famous photographer. Mitsuyoshi lost his parents in a car accident during his childhood. The one last photo his father took and his camera were the only things he has left from his parents. The story focuses on the adventures of Tada and his friends and their building relationships.
The main character, Mitsuyoshi is a second-year student at Koinosei High School attached to Ginga University. He is good at photography and belongs to the photography department. His parents died in a car accident ten years ago. Mitsuyoshi and his sister Yui live with their grandfather, helping him at Tada Coffee Shop. He aims to become a famous photographer like his father. Mitsuyoshi is loved by others due to her quiet, yet sincere and attentive personality.
Teresa Wagner (テレサ・ワーグナー) / Teresa de Luxemburg (テレサ・ドゥ・ラルセンブルク)
The Princess of Luxembourg and the heir to the Queen's throne, Teresa came overseas to Japan as an exchange student and has an encounter with Mitsuyoshi while traveling and ends up in his school. Energetic and an airhead with a heartwarming smile, she is an avid fan of the fictional TV series Rainbow Shogun. Teresa lives in Grand Palace Ginza, a hotel next to Mitsuyoshi's Cafe with her bodyguard Alec. In Japan, no one knows about her being the heir. During her introduction to the Tada family, she slipped a syllable uttering her name as "Teresa du-" before correcting herself and saying "Teresa Wagner". As a member of the royal family, Tereza is realistic in her expectations and does not show any arrogance.
Nicknamed "Alec", Alexandra is Teresa's caretaker, assistant, and bodyguard who also attends school along with Teresa and has been with her since childhood. She is over-protective of Teresa regarding the activities she does and the people she interacts with. However, Alec has a weakness when Teresa asks her for something. She is constantly on guard with Kaoru for his flirtatious ways of interacting with her.
Kaoru is Mitsuyoshi's close friend, classmate, and fellow Photography Club member. He is popular amongst girls and a narcissist who cannot resist the urge of photographing himself and showing off with them. Kaoru has a fear of Alec after she beats him up believing he was chasing after Teresa. His family owns an old Japanese-style restaurant, which has allowed him to hone his cooking skill where he is able to cook an entire feast for his friends.
Hajime is President of the Photography Club who likes girls and to photograph them in a nude way beyond anything else. He seems to be close with Hinako and bicker frequently. Hajime admires gravure idol Hina and has a vast collection of her merchandise, but is unaware she is actually Hinako. He is shown to be a pervert and called Pin-senpai by the club members.
Hinako is Class President of Mitsuyoshi's class. She is also a member of the Photography Club, but mostly a stand-in one as the club is still open. Hinako seems close to Hajime as she addresses him casually although they argue frequently. She is a diligent girl but secretly the gravure idol Hina, whom Hajime admires, a fact he is oblivious to. Her identity as Hina is known only to Alec and Teresa, while Charles also seems to be suspiciously thinking the same as well.
Kentarō is a first year student at Koinosei High School. He is nicknamed "Yamashita Dog" because he always responds to Mitsuyoshi's finger-whistling and behaves like one. Kentarō likes the owner of the neighborhood's beauty salon, but she only sees him as a little brother.
Charles is a descendant of French nobility who has been in contact with Teresa since they were children. In Episode 6, he is revealed to be Teresa's fiancé, a fact unknown to everyone except Teresa, Alec and Charles himself. Charles is introduced to the Photography Club members as Teresa's childhood friend and gets in good terms with everyone by hitting right at their sweet spots. He is destined to become Grand Duke of Luxemburg by marrying Teresa. At present time, he is a university student and also manages certain companies. During a discussion with Mitsuyoshi and Kaoru, Charles admits to have fallen in love once while gazing at Teresa.
KittyBig is a stray cat Mitsuyoshi found and adopted who detests Kaoru. He is proud of Mitsuyoshi as he has looked over him growing up and striving towards his dream to be a photographer. KittyBig has his own blog where Mitsuyoshi posts photos and writes about his daily encounters with Kaoru.
Production and development
The 13-episode original anime television series by Doga Kobo aired from April 5[6][7][8] to June 28, 2018.The series is directed by Mitsue Yamazaki, with series composition by Yoshiko Nakamura, character designs by Junichiro Taniguchi and music by Yukari Hashimoto.The opening theme is "Otomodachi Film" (オトモダチフィルム) performed by Masayoshi Ōishi, and the ending theme is a cover of the Sambomaster song "Love Song" (ラブソング) performed by Manaka Iwami as her character Teresa Wagner.Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series and streamed it on Hidive outside of Asia[9] while Muse Communication licensed it in South and Southeast Asia as well as Taiwan and Hong Kong.[10]
Episodes
Other media
A novel adaptation titled Tada-kun wa Koi o Shinai: Teresa Wagner no Jijō (多田くんは恋をしない テレサ・ワーグナーの事情) was published by Kadokawa under its Kadokawa Beans Bunko imprint on June 1, 2018, Tadako Nakamura as its author, Junichiro Taniguchi as the cover illustrator and Eri Kagami as the text illustrator.[13]
Reception
The first three episodes of the anime received generally positive reviews by various critics.
Rose Bridges from Anime News Network wrote the anime "grabbed her" from its first moments stating that "It was a show you could really root for". She praise the first episodes by tackling how tourist interact with their "idolized place" versus how locals see them. Her review of the second episode in the other hand is quite mixed noting that the episode introduces a bunch of new characters "who are all fairly unmemorable anime archetypes". She called the third episode "show's best episode yet" saying that it "turned things around" after the last episode, noting that "Nyako Big" is the "best character" in the show and "Not everyone's going to be as much of a cat lover coming into this show, but it's admirable to see Tada Never Falls in Love take risks like this. That attitude could be key to the show's success as a memorable comedy." She ended Tada Never Falls in Love is "always has a bright and peppy feel" and "always a visual marvel" but noting that "The character and gag writing needs to catch up."[14]
Dee from Anime Feminist wrote that anime is a "puzzle" saying that the "charming comedic and character beats periodically interrupted by broad slapstick and tropey anime cliches". She heavily criticize the second episode pointing out that it features "obnoxiously horny teen dudes who kept interrupting the nice club antics to shout about nude ladies and check out the girls’ chests." She commented that the third episode "won her back" stating that it is a "start-to-finish delight".[15]
