Karakai Jouzu (?) no Nishikata-san

TL:DR A decent send off to the Takagi-san franchise. Not amazing in it's own right but it will be great for anyone who loved the previous two series. Story: 6/10 The bittersweet send off of the Takagi-san franchise! Unlike the previous two manga that were mostly comedy centred on teasing with the romantic moments sprinkled in, this focuses entirely on the relationship between the two main characters and the connection to what happened in the prequel, ‘Karakai Jouzu no (Moto) Takagi-san’. While the teasing is still present, it feels a lot more like a straightforward romance. Being short, the manga doesn't have a long build up to get you investedin the characters and let their relationship or feeling grow organically nor is there really any character development. Due to this, and the fact that the characters are obviously mutually in love from the very start means that I wasn't nearly as interested in the relationship as I was in 'Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san'. The teasing games weren't as clever or as entertaining as the other manga. However, seeing how the characters react in situations that parallel the parent series is entertaining and gives you a bit of a feel of how they differ from their predecessors. The problem is that without the characters that let it work the first time nor the time it let it grow into something new, it's not as cute or as clever or as entertaining as the other series, just decent. While the ending wasn't particularly satisfying, I do appreciate that the author decided to end it quickly rather than milking the series by rehashing the same thing with slightly different characters, even if I would have liked a bit more. All that said, while it never reached the heights of it's prequels, I enjoyed my time reading this and it was cute in it's own way. Characters: 5/10 It's interesting to see Chii Nishikata what traits she gets from Nishikata (her father and protagonist of the first series) and which from Takagi-san. Ooshiro is just a less endearing Takagi-san. Unfortunately the combination is just not as interesting or charming as the characters in the prequels. Having the dynamic be slightly different by having the person doing the teasing being bad at it is entertaining but there's not enough time for us to get invested in the manga nor is it as clever as the prequels. Art Same as the other series, adorable as always. Also got to appreciate any artist that puts efforts into the backgrounds even in a simple romance manga. Overall: 6/10 Regardless of what negative things I have to say, I did enjoy my time reading this and it felt like a proper conclusion to the tale of Takagi-san and co. I recommend this manga to anyone who read the first two in the series. They're not really the type of series that need a definitive end, but it's nice to have this little celebration of this universe.