Between TKS and 3DK, Tada-kun takes round two. While we only took the tiniest step further in the ostensible romance between Tada and Teresa, we’re introduced to the rest of the crew and…I kinda like all of them?
On Teresa and Alec’s first day they’re the toast of the school, and bespectacled Class Rep Hasegawa asks if they’d like a tour to determine what club they’d like to join (they have to join something).
That leads them to the photography club, where Teresa and Alec are reunited with Tada and Ijuuin, and upon inspecting a shrine of the club president Sugimoto’s favorite gravure idol HINA, Alec suddenly realizes that class rep Hasegawa is HINA.
Honestly, Tada and Teresa kinda chill in the background of most of this; the stars that shine brightest are Hasegawa, Sugimoto, and the trusty junior member Yamashita, nicknamed “dog” because he comes when Tada calls him.
When Teresa voices interest in joining the club, Sugimoto decides to hold a traditional photo-snapping contest to begin their trial period. The group splits in to, and they turn out to be inspired combinations.
Ijuuin ends up with Alec, with whom he clearly didn’t get off on the right foot, while Sugimoto and Hasegawa round out the 4-person Team B. Once the clock starts, they take turns running around the school trying to get good pictures of the other team, who doesn’t make it easy on them.
Tada, Teresa, and Yamashita make up Team A—a new couple and their pet dog—and the episode takes on a breathless, exciting energy as the club runs around the school with abandon, enjoying their youth.
In the midst of the competition, Yamashita reveals his excellent sense of smell, while Alec shows off her kunoichi skills (again adding fuel to my little princess’ bodyguard fire). We also get a lot of interesting interactions between Sugimoto and Hasegawa. She calls him “-chan”, so I wager they’re childhood friends.
But as Sugimoto falls for Yamashita’s “Look behind you, it’s HINA!”, it’s possible he’s unaware his friend is his favorite idol…and she’s fine keeping it that way. Still, gestures like Sugimoto shielding her from a bucket of water suggest that regardless of whether he knows, he definitely cares a great deal about Hasegawa.
Teresa and Tada thought they’d gotten the best shot of the contest by snapping a surprised Sugimoto and Hasegawa (cameras are good at picking up love between two people), it’s Ninja Alec who swoops in and snaps a picture of Teresa and Tada laughing, which ultimately wins.
So the two had a lot of fun together, and it looks like we have one long-standing couple and a pairing of opposites that just might work given time. And hey, even Yamashita has an admirer in Tada’s sister, Yui. Teresa and Alec join, and when Hasegawa takes her leave, Sugimoto stops her and invites her to join them in celebrating, since she’s part of the club too. All in all, a great ensemble effort.
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