Teasing Master Takagi-san 😝 ・ Off-Shoot Book Club Home Thread • Currently Reading Volume 4!

[MrGeneric]

Currently Reading: Volume 4, Chapter 6 - ポーカー

Summary

Middle school students Nishikata and Takagi sit next to each other in class. Takagi, who is in love with Nishikata, enjoys teasing him with embarrassing pranks and jokes. In response, Nishikata creates plans to get his revenge, but they always fail when she identifies his weaknesses and capitalizes on them.

Who Should Join

This is a continuation from the Absolute Beginner’s Book Club reading of Teasing Master Takagi-San Volume 1, so if you were reading along there and want more Takagi-san, this is the place for you! We will be starting here with Volume 2. I would also say that from what I have glanced through with the second volume, it seems that it does have chapters much like the first volume, in that they are each self-contained little stories, so if you were interested in joining, but you are worried about not being able to read through the first volume in time to catch up to this book club, feel free to jump in anyway! This is a great manga to start learning with because the chapters are self-contained (meaning that if you have to miss some, it won’t be the end of the world; you can always jump to the current chapter and bounce back whenever you feel you have the time), the kanji all have furigana, and the grammar is mostly quite simple (at the very least, the complicated grammar has so far been common and searchable for the most part, and everyone who has been involved so far is super friendly and willing to answer questions!)

In short, you should join if you have been reading Takagi-san with the ABBC and want more Takagi-san, or if you are relatively new to book clubs, you find this kind of story entertaining, and you want a place to be able to discuss both the plot, as well as talk through any questions you may have regarding grammar.

How it all works

Up to now, we have been creating a discussion thread per chapter, but we are going to change that up a little bit from here on out, and the discussion threads will be per volume instead, so as not to inundate the forums with some potentially lower-trafficked discussion threads. We will have a vocabulary sheet set up that anyone can contribute to, and the discussion threads will be for talking about everything from the characters and story, to vocab and grammar questions.

Previous Volume Discussion Threads

• Volume 1 (Individual chapter threads are all linked here)
• Volume 2
• Volume 3

Where To Buy

Volume 2

Physical: Amazon JP • CDJapan

Digital: Amazon JP • Kobo • Bookwalker

Volume 3

Physical: Amazon JP • CDJapan

Digital: Amazon JP • Bookwalker

Volume 4

Physical: Amazon JP • CDJapan

Digital: Amazon JP • Bookwalker

Schedule

Volume 2

Week	Start Date	Chapter	Page Numbers	Page Count
Week 1	July 24th	Chapter 1 - 雨宿り	5 - 20	16
Week 2	July 31st	Chapter 2 - テスト勉強	21 - 36	16
Week 3	August 7th	Chapter 3 - テスト返却	37 - 52	16
Week 4	August 14th	Chapter 4 - 手紙	55 - 70	16
Week 5	August 21st	Chapter 5 - 掃除当番	71 - 86	16
Week 6	August 28th	Chapter 6 - 二人乗り	87 - 102	16
Week 7	September 4th	Chapter 7 - 腕ずもう	105 - 120	16
Week 8	September 11th	Chapter 8 - 夢	121 - 136	16
Week 9	September 18th	Chapter 9 - 番外編席替え	139 - 146	8
Week 9	September 18th	Bonus - おまけ	148 - 153	6

As noted in the table above, given how short both the final chapter and the bonus chapter are, we will be reading both chapters the final week.

Volume 3

Week	Start Date	Chapter	Page Numbers	Page Count
Week 1	October 2nd	Chapter 1 - 肝試し	1 - 18	16
Week 2	October 9th	Chapter 2 - 質問	19 - 34	16
Week 3	October 16th	Chapter 3 - 背比べ	35 - 50	16
Week 4	October 23rd	Chapter 4 - 席替え	53 - 68	16
Week 5	October 30th	Chapter 5 - 英訳	69 - 84	16
Week 6	November 6th	Chapter 6 - 逆上がり	85 - 100	16
Week 7	November 13th	Chapter 7 - わき腹	101 - 116	16
Week 8	November 20th	Chapter 8 - 習字	117 - 132	16
Week 9	November 27th	Chapter 9 - 尾行	133 - 148	16
Week 9	November 27th	Bonus - おまけ	150 - 153	4

As noted in the table above, given how short the bonus chapter is, we will be reading the final chapter and the bonus chapter in the same week.

Volume 4

Week	Start Date	Chapter	Page Numbers	Page Count
Week 1	December 11th	Chapter 1 - 水道	3 - 18	16
Week 2	December 18th	Chapter 2 - 部屋	19 - 34	16
Week 3	December 25th	Chapter 3 - 21ゲーム	35 - 50	16
Week 4	January 1st	Chapter 4 - 占い	51 - 66	16
Week 5	January 8th	Chapter 5 - お誘い	69 - 84	16
Week 6	January 15th	Chapter 6 - ポーカー	85 - 100	16
Week 7	January 22nd	Chapter 7 - ネコ	101 - 116	16
Week 8	January 29th	Chapter 8 - ケータイ	117 - 132	16
Week 9	February 5th	Chapter 9 - 写真	133 - 148	16
Week 9	February 5th	Bonus - おまけ	150 - 153	4

As before, given how short the bonus chapter is, we will be reading Chapter 9 and the Bonus Chapter in the same week.

Vocabulary

Volume 2

Teasing Master Takagi-San Volume 2 Vocabulary List - Google Sheets

Volume 3

Teasing Master Takagi-San Volume 3 Vocabulary List - Google Sheets

Volume 4

Teasing Master Takagi-San Volume 4 Vocabulary List - Google Sheets

[MrGeneric]

So the big question for discussion right now is when do people think we should start? I’ll be keeping an eye on the poll up above to get an idea on if we have to wait for shipping, but does anybody have dates in mind? I’m not sure how long physical copies take to ship to people (I pretty much exclusively buy digital), so if we end up waiting on shipping and things like that, what is the usual time, does anybody know? I would expect 2 weeks to a month, but maybe I’m overestimating that.

Once we have a range of dates, I’ll create a poll (in a reply, because I don’t want to risk breaking the parent polls again ) with some actual date ranges for us to vote on, but I want to get an idea before I start just posting random times! Let me know what y’all think!

[Vanessa-san]

So happy for this offshoot club - I still need to catch up with the last two chapters, though coff coff

For dates, I’m fine starting it after July 10th, since some other clubs start that day! So July 17th or 24th work for me!

[shuly]

Just pick a date far enough in the future for people to order physical copies if they want…and if someone is in the offshoot club anyway they really want to read it anyhow…so even if someone starts early or late…chances are it’s not a big issue.

Mid July is almost too early IMO for people that haven’t bought physical copies…normally it would be if this was setup earlier but since the train is just getting underway…maybe 3rd 4th week of July…

If it’s someone like myself that already bought it then we could start immediately… so heck who knows…Can always setup another POLL!!!

[Duckretainer]

I’ve never done one of these book clubs, but I’m excited to try this one. I finally feel like I can finally, very slowly, read some manga.

[shuly]

we just finished the first vol…go ahead and get started…the vocab lists are populated and all grammar questions answered…if you have new questions post in the appropriate week thread someone will probably still answer…

joining a bookclub right after it’s finished isn’t bad at all…things are still fresh and you aren’t looking as much up as the hard work is pretty much done, vocab sheets, grammar questions, discussions etc… the other nice thing about this book is each chapter is stand alone so you can pick up where ever pretty much and jump in (at least for vol 1).

[MrGeneric]

As @shuly mentioned, if you go ahead and get started on Volume 1 before we begin Volume 2 (I will post a poll shortly on starting dates now that it seems we are shaping up on some ideas of an acceptable range), now is a good time! The discussion boards for those threads are all still open, and had lots of useful information (this was my first real manga, also, and I have learned a lot!), plus a lot of us are still checking in on older chapter discussions if you find a question in a chapter that wasn’t answered in the thread already, and we will be willing to help! Welcome to the club!

[MrGeneric]

As we seem to have a basic idea that we shouldn’t start right away in July, I think this is a good date range to go with. I wouldn’t want it to sit idle for too long either, so I think no later than the first week of August is best, and that should give people plenty of time to get the physical copies in, if that’s the route they pick (so far, nobody has but the board also hasn’t been up for very long, either). I’ll post this poll, and whatever the majority decides by, oh say, this coming weekend, that’s the schedule we’ll go with!

When do you think we should start reading Volume 2?

• July 17th
• July 24th
• July 31st
• August 7th

[ChristopherFritz]

Alongside starting with volume one now with the just-completing volume one club (which I also recommend), this series is actually a good one for jumping right into volume two with. Aside from chapters being stand-alone, the only thing you need to know about the plot and characters (if you’re not familiar with the series) can be intuited from reading any one chapter.

And since chapters are chronologically out of order, you don’t have to feel like you’re missing anything by starting volume one, then pausing it to read volume two in real time with the offshoot club.

[shuly]

gonna throw this out there…may change and I realize only one person said start the 24th but splitting the difference between the 17th and 31st may actually be the preferable compromise for those wanting to start early and late

[VikingSchism]

Since I enjoyed the first book, I see no reason for me not to continue into volume 2 - I’m good to start any time as I’ll just get the digital, so no preference on start dates for me

[Kenjugs]

I’m in the same boat as VikingSchism, even though I voted for the 24th, I’m going to be getting it digital, so the start time is not as important to me. Two weeks may be too soon depending on when people order physical since the last time I ordered something from Japan, it took nearly a month to get here due to delays from covid.

[MrGeneric]

Alright, everyone, the weekend is here. Given the results of the poll are fairly evenly split, I agree with @shuly’s suggestion that we split the difference and go with the 24th as a reasonable compromise between starting earlier and later.

I have closed the polls, but for any who are still wanting to join, please don’t feel like that means you aren’t welcome to join! The more, the merrier when it comes to these clubs, in my opinion!

I will update the parent post to reflect the change (already updated the title, but it will take me a little longer to make the table for the schedule).

I realize now I never asked for feedback on the reading pace, but I figured that given the low text density, and relatively short chapters, continuing with one chapter per week is probably for the best. If anybody has any strong objections to that pace, let me know, but for now I’m going to write the schedule under the assumption that we are continuing with the current speed.

I look forward to reading with you all!

[shuly]

Keep the pacing as it’s… Nothing is ever perfect… Someone is always behind some people are ahead

But based on the last read… The pacing is perfect overall for the group as a whole. Just my 2c.

[MrGeneric]

Alright, the schedule table is up! I will post the Volume 2 Discussion Thread the Wednesday or the Thursday before we are set to begin!

[shuly]

where’s the schedule for vol 3 offshoot starting Oct 23rd ish?

[MrGeneric]

Ahaha. I hope to have them be more continuous from here on. once we are about 3/4 of the way through volume 2, I will get links posted for Volume 3, so we can roll straight into it without having to pause for a couple of weeks.

[shuly]

I was just teasing…

in all seriousness you’ll probably still need a pause (sometimes it’s just nice to get a little break between)…though hmm…what did I order again… maybe all of them and the 2nd series…so we could go on for a while

[Paperhana]

I started reading vol one this week and love it so I’ll be joining in on vol two. Might have also ordered vols 3 and 4 too Im excited! Will do my best to catch up, but it looks like each chapter is kinda a stand alone story? So I might be okay jumping right in?

[ChristopherFritz]

One good part about this series (as far as book club reading goes) is that the stories are not only stand-alone, but they are also not in chronological order. That means you can extra skip from midway volume one into reading volume two =D

I haven’t peeked at volume two yet, so I don’t know if this aspect will change later.