Crossword Genius

Endless Japanese therapy, guy reflected, relatively gaudy (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tackier

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'endless japanese therapy guy reflected relatively gaudy' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'guy reflected relatively gaudy' is the wordplay.
'guy' becomes 'cat' (I've seen this in other clues).
'reflected' says the letters should be written backwards.
'relatively gaudy' becomes 'kier' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'cat' written backwards gives 'tac'.
'tac'+'kier'='TACKIER'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for tackier that I've seen is " not so tasty".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app