Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro

The one major attraction of anime medium is that we can explore any idea, in any way possible. Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san (Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro) explores the idea of a fiesty girl who makes it their personal hobby to bully a guy. Just imagine that. We have a show about a girl picking on a guy as a major plot element in 2021. Watching Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san is the type of rom-com adaptation that you know what you're going to get from day one. The premise speaks for itself as Naoto Hachiouji (better known as Senpai) is teased by Nagatoro every single day. And forhis sanity, let's just say that Senpai would have to put up with Nagatoro antics even if he can never have a peaceful day again. Based on the manga of the same name, it's clear the author wanted to entertain us in the form of an eccentric romantic comedy. I'll warn you though. If you're not into watching a girl toy a guy on a daily basis, then I'd highly suggest to turn back now. Even as the title suggests, the anime itself isn't sadomastic as it sounds. Senpai isn't Nagatoro's boy toy although he is teased as part of Nagatoro's favorite hobby. The first episode gives us a deep dive into how she operates. With every witty dialogue, she manages to put Senpai into compromising or embarassing positions. Senpai's own insecure personality doesn't help him stand up to Nagatoro either. Or perhaps there's a bit more? Watching the first few episodes also suggests that at some levels, he enjoys being with Nagatoro. Through their character chemistry, there's also some levels of sexual tension. This is evidenced especially whenever Nagatoro tries to use her body to tease Senpai. Other times, she makes sexual jokes alluding to adult references. It's the type of humor that you'll see every episode. And she's not even the sole character behind acting on these schemes. Meet Gamo and Yosshi, two of Nagatoro's classmates who loves to tease and bully Senpai just as much as she does. Nicknaming our male protagonist as 'Paisen', they're known to call him Virgin at every chance possible. However, one interesting thing to note is that their teases sometimes irritates Nagatoro or perhaps even makes her jealous. At many points throughout the series, it shows that Nagatoro wants to keep Senpai to herself rather than letting others have him. Sure, she treats him like a toy but also wants to protect him for herself. Perhaps 'protect' isn't the right word to use here but Nagatoro has her moments of envy whenever Gamo and Yosshi takes their teases too far. It's physically reflected in her distorted eyes, a contrast to her usual bubbly self. Does that mean Nagatoro likes Senpai? That question may be ambigious and honestly too early to tell from this season alone. Unfortunately, this season didn't have enough time for any character development for Nagatoro. It seems that the anime itself just wanted to tease the audience about Nagatoro's feelings towards Senpai. In later episodes, we see this more evident when she engages in a rivalry with President but this really goes to nowhere. With such a goofy cast and entertaining premise, you can bet this anime doesn't take itself seriously at all. The show generally follows a non-linear storytelling format with each episode playing out like skits. Each episode contains multiple parts but some of the recurring elements remains the same, most noticably being Nagatoro's teasing habits. The show also tries to throw off the audience on occasions by doing unorthodox episodes such as fantasy/isekai. Watching Nagatoro's relationship with Senpai equates to an owner playing with their toy, at least in the beginning of the anime. While the show always relies heavily on the teasing, it does get more playful later on. And of course, Nagatoro seems to be able to always find some way to tease Senpai with her clever mind. Whether it's physically or emotionally, she's the master at what she does, and is part of her DNA to tease Senpai. We should give credit to where credit is due. Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san is known for its comedy but it's serious about its artwork style, straight out of the manga. Frames in this adaptation is consistent with character designs appealing to the way they look. Nagatoro is known for using her body sometimes as a weapon on Senpai so it comes to no surprise that the show gave her a slim figure. More importantly is the character expressions. The show adapts a highly expressive way of showing her personality whenever her emotions runs wild whether when playful, jealous, or sarcastic. Nagatoro's playful personality also includes cat traits to reflect just how playful she is. In essence, she plays around like a curious cat. On the other hand, Senpai is protrayed as a nervous character who seems to be fearful of Nagatoro's antics. Who can blame him though? If you were teased by Nagatoro 24/7, you might get anxiety like him too. This show isn't also afraid of throwing in fan service elsewhere especially with the President. Can you imagine who walks around at school with just a towel like that? Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san isn't the first type of anime that focuses on a girl teasing a boy and it certainly won't be the last either. Here, we got this anime about a playful girl who loves to toy Senpai like her personal property. However, the big question you should ask yourself is if you want to join the entertainment with her along the way. Do you want to watch a show where the protagonist gets played around every episode? The answer can be both easy or hard to answer but if you look at the bigger picture, it's not difficult to decide. Because the fact is, this anime sells itself exactly the way it is: a huge animated meme.

Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san is a heartwarming and hilarious story that never has a dull moment. The playful tension in each interaction between Nagatoro and Senpai builds up to adorable punchlines that seamlessly blends comedy and romantic progression, making for an incredibly fulfilling romcom. Let’s talk about the romance part first. Instead of using a lazy excuse to bring Nagatoro and Senpai together, the show creates a connection that’s thoughtfully woven into their growth as characters. Episode one’s library scene and episode two’s restaurant scene establish why Nagatoro took an interest in Senpai in the first place, and their similarities highlight how her contrasting decisions are veryintentionally written to detail her attraction. At their core, both scenes introduce boys to Nagatoro through their art. Unlike the faceless restaurant boys music, drawing is a labor of love for Senpai. It’s something that he pours himself into, and Nagatoro picks up on his passion. She also takes note of Senpai's obvious self-insert and main character of the manga he's drawing, Siegfried, the chivalrous knight who protects Elizabeth even though he knows his love will never be requited. Despite initial appearances, Senpai proves that he can be quite similar to Siegfried. Even in the first episode, his personality shines through his anxiety and catches Nagatoro off guard. When Senpai returns her hand towel, she reacts to his consideration. When Senpai steels himself to draw her, she reacts to his confidence and determination. He’s able to overcome his anxiety and is often a lot more courageous than Nagatoro. Like his passion for art, I think it’s something that greatly interests her. Senpai has his own reasons for putting up Nagatoro in the first place. Although his tolerance seems strange, it’s shown that most people don’t even take the time to read his manga and just tease him for drawing it, whereas Nagatoro actually takes the time to read his work. If art is an expression of your soul, it would feel validating for someone to at least acknowledge it, right? The rest of the show is pretty much Nagatoro and Senpai just hanging out. The show gives no underlying excuse for them being around each other than the fact that they want to be, nor does it need to. Nagatoro tries to chip away at Senpai’s shell by way of teasing/flirting with him, but often retreats into her own shell when she loses her nerve. Ironically, much of the advice Nagatoro gives is more applicable to herself than Senpai. In between all the teasing are moments of intimacy, where one of them lets themselves be vulnerable without trying to emotionally protect themselves. These moments become more common overtime, and their entire dynamic naturally becomes more intimate. The payoff in the final two episodes perfectly capitalizes on the buildup by introducing the first big conflict in the relationship, resolving it through the connection they’ve formed. Of course, every little moment of Nagatoro and Senpai’s time together not only serves as romantic progression, but comedy as well. Something about seeing Nagatoro finding new ways to make Senpai squirm just tickles. You’ll laugh along with Nagatoro as she verbally pokes and prods Senpai. Or when the tables turn and Nagatoro’s the one squirming as her friends torment her beloved Senpai. Every scene has some sort of comedic tension, made all the more memorable by how they’re presented. Whatever the scenario, the art and sound really tie things together. They’re what makes specific scenes so memorable, even relatively mundane ones. While the artstyle isn’t particularly stunning, the show makes the absolute most out of it. Character designs are appealing, the faces are expressive, Nagatoro’s smiles are absolutely infectious, Senpai’s blushes give me second hand embarrassment, everything works. The voice acting is incredible as well, to the point where I can just remember a line and grin, whether it’s from Nagatoro, Senpai, or Nagatoro's friends. The soundtrack can be overbearing at times, but the songs never feel repetitive and are just as fitting as the rest of the sound and visuals. I couldn’t recommend this show more. Beyond the well-written establishment, development, and presentation of the main relationship is something very relatable. Trying to overcome insecurities and let ourselves be vulnerable with someone is probably something we’ve all experienced. It’s a struggle that both Nagatoro and Senpai both go through as they slowly take down their emotional walls for each other. It’s a struggle that leads them to the discovery of someone special, someone who’s seen their true, unguarded selves and loves them for it. It’s a journey filled with laughter and warmth. Hopefully, we’ll all find someone to take the journey with one day, just as Nagatoro and Senpai have.

This anime is dogshit, I only watched it because my ex wanted me to catch the episodes weekly with him and I even felt obliged to keep up with the manga. It's just some horny dude getting bullied by a younger girl, they're obviously in love but don't act on it so it's just awkward to watch. The sexualisation of this teenage girl is also bleh. Animation is good, I won't be watching Season 2 but my friend told me the new animation studio is abysmal which is kind of funny. Degenerate fanbase also, which isn't surprising because my ex is a massive one. Irandomly remembered this anime exists today when seeing the most racist tweet from someone with a Nagatoro pfp and thought I'd leave a review for fun.

Bullying, and anything similar, has always been regarded as a sensitive subject. For that reason, most anime and manga tackle this topic with a rather solemn approach, as they should. Serious issues akin to bullying shouldn't be viewed as a medium to make obscene jokes—unless you make it obvious that you aren't ridiculing the subject matter in question. Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san seemingly does the opposite; according to a part of the audience, it treats a heavy topic like bullying in a comedic manner and makes light of it. This show isn't actually about bullying, though. In the end, despite my initial impressions, Iiranaide, Nagatoro-san turned out tobe a weirdly heartwarming show that consistently kept me entertained. Why, though? I will explain. The first episode of Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san is quite misleading. In it, our boisterous and tan-skinned heroine Nagatoro approaches our timid protagonist Naoto and bullies him to the point that he starts to break down. This immediately put me off from the anime to be honest, but luckily, Nagatoro's teasing—which was actual bullying at first—gradually softens as the story progresses, and after a few episodes, the series just becomes a likeable romance story between the two leads. Now, it should be noted that the author of Nagatoro-san was formerly a hentai artist, and this indeed shows in several places. Most of the scenarios that occur in the anime are risque to say the least; however, they don't really cross the line. Nagatoro-san surprisingly maintains a pretty light-hearted tone throughout its runtime that is well-executed for the most part. In actuality, this series is far from being a borderline hentai—regardless of what some people may have led to believe. I'm addressing this since many people seemed to disparage the series solely based on the fact that its author previously made hentai, when in reality, Nagatoro-san is fairly "clean" compared to a countless amount of ecchi anime out there. Although this kind of reaction is to be expected, I find it condemnable that some people hate the show just because it's made by a hentai artist. It's one thing if you simply don't like the anime, but associating it with the author formerly being a hentai artist is completely uncalled for. Coming back to the actual review, the interesting dynamic of our main duo, Naoto and Nagatoro, is what primarily makes this series an entertaining watch. A proper sadomasochistic relationship between two of the leads isn't something that you commonly find in anime, which alone makes Nagatoro-san stand out from other similar shows. Most of the episodes consist of multiple segments, almost all of which follow the same format: Nagatoro runs across Naoto and playfully teases him while he gets embarrassed. Despite this formulaic plotline, the scenarios in each episode are usually varied enough to keep the viewers engaged—albeit there are times when this can feel a bit repetitive and lacklustre. Nagatoro is definitely the more compelling one of the main duo. Initially, it can be difficult to like her because of her overly mocking personality, but trust me, she becomes a lot more likeable later on. Nagatoro's mischiefs include taunting Naoto in a light-hearted manner, poking at him with her fingers, lightly hitting him on his head, etc. Most of the teasing basically consists of Nagatoro doing silly things like these which Naoto doesn't mind at all (probably because he is a masochist). Her intentions are fortunately far from being mean-spirited, and even when she crosses the line or goes a bit too far, she quickly catches on to it and apologizes to Naoto. Nagatoro's personality is unexpectedly very dynamic. Throughout the anime she displays three distinct personas (teasy/energetic, embarrassed, and yandere-ish), and they shift smoothly depending on the situation that Naoto is put into. All three sides of her personality are honestly quite likeable, but the latter two are especially entertaining since they are infrequent and contrast greatly with her usual teasy personality. On a side note, Nagatoro's voice actress Sumire Uesaka's contribution in this regard is undeniably notable. Most likely, you will dislike Naoto and find him to be a dull character, and I wouldn't blame you for that. There aren't many things that are unique about him as a character; he is kind of your typical introverted protagonist. Personally though, I actually liked Naoto quite a bit. Yes, he is pretty wimpy, irritating and a pushover at the beginning (some would argue most of the times), but his personality actually improves at a consistent pace as he interacts with Nagatoro. The development is admittedly very slow-paced, but it doesn't cause much problem since that's ultimately the purpose of the anime—to show Naoto gain self-assurance in a steady and meaningful way. The supporting characters do let down, though. Sakura is okay (although she can also be dislikeable at times), but Maki and Yoshi are mostly very annoying. The former solely exists to exasperate both Naoto and Nagatoro, and the latter just mindlessly imitates whatever the others do or say. Granted, these two do create some interesting circumstances by bringing out Nagatoro's yandere-ish personality, but surely it could have been done in a more tasteful method. Besides the aforementioned three, Naoto's club president Sana is the only other significant side character, and while she is not necessarily a bad character, she is introduced rather abruptly in the story. Nagatoro-san is decently animated for the most part. Although not spectacular, the animation is consistently fluid and there aren't many noticeable flaws. I do have some complaints regarding the character designs, though. Every character in the anime, besides those that I have mentioned above, doesn't even have a fully drawn face; their eyes are always covered with a shadow or not shown at all. Some might use the argument that this is supposed to signify a subtle meaning and shouldn't be taken at face value, but I find it a bit lazy nonetheless. Regarding the soundtrack, most of Nagatoro-san's background tracks aren't particularly remarkable (while there are a few that I like quite a bit), they fit in well with the playful atmosphere of the anime. The opening theme "Easy Love" is intentionally made to be over-the-top with the flamboyant visuals and the screechy (kind of) singing, but while I kinda disliked it at first, I didn't mind it much later on. On the other hand, the ending song titled "Colorful Canvas" is pretty catchy and has a calming vibe to it. Chances are that you will either enjoy Nagatoro-san as some sort of a guilty pleasure, or think it's another vapid ecchi anime with no substance whatsoever. And honestly, this is one of the few cases where I can understand both sides of the argument. Nagatoro-san is pretty much fated to be polarizing among its audience, so the controversy surrounding it isn't surprising at all. However, despite this and the fact that I'm not generally fond of this kind of titles, I found myself enjoying this show a fair amount. I was surprised at myself for enjoying it this much, but in retrospect, Nagatoro-san actually does have some praiseworthy things about it—and I legitimately believe that it's a good show. Before I end this review, I would like recommend any potential viewers to watch the anime with an accepting mindset—you will probably enjoy it more that way. Also, sit through the first episode.