Review of Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro
I’m genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this anime. After I watched the first episode I thought this was going to be a weird kinky ecchi-flooded romcom with bad characters that I would eventually drop. However, it ended up being very fun, and I liked it a lot. Both the main characters annoyed me deeply in the first episode. Nagatoro seemed like a one sided bully who was only meant to be a fanservice source to a very specific audience, while Senpai was a beta male that went through it all passively, being a huge disservice to the people who actually suffers with bullying. Thethought of romanticizing this dynamic and trying to build something out of it struck me as horrifying to say the least.
Fortunately, I was wrong. I still think the anime doesn't do a great job at establishing limits and consequences to how cruel Nagatoro can be. Her actions could easily cause severe trauma to people who actually are socially anxious in real life. But both these characters ended up being much more nuanced than I thought. Nagatoro grew a lot in my opinion once we saw that she cares deeply for Senpai, standing up for him in many situations. The fact that she doesn't mess around with guys she's not interested in, treating them with utter cold indifference made me appreciate her a lot more as well. Senpai also gets a slight development though the show, being gradually less nervous around Nagatoro and her friends, also speaking out against them whenever they cross the limits eventually. These nuances enriched their dynamic to the point where I was 100% invested in their romance once we got to the final arc of the season.
The unnecessary ecchi and cleavage was a low point for me in this anime. Sometimes the author used it pretty well, building embarrassing moments that actually felt real and funny. But in other moments the sexual teasing felt repetitive and cringy, being just an excuse for lame fanservice. I think we saw three different scenes where Senpai blushes after seeing Nagatoro’s bra through her wet shirt.
In short, I embraced the wholesomeness of the series, having a great time seeing our main couple’s romance develop in their own weird way (not trying to kink shame anybody). It was for the most part a light-hearted, cute and very fun experience. I’m going to continue the story in the manga looking forward to seeing more development for these two characters, and eventually, who knows… maybe a kiss? Kimoi!