Review of Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro
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.