Review of Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro

REVIEW: Characters: For me, Nagatoro isn't as annoying, and trope filled as Uzaki, Nor is she too bland, and good at hiding her emotions, like Takagi. Both of which are shows I've seen many clips of, and didn't care for. Nagatoro on the other hand managed to get me reeled into the show with some clips alone. Reason being, is because this show has SPICE. And what makes this show SPICY? Three things. 1. Nagatoro is happy to be assertive but also enjoys when Hachiōji displays a back bone.2. The early stages of this relationship does not stop Nagatoro from doing some pretty seductive things.

3. Even though Nagatoro's rampantly the one teasing, she is still clearly shy. The show and characters wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable if Nagatoro could always keep her cool. This makes her character dynamic with Hachiōji work very well, if he ever goes on the offence then she would be the one to get flustered. And rooting for him to have the gull is half the reason I like this show so much.

So yeah, it has the SPICE that the other romance/ teasing anime just don't have. I never realized what I wanted in a romance anime was a bled of wholesomeness, hentai energy, and a dab of sadism smacked together. But I'm happy that it happened

These characters compliment each other very well, seeing Hachiōji's Progression has been one of my favorite parts. And let me tell you, the character progression is going to be a big step up once season 2 comes around.

Nagatoro's personality isn't for everyone, and the less you like her, or her actions, then the more the series falls apart for you. I love her personality though. I'm one of those maniacs who even liked her as a character in episode 1.

Nagatoro has some go to words she likes to use ALOT. I don't find it annoying in the slightest because her voice is ear candy, but some people might.

Many people would call Nagatoro sadistic, but if you watch you'll see that she isn't actually cruel, or mean spirited. She truly wants to see the one she likes grow a back bone. And throughout the show, (and more so the manga), he gradually does get more confident, But she also enjoys the progress of building him up, while reveling in his embarrassment.

She makes every episode a new step outside his comfort zone, But she will stop if she thinks she is going to far, and she is fairly caring of his well being. Also, she is surprisingly understanding and passive in certain situations.

This isn't your typical Physically abusive tsundere, she never harms him or anything. I wouldn't even call her a tsundere, she isn't enough of a jerk for such a title.

The supporting cast is pretty entertaining. They consist of three of Nagatoro's friends. Two of them (Gamo, and Yoshi). have seen the fun in toying around with Hachiōji after Nagatoro did it. And this creates plenty of jealous Nagatoro moments. where she tries to stop them. Gamo instigates, while Yoshi just acts derpy, follows Gamo, and speaks in one liners.

The last of the supporting cast is Sakura, She is just very easy going, and is very tame to Hachiōji unlike the other two.

For side characters, I'm surprised by how iconic they all feel.

Story: The story is pretty great, not the type to have any hardcore drama, but that's fine, that gives it more of a feel good vibe. There is still enough variety in character emotions to stop it from getting bland. Nagatoro is sometimes just too happy or angry to troll given the situation. And even Senpai can get mad enough to break character. They aren't just one note.

This is a very character driven story so most of the story details were already covered in the characters section.

The story has some unexpectedly strong cause and effect in some of it's plots though.

I think it could afford to have some higher steaks plot lines. and more plot lines caused by things going bad, or into disarray. for this reason it gets a point off.

The anime also changes the scene order from the manga, which I actually like, that makes it feel more fresh if you already read the manga. It also changes another scene entirely though, and is missing 3 others. the two others could be adapted later, but the scene they changed I think it was better in the manga.

Art: The art is fairly good, and replicates the incredibly drawn facial expressions of the manga surprisingly well. But it is a tad simplified compared to the manga, specifically with eyelashes, and face shape. Also, the anime made a character falling look all cartoony, While in the manga he flopped over normally, and that really changed the tone. There are a ton of these more exaggerated animation decisions but I'd say the rest aren't worth pointing out, just slightly mood changing. Oddly enough, I think the manga has better "camera placement". So I'll give it 3 points off for these faults.

For the positives, this Illustrator taught me the power of One-piece tan lines. Nagatoro's design is really good. Hachiōji's too. They both have distinctive, yet believable design traits. Hachiōji has wider eyes, with slightly curly hair, and a sharper chin than most. While Nagatoro has her hair parted, a tan, and thinner eyebrows than most. These two have some of the best character designs I've seen funnily enough. As for the animation, it is completely serviceable, not too many still panning shots thankfully.

Sound: Some of the tracks are a tad too goofy sounding for the scene they are in. I was actually surprised about how good the the op is. So much energy, it fits the show perfect. Also the tracks that are meant to have a romance vibe are pretty great at building up tension. There are pretty intrusive cartoony sound effects, I'd prefer if these were left out.

Nagatoro's voice is just incredible (sub), a tad nasally, very fierce, and just ridiculously cute. best voice I've heard, it alone gets this category an extra point than what it would have had. All the other voices are just standard fair.

Enjoyment: Can't get enough, I watched Spilling The Milk's reaction to it, I'm watching it again with a friend, I was re-watching the latest episode while waiting for the new episodes, And then I caught up with the manga right after the show ended, and have read the second half of it twice, And I'm still feeling the suckyness of waiting for new chapters. Thank you if you read my review.