Review of Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro

First, there was Souichirou Yamamoto's "Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san", that seems cutesy for same grade middle school teasing right? The young youth days of full-on rom-com that's as pleasing as it comes, even if the stories are daily slice-of-life centrc. Second, there was Take's "Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai!", the college version of Takagi-san with a "Sugoi Dekai" Kouhai and her loner Paisen. Well wait no more, just 6 months after Uzaki-chan's anime, we complete the Holy Trinity of the "girl-teases-boy" formula with Hentai artist 774 a.k.a Nanashi's "Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san", which I've explicitly mentioned in my Uzaki-chan review as being the most extreme form of the teasingformula done through bullying, and tanned girls like Nagatoro I stan, except the bullying part of course.

I said it before, and I'll say it again: ever since Takagi-san, this small gesture of teasing between girls and the boys they like but inadvertently dismiss if they get too shy, is nothing new, this is a fact that you should be able to recognize of similar traits in AniManga. However, in the case of "Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san", it's a show clearly made for the degenerates who wanna fantasize and be abused by the S&M features of girls like Hayase Nagatoro, that caters to the niche and then some. And I'm not gonna lie that as satisfying as the rom-com got overtime, the bullying part is still the low point of the series at its initial run, because mangaka Nanashi has made his point very clear that: in order to tease the Senpai-Paisen (that is the MC Naoto Hachiouji), bullying (in FICTION terms) is the "best" way to spur his character development from the tanned Kouhai in question that is Nagatoro herself. As controversial as it sounds for a tanned girl to go full-on Yandere with her masochist personality, you have to get through those red flags to see that Nagatoro isn't so bad of a character after all. To that I say, SILENCE you keyboard warriors who don't give two flying Fs about what Nanashi does best, he is THE based Hentai God Almighty. MONKE!

From the start, dare I say that you should feel bad for the obscenely weak virgin MC Naoto, because other than his desire to draw and create art that he hides from classmates, it does not take long for the Gyaru clique that is Nagatoro herself, along with Maki Gamo, Yoshi and Sakura, awaiting to score him out with Nagatoro taking first blood. The happy litergy of girls going around and being flirtatious from the guys to score either one of them. Well, not for Nagatoro, because Naoto is her one and only target to toy with of her crazy antics that doesn't seem to end, at least not initially. For one, she is able to score with Naoto over the many small things he does in the romantic sense...just through bullying of course. Overtime this bullying grows to become an affection from the Kouhai to the Paisen, other than getting their faces more beet-red and flushed with embarrassment with activites both in and out of school, I'd say that it slowly rears towards the Uzaki-chan formula that is more or less the same with the passing of time. Love can conquer even the most extreme cases of romantic conflicts and afflictions.

Alas, both Nagatoro and Naoto aren't in this lovey-dovey character development improvement journey together. As mentioned, the Gyaru clique of Gamo-chan, Yoshi and Sakura all play the integral part of being unscrupulous winggirls, these "Happy Three (Teasing) Friends" are the same as Nagatoro in the teasing spirit, but also knows when to get serious and defend for themselves. Of course, when Naoto is in the picture, he will be very pissed off with the girls, especially when the teasing goes into the line-blurring romantic side of things, which Nagatoro immediately shuts them down to defend her only toy of interest. It's inhumane "fun" in the bullying side of things, but it's great to also have friends account for each other to have quality time, even if it meant disturbing the spineless Naoto, even in the Art Club (which many of it initially was spent together in private with Nagatoro).

Of course, for such a character like Nagatoro, you had to find a Seiyuu who can do that job to the succinct, and it's none other than Sumire Uesaka. Her voice lends into Nagatoro's role very appropriately (aside from her many egreiously insane character roles which are a fricken Bible Black list), and of course, the new generation of prolific male Seiyuus: Daiki Yamashita, voicing the ever classic MHA's Izuku and OreSuki's Joro, and once again, proving himself to Naoto's flimsy character. Working in tandem for these two VAs are the icing on the cake for this show. Even down to the OST, which I've always known that Sumire Uesaka is an incredible singer, and her OP directly mirrors that of her character. The standard-ish character ED, I got nothing to say, just sounds pleasant when compared to the beginning of each episode.

Otherwise, this adaptation is straight poggers. From the main chapters to even the side, omake and extra chapters, the production team at Telecom Animation Film doesn't miss a beat for this one. I wasn't looking forward to the adaptation from the get-go based on the studio's small track record and OK-ish production values, but overtime I got enamored with the great adaptation, so much so that I can appreciate the simple artwork and visuals for what it is with the somewhat limited animation (and God I still love Nagatoro's flimsy iconic noodle arms, which are nice to finally see in animated form). Overall, a really good effort, bar none.

It's awkward, it's stoic, and at times, kinda mediocre with its growing payoffs of the stereotypical charm of the couple-like romance progression. But make no mistake, while there can be a bad start to everything, but progression is the payoff if you're looking to not be a keyboard warrior and enjoy this for all I care. The bullying may be the tip of the iceberg, but deep down there's some romance contraptions to be had of the wholesome kind.

And it's not everyone's cup of tea, so shut it if you're not planning to watch this and just go around flaming unnecessary fire. For everyone else, get through the bullying parts first to see what this show has in store, and I guarantee that it will not miss the heartbeats of love.