Anime Review: Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san

Oh boy, here we go.

This show had a lot of hype surrounding it before it came out. It’s the latest installment in a growing sub-genre that shows a cute girl berating or teasing the main character. Following in the footsteps of Teasing Master Takagi-san and Uzaki-chan, comes Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san (Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro.)

Can this show do anything different to make it worth watching or is this just another average entry into this developing sub-genre?

Let’s go!

The Story

You would think his name was Senpai but his actual name is Naoto Hachiouji and he is the most spineless piece of crap I have ever seen in my life. I mean, I have seen spineless characters before but this dude just took the entry in the dictionary that would define the archetype.

I know, I know… this is the story section of the review but I just had to say it because his character archetype IS the story here… or at least half of it.

The fact that he is just such a spineless worm opens up the path for our other main character, Nagatoro. She sees him in the library one day trying to study but he gets super nervous when Nagatoro and her friends begin to poke fun at him. She stays behind and continues the abuse even further. From that moment on, the two of them become inseparable. Nagatoro is constantly hunting him down and teasing him every chance she gets!

And that’s the story… except it’s not.

What we actually get on top of this is actual, real character development and some genuinely sweet moments that make you believe that a wholesome relationship is developing. You see, on the surface, this show is about a girl berating a spineless guy and the comedy that ensues from it but then you have to stop and ask yourself.

“Have you ever had a girl tease you on purpose because she secretly likes you?”

Typically, you would experience this in elementary school when most of our brainpower hasn’t matured yet but this is the true story of this show and it’s cute, wholesome, addicting, and just executed well! I am sorry to say, though, that this also follows the tried-and-true anime TV trope of teasing a relationship and then not pulling the trigger on it. I know that may have spoiled the ending but given the popularity of the show and the fact that the manga is still ongoing, I think it’s safe to say we’ll be getting a Season 2 of this. It’s not a matter of “if” as it is “when” it will get announced.

The Characters

The cast for this show is relatively small but that’s fine because that’s where you want it to be with a show such as this.

Naoto Hachiouji

Also known as Senpai (or Paisen), is exactly as I said in the story. He’s spineless. He cowers at every little thing, sweats whenever anyone talks to him, stutters over every word, and can’t even stand up for himself. He’s pathetic as hell and, at first, I hated him. I hated him so much that I wanted to see Nagatoro utterly destroy this pleb-ass chode until there was nothing left because I felt that he deserved it.

Then, through Nagatoro’s constant teaching, he formed half of a spine! He learned to stand up for himself, he began to actually talk back and defend himself… sort of. I mean… he says words now… if that counts for anything. He still gets embarrassed too easily, he gets nervous around others but he’s avoiding situations less and less and you can definitely tell that there is some development there. He still has a long way to go but, let’s be honest. We’re not here to watch Senpai. We are here to watch Kouhai!

Hayase Nagatoro

Also called Hayacchi by her friends, Nagatoro is the ultimate star of this show! (Duh, her name is even in the title!) It’s not just the teasing that gets her over with the audience, though. Is her unique facial expressions, the way her arms bop Naoto in the head, her sexy tan lines, her little flesh fang, and her actions… whether they are used to tease Naoto or doing something kind and heartwarming for him. Everything gets wrapped into a package that makes you say…

“Damn, I wish she’d tease me, too!”

She has this uncanny charm about her that you can’t help but fall in love with. She makes you want to jump into the anime itself, replace Naoto with yourself, and just let nature takes its course. I don’t know if she’s going to win Best Girl of 2021 but she is a super strong contender!

Maki, Yoshi, and Sakura

These are Nagatoro’s friends and I’m lumping them together because they can be summed up in one word: Annoying. Maki is the saucy tomboy of the group, Yoshi is Maki’s little squawk box that just repeats what Maki says, and Sakura, much like her pink-haired counterpart in another series, is completely useless.

These girls only serve as additional bullies for Naoto; however, to their credit, they do come around and, instead of teasing Naoto, tease Nagatoro over her painfully obvious and deepening love for Naoto.

Sana Sunomiya

She’s the art club’s president and is brought in at the very end of the series as she threatens to shut down the art club unless Naoto can produce a reason for being there. She’s a cold-hearted bitch with a stone-like personality and more curves than a mountain road. I mention that because she uses those curves as her weapon.

In other words, she loves painting her own naked body and passing it off as art. This is what Naoto has to contend with after setting up a challenge against her. The two of them will battle it out in an art exhibit for the school’s cultural festival. It’s about as tropish as you can get for an ending to a show such as this but it worked… even if it just came from out of left field.

Art, Animation, and Sound

The character art was all over the place. It’s like they spent the majority of the budget on drawing and animating Nagatoro, spent the remainder on Naoto, and then hired an intern to work for free when designing Maki, Yoshi, and Sakura.

It was a bit jarring to see a character like Nagatoro look so good and then seeing someone like Maki which looked like a rejected art design straight out of FLCL.

I should mention the opening. Not only is the music pretty banger but it’s pretty clear where a lot of the budget went, too. That was probably one of the better openings I’ve seen in a long time that didn’t involve studio ufotable. Telecom Animation Film did a pretty banger job with it and it was one I didn’t skip. I watched it every single time and still have the urge to check it out!

Outside of that, the animation was pretty average but with a slice-of-life comedy such as this, you don’t need anything over the top.

Overall Thoughts

Nagatoro carried this show and carried it hard but rightfully so. She just had so much character oozing out of her that if you subtracted every other side character and story point and just made it Nagatoro and Naoto only… this show’s quality wouldn’t have suffered at all. Everyone from the artists to Sumire Uesaka brought this character to life in such a way where she almost could do no wrong. Both her animated and voiced mannerisms, tone, and inflection gave birth to a powerhouse of a main character.

Nagatoro is the kind of character that you could literally drop into ANY anime of the same genre and she would instantly make it so much better. While spineless and unenjoyable at first, Naoto grows on you and becomes the perfect counterpart to Nagatoro. He goes from just getting stomped on to becoming her personal system of checks and balances.

Everything just meshed so well and the true nature of the story gave us way more than we were expecting. What we were left with was a heartwarming tale of a girl who has a crush on a boy but can’t express it normally. So, sensing that he’s a pushover, she teases him until both of them realize their feelings for one another.

This one is a very good watch and if you give it a chance, you will find yourself having a very enjoyable experience!