I want to be bullied by Nagatoro……. Yeah, I’ll get in line.

My dream is to be a novelist, sorta. I love telling stories, I love writing, but my love for text is lacking. Most of what I read is in the form of manga, which limits my natural writing ability, in short, if you want to write novels, It’s important to read. So picture a world, I’m not a 27-year-old deadbeat but instead a shiny-eyed, bushy-tailed high school senior. One day I am vibing in the library, drafting some story only for an underclassman to see it, read it, make fun of me for it leading me to the point of tears.

Now that I think about it, that sounds like a bad time.

I love Nagatoro, Nanashi bullying manga turned Spring 2021 anime. I talked about the manga earlier this year as I am fully caught up on it so I knew mostly what I was getting into when I decided to watch the adaption. What I wasn’t sure on, is how well and faithful Telecom Animation Film would stay, and as someone who has finished the show, I give them a well earned A+

DON’T TOY WITH ME, MISS NAGATORO follows, well Nagatoro, an underclassman to Naoto Hachiouji that becomes quite fond of him after their first meeting. Nagatoro is another addition to the long line of bully sadodere that has been popping off since 2017 but differs in the sense of how far the abuse will go.

One of the biggest critics of this series I have seen is simply, Nagatoro is a massive ass hole, and honestly, she is. But it is within this over-the-top not-needed abuse that I think really allows the series to develop. I have said and will say again Nagatoro starts out way more aggressive than it stays, and I think that is actually its weakest point. Out of nowhere we as viewers are shown a deep abuse and it really isn’t contrasted with cuteness until a few more episodes in.

Given 774s track record, makes sense.

But given the time to really show their relationship, Nagatoro season 1 perfectly plays out the best of what the series can offer, cleaning up on one of the most fantastic arcs in the whole manga. With an amazing soundtrack, ability to capture Nanashi’s subtle and more overt expressions I can’t praise Telecom Animation enough for artfully crafting a world fitting to the source material.

I also have to praise the simple fact that animation stayed (mostly) true to the printed work. I remember watching the first 5 or so episodes and being so stoked that the series was playing out a lot like the first couple of volumes, easily playing out each chapter in one episode, splitting them up if half segments.

However, with all that praise, I think the biggest takeaway for me even with all the dope art and perfect ending, was the saturation. I haven’t really seen this be done in any other series, rom-com or not. To add to the weight of the scene, the show transitioned into this heavily saturated style, all the color popping, Nagatoro’s hair shining. It was a nice touch I wasn’t expecting and if you told me this is what they were going to do without seeing it first I would have doubted the effect. Adding saturation on paper seems to be basic, and rather weak as it could overplay its hand making the scene look outlandish. But in Nagatoro Telecom Animation strike it damn near perfectly, being able to make the weight and what is occurring hit that much harder with a seemliness transition from the simple color and style to a much more complex one.

I loved this show, but given the fact I loved the manga, it really isn’t that surprising. The anime is a great adaption of a great series, it stays true to itself and paints a picture that ends on the best note possible, The Daily Life of Nagatoro. When I discovered the anime was going to end on the note of the art festival I couldn’t think of a better way to close the season. It is without a doubt one of the best arcs in the whole series as well as shows a really charming and adorable side to both Nagatoro and Naoto. Both of them warming up to each other, challenging each other to overcome, and at the same time supporting each other as it happens.

Honestly, I can’t really say any more than I have stated before when it comes to Nagatoro as a whole. I think it’s cute, funny, and overall a really great showing of what the teasing/ bully story can be, about three episodes in. It starts out on a rough foot, just like the manga, but if given the chance it really does turn into a wonderful emotionally attached story that solidifies Nanashi’s ability to craft charming manga.

So if you are in the market for an adorable tale about a tsundere jerk and a poor chap that feel in love with her, I can’t recommend Nagatoro enough. It knows what it is, does it well, and is god damn beautiful. Not to mention there is plenty of manga already published that follows the ending of season 1 so if that anime alone isn’t enough to get your bully fix, one can always read it!

As always thanks for the read.