Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san at this point needs no introduction, not because of its popularity but because this is the entry of its second season we’re in rn. It is one of those romcoms that are about a girl teasing a boy, however this one started a little bit more extremely than normal, the first episode is downright bullying, Nagatoro came and made cry Naoto right away in there, and you can understand why people had a lot of disgust with this series, because honestly it comes across as a little distasteful, but once you go past that point you realize that this isn’t about bullying, andthank God for that because this series wouldn’t cover that topic with a modicum of sensitivity. However, that is what leads to us to the development of this season.
You see, the antics of the first season come back completely in here, but it never returns to the point from the start since across the first season you could see how, despite still teasing him quite hard, Nagatoro changed a little to be a little less obnoxious. However, the most important part of this season isn’t how Nagatoro changed, the important part is how Naoto/Senpai’s reactions changed. He started as a very timid and reserved guy who just accepted Nagatoro’s teasing, not trying much to go against her, and you can see here how not only he starts to answer to what she says, but also tease her back a little.
As you can see, Naoto is easily the character that can be talked about the most, going from his transition of never answering back to standing up a little on his own and gaining more confidence as the show goes on, while you would never expect this guy would try to make any advancement in his relationship with Nagatoro if you only go by the first season. You can always see his nervous tic of adjusting his glasses, and while you may say that this is seen when talking about characters with glasses in general, but not only do they usually adjust their glasses to get an opaque look on the glass while boasting confidence, Naoto is quite the opposite to that description, and in fact the only times where he adjust his glasses in that specific way is in his imagination which is obviously to mock on this type of things. You can see that tic stays with him even after he starts using contact lenses as he is used to that and that kind of thing isn’t something that will disappear easily, but him taking off his normal glasses to start wearing those contact lenses serves as one of the points of biggest change to him. His personality is still not something that changed easily, it took a long time for him to build up confidence as some people pushed for him, and he still has some ways to go by the end of the season, but he tries his best to not go back to his old self. I think the part that shows his biggest change, not only in the previous season but across this one as well, is where he finally decided to invite Nagatoro to a date by his own will, and he’s kind of a masochist for accepting Nagatoro that way, but you can see that he is happy in the way she teases him now, which is far cry from their first meeting. He is honestly the strongest part of the series thanks to his gradual growth and I have to thank that, even if he started quite weak, he isn’t the thousandth Kirito-look-alike sadboy MC.
Nagatoro obviously stays mostly the same, but she is more honest with her feelings as well. At this point, it is not only full on teasing Naoto, as she’s also showing some signs of vulnerability. Her way to make others pay attention to her is very childish, you know that whole “if I bother him, he will surely notice I love him!” kind of mentality, it is surprising that it works at all, but it is some of the concessions you have to make while watching this, specially since this guy seems to take it in a good way, where most people would take it as something very very annoying and obnoxious. And I’m not going to lie, Nagatoro is quite an obnoxious girl, that’s her whole gimmick, she was near unwatchable the first time but she gets more… lovely as time goes on.
As for other characters, they mostly stay the same, like you can describe Gamo, Yoshi and Sakura with basically the same line “a gyaru girl who is friend with Nagatoro and also sometimes teases senpai”… yeah, not the most well thought out characters, like sure, Gamou is the one with most other qualities, like you can see that she also trains judo alongside Nagaotoro, but Yoshi barely talks and Sakura is just like a slut or something. President Sana stays basically the same, she is very hardheaded, a nudist and is more tits than personality. The new characters include Orihara, who is a rival to Nagatoro and the main reason why she left judo before, she doesn’t actually do much but she kind of inspires Nagatoro to become better, as well as Hana, the president’s cousin, she has more personality than her cousin and has similar quirks to her, while also seeking to help Naoto in his relationship with Nagatoro and is worried for him, since she knows her from before as she also likes doing art.
The series looks basically the same from the previous season, and it stays pretty consistent across the series, it doesn’t have amazing animation or directing, but it never looks ugly and/or cheap like a CloverWorks show. The opening is better than last season’s OP and the ending is fun to watch and hear, with a name like “my sadistic adolescence” as the song’s name what else can you expect? I also find endearing that they made a song to play in the scene where Naoto’s invites Nagatoro to the aquarium, as that is one of the most important moments in the story so far.
Nagatoro-san doesn’t do anything particularly new, Takagi-san’s manga was going around like 5 years before Nagatoro-san’s manga started publication and it has about the same premise, only that Nagatoro-san doubled down on it. The series does have a direction that advances without going too slow and that tries to build the relationship between Nagatoro and Naoto, making it quite a fun and enjoyable series as long as you can stomach the first couple of episodes of the first season, and I’m sure you will like it more if you can actually get to like Nagatoro.
Thank you for reading.
Recommended
The return of Teasing Master Nagatoro-san Wants to Hang Out and Don't Toy for the 2nd Attack! And in a better, much improved way overall. I'm pretty sure you know why mangaka Nanashi's Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san a.k.a Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro is back for a sequel season. It basically sums up to this: if Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san a.k.a Teasing Master Takagi-san and Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai! a.k.a Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! can both get sequel seasons, why leave the oddball out? The much darker and more sinister of the pack of "girls teasing their crushes to no end and hoping for a legit romance plotline"formula, when the anime first came out in Spring 2021, it garnered a reputation that like the manga that it was adapting from, raised many heads for being the extremist way of the formula that it received mixed reviews at the time. And now, almost 2 years later, we get another season of Nagatoro, and quite frankly, it's still a love-hate relationship if by now, you still cannot tolerate the dark-skinned kouhai's playful personality against the still scaredy-cat Naoto-paisen himself, whom at this point, has gotten used to Nagatoro and her clique of delinquents of Gamo, Yoshi and Sakura, along with President Sana and the new inclusion of her sister and same middle-school friend Sunomiya.
In many a way, Nagatoro's teasing towards Naoto, in what was once dubbed a cold shoulder-like feeling of despair because it felt like she was bullying the Paisen to no end, actually helps him gain more confidence and self-assurance, even at the most mundane. It's of no doubt that Naoto experienced new things in his life: having to anchor the Art Club with President Sana's graduation; maintaining the "love nest" together with the playful girl; learning of her first name and her sister; and actually going for dates with said girl and understanding her little by little. That too, with Naoto's change of heart to accept Nagatoro, she works for his best too, being the same condescending freak but not aggressively to the point of bullying, onwards to acceptance that her teasing becomes genuine heart cries of a growing relationship. Seriously, a toxic-turned-lovely relationship, it's for the exceptional few, and I can say with confidence that Nagatoro now, is really worth the watch and not the cringe that begrudges its wonky reputation from the get-go.
The sequel season staying the same for the production staff team, except the changing of both the director and studio involved, from Telecom Animation Film and in-house director Hirokazu Hanai to OLM's Team Inoue and Youkai Watch's director Shinji Ushiro, there is hardly any difference involved in either the directorialship or the production since it's the continuation of the manga's adaptation. And for that I feel it's decent enough for a subtle return with little to no changes whatsoever. Sumire Uesaka's 2nd OP for the series is decent, though Season 1's OP is the more memorable song. The ED with all of Nagatoro and her clique of delinquents in it, it's a much improved and better song that's upbeat and catchy.
It's the "et al." treatment for sequels such as this one, love or hate it that depending on your taste from Season 1 that'll satisate more of this. Regardless, Nagatoro's comeback is good and better, though less of the sinister rough teasing that makes for a more tolerable, yet enjoyable watch.
Will Nagatoro and Paisen go all the way? I wish that one day, we'll see the outcome of that one.
SpSpRayquaza11
March 18, 2023
Mixed Feelings
I'll be honest and straight for once, there is not much improvement here from the very controversial season 1.... but there is a genuine attempt at a good romance. Nagatoro used to be a little too edgy during season 1, but the "Bullying" in the season was somewhat debatable. but without a doubt, season 2 has toned it down and had us explore more of the softer aspects of the relationship between nagatoro , senpai, "Furendessu" and a new character "Anetoro". Following the proper trend of most season 2s of romance animes the season ends with a "Could be hint of a major development" feel-good episode andmost of the rest are just build-up and get the two leads closer to each other. the Whole concept of "Teasing? Bullying?" goes to the backburner hence most audiences can generally enjoy this show albeit there is a bit of very in-your-face fanservice thrown around.
plot (7/10)
It's mostly the same old romance formula of will they won't they , It is arguable that senpai is a bit oblivious to most of Nagatoros moves because of what she did last season, but the formula does gets rather old as we move through the episodes. there are the standard date events that occur with some rather memorable and diabetic moments which are pretty well made, the other episodes, however, are usual. the most impressive part is the growth of senpai into a relatively more upstanding man due to the efforts of Nagatoro.
Characters (5/10)
It is a miss for me, due to the fact that Nagatoro friends are mostly just straight-up cut from most of the season in favor of the Senpai nagatoro moments or the new characters, I mean I have no trouble with the new ones, but the Old characters like Gamo and Yosi had made themselves quite popular and iconic, their reduced role definitely hit the comedy part of the anime a bit more than I expected.
Art and animation (7/10)
Not much to say here , the production is pretty identical to the first season , most generic scenes are not made with quality in mind , but wherever the shine is needed, its there.
sound and VA (8/10)
I personally really love the ED which as far as I can tell is an anime original and is rather well made with great art added to the mix, the voice acting is good and is able to make some of the gags hit, the general OST is also good and pretty original for most important scenes and add to atmosphere properly.
A solid romance that is worth the watch, and actually , an actual welcome change from the very monotonous season 1, however most of the old characters which I am sure were favorites do get a little lesser love .
RwRws4Life
November 28, 2023
Mixed Feelings
An acceptable sequel to a brilliant first season, this follow-up sees a decline in some areas yet remains engaging. It's recommended for those new to the manga, non-manga readers, or fans eager to see the story animated. Despite not matching the quality of Season 1 or the manga, it's a worthwhile watch, rating a 6/10. The season felt like a downgrade from the first. The animation often appeared static and cheap. A favorite manga gag, Eldrich-toro/Noodle-toro, didn't translate well on screen. While some scenes were visually appealing, the pacing and delivery of humor struggled to capture the manga's charm. Anticipating a quality akin to Season 1,this season's shortcomings were pronounced, particularly in its inferior comedic and dramatic impacts.
Season 1 excelled in adapting the source material, but Season 2, despite my high hopes and the manga's improvement, was a letdown. The narrative and characters were solid, though hampered by poor execution. The new characters were hit-or-miss, with some successfully mirroring their manga counterparts.
The animation was lackluster, albeit still above average for a rom-com. The sound design was competent, with decent opening and ending themes. Some OST choices detracted from scenes, but overall, they were effective. Voice acting was a highlight.
In summary, while Season 1 and the manga are superior, Season 2 was still enjoyable, earning a high 6/10, possibly 7/10. This rating is a dip from Season 1's 8/10 and the manga's continued excellence. Compared to other shows I'd rate 7/10, Nagatoro S2 falls short this season. I'm cautiously optimistic for a potential Season 3, with moderated expectations if OLM is again at the helm.
