I wanted to like this anime... I swear I tried my best. But, come on! Do you know the kind of manga that many people wait years or decades for an adaptation? In fact, the waiting time gets to be so long that we have lost hope of an announcement that favors an anime, even a good production. Nagatoro-San is the kind of manga that has become famous since its first publication.
"WOW, I've never seen this kind of story before! How original, innovative and creative! The otaku audience needs this!" ~ Well, if you are someone who has that kind of thinking, please don't read this review, because what I will write here is not just a critical stance on yet another anime, but a nonconformism with a production and an investment that could be used for countless other titles, because Nagatoro-San was simply a huge waste of time.
First of all, I think it is valid to point out the minimal positives for which Nagatoro is apparently recognized by its fans. The show contextualizes two characters. The first is known by his position within the show, "Senpai". I will only use "Senpai" when I refer to him, as that is what predominates within the anime itself. He is the typical character that stars in stories where the boy is constantly teased by someone, no matter the reason. He is reserved, shy, and constantly belittled by the people around him. It is an archetype that, even though it is understandable within the shounen niche and encompasses a large portion of people who identify with it (mainly Japanese, keep that in mind), it is not a story that sticks by this. The opposite side of this "tug-of-war" needs to be at least interesting. Usually, the character that implicates and causes a disruption in the protagonist is the one that allows us to create a positive identification for the continuity of the show. And this character is Nagatoro. She is a year younger than her Senpai and met him in a brief incident in the Library. The two of them started to get involved in these constant jokes since then. And it is always the classic formulation: the episode has two or three scenes where Nagatoro teases and annoys her Senpai, while he does not present a stance that makes her stop with the childish girl's attitudes.
Even though this is something that was once considered a cliché within the community, Nagatoto-San was one of the most current precursors of this type of story. Of course, there are several shows where this structure is present, but to a lesser extent. This show (and especially the manga) was an explosion of popularity and influenced countless stories where the setting was school life oriented, a couple of characters, and a possible combination of functional comedy and some dormant romance. Even though most of these manga do not take a step forward into a love story, it is possible to notice the daring moments these shows have, where they usually please the audience. If you are going to consider this a quality within Nagatoro-San, congratulations, it is consolidated.
However, I must lament, this show is rotten! Yes, rotten! 774, the author, is known for some small works (even if they are aimed at the adult audience), and most of them also feature this teasing or submissive archetype. Nagatoro-San has this present all the time. Remember when I said that the structure has short stories within a long episode? So this structure is noticeably better utilized in a manga. Even in 4-komas it is possible to get a better feeling that the story was better crafted. Maybe with the Nagatoro-San manga it is the same thing. Actually, I am sure. It was noticeable to see that the anime lost direction when the way the short stories presented were not cool or where the slightest bit of comedy didn't work anymore. Honestly, what is a joke within the show became quite intertwined with the target audience, while it was already expected that rest who don't like this kind of show would find the anime boring or just plain annoying.
Not just annoying. Repetitive, indecent, unqualified, overrated, vomitous, with no posture of improvement for the future, lacking in narrative qualities, lazy, unnecessary, despicable and on top of it all, subjective. Comedy is a pretty divergent sphere among people, and it's interesting to note that Nagatoro-San is one of the animes I notice this fissure the most. But let's face it, this show was inconvenient.
I must give an addition for the situations in which Senpai is placed. Nagatoro's bullying of him may not seem like a big deal and even perceived as a joke, but it's something I must point out: no matter how you cause a disturbance in someone, it also doesn't matter how intense it is. This kind of teasing seems cool or attractive, but it is something that offends the character in many ways. Not only does he expose that he doesn't like this, but sometimes he asks her to stop. I understand that the wording of the show ends up requiring this kind of scene to happen, but it is unnecessary that it is in virtually every episode.
Finally, the only things I really see any value in are the direction and the attempt to cause an interesting comedy. The anime, while flawed, at least had that minimal competence as an anime. At the same time, the overall compositions make this show somewhat acceptable at one point or another. But apart from these cheap and ridiculous makeups, I don't see a good future in Nagatoro-San. Of course, future moments can positively progress the story and overcome this beginning. Perhaps with a sequel this will be better evidenced. But in these 12 episodes I confirm, Nagatoto-San is not an anime for me.
This Review may have been a bit short, but I honestly wanted to make it that way. It's even more than Nagatoro-San really deserves.
