Even so, despite its flaws and rather loud detractors, I find myself fond of Nagatoro.
The premise is simple: the titular character Nagatoro teases and messes with Senpai, a timid and unsociable student. Aside from a couple of gags, what is “teasing” rarely crosses over to “bullying”, and wholesome moments of genuine connection between the two characters are sprinkled in more and more as the story progresses. It’s a pretty simple, straightforward, and even unoriginal idea of a dynamic. So what exactly makes this one work? What managed to hook so many manga readers for dozens of chapters?
The obvious answer, as with any other romcom, is the main couple as characters, both individually, and in the sense of how these two complement each other. If you don’t understand why some people enjoy this kind of story, then the next couple of paragraphs might answer your questions.
Senpai is, through and through, a spineless and quiet one. He deals with his surroundings by simply shutting himself off – and though he’s often seen as a “victim” by the average viewer, the anime highlights his negative sides along with his positive ones. As the “quiet kid”, his internal monologue as he sees the main girl squad for the first time is defensive and exaggerated – while, at the same time, self-inserting as the hero who gets the girl in the manga he is drawing (art skill being one of his positive sides). In any case, what’s behind that quiet façade is a kid who’s socially stunted, especially when it comes to his thoughts towards women at first. That’s where Nagatoro comes in. Through his interactions with Nagatoro, who makes sure to call out and mock his more “incel” or “loner” sides, Senpai learns a thing or two about how to interact with people, and forges a bond with this bothersome kohai – a kohai who encourages his strengths (supporting his drawing and art) while (rather meanly) pointing out his weaknesses, and offering him to help work on them (like helping him get fit). One could discuss the healthiness of such a dynamic at this point, and the concern wouldn’t be completely unwarranted – but I won’t go on a tangent about that here, and simply point out the clues that Senpai is more than consenting to it.
What about “mean girl” Nagatoro? What is her appeal as a character? In many ways, she’s the opposite of Senpai. While his flawed side and negative traits are hidden deep within, she wears hers on her sleeve – that is to say, her constant need to tease and bully, masquerading as one of the “mean girls”. The fact that she stops when it gets too much (and many other clues) denote how she has a certain level of awareness about how unpleasant she may potentially be to someone. With that being the case, I believe the main draw of her character to be, for many viewers, the steady progression of her learning to be both more honest with herself, and more pleasant with other people through her interactions with Senpai. The anime, early in the story as it is, even hints at causes of such behavior by drawing sharp contrasts between her and the rest of the mean girls (for instance, in typical anime fashion, her insecurity regarding her modest chest compared to her other “mean girl” friends – a sort of visual disparity).
Of course, that isn’t to say Nagatoro is a perfect romance (a far cry from it), nor a perfect story. It makes as much fun of tropes as it indulges in them, partially due to the manga being, undeniably, a reflection of the mangaka’s interests. This is more of a “self-expression” work of fiction rather than one of “communication”, where the mangaka is (at this stage) less interested in getting across certain themes and messages, but moreso in simply expressing his own desires. That doesn’t make for an inherently bad story; however, if you come wishing for a more thematically rich throughline than what I stated earlier, you will be sorely disappointed — except for the last few episodes, where the narrative takes itself a bit more seriously, and where you might start actually thinking about these characters and their development. That is why one’s enjoyment of the Nagatoro anime hinges mostly on how attuned the viewer to that kind of duo/dynamic on a surface level. I wouldn’t blame anyone for disliking this premise or this kind of characters (though trying to frame this dislike in different ways, like unfunnily portraying Nagatoro as “the face of racists” in a repetitive manner for no real reason, is to say the least in bad faith).
The art for this anime is impressive, with occasional atmospheric shots that made me double-check if I was really watching Nagatoro. It would’ve benefited from some thicker linework, as with the manga, to make the characters look a tad better but this is only a minor nitpick. The OP is very catchy and well-made, the sound design is mostly fine. I don’t think I have many gripes with the show on a technical level.
If you’re wondering whether you would enjoy this anime, ask yourself first if you would enjoy the kind of dynamic between two very flawed people as described above. If your answer is yes, and if you don’t mind the occasional romcom anime shenanigans, do give this one a shot, and maybe you’ll enjoy it more than you thought you would.
