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.
