Nagatoro and Senpai get wet in a rainstorm, so Nagatoro invites him to her nearby house to dry off. Nagatoro becomes possessive of Senpai when he joins her and her friends Gamo-chan and Yoshi for lunch.
Episode 3 – “Let’s Play Again, Senpai / Over Here, Senpai”
Hmm.
Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san started the important work of showing us who is the tormenting tease of a lead character. For the past two episodes, we’ve seen the internal thoughts of Senpai and focused on his perspective, so Nagatoro has been an enigma. This week, Nagatoro-san still tells its story through the Senpai’s perspective, but it’s slowly showing more of Nagatoro’s life, circumstances, and internal reactions.
I appreciated the quiet way Nagatoro-san treated the scene where Senpai and Nagatoro tried to wait out the rain. We saw her face as she debated with herself what to do to help Senpai. It became clear that she decides to tease Senpai when she thinks it’s an appropriate time, when she believes he can take it as good-natured play, and when she can’t handle her own desire to show him affection. Obviously, Senpai disagrees about what kind of play he likes, what is an appropriate time, and what level of teasing he can take. The mismatch in how the two relate to each other is what Nagatoro-san is all about.
Heh.
Senpai enjoys his quiet sketching in the prologue. That quiet won’t last long in Nagatoro-san. Suddenly, Miss Nagatoro! Eh, does she want to model for him again? Nagatoro needs more material to get Senpai’s goat, but it still works, so why not keep using it? Whoa! Nagatoro is bolder than last time! Psych! She’s wearing a swimsuit underneath. She’s one of those Genki Girls who don’t join any one athletic club, but all of them ask her to be a ringer for certain events. Nagatoro should just join the swim team, but then she wouldn’t have time to bother Senpai anymore.
The first half of Nagatoro-san has sudden rain soaking Senpai and Nagatoro. Time for see-through jokes! Nice. As soon as Nagatoro saw something sexy to tease him with, she went for it. Senpai has a nice, pervy imagination. Of course, he does! He’s an otaku who loves lucky lecher scenes in big booby vampire manga. Har. Senpai isn’t a closeted perv. Absolutely, he’s out of the closet!
Senpai had an inkling. A wrong inkling, but not an impossible one. The Nagatoro-san prologue inspired him to suspect that Nagatoro would pull the same joke on him. He was wrong on the timing and appropriateness since a girl wouldn’t do a fake striptease outside in the rain. Well, Nagatoro wouldn’t, and that’s what matters here.
Look at Nagatoro trying to create a teasing idea on the fly! That’s evidence of how much planning she does before she ambushes Senpai. Oh no, that storm isn’t letting up. This is not the place for an enjoyable teasing session. Aw. Nagatoro cares about Senpai’s health, so she invites him to her nearby house.
That’s odd. Nagatoro said she was alone in the house, but it looks like her mother and father’s shoes are set out by the door. Oh, that Nagatoro-san scene is there to make Senpai imagine terrible things. He thinks Nagatoro considers him to be her toy. Truth! Aw. Senpai still feels traumatized by how Nagatoro made him cry, twice.
Oho. Nagatoro claims her whole family will be home late. Bow chicka wow wow! Nagatoro has an older brother. Senpai lets his freak flag fly. He wants to smell Nagatoro’s towel! Ha! She called him out. She’s not mad, though. Look at how lucky this guy is. It’s his first time alone in a girl’s room.
Nagatoro-san makes sure the audience pays attention whenever Nagatoro’s hair becomes hyper detailed. Is this because Senpai has turned on his own hyper attention to detail? Such a tease. She wants to play a fighting video game!
Uh oh. Senpai will own Nagatoro, and she won’t be happy about it. Nagatoro has a competitive streak. Senpai wants revenge for her past torment. Haha! Strategy in a fighting game isn’t just inside the game mechanics! Aw. Look how much fun they had together. Senpai honestly told Nagatoro how he felt. Baby steps, guy.
The eye catches show Nagatoro and Senpai comparing each other to their fighting game avatars.
In the next Nagatoro-san chapter we see that Senpai has a worse problem than a cute girl bullying him. He has no friends! Nagatoro is the closest person he can call a friend right now. Oh ho. Senpai needs to be braver than every other guy in the cafeteria to sit at the gyaru table.
Ha. Senpai is Nagatoro’s boyfriend! No, her pet. Stop, you’re both right. Uh oh! Nagatoro doesn’t want anyone else touching her man! Gamo-chan noticed Nagatoro’s possessiveness. How will this play out among the flashy gal group? Oh? Nagatoro stops Gamo-chan from genuine bullying. It’s a difference of intention. Nagatoro has an attitude of playfulness, not mean-spiritedness. This spat looks more like the girls having a fight over dominance and status in their group’s hierarchy.
Oh man, Senpai. The loud, public denial! Slightly off-topic, but that defused the girl fight. Aw. Nagatoro wanted him to complete the other half of his declaration. He may not be Nagatoro’s boyfriend, but what is he then? Nagatoro has more work to do to make Senpai a better man in Nagatoro-san.
If Senpai had bro friends, he would already have the skills to make comebacks against insults. Nagatoro will teach him. Manzai comedy duos have an idiot (boke) and a straight man (tsukkomi). It’s not like Nagatoro is playing dumb, she’s just saying ridiculous things. It’s Senpai, the straight man, who needs to tell the idiot to shut up. Instilling that aggressive reflex is a promising idea. Ack. Nagatoro can’t help herself. She tried to hold back until Senpai gave her shoulder the slap. Unfortunately, Senpai forgets how to aim his slap at Nagatoro’s shoulder. They’re both to blame! I’m not complaining! Nice. Nagatoro forgave Senpai so quickly to compliment him. He made progress. But then she called him a pervert! Staying true to herself.
Next time, Nagatoro’s friends try to toy with Senpai, and Nagatoro is not on board.
Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san (DON’T TOY WITH ME, MISS NAGATORO) streams on Crunchyroll and VRV.
