Genre(s): Romance, School, Slice of Life, Comedy
Age-Appropriateness: 13+ (mild profanity, sexual humor, partial nudity)
Platforms: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 12
TheAwersome Rating: 7.8 / 10 (Uncomfortable at first, but a great time)
Premise: Every day, Naoto Hachiouji is teased relentlessly by Hayase Nagatoro, a first-year student he meets one day in the library while working on his manga. After reading his story and seeing his awkward demeanor, she decides from that moment on to toy with him, even calling him “Senpai” in lieu of using his real name. At first, Nagatoro’s relentless antics are more bothersome than anything and leave him feeling embarrassed, as he is forced to cater to her whims. However, as they spend more time together, a strange sort of friendship develops between them, and Naoto finds that life with Nagatoro can even be fun. But one thing’s for sure: his days will never be dull again.
TheAwersome’s Thoughts: Did you read that premise and say, “Hey wait a sec, isn’t this just basically Takagi-san again?” And you’d be mostly right; the premise is very similar, but this time it takes place in High school rather than Junior High, and the dynamic is a lot more one-sided than last time. As a result, the teasing crosses the line into bullying (mostly just at first) and in her persistent quests to get Senpai flustered and embarrassed, occasionally strays into the sexual harassment zone. Nagatoro’s antics do backfire every now and again, and Senpai does grow more of a spine, so it isn’t just a nasty show that excuses bullying (though too much of it goes by unchecked, IMO). Didn’t stop me from binging the whole thing in a weekend though.
TLDR: The fun “tease you because I’m too shy to admit I have a crush on you” dynamic from Takagi-san, but in High school and a bit more sadistic.
Something that really stands out with this show is the various faces Nagatoro makes. You could make an entire animation dynamic study just based on the various faces she makes, it’s quite a treat. Also, the voice actor for Nagatoro specifically does a stellar job. It truly was nice to have a show that I felt compelled to keep watching and watching (hence binging all of it in a weekend). Maybe it’s the nostalgic portrayal of somewhat more accurate high school romances, maybe it’s because Nagatoro was cute, maybe I’d just been watching a whole lot of trash lately, but this was definitely a fun time.
If you’ve touched TikTok within the last year, you’ll recognize early on that this is where the “Ganbare, ganbare, sennnPAI!” remixes all come from.
You’ll likely enjoy this if you enjoyed:
- The teasing crush dynamic/antics of Teasing Master Takagai-san
- Gyaru and “delinquent” girl stereotype voices/characters
- A slightly ecchi environment such as in Magical Sempai, but toned down
At a Glance Anime 
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