MANGA REVIEW | "Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro" - Vol. 16
Both Hayase and Hachioji (fka Senpai and Paisen) need a push. This isn’t about their growing feelings for one another; it’s about something far greater. Throughout Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro, the teaser and her backbone-growing victim have been seeking a true purpose in life. One wants to do better in the art world, the other in the art of judo. In its sixteenth volume, Hayase and Hachioji put in a little extra effort thanks to some outside forces.
Those forces just so happen to be their senpais, classmates, friends, and even family members. Both the judo club and the art club set out for a three-day camp, with an aim for its members to get better in their respective fields. But former art club president Sana has an idea: have the clubs combine for one epic trip. It’s good news for both Hayase and Hachioji, as it gives them a chance to hang out more. However, the bad news is who the coaches for the judo club are: Misaki and Taiga Nagatoro, Hayase’s older siblings.
Readers quickly will see that the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree. Very much like their younger sister, Misaki and Taiga have their sadistic sides. And poor Hachioji is in their sights, as they taunt and tease them on the van ride to their lodging area in Saitama. In fact, it gets so bad, that Hayase does the unthinkable: begs them to stop. It’s a move that’s a multi-layered level of hilarity, especially when it comes from a series that’s called Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro!
But it’s not about the teasing here; it’s about the training. And in this volume, both Hayase and Hachioji find themselves working their bodies and minds to get better in every sense of the word. As Hachioji learns more about the world of art, Hayase is strengthening her skills in the ring. The real surprising part is who winds up being the stronger of the two, with the usually on-the-ball Hayase now finding herself backed behind the wall.
It all leads to a much-needed evening together at the local hot springs. Both bare it all, and it’s not just their bodies in the hot spring. Rather, it’s all about what these two are working towards, and how not even Hachioji is aiming to throw away a problem for something that’s in the heat of the moment. Of course, maybe that’s a good thing, seeing as a certain pair of siblings have gotten word of their risqué rendezvous.
Volume Sixteen of Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro has a bountiful of laughs and character growth. As our two leads climb the stairs of hopes & dreams, the pathway to love seems to follow right along side them. Who knows when and how the big confession will take place, and who it’ll be that will make the first move. Whatever the outcome may be, Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro will surely find a way to make it both heartfelt and hilarious!