Welcome to season two, episode seven of Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro. It starts with Senpai with his back to the viewers and hunched over his desk working on something mysterious. His mother calls him for dinner, and he responds before the anime opening begins.
Nagatoro visits the art clubroom and greets Senpai as usual. She notices a box of contact lenses by his side and starts questioning him on his “glow-up” efforts, teasing him all the while. He mentions he was interested in trying them since wearing glasses gets annoying. She convinces him to try them on and offers to put them in for him. He imagines her taking the opportunity to poke him in his eyes and declines.
An Eye for an Eye
When Senpai finally gives in, he immediately regrets his decision in light of Nagatoro’s suspicious enthusiasm to lend a hand. He becomes more nervous and hesitant as she approaches his eye with one of the lenses. Surely, any anime fan who’s attempted to cosplay with colored contact lenses, but couldn’t manage to keep their eyes open when inserting them can attest to his struggle.
Once the contact lens is in, Senpai finds himself surprised at how clear his vision is without frames. Nagatoro points out he can’t do his “usual thing” without his glasses, but he doesn’t realize what she’s referring to. She takes his glasses to demonstrate, and he’s taken aback a little by seeing her with glasses. His astonishment fades quickly when she illustrates his tendency to push his glasses further up on his nose when he’s nervous or tense. He pouts, and she realizes how much he’s dazzled by the look of her in glasses. He subconsciously goes to lift his glasses like he typically does in his nervousness, but there are no glasses for him to lift.
Skiing Lessons
Nagatoro skis down a slope with her friends as Senpai and some random friends of his watch from a safe distance. Senpai imagines Nagatoro skiing and being impressed by his keeping pace with her. While he’s lost in thought, viewers see the creepiest look they’ve ever seen on Senpai’s face, not to mention his menacing chuckle, and his friends seem just as weirded out. Just then, they notice Nagatoro making her way toward them.
She greets her senpai, and his friends are shocked to see he knows one of the “popular girls.” She invites him to go skiing with her, and his friends don’t argue. They ask if he’s going out with her, and he tries to be coy, denying it and pushing up his glasses. It’s a little cringe, as his friends would agree.
As Nagatoro and Senpai ride the lift to the top of the slope, she teases him about his friends thinking they’re dating. Once they get off the lift, Nagatoro is surprised at how flat and easy the beginner’s course is since she’s used to more challenging slopes. They start, and he’s unable to control himself, so he skis right into a wall of snow.
Nagatoro laughs and mentions it’s just how she expected he would ski. She gives him lessons, each one ending up with him in a wall of snow unless she stops him. After a while, Senpai sits feeling dejected in his lack of skills. Nagatoro’s friends pass by, skiing effortlessly, and Nagatoro smiles as she waves at them. As Senpai watches her, he feels a little worse.
Later in the evening, Senpai sits with his friends in the ski resort. Nagatoro spots him as she’s leaving with the night skiers and invites him to join, but he decides against it. He claims his legs hurt from the skiing, but viewers know he’s just disappointed about not being better. They bid each other farewell, and she leaves to join the others. After she leaves, Senpai’s friends are shocked once again by even more “popular girls” approaching them. Gamo-chan and Yoshi prod him about going skiing with Nagatoro, and he confesses that he feels he’d just slow her down. Then, they mention that’s not the point and leave him to his thoughts.
After some consideration, Senpai decides to head out and practice some more. Eventually, he’s able to steer himself away from the wall of snow, but his foot slips, and he falls to the ground. As he starts to lose morale, he remembers practicing with Nagatoro and once again imagines being able to impress her with his skiing skills.
After renewing his resolve, he notices a runaway skier. The child is heading straight toward a tree and can’t stop themselves. Senpai launches into action and rescues the kid just in time. After the child’s father thanks Senpai and takes his son to ski some more, Senpai is about to get back to practicing.
And Then There Were Two
Just then, a pair of obnoxious skiers come over the hill further up the slope. They’re skiing without looking forward, as one of them poses for the ‘gram and the other snaps pictures. Senpai turns to see them on a direct path to collide with him, but he’s unable to get out of the way. Nagatoro swoops in and pulls Senpai away from the pair. As the obnoxious pair of social media influencers sit on the ground covered in snow, Nagatoro glares at them and tells them to watch where they’re going in a deeply threatening voice. It’s safe to say Nagatoro passed the intimidation check. The two skiers apologize and take off. Nagatoro compliments Senpai for skiing well when he saved the child before she teases him for skiing like a wobbly, drunk driver. He hesitantly asks her to keep teaching him to ski, to which she beams with happiness and agrees. As they practice, she gives more tips and tells him to watch her as they ski. His cheeks grow hotter as he gazes at her, and he loses himself in a trance.
The next day, Nagatoro and her friends watch Senpai as he teaches his friends to ski. Not even five seconds in, he skis right into a wall of snow again, leaving Nagatoro confused and her friends literally laughing out loud. Back at school, the art club president informs Senpai that she got accepted into an art school, and he congratulates her. She asks him what he’ll do after graduation, and he admits that he’ll try for art school too. She’s surprised at his confidence and positivity but assumes it’s partly due to Nagatoro’s influence. As Senpai walks the school halls and thinks about his relationship with Nagatoro, he considers how much her influence has changed him and how little he knows about her.
This episode doesn’t do much different than previous episodes but continues the trend of Senpai committing to improving himself and working to keep up with Nagatoro. Considering Senpai’s decision to pursue art school, it’s easy to see how his relationship with Nagatoro is positively influencing him in his pursuits. Additionally, it brings him closer to the realization that he doesn’t know Nagatoro as well as he wants to on a personal level.
Fans of Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro are sure to enjoy this episode like many of the others this season so far. On another note, the visual gag of Senpai’s nervous “glass-lifting” mannerism didn’t grow old, and neither did his slamming into walls of snow. Let’s keep watching to see where the titular kouhai and her senpai end up.