By [ad_1]
By the third episode, we already begin to see Nagatoro’s interest in Naoto in how she visits him in the art room every single day. At this point though, it still seems like she’s only there to play with her new toy Naoto, but there is a developing fondness on his end as well. By the time we get to the last few episodes, Naoto and Nagatoro have hung out so much on various occasions, getting to know each other in ways reminiscent of actual human relationships. It never actually feels forced because we are shown their developing affection in ways that aren’t standard for romance anime.
There isn’t any hand-holding, no confession of undying love (at least not in the way we’re used to), but there is still an underlying affection we see Nagatoro and Naoto develop for each other. Naoto had his work cut out for him because he found Nagatoro’s hovering over him incredibly irritating, and it ruined his previous lifestyle of not standing out. Even so, there are moments in which Naoto and Nagatoro steal glances, share a drink together, get caught in the rain together, play a fighting game together, walk home together, and spend lots of time together—alone. These elements enable the characters to develop a relationship that feels natural, even if the characters live on opposite ends of the social food chain.
The best parts are seeing Naoto’s own feelings for her develop as he becomes enamored with drawing Nagatoro in her natural state. These drawings that Naoto creates throughout the series culminate in the ones he does for the school festival, in which the art club is endangered because the president of the art club thinks it has been tainted by the presence of Nagatoro and her friends. In this situation, Nagatoro herself lends all the help she can to Naoto and her friends all show up to do the same, which creates the feeling that despite the consistent teasing, mocking, and overall disrespect Naoto receives at the hands of these girls, a special relationship has formed between them and himself, especially with Nagatoro. The best part? We aren’t left hanging – in the post-credits scene of the final episode, we see Naoto drawing a sleeping Nagatoro, who wakes up briefly, sees him, and smiles. She then looks at the completed artwork and gives Naoto a kiss on the cheek, before running off and giving him a teasing “bleh” while pulling on the skin below her eye. Is this confirmation that they’re an item? Perhaps not, but it’s incredibly satisfying to see that they’ve gotten that close.
[ad_2]
