I want to start out by saying that I don't endorse bullying of any kind, in the context of which it is typically doled out. I sympathize with people who have been on the receiving end of it irl, and those whom have trouble dealing with stories involving it should stop considering reading this one right now if you were planning to. Now that that's out of the way...

It's always been amazing to me how many people who post reviews at this site don't really grasp what reviewing a series is all about. A review here, with very few exceptions, should never be about the subject matter of the material being reviewed: Saying the series is bad because you didn't like what the story was about is very similar to going into a restaurant, ordering food that you specifically don't care for, and then writing a review stating that you didn't like the food. Perhaps a category of "bullying" should be listed as a tag for this series, for the unwary, but the term is in the title, as well. This series is still ongoing at the time of this submission, so I must point out that writing a review after reading a handful of chapters is woefully inadequate for this slow-burn of a story.

Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san (Please don't bully me, Nagatoro) starts off as a rather straightforward story of a first year girl, Nagatoro, encountering and then viciously verbally abusing her second-year senpai, whose name is not even given in the beginning, in a high school setting. This continues to the point that the poor guy is brought to tears; but it's pretty clear that Nagatoro has found something very interesting about "Senpai", so her daily routine of hanging around and bullying him continues from then on, sometimes to intense and/or comedic levels.

After some time, the dynamic of the story changes up some, in either a positive or negative manner, depending upon one's expectations for progression. We're introduced to each of Nagatoro's friends, all of which have very distinct personalities, and all of whom end up bullying Senpai in their own ways. I must stress here that it takes quite some time for things to look up for our bewildered MC, but despite the continued abuse, he grows and evolves as well. Other than some filler material here and there, the story itself is pretty solid, a 7/10 to me.

The background art is typical, but very nicely drawn, however probably the strongest element of this series is the incredibly diverse and expressive body language each character displays. It's just so easy to gauge what someone is thinking just by observing how they look and move. This category is a strong 9/10; it would be a ten, but the art does at times come off a little too 'cartoony'.The characters are also great; though some of them fall into well established templates, each is nicely fleshed-out, and none of them are particularly similar in mannerisms. Nagatoro, even though she's more like an antagonist, is so interesting that it's easy to overlook her rotten attitude, lol. Her antics are the most noteworthy aspect of this series. Senpai is pretty bland, and more like a self-insert for the reader, but even he has some intriguing facets to his character. I rate the character category as a very good 8/10.

For my own enjoyment, this score fluctuated a bit, starting at a decent 6, and working up to a current 8 out of 10. The treatment of Senpai was a bit painful to watch at times, but once several things became apparent to me, I was able to appreciate it much more. I still think there could be some improvements and clarifications, but I'm really liking it so far.

Overall, this comes in as a nice 8 outta 10 for me. It manages to blend elements of sadism, cruelty, and sorrow along with cuteness, comedy, and pure badass moments. There's certainly romantic parts, but rarely does it seem clichéd. It's a fun read if you can endure the tide, so to speak.