@Shita-kiri_Suzume close actually. Nagatoro always teases senpai to get him to do something that a normal person could do, trying to help him overcome his obstacles. He clearly benefits from it. Of course she isn't super good at it, but what else can you expect from a jk.
I'm not trying to say that being "manly" is necessary, cuz it isn't. But senpais problems go beyond that. For example: in chapter 1 he wasn't capable of complementing someone he didn't have a crush on. Of course I couldn't compliment my crush, if I had one, that easily, but complementing someone else should not be that hard, especially when they tell you to.
@JayJay_Tracer I don't know, from what I saw Nagatoro's teasing always came off as too mean-spirited and deliberate to be taken that way. Uzaki is... well, she's an idiot, but that's because it's not as scathing. Plus she has brilliant comedic chemistry with Sakurai.
@JayJay_Tracer It's bullying, Nagatoro even made him cry on the first chapter. It might be beneficial to him at the end, but it's still bullying. Nagatoro is doing the equivalent of fat shaming her senpai in order to fix his problems.
@DeWolx I think it's only bullying if the intention is to hurt another person.
This may sound really stupid, but to me intentions matter more than actions. If your intention is to do something good, you can't be in the wrong. You might do wrong, because you were mislead or didn't fully understand the situation, but your goal was to help. It doesn't matter if you succeed, as long as you at least try.
A common interpretation of the saying is that wrongdoings or evil actions are often masked by good intentions;
or even that good intentions, when acted upon, may have unintended consequences.
Full disclosure, I'm a close friend of @Shita-kiri_Suzume but I've read both series.
I think it's fair to say that a good takeaway from both Nagatoro-kun AND Uzaki-chan is that respecting people's personal space is pretty important. The former is a bully and the latter is a pain in the ass. Bullying isn't okay regardless of whether it ultimately leads to anything good and Uzaki-chan does need to respect boundaries more. That said I can easily see how people can find either character endearing and are willing to make excuses for them or suspend their judgment to enjoy their antics. But I think the criticism is legit in either case. If you find Uzaki-chan unbearable I don't blame you but I definitely see why she has her fans. (besides her obvious... err, front and center charm point)
If you've seen me elsewhere on Mangadex, it's usually in the genderswap genre. So I'll bring a bit of my native country's flavor here -- if you were to swap the genders of all involved, how much does the story change? Nagatoro-kun suddenly takes a pretty twisted air. A girl with no self-esteem being emotionally broken down by a popular pretty boy who can barely hide his disgust for her BL works. Whereas Uzaki-chan's story might even be more adorable -- an annoying, expressive loud little-brother boy who won't leave a grumpy large-chested girl alone, but whom inspires nurturing feelings from her.
Idk man. The story might be simple, not much change from the usual, but boy do I love this one more than any other.
Uzaki best girl idgaf, also huge tits and not a tanned loli, fucking pedos. Shortstacks ftw
@Koni I noticed I only enjoy these kind of "teasing" romances, when the one "teasing" isn't invulnerable. Otherwise we don't even know whether the one "teasing" is actually just teasing or not. The ones I've seen that do that correctly are Nagatoro, This Maid is Suspicious and Please go home.
Uzaki, Takagi and a couple others don't have that. They're just way to one-sided for my liking.