Episode 9/Season 2

"That Is, If You Win at Least Once, Senpai" (センパイが一勝でもできたら...ね) is the ninth episode of the second season of the Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san anime series and the twenty-first episode overall.

Plot
The evening before the school's judo tournament, Senpai had some stretching at home - only resulting in getting a cramp - and later thought about wanting to win due to thank Nagatoro for all the time she spent helping him. In the meantime, the girl watches the names on the scoreboard of the girls' matches, getting quite upset after noticing that of a certain "Orihara".

The following day, during the tournament, while Senpai, Takao and Hino watch, Nagatoro won her first round, Yoshi was penalized due to wasting time to spin around the opponent and Sakura didn't even try. Eventually, Gamo-chan faced Olympic judo team candidate Orihara, being effortlessly overpowered. Afterward, the girl commented with her friend that Nagatoro would have to face Orihara in the following round, implying the two of them have a past together. Despite Orihara being friendly and telling Nagatoro she hoped to have "another exciting match" with her, the latter leaves the judo hall disconsolate and was joined by Senpai who tried to comfort her. Nagatoro explained to him that she did judo since childhood and trained with Orihara. However, as they grew up, she kept growing stronger, prompting Nagatoro to begin losing her passion and ultimately quit after being overwhelmed by Orihara in a match. Hearing that she didn't even feel like it was worth to fight anymore, Senpai scolded Nagatoro, telling her that this behavior doesn't feel like her, thus angering the girl, who told him not to talk like if he knew her, to which he replied quoting what the girl herself once told to him about not knowing what would happen until trying pointing out that even if her adversary is an Olympic candidate Nagatoro herself was quite strong. Embarrassed, Nagatoro told him that she would have given it a try if he won at least one match and teased the boy that in that case she would have also kissed him.

Later during his match, while cheered by Hino, Takao, Sakura, Gamo-chan and Yoshi, Senpai managed to remember the stuff Nagatoro had taught him, putting up a good fight and both eventually leading the girl to gleefully cheer for him, out of herself for the joy, which surprised both, the boy, her friends and Nagatoro herself.

Despite his efforts however, Senpai eventually loses his match by points but is complimented by both his opponent, Sasai, as well as Takao and Hino; thus, despite the boy's defeat, Nagatoro decided to keep her promise anyway and fight against Orihara. Although the two girls were equal in terms of skills, Orihara was deemed the favorite and thus everyone in the hall except for Gamo-chan, Yoshi and Sakura started to cheer for her, which led Senpai to cheer for Nagatoro as she previously did for him. Despite blushing in reaction to this, Nagatoro was quite pleased and gained enough confidence to slam Orihara on the floor getting a, but ultimately losing by points just like Senpai. However, the match seemingly restored Nagatoro's passion for judo, leading her to shaking Orihara's hand after losing and promising her that she would definitely "get her" next time.

Walking home with Senpai, Nagatoro thought back at it and asked him to give her a kiss as a prize when she would have managed to if defeated Orihara, causing the boy to blush, telling her not to tease him, to which she replied she wasn't, just a moment before running home with a smile on her face.

Main

 * Hayase Nagatoro
 * Senpai
 * Gamo-chan
 * Yoshi
 * Sakura

Minor

 * Orihara

Background

 * Takao
 * Hino
 * Sasai

Trivia

 * This episode is the adaptation of Chapter 79, 80 and 81, however there are a few differences:
 * The first scene is made up exclusively for the anime, as Chapter 79 opens up directly with the start of the tournament.
 * Sakura's reaction when pinned down by her opponent is completely different in the manga as she appeared tired and indolent, rather than blushing and moaning erotically.
 * After Sakura offers her condolences to Gamo-chan after she told her friends that she is going up against Orihara, in the anime, Yoshi tells her "Don't give up!" in English, while in the manga, she does not say anything. Additionally, in the manga Yoshi is standing behind Sakura while in the anime, their positions are switched.
 * In the episode, the match between Gamo-chan and Orihara is slightly longer, as in the manga the latter defeats her after Gamo-chan's first move.
 * When Gamo-chan suggests that Nagatoro can have her revenge on Orihara, in the manga, Sakura and Yoshi raises their arm up to cheer Nagatoro on, while in the anime, Sakura brings her arms close to her chest while Yoshi makes a "thumbs down" gesture with both of her hands.
 * During the flashback to when a younger Nagatoro and Orihara were standing together in front of the dojo wall, in the manga the banner behind them is rectangular, while in the anime it is a diamond shape, and the walls have wood paneling on the lower half.
 * When Senpai scolds Nagatoro for thinking to leave the fight with Orihara, in the anime both of them are standing and Nagatoro is returning inside the judo hall, while in the manga she is still sitting and remained as such for almost all of their conversation.
 * In the manga, Nagatoro pleasantly blushed and got bashful after Senpai called her "strong" while in the anime the scene is almost comical.
 * In the episode Sakura is the one who smirked at Nagatoro for having cheered Senpai despite previously claiming to have no intention of doing so, while in the manga is Gamo-chan.
 * A slowed-down piano version of LOVE CRAZY can be heard during the last scene.