What I really like is that I can see how this connects to the very early stages of the manga. There's this scene where she's hit on by some rando who tries to impress her with some song he wrote himself that he claims "transcends art" or something like that. There's this moment where she goes "All I feel is that you didn't actually try... Am I wrong?" and sends the guy running for the hills with nothing but a brief glare of utter contempt. The worst thing you can be in Nagatoro's eyes is a poser who thinks they're hot shit when they haven't put in enough work into their craft to even be average.
The manga she picked up and read on a whim way back in the first chapter, during the very encounter that started it all did not feel like that, because Senpai's art is on a level that's comparable to her Judo - it shows how hard's he's worked to become that good at the technical aspects. Except he's also a complete wimp and a loner who is utterly clueless when it comes to girls! Oh, that's priceless! What a magnificent weirdo! What an interesting person! I love teasing him, he makes me laugh! I love spending time with him! I look forward to school all weekend because I get to torment him again! Being with him just warms my heart and puts a smile on my face! When he comes too close, my hearts starts racing and I get hot all over! Actually wait, I'm clearly in love with him, when did that happen?