Nagi may keep people at a distance, but it’s only because she tries to bear problems on her own. After the death of her friend Naoko Kamikishiro at the hands of the Manticore, Nagi is even more driven to keep others out of harm's way even as she throws herself into it. As someone in the loop of the supernatural, part of her job is to keep “normal” people from getting involved.

Just because Nagi cares doesn’t mean she won’t mess someone up if she thinks it’s necessary. Kyouko Kinoshita learned first hand when Nagi violently attacked her under suspicion of her being the Manticore. Nagi won’t apologize for being wrong in the pursuit of doing the right thing, and being in her way is a dangerous place. Her work isn’t for “normal” people, and they don’t need to be involved as far as she’s concerned.

While her personality quirks are driven mostly from her experiences surrounding the death of her father, Nagi’s background as a MPLS leaves her more capable than most to combat supernatural threats. Though her powers were suppressed by Shinpei Kuroda when she was younger, she has still been neck-deep in dealing with espers and the Towa organization for years now. As someone who keeps showing up in the same places as Boogiepop, Nagi’s affinity for protecting people drives her to do what others can not.

Nagi would make Batman proud, as her main superpower is her preparedness (and inherited money). The shining example of this was her fight with Dr. Makiko Kisugi in episode 13, where after donning an insulated suit and leading her to a pond proceeds to electrocute the water with a shock baton before ripping off the doctor’s arm. Give Nagi enough time and information, and she could take on anyone.

A reputation as an ill-tempered delinquent is just another tool that Nagi Kirima uses to move about how she wants. Getting perfect scores on tests without even attending classes most of the time speaks to her cunning intellect. Attending school is a waste when there’s justice to be dished out or research to be done.