Anime 4224 Toradora Reviews Filter Check 1

I don't usually watch the romantic comedy genre of things. I always enjoyed action, fantasy, adventure like Soul Eater, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun etc. but for some reason I was in the mood for something different.

Toradora is just the 3rd romcom anime series i watched and I can truly say that it has become my FAVORITE anime.

The short version of this review is: I very much enjoyed Toradora

-The characters are all unique, likable, and relatable due to the fact they all display their weak sides sometimes and moments of insecurity behind the personality exterior. The chemistry between the characters was fun to watch

-The story stays ... away from cliches and was relatively unpredictable for a love story. Every character had a reason and motive for what they did and how they acted, other than just being unnaturally dumb/too prideful/stubborn.

-The soundtrack was really good, making certain scenes all the more memorable

-I loved the comedic scenarios in the beginning of the series, which gets progressively more serious and emotional as we get deeper into the story and characters, but the overall vibe of the show stays relatively consistent to the end

-I became emotionally invested in the overall plot and characters and couldn't stop watching, which is extremely rare for me, especially for this genre

Overall:10/10

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I watched the 1st episode and was interested. After the 2nd ep, I was hooked. I watched all 25 episodes in one go, back to back, because I couldn't stop. Never has another series been able to keep me going (I usually don't watch more than 5 episodes in one sitting), but Toradora kept me wanting to click on the next episode each time until I was finished, and left wanting more (even though I was satisfied with the ending)

Afterwards, I thought a lot about why an anime series of a genre that is usually not my taste could have been able to retain my attention for so long, and i realized the answers: the characters and the overall story.

The characters are what make this series so great. Each character have personalities that are unique and rather realistic and believable (or as realistic as animes go). There is no "super" character that acts too good or too cool for school. There is no "that annoying" character that acts too snobby or stuck up, which can sometimes be a problem for tsundere characters. And this is all because every character shows a weak side or moments of insecurity, which makes each of them more relatable. It also allows for many rather comedic scenes as well as emotional moments. But the best part is the interactions and chemistry between all the characters, and the way each of them change as their relationship with each other grows.

The second thing is the story. The reason I usually don't care for romance or drama is because I usually find the story too cliche or predictable. I also hate those cliche moments of "coincidence", for example, when a main character happens to see his/her love interest with someone else accidentally and misunderstands. I also hate it when characters act unnaturally stupid or too prideful for no reason and let it get in the way of the relationship.

But none of those cliche moments happen in Toradora. Every character has a reason and motive for the actions they decide to take. The story managed to keep me guessing and wanting to know what will happen next, instead of making me feel like i could write the story myself.

Another plus for Toradora is the music. There are some key scenes where the soundtrack actually triggered goosebumps and made me tear; it still does even after rewatching. THAT IS RARE FOR ME. In fact i don't think anything I've ever watched, not just anime, can even make me feel that emotionally invested in fictional characters.

Almost forgot to mention that after it was done, I started to watch it again from the beginning the next day. Another rare occurrence for me, as usually i don't feel like rewatching things for months. I was able to pick up certain things that i missed with the first watch thru. The only reason I put the story as 9/10 was because of this. A few plot points weren't really shown or conveyed in the best way and were missed even to an avid viewer like me. But I was glad to have felt that way, leaving me thinking about what I missed, instead of feeling like I could have easily figured it out or seen it coming.

Again, Toradora has become my favorite anime, as a guy that usually doesn't care for this genre, which says a lot. It gave me more enjoyment than any of the other anime I have seen so far. I would recommend it to anyone, not just romance lovers.

This's the first time I got the "4 seasons" feeling while watching an entire anime show.

What's "4 seasons" feeling I am talking about? Here's the explanation:

I felt the sensation changed 4 times while watch this anime:

1st time: During episodes 1 to 2, watching those episodes for the first time I thought this series would just be a light comedy anime which will make me chuckle without a complicated story. It just like the spring season that give a high hopes on the early year.

2nd time: During episodes 3 to 14, I'm getting a bit bored and almost drop it, but I decided to push ... my self to finish it (the only reasons I want to finish it is just because I got interest by the last main character who showed up in this part). It just like summer season that is really hot, and the only fun is going to beach during the summer break.

3rd time: During episodes 15 to 24, my curiosity was piqued for what will be going on with this show, things got a bit complicated, and I think this part is the "life" of the series. Just like an autumn season, although the flowers fall, but becomes a wonderful scenery.

4th time: During the final episode, "WHAT THE HELL", with this final episode, I mean everything seems fine at the beginning of the episode, but in the end it turned out anti-climatic for me. Just like the winter season, unpredictable storms, snow, and always cold; but after that Spring comes.

Well, that's my personal view of the story, so I give 7/10 for it.

Art and Sound, nothing particular to comment, it all seem good enough, and I like the second opening OST. 7/10 for both of it.

All characters were unique, both in design and personalities, even with the supporting characters, they are all really good. A great job was done by the creator at this point. EXCEPT for MC's pet, it's very annoying, and I really like "Ami-n", her appearance, her personality, her reactions, her way of pretending to be an adult (she's the last MC that I mentioned before), so 8/10 For Chara design.

For the enjoyment, I think I'll go for 7/10 that because this show had me feel bored once, and the ending was anti-climatic for me, but I do like the humor and story development (starting from episode 15).

Overall 7/10 score for this show.

Romance has always been a tricky, unforgiving genre; you make one mistake and the story slowly begins to crumble. Why is that? Well, as many of us may know, love is a complicated business. So is entertainment. So why do we watch romantic series? There's many different answers that vary based on the individual. Maybe we're simply taking a chance at trying to find a feeling. A feeling of the tingle of our heartstrings, or a stir in our human emotions. It's good to feel these things from time to time. Fortunately for us, Toradora is a series that gracefully grants us this chance. It ... captivates us in remembering what a romance series should strive to be.

What makes Toradora so exceptional as far as the romance genre goes? Is it the story? The art? The Sound? The Characters? It just may be all of them combined. I'd like to begin by stating something. The story of Toradora is very predictable. Cliché even. But wait, isn't that a bad thing? While the story may seem plain, the execution of the pacing is undeniably good at assuming a calm, relaxed flow for the majority of its run which, in turn, yields a satisfying romantic series as a result.

Toradora is not like many other romantic series out there that have characters fall in love simply just because. Love slowly stems from what begins as two people who become friends looking for mutual assistance in their romantic interests. Toradora gives its audience room to breathe and focuses the first half of the show on building the friendship between the two main characters through silly, lighthearted antics, making developed romantic feelings between characters seem more realistic and sincere later down the line when things become more serious. However, love is a complicated business, as I've said in my introduction. People's feelings do get walked over and left in the dust. While it's thematically a good thing for the audience to feel touched emotionally, seeing characters getting their emotions crushed was truly a somber sight to behold.

The art was smooth and was enjoyable visually. I did like the consistency that Toradora’s animation offered. For a series that was done in the 2008-2009 time period, it still looks marvelous and holds its own compared to more recent anime. The sound was a big plus in my book. While I liked both the OPs and EDs, I have to give a big shout out to the timing of the music during dramatic moments; that repetitive melody of piano left quite a strong impression on me. I'd like to also address that the script and voice actors were really quite something. The dark little subtleties in comments or remarks were an admirable feature the show had to offer.

I think every romantic series heavily depends on its cast to be the foundation of the series, holding the structure of the show into place. The characters of Toradora are an interesting bunch that create the opportunity for its audience to laugh and also feel gloomy. There is more than meets the eye underneath these seemingly cliché characters. Ryuuji is the male lead and he is generally a very likable, realistic character. He struggles with romance, gets low self-esteem because he’s self-conscious, and regularly voices his opinions on matters at hand. Throughout the show he proves that he’s a loyal friend and all around good guy, though he might be a little obsessive compulsive about cleanliness and order. But hey, who doesn't have their own little quirks?

Moving onto the main female lead, I felt a little wishy-washy in regards to liking Taiga’s character. I’m not a fan of the tsundere type, and that’s exactly what she is. While Taiga acts like a brat most of the time, she also becomes more and more endearing as the series progresses. She stands up for herself and her friends, and despite her childish behavior, generally cares for the people around her. With the main two characters out of the way, what about the other ‘main’ characters: Minori, Yuusaku, and Ami?

One of Toradora’s strengths was allowing the supporting characters to have their moments in the spotlight. Because of this, we are able to obtain a deeper understanding of them and paint a better picture of them as characters. While Ami and Minori seem perceptive of the relationships in the group, I’m honestly not sure about Yuusaku. Under his oblivious façade it’s somewhat difficult to tell. While he's Ryuuji's best friend, he is oddly quite different compared to him. Yuusaku is energetic, outgoing, responsible, yet also very silly and childish. Minori seems like genuinely a nice girl with the happy on the outside cliché personality, but Minori is really a coward underneath it all; she doesn’t confront her own emotions and constantly pushes for Taiga’s happiness at her own expense. It’s not that I disliked Minori as a character, it was just agitating to watch her at times. Last but not least, Kawashima, Ami. Ami is the most astute of the unsaid troubles that are bothering the people in the group and often makes subtle comments or sarcastic remarks pertaining to their unspoken feelings. When she is first introduced she seems extremely stuck up and vain, but as the series progressed it becomes more apparent that she’s tactfully looking out for the people she can finally call ‘friends’ for the first time. She developed the most out of the three supporting main characters, in my opinion, and easily became one of my favorite characters of the series, if not my most favorite.

Despite how gratifying I thought the series was, I also can’t turn a blind eye on the aspects of the show that I did not like. One of the most annoying tropes in anime, at least for me, is characters getting hit for no reason, or very petty ones. It's a trope that comes hand-in-hand with the tsundere character archetype, and it's one of the reasons I dislike tsundere characters as a whole. Taiga, who basically goes down the list of tsundere character traits like a check list, is a huge offender of verbally and physically abusing Ryuuji early on in the series. If you're like me, you'll find this to be quite vexing. Lastly, fan service is apparent in nearly every recent anime. While I personally dislike fan service, I know that many series utilize it to keep a portion of their audience interested. I watched Toradora because it was a romance story that set itself apart from most others. Although it's substantially toned down, comparatively to other series, I believe Toradora would have been better off not utilizing any fan service at all.

While I did like the ending overall because it ties things up nicely, and felt fairly rewarding, I did not like how the ending felt very rushed. The amount of material crammed into the last couple episodes felt considerably off, considering the rest of the show was focused on coaxing the relationships at a much slower pace. A couple bad apples on a tree don’t make the rest of the apples rotten, and Toradora was far from being bad. It isn’t a completely perfect series, but one of the best the romance genre has to offer in anime so far.

Every once in a while a person can't help but wonder what if. There has been a time in all our lives when we have pondered the thought of meeting the 'one' who is exactly right for us. Every day we strive to find a person, or people, who understand and accept us for who we are. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll find that one person that fits together with you like two consecutive cogs in an intricate machine. Maybe, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who is exactly right for you. It's not because this person is perfect, or because you are, but because your combined flaws fit together seamlessly in a way that allows two different beings to coexist together perfectly as equals … something like a Tiger and a Dragon.

Going into Toradora, I wasn’t really expecting too much from it. I thought it would be your standard school life love story we have all seen so many times before. But low and behold it came out to be surprisingly good, and has quickly become one of my favorite 2008 airing anime series.

Story: 9/10
The story revolves around Ryuuji and Tiaga, two ordinary students that end up working together in order to help one another end up with the ones they love. It stays pretty true to the "love story" formula. What makes this anime really good is the excellent pacing it takes with the story. ... In many "school life" anime we always end up watching filler style episodes, only to have the end of the series be the only thing good about it. Not so for Toradora however! It manages to keep the anticipation between the potential couples high, all along weaving together a pretty good in depth story that really shows the heart of the characters. A lot of times we have scenes that show the characters trying to get the words out to express their feelings, and others offer more side story scenarios-- which usually end up going in conjunction with a certain character’s inner turmoil and struggle. Each episode flows nicely into the next, and you get some pretty clever comedy along the way. Now that is not to say that Toradora's story is without fault; not every episode is particularity interesting as others, towards the end the story tends to drag on a bit and feel somewhat rushed, and the characters start to get in a sort of "pity party" mood with their situations, which can get to be a bit of a downer at times. Still though, haven’t all of us been there at one point in our lives, where we really want to say what is in our hearts, but end up holding back for risk of getting hurt? Or even worse, hurting another? Overall the story is filled with enough drama and guess work to keep the audience into it! Though it should be said that hardcore romance fans may be able to predict some of the twists and turns the plot takes. It does come close to becoming a bit of a harem anime, but just never quite reaches that category. The anticipation of "who will end up with who?" --is the stories strongest feature, and the ending doesn't disappoint!!

Art: 7/10
The art really isn’t anything too special. You get a nice mixture of bright colorful characters and environments. The characters are sharp and well animated with their facial expressions, but the backgrounds can look a bit washed out at times. And some of the action scenarios can be a bit on the stiff side. Again, the character’s faces are what stood out for me the most with the art, you really feel like you can read them at times.

Sound: 8/10
Like the visuals, I wouldn’t go on par to say that the music can be anything more than "appropriate." You do get some pretty nifty opening and closing songs, and they change mid way through the series. The BG music was nothing--if not forgettable. Even while writing this I can’t really think of a piece that stood out for me. What does make the soundtrack so good however, are the character voices! All of them were matched perfectly to a "T, " and I could not find a single voice actor to be out of place with their role. I especially enjoyed Taiga’s voice. She has this tough girl tone and attitude, yet you can tell that deep down inside she really does care about those around her. Something that the viewer will indeed discover while making their way through the anime.

Characters: 9/10
Definitely the heart of Toradora! While going through this anime I really felt that I started a "virtual" style bond with them. I actually cared about the problems they had, and wanted them to end up happy in the end. Towards the beginning, viewers may find a character or two that they either dislike or even despise. But trust me when I say this: "stick with it!" They end up evolving and have many twits to their persona! Taiga is really the one who stole the show for me, she has so many layers to her personality that it can be hard to figure out just what is going through her head at times. A character named Minorin can be drop dead funny when she wants to be, and Ryuuji is a great guy that is always there for his friends. The best compliment I can say about the cast? They act very human (ie: realistic), maybe a bit exaggerated at times, but mix the two together very well! Which can be hard to do in an anime. My only real knock against the characters was, since there are multiple romance skits going on, at times it felt like some of them were a bit too discreet with confessing to one another; which in turn can make the story slow paced at times. I almost felt like I wanted to jump inside my computer screen and yell: "Oh just say it already!!!" That aside, there really isn't much to complain about, great cast!

Enjoyment: 10/10
Despite some of the glitches in the storyline, I still never the less found myself totally drawn into the world of Toradora! It had more than enough to offer to keep me wanting more! The mixture of comedy, romance, suspense and tender moments--really drew me in!

Overall: 9/10
Toradora makes us contemplate what is more important in life; love or friendship? This anime really turned out to be a great surprise for me. Sure its got some flaws and all. But this series has it where it really counts; character chemistry and development! If you are a fan of romance anime, complimented with a great cast of characters and funny anecdotes. Then I highly recommend giving Toradora a try! It may not do anything new with its romance formula, but it does indeed do it right!

Toradora can do one thing extremely well: comedy. The characters of Toradora are completely built for playing off each other well in comedic gags. That's why I really loved the first half of Toradora. It had some of the best school comedy scenes I've seen.

However, at the half way point, after the Culture Festival, it seems that an invisible switch was flipped for the story, where instead of focusing on comedy, the drama would be more prevalent.

Now, there have been many shows that have been able to mix comedy and drama, they even form the genre of "dramedy", Kodocha and Clannad to only name ... two. So I know that the two can be sucessfully spliced. In Toradora's case though, the result is jarring, as the humor seemingly disappears from the show to make room for chick fights, eavesdropping, confessions, and rejections.

The main problem in this transition form comedy to drama is the complete 180 degree turn some of these characters do. Since they were built for comedy, the author/director needed to change them for the drama.

Minorin is a wonderful example. She's super hyperactive and boisterous during the first half of the series. However, by the second half, when the show makes its transformation from comedy to drama, Minorin is just a shell of her character from just a few episodes prior. She broods, mopes, and loses pretty much all of her energy.

How am I supposed to take this story seriously when it seems like there are two different versions of the characters? I just cannot.

Now for the boring statistical review.

Story: 6/10 - The first half was great because, while it included several school cliches, it found a way to be different from all its predecessors. The second half, however, was just cliche, and often convoluted, where it seemed the author just made characters fight with each other for no reason.

Art: 8/10 - The artwork is above average, which seems to be what J.C. Staff strives for. It's not near the level of JC's other series of the Fall, Toaru Majutsu no Index, but it definitely suffices and detail is provided when necessary.

Sound: 7/10 - I'm a fan of the first opening/ending, but the second set are adequate as well. The BGM is unobtrusive and largely unnoticeable, but that's not really a bad thing.

Character: 7/10 - As I said, these characters are built for comedy. Be it Ryuuji's near-OCD behavior when he happens upon a messy area or Taiga's childish demeanor whenever she sees Kitamura. They're funny. It's too bad that the characters were nearly all completely changed for the second half.

Enjoyment: 6/10 - I loved the comedy in the first half, but dreaded the poor writing and inconsistency of the characters that plagued the second half.

Overall: 7/10 - Overall, it's not bad. It's an average romantic comedy in a sea of romantic comedies.

Toradora isn't your story that only focuses on one thing. Well, at least I don't think so. It conveys so much meaning to everything that is going on in life. It shows you that sometimes, even your most important wish, the with you want to come true the most, can sometimes not be reached. But it also shows some examples of how people decide their path and move on forward.

Please bear with me. This is only my third time reviewing.

The story was fantastic. Even though there are only 24 episodes, which is actually plenty, the story was well ... developed. There are no complaints that I can think of right now. For example, the person you thought you loved just because of the way they act wasn't the one you loved, then comes another person who is a match for you. That is a good plot on it's own. That connects to what is going on in the real world.

The art... Fantastic. You could really tell they put a lot of effort into it. From they're facial expression, even the walking, they put a lot of effort. Then when the animation shifts to the parts where there is violence, the animation in that part was... Wow. That is all I could say.

The sound was great. Everything, the sound effects were timed well, and the sound tracks matched perfectly with the scenes. Although for some reason, the first ending song didn't quite get along with me. But the rest was great.

The characters were really the perfect match with the story. They're slow development in each episodes connects the viewer in the story that sometimes they might think that they are them.

The enjoyment... I enjoyed it very much. It's not like romance is my highest favorite genre, but I still like it. Especially in this one. Also the comedy, some actions, and others were also factors of the enjoyment it brought.

Overall, this show was really great. I only wish something like this will come in the future.

NOTE: This Review will be Updated every 6 episodes

Toradora is a highly entertaining romantic comedy that successfully escapes the cliched harem tales that dominate the genre. Although it is somewhat let down by mediocre animation and music, the original premise and unforgettable dialogue make Toradora one of the best light hearted romances of the season.

Story: 8

Toradora is based primarily on the interplay of Takasu and Taiga. A nice guy who has a fearsome reputation due to his aggressive looks, who makes an unlikely pact with a volatile, but cute girl, to help each other succeed with their respective crushes. This premise quite refreshing, and ... unlike almost all anime within the genre, the male lead is not automatically the object of affection for half a dozen girls.

Unfortunately, the pace of the story is somewhat erratic. There are frequent episodes that seem more `slice of life', with no significant plot development. This, however, is not as bad is it seems, given that the events that do happy in each chapter are often hilarious, and well watching on their own.

Art: 7

Toradora art is not bad... not particularly good. It just does not stand out. While Taiga has a very attractive character design, some supporting characters do look rather bland. The background themselves are also serviceable, but not particularly noteworthy. There's nothing particularly wrong with Toradora's looks, its certainly comparable to that of for example, True Tears or School days. It just doesn't feature that extra level of excellence featured in Clannad or Tale of Memories.

Sound: 8

The voice acting for the characters are well done, and definitely fit their roles. However, the OP and ending themes are rather mediocre.

Characters: 10

Toradora's main strength is the personality of its cast. Rarely is there a character as unique as Aisaka and Takasu. Their personalities are not only memorable, but also multi-dimensional. While Aisaka, for example, comes across as an arrogant and demanding girl, there are rare moments where her more timid side is briefly shown.

Enjoyament: 10

Toradora is a great anime to watch, and perfect for lifting you from a foul mood. It's both funny and touching, which makes it great for short study or work breaks.

Overall: 9

Despite its technical flaws, Toradora is an excellent example of what a light hearted romantic comedy should be like. Despite its rather exaggerated circumstances, it features an original storyline where the cast are more than just cliches.

It seems JC Staff loves to makes animes out of light novel publications from ASCII Media Works. Toradora! is one of their newest adaptations, and in the genre of romance/comedy that has been overdone extensively already, I am pleased to say that this anime has exceeded my expectations greatly.

Story: There is nothing extraodinary about the story in Toradora, I dare say its a cliched scenario of the 2 main characters being together for all the series to find out in the end they love each other. However the way Toradora excecutes and delivers this story was done so well that even if the outcomes and ... events looked predictable, it would still keep you on your toes and make you want more.

Animation: This anime's strong point was not on the visual department, however it was still well animated and throughout the show we would be treated to a very rich and colorful anime that was pleasing to the eyes.

Music: Toradora proves that you dont need an awesome soundtrack to make an anime sound fantastic. Apart from a couple of tunes from the OST, there is really no standout songs in the show. However the songs are used so well in the anime they are able to really enhance the enjoyment of important scenes, making the show much more enjoyable. Also very solid voice acting, as expected from a top class voice actress as Kugimiya Rie but I was also highly impressed with Majima Junji's role as Ryuuji. Perfectly excecuted.

Characters: This is by far the show's best aspect. Not every anime is able to deliver such likeable characters and make them blend together so well. Throughout the series I was in constant debate on which of the main heroines I liked most, because the anime manages to develop every character so well. Even the supporting characters are very likeable, and are well developed in this show. And to my surprise, for this genre of anime the show managed to deliver a main male lead that I did not find a complete idiot.

Enjoyment: Man this show has been a blast to watch, every week I would go thinking they couldnt top last week's episode yet they still managed to do it almost every time. This is definitely one of my new favourites animes.

Overall: In the romance/comedy category, it is very easy for an anime to fall into the "overdone" category, despite all that, Toradora is able to keep a refreshing and interesting pace for most of its run and for that I salute JC Staff for this brilliant adaptation to a great novel. This anime proves that even if you dont have a groundbreaking plot, if you are able to provide an excellent execution with what you have you can still produce a top quality anime. If you are looking for a great romcom that is able to set itself apart from others and is able to maintain a great level of entertainment and quality, then I am sure Toradora will not disappoint you and I highly recommend it to anyone.

When you think of a romance, comedy, school life/slice of life, you think about an anime with two (or more) lovers as they go through thick and thin together. That certainly does not fit the description of Toradora!. In fact, I don't think anything is able to describe just how funny, touching, deep, and serious Toradora! is.

I started watching Toradora! after reading the first few chapters of the manga. At first, I thought it was one of those series focusing purely on romance and comedy. I thought it was a carefree series that will bring watchers some laughs with some moments of romance. The ... first few episodes did seem to be leaning toward this direction. However, as the story develops, I was blown away. The story and characters were so complex, fascinating, and unique that the description of a "carefree comedy romance anime" just can't fit Toradora!. Not at all.

The story, at its introduction, is simple. Takasu Ryuuji and Aisaka Taiga both have crushes on the other's friend. They decide to help each other. Really simple, and predictable right? Nope. As the story propels forward, so many wild and heartwarming events occur make the relationships between the friends not so clear. The story moves along a very smooth pace as well. Like other comedy/romance anime, Toradora! develops the story w/ episodic events. Unlike the others however, it blends the main plot and each event very well, so that you'll never see just an event (such as a house party or summer trip) that's just there for enjoyment. In Toradora!, the events drive the story, not the other way around.

What makes the story so much exciting, unpredictable, and anticipated are the wonderful characters of Toradora!. At the onset, the characters are introduced, and each have an obvious trait/personality that you have no problem identifying. Takasu is mean-looking and scares people, but he really is the ideal guy: nice, reliable, friendly. Kushieda Minori is the cheerful girl and Aisaka's best friend who is always energized and lighting up the mood. However, there is so much more than just that. As the story progresses, the characters do as well. Each character faces trials and obstacles in the story. As a result, they develop, change, and gradually become different. In addition, each character has inner feelings and pasts that influence their way of dealing with things.

As you watch each episode, the main cast is so well created that you'll forget they're just figures of fiction. You will treat them as real beings, sympathizing with one and perhaps disapproving another. Your own feelings will change as the characters change. All of this leads to a wonderful experience that is Toradora!.

The art is well drawn. Backgrounds are clear, colorful, and sharp. Character movement is smooth. The sound is rendered and timed perfectly. Each background song/sound fits with the scene, and adds strength to it. The opening and ending songs are also very well chosen, perfectly fitting with the general theme of Toradora!.

I have greatly enjoyed Toradora!. I had average expectations and saw some potential in Toradora! when I started watching it in Oct. 08, when the Fall 2008 season came out. Unlike so many other anime that start with great beginning but only to degenerate, Toradora! shot through the roof of mediocrity with its great characters and story. It satisfied many viewers and went on to become even better as each week passed. Now that I've seen all 25 episodes, I must say, it was an incredible series.

Toradora .. it is considered one of the best romance anime of all time .. well i disagree. I only saw a couple of romances and i already saw 3 romances that for me were better than Toradora.


Why this anime for me is over rated? Well it has nothing special to offer .. pretty usual, pretty normal, the romance is predictable, well nothing here excels in my opinion.


Story: 7/10. I only gave a 7 to the story because we have a interesting way of starting an anime. The rest ? Clichê. Everything ! Not even one character is original, everyone are clichê and ... not even one is interesting. I kinda guessed the end when i was in the 4th ep or so .. and I did it right, the end was just what I expected to be ... why is that? BECAUSE IT'S A ********* clichê and like every clichê out there, they are predictable and boring. But still the story is good enough.. there is no plot holes, everything fits right.

Art: 6/10. Really really crappy art. The characters look ugly.. it seems that they just changed the size of the boobs, the hair colour and the eyes colour between the female characters. Look on the web and see if i'm not right. There is even 2 characters that i just could distinguish by hearing their voices... -.-. The background is also pretty bad. But .. the design i think it's well done after all and fits well with the character's personality.

Sound: 8/10. Actually the best aspect here. It makes the comedy moments much more fun. The voice acting is pretty good also. The openings are funny especially the first one. About the OST, they fit nice and i found no problems on them .. Although the OST for the drama could be better .. it's pretty smooth for me xD

Character: 8/10. Like i said they all are clichê characters .. predictable movements, predictable choices, predictable reactions .. where is the fun watching this? But i do have to say they have a nice development, all of them have a different personality and it's interesting seeing the interaction between the characters. But again, they are clichês so as their background stories. I was having a deja'vu every time they explained some character's past.

Enjoyment: 8/10. It is a clichê .. but at least it's funny to watch and entertains well. Although .. because i already had predicted the end, the romane got extremely weak for me, and it looked pretty rough, i mean at least i don´t like that type of romance. I'm one of those who likes cute things. I can´t lie to you, i saw this anime in 3 days so i had fun while i was watching that's for sure. But it's because it is a comedy show with some drama on it.

Overall: 7/10. I'm being generous giving this anime a 7/10. I like to get suprised and here i got everything right. To much predictable, at least for me it sucks. Although for a comedy is nice, for a slice of life is also good. But i advise you, if you heard the same as i "Toradora is one of the best romances of all time" .. IT'S WRONG. For me, it was just a normal romance, so it can´t be the best. So don´t get hype for then get disappointment like i had.

If you like romance/comedy/slice of life, this is a good show .. but not one of the best romance animes. It just looks pretty normal to be one of the best.

In this world, there’s this thing that no one’s ever seen. This thing is very kind and gentle. And if anyone could actually see it, there’d be a whole bunch of people wanting to have it. Maybe that’s why the world keeps it hidden from everyone... Because if it’s that hard to get, that makes it even more special. And one day, someone will find it. Whoever does find it, they’ll be the one that was supposed to. Because that’s the way it’s meant to be.

Ryuji Takesu is trying to find this something... He’s in love with ... an energetic girl in his class, but his reputation as the second scariest student in the school has kept him at a distance from her. One day, the first scariest student in the school slips a love note into his bag by mistake, and the two of them realize that they’re in love with each others’ best friends. By joining forces in the pursuit of their unrequited loves, can this tiger and dragon finally find that one thing that they long to see?

Well, once again, we’re returning to JC Staff, although this series is an entirely different creature than the two shows I’ve reviewed before. It combines the budget allocation from Ghost Hunt with the hyper-cheap aesthetic from Ookami-san to some surprisingly great effect. It’s not what you’d call a great looking series, as movement is limited, but for the most part, the movement it DOES showcase is smooth and kinetic. The only time it really becomes ugly is during a few of the biggest emotional moments of the show, and their attempt to get as much movement as possible out of the characters leads to frameless, poorly drawn monsters that look absolutely hilarious when paused. But luckily, those moments are few and far between, and the high emotions involved are enough to overpower and revulsion these images may cause.

As for the artwork, it’s above average. The character designs are brilliant, with inspired looks and bright, sharp color choices keeping the entire cast fresh in your mind for days after you finish the series, but outside of that, it’s pretty standard slice-of-life stuff. The CG, at least in the few moments that they choose to employ it, is flawlessly done, so it’s pretty easy to pick out where a good chunk of the budget went. The only aspect of the artwork that really bothered me were the constant jagged outlines around the characters, which is not an uncommon problem in anime from around the late aughts... Even Brotherhood and Spice and Wolf suffered from it. That problem is completely erased if you’re watching it on Blu-ray, however.

In any case, the show does it’s job visually, as all the extra effort in the animation makes for some impeccable comic timing, and the lighting and color scheme suddenly become gorgeous whenever there’s a romantic scene to showcase. The facial expressions are detailed and dynamic enough to make Kyoto Animation eat it’s heart out, which is important because in a lot of ways, the characters are the most important part of the show. The main characters... The ones who appear most prominently in the opening... Take the standard love triangle and evolve it into a full blown love pentagon, with enough plotting and emotional nuance that each one of them is as important to the unfolding drama as the next.

Our central character, Ryuji Takesu, is a hopeless romantic who’s been mistaken for a scary thug because of his tough face and quiet demeanor. If that sounds familiar to you, it’s because his character was ripped off wholesale by a series that I like to call “Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Original Ideas.” He’s the standard nice guy rom-com lead, but there’s more to him than others of his ilk... He was raised by a very childish single parent, which lead to him becoming the responsible housewife she could never be... He cooks, fusses, and is an obsessive neat-freak who can’t stand to let dirt or mold sit unchallenged. His personality may not resonate with everyone, but that’s what’s so wonderful about it... He actually has personality traits that aren’t just positive gimmicks, and the majority of the people surrounding him actually DO find him weird because of it. He’s not the glorified perfect guy everyone loves, and after Kyo-Ani’s domination of the market, that’s pretty refreshing.

The other main character is Taiga Aisaka, a tiny girl who’s actually earned her frightful reputation. Blunt and brutal, she’s been given the diminutive nickname “The Palmtop Tiger.” At first glance, she may appear to be some calculated pander to the fans of the lolicon and tsundere archetypes, and I can kind of understand where people who say this are coming from. But as the story progresses, and you learn more about her family situation, her tough nature becomes more and more understandable, and it also becomes very clear that her physical shortcomings are a thing that she has to overcompensate for. Yeah, you can condemn her as being a shallow grab at the loli market, but the truth is, I knew plenty of girls like her in school, so it’s hard for me to become offended when one of them is very accurately represented in a story. She’s the most complex and (ironically) the most developed character in the cast, so it makes sense that she’s become the posterchild for the series.

Their friends(and initial love interests) are Yusaku Kitamura and Minori Kushieda, two lovable oddballs who are active in a lot of school activities. Yusaku is a relatively simple character, and in the beginning, he’s the only one who knows that Taiga and Ryuji are good people. This probably has something to do with his involvement in student council, as he seems to be the kind of person who makes an effort to get to know everybody. Despite being a little simple, he does have his problems, and he does get his own arc, and they don’t disappoint. Minori is the class’s genki girl, a bright ball of energy who tries her best in everything she does, is highly perceptive of other peoples’ true feelings, and holds about a dozen jobs outside of school. She can be annoying to some viewers, but while it’s never fully explored, it’s implied several times throughout the anime that she has a wealth of issues below the surface, and that she may secretly suffer from poverty, or even severe depression in her home life. Whatever the case, the only ones who never really believe in her sunny exterior are herself and...

My favorite character in the show, Ami Kawashima. When she’s introduced to the story, it’s as a sort of villain... Or, at least, an antagonist. She’s a bratty, arrogant model who puts on a much more manufactured, moe-like facade in order to manipulate people, and if you’re the kind of person who can’t stand all the infantilized doe-eyed ladies of the Key Trinity, you’ll be laughing right along with her over it. As she develops, and we learn more about why she transferred to this school and why she is the way she is, she’s eventually forced to drop her act, at which point she becomes arguably the most important character in the series. She becomes an almost Shakespearian character, a fifth wheel who’s free to observe the web of lies going on between her cast mates. She takes an active role in the story, pulling strings and making calculated comments, getting way too involved as she tries to unravel the truth behind it all.

The supporting cast is used with surprising efficiency, as none of them are featured any more or less than they need to be. Characters like The Student council President, Inko the brain-damaged parrot, and the parents of our two central characters exist not only to augment the comedy or drama of the material, but to drop subtle hints about why the characters are the way they are. Characters like Miss Koigakubo and four other select students exist to deliver some stunning paralells in regards to what’s going on in the main story, as well as to serve as a constant reminder that there’s a world outside of Taiga's circle.

Toradora is one of a small list of shows that I’ve seen in both English and Japanese, and even though I may be woefully monolingual, I can personally attest to the fact that both tracks are nothing short of pure gold. I can’t really say anything about the Japanese track that a simple list of names wouldn’t say all on it’s own, as I don’t think anybody is a virgin to the works of people like Rie Kugimiya and Yui Horie, but the English dub really doesn’t have that kind of star power, so it does merit a bit more discussion.

In recent years, Bang Zoom Entertainment has taken to pushing it’s main stable to the back row, and instead giving some of it’s best roles to a series of newer actors that haven’t gotten nearly as much work in the past. This transition was a little rocky at first, with projects like K-On and Oblivion Island at the forefront, and some decent yet rather awkward acting in Madoka Magica. Well, Toradora was their moment, and they rose to it, putting forth better performances than I could have possibly imagined. They all far surpassed the relatively little work they’ve previously done, and after hearing them in this, I sincerely hope this stable becomes the next big industry powerhouse.

Going in, I already had respect for Cassandra Lee’s ability to understand her characters, as her performances in both K-On and Madoka Magica were outstanding, but I felt Taiga’s depth was out of her range… And I never really liked Christine Marie Cabanos, although she was decent in Squidgirl. I wasn’t initially expecting much, but this dub is literally perfect. And yes, I know what I’m implying by putting the word literally before the word perfect… Believe me, I mean it that way. I can’t imagine any cast coming together for Toradora better than this one did. All of those actors I’d never heard of before… Like Erika Herlacher and Erik Kimerer… Are names I’m going to be looking out for from now on. Cassandra Lee has only strengthened my confidence in her abilities, and as for Cabanos? I take back every negative thing I ever said about her. She is the star of this dub, and as such, I don’t want to live in a world where her performance is anything other than star-making. Every inch of her becomes Minori Kushieda, from her sunny and boisterous exterior all the way down to her complex, insecure interior. She’s apparently found her niche in loud, energetic characters, so I hope she keeps getting roles like that one.

There are a handful of seasoned veterans among the cast, with Johnny Yong Bosch and Karen Strassman pulling off performances that are about what you’d expect from them... Which is a good thing, mind you. And even though she’s playing multiple second-string roles, like that weird parrot-thing, Wendee Lee hasn’t sounded this good since Cowboy Bebop.

So, right from the first episode, or just from a simple explanation of the plot, most viewers will give this show a dismissive wave and say that it sounds too predictable. “Okay, so they’re in love with each others’ best friends, but they’re going to wind up falling in love with each other, right?” I have literally sat and watched this with a first time viewer who said pretty much this, and then throw his hands up in defeat after about eight episodes of NOTHING going the way he predicted it would. And that’s part of the genius of this series. The characters are familiar, the tropes are familiar, the setting is familiar, but none of it is ever played the way you’d expect it to be played. Take any problem that the romantic comedy/harem genre may have, and Toradora either avoids it completely or turns it upside down.

For example, there’s the harem aspet. It’s a trend in way too many shows that nearly every female character in the cast will inexplicably fall head over heels in love with the male protagonist, ignoring all other options as not being main enough for them. This is one of the biggest issues I had with Sword Art Online and Clannad, but it’s not just a numbers issue... In Tiger and Bunny, the main character had ONE girl fawning over him, and it was still bugged me by being completely unexplained. In Toradora, yes, the three main girls have feelings for Ryuji, but there are a few things that set this series apart... First off, it’s only those three characters. Second, all three of these love interests are explained in story, either explicitly or with subtlety, and they’re all played out differently. And finally, Ryuji’s not the only eligible bachelor in the show... His friend Yusaku gets just as much attention, and hell, the first character in the named cast to get a significant other is one of their classmates!

Another example is that in most harem shows, particularly the ones adapted from dating games (Which Toradora thankfully wasn’t), the story seems disjointed, as each character gets their own arc while the main relationship just sits on the backburner until all the filler is done and the writers are damn well good and ready to just get to the point already. But Toradora’s story is, however, VERY tightly written. There is not a single story arc in the single freaking series that doesn’t somehow involve Taiga and Ryuji and their ever-developing dynamic, nor does the central plot ever get forgotten. The other three mains may occasionally take a backseat, but they never disappear from a story completely.

Hell, when you get down to it, all the little things that make up your typical romantic comedy are here... But they’re used in new, clever, often subversive ways that are never just there for the sake of being checked off of a tropes list. Everything that you’d expect to see in a show like this... From bathing suit shopping to the obligatory beach episode... Is executed in a way that’s fresh, unique, and important to the story. Hell, where most anime are happy to settle on a cafe or a haunted house for their culture fest episode, Toradora goes balls-out with a professional wrestling show, complete with faces, heels, an over-the-top script and choreographed in-ring action! We never see any characters in the bath, because no matter what a lot of other shows may think, no on screen conversation ever NEEDS to take place in the bath. There’s a little bit of fanservice, but it’s never gratuitous... Except for a dream that one of the side characters has right before the Christmas arc, which was funny enough to be excusable... And it’s offset by a heaping helping of manservice, often willingly supplied by the unnervingly confident Yusaku, and even then, it’s played entirely for laughs.

But if I had to pick out one thing that makes this series stand out over the tops of all the other rom-coms out there, it would be exactly that... Confidence. Toradora is one hundred percent confident in the quality of the material it has to offer, and unlike a lot of other shows that value enthusiasm over ability, it’s smart enough to know that it’s confidence is well founded. It never doubts itself, nor does it ever assume that YOU doubt it, and it never slows down or breaks it’s outstanding pace to try and convince you otherwise. It’s this confidence that gives Toradora it’s energy. Well, that, and the amazing soundtrack.

Toradora has an unwavering, dazzling energy just radiating from it at every moment of screen time. That energy never goes away, even during the more tear-jerking scenes, because it never screws around... Instead of pop culture references, Toradora casually rolls out references and metaphors related to it’s own universe. Where there are plenty of anime that fall into the trap of stopping their stories dead to show you backstory episodes you don’t care about for characters who are just going to fade into the background afterwards... His and Her Circumstances was particularly bad about this... Toradora doesn’t, because it knows that you’ll care about the characters anyway. It never does anything just because it feels like it should, nor does it ever show us anything just because we might want to see it. The only time it really slows down is towards the end, and it only does it then because it has one hell of a perfect post-credits ending to close on.

Toradora was originally released on a pair of undubbed DVDs by Sentai Filmworks, and while those DVDs were just fine and dandy... Once again, the sub is great all on it’s own... I would still highly recommend purchasing the DVD/Blu-Ray combo pack that was released last year by NIS America. It’s pricey, but it comes with a full color fan book and a generous helping of special features, including the cute and charming Hooray for Foodies mini-sodes. It also comes with a short video of some of the impressions that Taiga made Ami do, and a dubbed OVA episode about the magic of making bento boxes, but I’ll be honest, they were both kind of disappointing. The OVA wasn’t necessarily bad, but it would have dragged down the series if it had actually been included. You can also stream the entire series, in either language, on Crunchyroll!

Toradora isn’t just great, it’s glowing. With the exception of the animation, which is at the very least better than it has any right to be, there is nothing this series does wrong. At twenty five episodes long, it’s as fun to rewatch as any other show with half the episode count. The high rewatch quality doesn’t stop there, either, as the comedic and dramatic material are both so effective and so timeless that I still found myself constantly laughing and choking up after seven entire viewings. It takes some of the worst things about the romantic comedy and harem genres and proves just how amazing those things can become with a little bit of effort, focus, and tender loving care. I won’t say whether or not the characters found that mysterious ‘thing’ they were looking for, but I found what I was looking for... The best anime romantic comedy ever made. I give Toradora a 10/10.

Romantic Comedies are some of the most common stories in modern entertainment, there never seems to be a shortage of them. Naturally, the genre can often be stale, relying on the same old tired formula over and over again. Some try to change things up with peculiar or supernatural circumstances, but more often than not just come off gimmicky. But every once in a while a really good romantic comedy comes out that reminds people of the value of the genre. Toradora is definitely one of these.

The story follows two high school misfits, Ryuji Takasu and Taiga Aisaka, and their developing friendship. Ryuji is misunderstood ... by his schoolmates because of his intimidating appearance; in reality he is actually responsible nice guy (albeit certainly not a social butterfly). Taiga, on the other hand, despite her petite appearance is a real trouble child. She has a fierce and anti-social demeanor, and does not hesitate to put a beating to anyone who crosses her. These two are brought together because each has a crush on the other's best friend. They make an agreement to help one another win the hearts of their respective crushes. However, this is a lot harder done than said, as neither really has a clue about relationships. At the same time, they begin to find comfort in their makeshift friendship.

Admittedly, there is not anything particularly special about this set-up, and the story is actually quite predictable. You would have to be blind not to see how it ends from the moment Taiga and Ryuji meet. The funny thing is, though, none of that really matters. The real joy of Toradora lies in its presentation. Where other romantic comedies might rely on a quick gimmick to distinguish themselves from their kin, Toradora does not. What it does rely on, refreshingly enough, is quality writing and strong characterization.

Toradora has a nice balance of comedy and drama. The show can have you laughing one moment, then knock you down with hard hitting emotion the next. Silly misunderstandings, romantic rivalries, and other traits of the genre are utilized to develop characters in unexpected ways. Take for example the swimming contest between Taiga and her then rival Ami. It provided plenty of comedic moments that were amusing on their own, but also created a situation that further deepens Taiga and Ryuji's relationship as well. The way Toradora squeezes in character development at every opportunity is the key to its success. It turns what would otherwise be standard romantic comedy and school-life fair into something special.

The characters themselves, at first appearance, look like little more than a collection of tropes. Taiga is clearly a tsundere from the moment she appears, and there is not much that separates Ryuji from other protagonists. Taiga's best friend (Ryuji's crush) Minori is a hyperactive athlete; Ryuji's best friend (Taiga's crush) is an odd but popular student council member; and transfer student Ami serves as a rival to the tiny Taiga. Though they do not seem like anything special at first, they develop into well-rounded believable characters as the story progresses. Taiga's violent disposition becomes understandable as her numerous family problems are revealed; her tsudere tendencies are utilized convincingly to portray her as an aggressively guarded teenage girl. As energetic and weird as Minori is, she is more than just comedic relief, her hyperactive demeanor hides surprising depth. The two-faced Ami can come off as a bitch, but also has a side that is a sympathetic, and is remarkably well developed and interesting all on her own. While not as colorful in personality as the girls, Ryuji is an endearing lead whose presence never becomes bothersome. The rest of the cast is equally as likeable, though none shine as bright as the main cast.

Being in the slice-of-life genre, it is easy what to expect from Toradora visually. However, even here, the show delivers exceptionally well. Character designs are quite attractive; even though they are not particularly unconventional, there is a certain flair to them. The body language and facial expressions of each character is what brings them to life visually. Simlpy by the way they carry themselves and the way they move, it is easy to get a feel of who these characters are. Facial expressions are pivotal in conveying emotion, and it is clear Toradora's animators knew this, as they carefully handled the characters' exceptionally expressive faces to carry the subtlest of emotion.

Not to be outdone, the show's soundtrack is equally as impressive, if not even more so. While again not unconventional in the realm of slice-of-life anime, the music is magnificently composed. From the bubbly electrical pieces used in everyday school life scenes, to the fully orchestrated ones used in the show's emotional climaxes, every beat is a joy to listen to. This music is used masterfully, fitting the tone of every scene perfectly; becoming engraved with the emotion each contained. Even the transition into the charming J-pop ending themes is incredibly well done and memorable.

It is apparent that Toradora is not so much groundbreaking as it is incredibly well executed. It does not do anything especially innovative with its narrative, in fact, utilizing genre conventions. However, at the end of the day, such criticisms pale in comparison overwhelming merits of the show. It is inviting, funny, heartfelt, and overflowing with emotion. It easily stands proud among the best of its genre.

This is just too cute.
Oh just thinking about this series makes me want to get in a relationship and do some lovey dovey stuff. DAMN THE REALISTIC WORLD.
-Insert forever alone meme-

Good high school romantic comedies can be a lot of fun to watch. The bad ones, on the other hand, have the tendency to annoy viewers with tired clichés and are often neither romantic nor funny. Without a doubt, the anime title Toradora! falls into the first category. It not only contains some touching romance and hilarious comedy, but is also beautifully animated and cleverly scripted, making it a highly energetic and entertaining series. ...

Takasu Ryuuji dislikes the way his eyes look: menacing and rebellious. It is the first day of his second year in high school, and he is trying to change his appearance to match his kind personality. At school, Ryuuji bumps into a short girl who is known for bringing trouble, Aisaka Taiga. After a long turn of events, Taiga reveals that she likes Kitamura Yuusaku, one of Ryuuji’s few friends and Ryuuji then reciprocates by revealing to her that he likes Taiga’s friend, Kushieda Minori. They decide to make a pact in which Taiga will help Ryuuji confess to Minori if he becomes her “dog”.

The character designs on the whole are simple but attractive, and each each character's animation helps to communicate his or her personality: Ryuuji's slumped posture, Minori's exuberance, and Ami's haughty cool can be read equally well from their body language as from their dialogue. Far and away, the most visual sugar gets sprinkled on Aisaka Taiga; whether she be sleeping, toweling her hair, or using a doughnut as a halo, she looks fantastic.

Sound-wise, you have catchy opening and ending themes set alongside beautifully animated sequences. It's all a beautiful riot of colors and is extremely well-timed. The BGM is alright in my opinion; there's a few memorable pieces such several piano themes and guitar pieces that really compliment a few of scenes. They bring out the emotions of the characters and really strike the feeling home. Otherwise, the music didn't catch my attention too much. The voice acting is extremely well done, delivering the dialogues with all the right emotions.

I could go on and on about the characters but I'll try to keep it brief. The personalities and interactions of the characters really brings this entire show above the normal threshold for such a genre. Though they seem cookie-cutter in the beginning, it quickly changes as the story continues and they gain a level of depth and believability. You become so invested in their endeavors and become invested in their goals, especially in Ryūji and Taiga. The side characters are a little more predictable, but they each have their levels of depth that make the show enjoyable to watch

To put it simply, Toradora is a good anime. There's a great mix between comedy and romance, although sometimes the melodrama could be over the top if you're not used to it. The pacing of the story is done well and the cast of characters are charming and entertaining to watch. One gripe would probably be that the ending left a little more to be desired. It was a little out of the blue and for a second I was worried that the characters would make all the wrong choices but they pulled through in the end!

The people I've seen talk about Toradora! tend to get fixated on either half of the show, which is a horrible mistake. Taken as a whole, this work's honesty and humor paints a picture of high school romance and heartbreak that rings true. The loving, detailed visuals, laid back atmosphere and modest scope make the series a perfect introduction to the romance genre and a standout anime in its own right. No matter how angry it makes me at one moment, the next scene or episode has me singing its praises. In short, Toradora! is a lot like it's subject matter: In turns hilarious, rambling, confused, charming, and foolish, but ultimately a worthwhile and heartwarming experience.

Well, I'd better get back to my seat. The unmarried woman with her unmarried face is about to come to start the unmarried homeroom.

As we dash forward to chase our ideals, we may eventually realize that what we were chasing was beside us this whole time.

That is the basic premise that Toradora builds its story upon. Although Toradora is a rom com, the story line is not your typical rom com plot line. Our two main characters, Ryuji and Taiga, help each other get matched up with the other's friend. Furthermore, Taiga, for some reason, does not know how to take care of herself so it's up to Ryuji to make sure Taiga eats well and lives like a human. Obviously, it's inevitable that they will grow closer ... together. I enjoyed the fact that we don't have the main characters "coincidentally" encounter each other and develop feelings for one other that way. Instead, Toradora makes it so that we always see our couple together, scheming how they should get the guy/girl of their dreams.
As you begin watching the show, you may realize that it's mainly funny moments with Taiga and Ryuji and that the romance is meh. But as you move into the second half of Toradora, the comedic elements begin to take second wheel and the romantic elements take center stage. I assure that it's a great feels trip. If you haven't been rooting for a character at this point, the story will convince you to root for someone. I definitely would say that the second half of Toradora is the best part of the entire anime and what makes it endearing for so long.

In Toradora, we have Ryuji as the male lead who is often mistaken to be a goon but in fact, deep down, he is a very caring guy (who is also a clean freak). Taiga is our main female lead. Aptly nicknamed "Palmtop Tiger," she is someone who is not afraid to let her fists do the talking. For our "secondary" characters, we have Minori (Ryuji's crush), Kitamura (Taiga's crush), and Ami, a model who is an acquaintance of Kitamura. Although I label these three as "secondary" characters, they get ample screen time and a lot of development. This is another aspect that Toradora does well. The writers did not abandon them. Rather, Minori, Kitamura, and Ami are essential characters to the story but they don't take away our desire to see the developing chemistry between Taiga and Ryuji.
The only troubling aspect of Toradora is that at times, I found myself extremely frustrated because the characters can't either express themselves or seem oblivious to the feelings of others. Indeed, these are things that happen in real relationships, which makes Toradora very relatable, but since the anime is a rom com, this element doesn't mesh well with the genre.

The sound was fairly good. There were a few emotional scenes where the music helped bring out my emotions but other than that, the background music was alright. However, it was not intrusive in any way and was well-composed for the situation. The voice actors brought out the unique characteristics of each character and did a wonderful job.
I didn't quite like the opening and ending themes to Toradora. Although the beat of the first opening is pretty cool, I found the opening did not match the atmosphere of Toradora.

The artwork was good. There were some scenes where the colours were very rich and captured the mood really well. In general, Toradora leans on a vibrant colour palette. I felt that the character designs were a little simple. For example, Ami isn't drawn like a model as she should be so without telling you she's a model, you will think of her as just another student.

Although I don't think Toradora lived up to its hype, I enjoyed the anime. Since Taiga is the Queen of Tsunderes, you should have Toradora on your anime list (otherwise, she may come at night and hit you with her wooden katana). Even if you aren't a big Tsundere fan but still enjoy rom coms, you should have Toradora on your list because it is a very memorable anime.

I definitely would tell you to check out Toradora! Let me know what you liked or disliked about this anime. Was it over-hyped? Was the ending spot on? I would love to hear from you!

[Spoilers Mates] I have had my Toradora box set sitting on my shelf since 2012 or 13. I've had the VN for the PSP sitting around for years too, I have no idea why it took me so long to watch and finish this amazing show but god damn was it worth it.

Now with the story let me start off by saying I was really impressed with the pacing, romance and drama in the story. I mean, it was unfortunately too predictable for me however that did not stop it from being great. I liked that no matter what episode I was watching there ... was always a sense of joy and a little bit of wonder. I'd always be thinking to myself "Hmm, I wonder what antics Ryuji and Taiga are going to try to get closer to the ones they allegedly love." Now, there were numerous moments that I was disappointed about. From the first or second episode when Taiga confesses and gets friend-zoned by Yuusaku it's a dead give away from her speech about Ryuji that she may have already fallen for him. I was disappointed about that because I felt that it was too early for that to be established. Additional moments that made it predictable and a bit less enjoyable or less suspenseful for me was that after Ryuji's mother calls Taiga family, and lastly, more importantly is how they both go so far to support each others unrequited love.

Moving on from the story the artwork and most character designs are pretty good, especially for it's time. I think the only character's whose character designs I didn't care for was Ryuji. I'm not going to complain to much though because his character was supposed to be the delinquent type and the eyes, giving him such evil looking eyes and messy-ish hair work in that sense. Soundtrack... meh, only one good song that stood out for me and that was the track played when something sad or emotional was occurring. I'm a sucker for piano songs.

Characters were pretty amazing for the most part! I liked the relationships between the main and supporting characters, I felt like no characters were wasted. Even the background characters like Ryuji's friends. It was like every character had a purpose in the show and that's something I always like to see. Characters being put to good use even if they are people you don't really care about.

Toradora! was totally an enjoyable experience for me in some sense. I would recommend it to those who are more or less new to romance series. This is because as I mentioned earlier, it's really predictable and that easy predictability can really take away the enjoyment of the show.

Overall I have to give Toradora! 8/10 because while the story wasn't it's strong point the bond between the characters is something that makes it greater!

Toradora! is one of those animes that immediately pop into my mind when someone asks me for a rom/com recommendation. It's simply a must-watch if you're a fan of rom/com. Even if you aren't a typical watcher of these kinds of shows, Toradora! is definitely a great first step into that world.

STORY:
Toradora! follows a typical plot: a guy named Takasu Ryuuji has a crush on a girl, who just happens to be his neighbor's best friend. Coincidentally, the neighbor, Aisaka Taiga, has a crush on Takasu's best friend, Yuusaka Kitamura. The two team up and try to help each other get their targets through ... their adventures. But as the story introduces more characters and progresses from its light-hearted comedy to its heavy drama, the story evolves from its cliche'd plot and takes on a much deeper story. And while many animes are able to conduct such a transition, Toradora! is one that is able to do so subtly and beautifully.
10/10.

ART:
I'm not particularly picky about the art for animes, and to be completely honest, there's nothing special about the art for Toradora!. But it's definitely visually appealing and is well done. The only issue I had was he striking similarity between Kawashima Ami and the Student Countil President. The two were so similar I constantly confused one for the other when they were both introduced. Other than that, I thought the art was great.
9/10.

SOUND:
When an anime has a great OP, I never skip it for each episode. Unfortunately, that didn't happen with Toradora!. While the first OP was quite catchy when I first heard it, it soon became something I just skipped to get to the show. Generally, the music was nothing special, especially during the light-hearted scenes. But the more touching moments of the anime had wonderful music that practically drove me to tears. Many dramatic scenes with crying characters or fights sent shivers done my spine as my vision started to blur in front of the screen. Such music was simply nicely fit into such moments and I couldn't describe it any other way.
10/10.

CHARACTER:
The characters at first appear to be two dimensional. But they have a lot more to them later when the story really hits the dramatic point. At that point, a lot of the characters' different sides and hidden desires are revealed and each changing angle is so interesting. I can't go into too much detail without spoiling the story, so unfortunately I cannot substantiate my view. The characters are all lovable with their quirks and moments, especially Aisaka Taiga. She was by far my favorite character throughout the whole anime.
9/10.

ENJOYMENT:
With the unique execution and traversal of such an cliche'd story, I was well caught off-guard with such a emotional ride. The music and the story just blended together to create something that was truly amazing. I cried plenty and was hungry for more after I finished the series. It got so bad that afterwards, I went into a state of depression because I couldn't find anything like Toradora!
Toradora! definitely remains as one of the animes at the top of my list.

*sigh*

You know, I’m starting to lose all hope when it comes to romance / slice of life anime as they tend to either go in a certain way: they try to be outrageously funny and/or dramatic but it ends up being only one or the other and I’m left cold feeling that have doing nothing remarkable or distinctive to make me care about the characters, what they go through and the story as a whole and if you wondered what title made me like this, let’s say that I’m all out of LOVE for this genre. But, then, there’s Toradora and I have heard mixed ... things about the series (few either good than bad) but I don’t have the biggest expectations for the show.

Despite Ryuji Takasu’s gentle personality, his eyes make him look like an intimidating delinquent. Class rearrangements on his second high school year put him together with his best friend, Yusaku Kitamura, and his hidden crush, Minori Kushieda. Along with these two comes Kushieda’s best friend, Taiga Aisaka. Her delicate appearance contrasts with her brutal personality. Secretly in love with Kitamura, Taiga agrees to help Ryuji with his love interest as long as he helps her get closer to hers.

Now, as first it may seem like this is going to be some typical love story where the main guy tries to get with this girl by the help of the girl’s said friend and that said friend wants to hook up with the main guy’s best friend and then it turns out that those two might fall in love with each other. BUT…..it actually ends up being more than that. The show illustrates that love is a complicated thing and if something comes crumbling down, no one is going to be left unscathed emotionally, no matter how well you try to hide it. Originally, I was drawn by the comedic aspects of the show as I did had myself a great laugh throughout the earlier episodes but once it gets into the dramatic episodes later on, I was hooked and invested in knowing how the characters will progress throughout. One aspect of the show never overshadowed the other as both the comedy and drama are rightfully balanced without a hint of overexerted awkwardness in the writing.

I really appreciated how the characters in the show remain to be interesting and likable despite being some clichéd character-types at first but they are portrayed as realistic characters and the show equally get in-depth with them as the show goes on. At first, I thought Taiga was just going that annoying tsundere type that I loathe in anime so much, but eventually, she turns out to be an endearing character and reasons why she is what she is (i.e. coming from a broken home, parents don’t give a damn) and how she does stand up for her friends various times and is straight to the point honest. Ryuuji is somebody that isn’t a spineless male lead nor an off-the-wall perverted idiot lead, but a level-headed genuine character that doesn’t come off as Gary Stu-ish or manufactured as he does have his inner struggles to challenge through. Yusaku, to me, can be often funny and OK but he wasn’t really that important of a character to me to get fully invested but he does have a moment in that in the latter half of the series. But the ones to get me fully invested are Minori and Ami. For Minori, she does seems like the energetic best friend character with a nice girl personality that I really did like at first but she really progresses from that as she show signs of her not confronting her true feelings that she seems like a coward even though she does care for her friends. Ami on the other hand, I never would have expect to like someone as her being a bitch-in-sheep’s clothing character but honestly she wants more in friends than just having followers and admirers and while often she does pick on Taiga, she does care if anything were to happen to her.


J.C. Staff animated this production and it was a great effort from their part. However, this is nothing I would call new but more of the standard fare I expect from them as the artwork is gorgeous and the movement is performed smoothly and fluid within the context of the show. Character designs are also much to the standard of many anime characters but it is nothing over-the-top or fan service related but manageable.

For the music portion, “Pre-Parade”, the 1st opening theme performed by the main three female leads (Rie Kugimiya, Yui Horie, and Eri Kitamura) does set the mood for the series’ first half and I got to say, this is a decent track with some small flaws in it like it does sound like it’s over-produced in some areas but I actually like the track enough to not skip it. The 2nd opening theme, “silky heart”, also appropriately set the tone during the latter half of the series remarkably acceptable. The rest of the music delivers the dramatic moments spot-on as did the ending themes, “Vanilla Salt” and “Orange”, which sounds like ingredients for a cake than a song.

Now when I say this show was a surprise to me being good, there is also another surprise.


THIS SHOW ACTUALLY HAS AN ENGLISH DUB!!!!


No, really. This show is licensed by NIS America and normally they do sub-only anime releases and this is their first English dub release and also with the dub being done by Bang Zoom Entertainment and with director Alex Von David on the helm. I’m also proud to say that this is a damn good—no, a damn great dub!! Mainly, it’s because BZ is doing a slice-of-life show for once since recently they have only been dubbing action anime titles for some time and I think the dub shows off the VA’s acting range a bit more. Erik Scott Kimerer and Cassandra Lee Morris give out great performances as Ryuuji and Taiga. Johnny Yong Bosch was rather fine as Yusaka, usually the standard from him but he did his part exceptionally. Personally I think the standouts goes to both Christine Marie Cabanos as Minori and Erika Harlacher as Ami. Cabanos unquestionably delivers more to her acting range as Minori during the dramatic moments as well as her comedic scenes. Most of her comedic scenes did felt like a preview of what to see her as Mako in Kill La Kill (which I’m dying to see in the English dub, BTW). Harlacher sounds very natural as Ami, maintaining both the bitchiness and reasonableness in the character without feeling too overbearing or over the top and this is practically the actress’ best role yet.

FINAL VERDICT: Toradora is a complete surprise from me. Here I was expecting to be some run of the mill cliché romance anime but I got something more from this. Everything from the characters, the basic storyline and the soundtrack was executed well despite being plain on paper. Has this made me look at slice of life romantic anime in a different light? Maybe. This show gave me hope for this genre of anime and I hope future titles can learn from this show and how to make me care for the story, the characters and how they’re able to manage that. Toradora, you are definitely a title that I recommend to people. I should’ve never doubted you.

Just from reading the synopsis and glancing over a few of the scores this anime received, I decided not to watch to it. One day I was in the mood for a romance and decided to check out Toradora! again, this time reading through several of the reviews. And, in all honesty, if I hadn't, I probably would have dropped the anime after the first few episodes. Yet, the promises that it would get a lot better by around episode six kept me watching. That, plus the fact that so many of the reviewers like it so much. It was also said to be similar ... to Lovely Complex, which it wasn't. At all.

Story/Characters;

It goes like this: Meet cute, crazy stuff, they work together and develop a sort of abusive friendship, then a lot, lot, lot of crazy stuff happens, not just with the two main characters, but also with the majority of the supporting characters. This anime makes sure to focus on everyone in the anime -- and nobody in class 2-C seems to have a boring life.

A lot of people seemed to rate this anime lower than they would have liked to due to predictability. If that is something that turns you off, then in my opinion, you should totally watch this anime. It was one of the least predictable animes I have ever watched. Sure, you think you know what is going to happen (and what obviously is supposed to happen) at the start, but then everything goes haywire and you are left with several different options. And all of them have a very, very likely chance of being correct. Until the very end, each option is given enough supporting evidence to be proven a valid guess. I promise you, it is very unlikely that you will know what will happen next in this story. If anything, you will be dying to know or pissed off because all of your assumptions were incorrect.

Now, I didn't like the story of this anime so much. Although it seemed obvious that they will be happiest together, I feel like Taiga and Ryuuji are an odd couple. Taiga is pretty abusive towards Ryuuji throughout the show, and a lot of the time I felt like he deserved better. They are both pretty selfish characters in their own way, as well. I never felt like they really belonged together. They seemed to be perfect best friends for each other, but no more than that. While watching the show, I really did get the sense of a father/daughter relationship between them, instead of two classmates and peers. That didn't really appeal to me.

Most romantic animes really let you see inside the characters' heads and into their hearts. This show doesn't do that. At the end, you will find that there is a lot that you didn't know about the characters -- things that could have completely changed your feelings about the show had they been introduced earlier. Instead of feeling like someone watching the lives of these characters play out before you, you almost just feel like an invisible person sitting in their classrooms and sometimes following the characters around. Like a stalker. Not a fan of the show, but a stalker. Although that does sound very nice, it does help you feel like you are a part of the characters' lives. You learn things just as slowly as any involved fellow classmate would.

Now for a hardcore romance fan like myself, this story like may seem very tedious and hard to get through, for the romantic progression is very slow. It's there, but it is dragging along to the point where you may feel like skipping a few episodes in order to find out if the pace will ever speed up. I am here to tell you that it does. For about the last five or six episodes, it does. And what you get in those last episodes isn't really enough to endure for. For those who love humor, I didn't really feel like this show was great for that either. I didn't really find myself laughing a lot. Then again, that may just be because everything else is so consuming that I didn't really pay attention to any possible humor.

Now, the characters in this show are pretty...amazing, to say the least. They all of have depth and each one could easily have at least a mediocre level anime set around them. Each character is very important to the show, as you will see if you watch it. They take up some screen time, but because of the time and effort put into their character development, that screen time is very enjoyable to watch. I was never frustrated when episodes focused on another character more often than Taiga and Ryuuji. Each character also has a nice air of mystery around them, which I feel added to the show's overall enjoyability.

While many people say that this is one of the best animes that they have ever watched, I disagree. Surely it is memorable because of how original it is and because of the ending, but not because I was blown away by it. The ending wasn't enough to make up for the other 20 or so episodes.

Art/Sound;

The art in Toradora! was pretty unique. It's memorable for being different, just like the rest of the show. The coloring is pretty arrogant, but very eye-catching. The action scenes are drawn very well, though. They were very good about keeping proportions throughout the show. Now, while things were accurate, all of the detail seemed to be focused on the eyes of the characters -- which were some of the best I have ever seen. Although at times the eyes just seemed to take over their entire face, I didn't find it to be too distracting. The facial expressions were amazing as well. You could really feel what the character's felt just by looking at their intense and masterfully drawn expressions.

I did love the music for the anime, though. Both the EDs and the OPs were very nice. I believe that I will be listening to them for quite some time. I also really liked the fact that the voice actors sang the songs. It helped me really connect to the show.

Conclusion;

I wouldn't recommend this to a friend, but I wouldn't tell them it would be a waste of their time to watch it if they felt like it. I don't feel like this anime held up to all the astounding reviews it had, but it also didn't hold up for all the weak points other reviewers suggested, in my mind. It is a very memorable show, but only because it is different and what you think will happen doesn't really happens -- this show really manages to shock you very frequently. This show is a lot more about friendship than it is about romance, in my opinion.

Should I watch it?;

If you are in the mood for a dramatic romance, or a hysterical romantic comedy, that has a predictable plot line and focuses on the ups and downs of one relationship and lets you see into the hearts of the characters -- a show that talks about how high school life fits into a romance, one that has a nice shoujo art style and really helps you feel for the characters, I suggest you find something else. On the other hand, if you want to watch a nice coming-of-age story, one that deals with friendship a lot more than it does romance, one that focuses on the difficulties of finding and accepting yourself while still pleasing others, and is about finding those that mean a lot to you and filling a void in your life -- one that has a not-so-normal couple and a lot of love possibilities (and a lot of possibility in general), one that gives each character a lot of depth, mystery, and some adequate screen time, and one that makes you feel like a part of the story and is a pretty memorable tale, then this is for you.

“If you trip while running down a hallway, you’ll get a nosebleed. If you trip in life, you’ll cry.
Minori Kushieda Toradora.

Toradora is a special anime for me. It was not of the two anime that introduced me to the rom-com genre back in 2012 the other one being Clannad but it was the first romcom anime that I ever loved. I loved it so much that when I eventually started to buy animes DVDs back in 2015 Toradora was the third anime I purchased. From that point on I re-watched Toradora least 2 to 3 times per year and I still love it ... even if it had some flaws that I started to notice on my last re-watch of it. Now unlike Clannad where my opinion of that show worst as years went on to a point, I haven’t touched my Season 1 and After Story DVD sets for almost a year thanks to me having a low value of the series due to it serious killing flaws. My opinion on Toradora has stayed positive to this day despite its minor flaws I still think Toradora is the best modern romcom anime to ever come out.
So what made Toradora so special.
Why do I still love this show to this day?
Well let's find out, shall we?

The story follows Ryuji Takasu who is getting ready for his second year at high school. Despite being an overall nice guy he has a mistaking reputation for looking like a delinquent thanks to he evil looking eyes as well as his facial structure looking like a young yakuza member rather than a high school student. His best friend Yuusaku as well his crush Minori (whom he is too bashful to approach) are the only two people who actually don’t mind his evil looking eye appearance. Soon by complete accident, he bumps into a main female lead and tsundere Taiga Aisaka aka the Palmtop Tiger.

After an accidental first encounter that ends with Taiga KO-ing him in the face, Ryuuji finds out at the end of the school day that Taiga has put a love letter to Kitamura (whom she has a crush on but is too bashful to approach) in his bag by accident. This leads to Taiga breaking into his house that night to retrieve the letter by killing him with a bamboo sword only to discover that she forgot to put the letter in the envelope and has inadvertently outed her crush on Kitamura to Ryuuji.
After much ado and a few sword-blows, Ryuuji and Taiga strike a tenuous deal to use their positions as The Best Friends to help each other bag their respective crushes.

Now the story of Toradora may be very simple in nature but the execution is downright amazing.
Right out the bat, the show makes a great first impression as the first episode does a wonderful job at establishing the setting, tone, characters, and themes of the show. The show also knows what it wants as it says true to its roots as a slice of life, drama romcom series without being something that is not.
The show does a brilliant job of exploring the themes and topics of running away, true love, being your true self, breaking your shell and it does them all great.
The show also does a great job at keeping the audience with all the story events that happen in the show by having great writing and for the most part great overall pacing.

The characters in Toradora are all fantastic.
Ryuji is a great male lead. He may appear as this generic delinquent who hates everyone with that Yakuza look but he’s actually a nice and friendly guy who care for others. He also an obsessive neat freak where he doesn’t like messy houses and he would go out of his way to clean everything that he can. The best example of this was when Ryuji enters Taiga house for the first time. Despite Ryuiji having great personality traits he’s is a well-developed character who has great character chemistry with the cast especially Taiga.

Taiga despite being the queen of tsundere is actually a pretty great character. From start to finish I liked her character development as her interactions towards the rest of the cast. She may appear as this Lousie and Shana but unlike Lousie and at times Shana where they are tsundere for the sake for it Taiga’s tsundere behaviour rarely mirror her true feelings.
She may not be for everyone but if you can pass her tsundere side you will start to see how humanly flawed Taiga is as a person.

If I had to pick my favourite character in Toradora it would be Minori.
She is a sweet and upbeat person who loves to keep everybody happy but there’s a lot than that. In order for her to cope with own internal struggles and loneliness, she plays softball as well as working on a series of part-time jobs. Her character development in the series was great and I really loved every scene that she’s was in. Overall brilliant character.

Now we have Kitamura Taiga crush and Ryuji best friend. Not gonna lie I thought I Kitamaru was pretty bland in the beginning as he just came as this typical smart guy chararters. Thankfully he does become a much better character as the series as he had a great character arc that was well told and it had a satisfying conclusion.

Finally, we have Ami who is a childhood friend of Kitamura who before transferring schools, she was a fashion designer.
She may start off as this typical fan-service character but there is much more to her. In school, she plays a facade where she behaves as this cute and ditzy girl but she’s actually a mean and spoiled bitch. I honestly really loved this character. She’s probably my second favourite character in the show only losing to Minori. She is just is a joy to watch every-time she was on screen especially in the end of her character arc where she confronts the guy who takes pictures of her by smashing his camera while giving that devious look to him.

The side characters are good for what they were but apart from Yuri and Sumire the side characters are not as memorable as the mains.

I could go on and on how great this anime is sadly I have to talk about the show’s flaws because there are only two of them.

For starters, I didn’t like the portrayal of Ryuji mom where she doesn’t really behave an adult figure where instead of being a prideful or strick mother she often behaves like a kid who lazy and constantly have parties while the child always picks up all the things for them. Am not saying that Adults cannot have any fun whatsoever because I believe that all adults should have fun when are not working but Ryuji mother doesn’t feel like a responsible mother at all. As much I liked how Ryuji mother aspects Taiga as a family member she doesn’t really set any rules or do anything that a mother should do.

The second and final minor flaw is its predictable nature. Personally, I don’t mind if a show is predictable in nature because as long if it’s written well I can completely ignore its predictable nature and thankfully Toradora, for the most part, is a great ride that I enjoyed even it’s predictable. However if you a person who is not a fan of predictable stories than this show will most likely won’t like this show especially when certain scenes in Toradora actually highlight the end of the show before you even get there.

Other than the two minor flaws which I just mentioned the story and characters in Toradora was amazing.

J.C Staff is known to have great art in the shows that the make and Toradora is no different.
The background scenery is very appealing to look at thanks to smooth soft colour pallet. The charterers for both the main and supporting were aagreat looking.
As for the actual animation itself, I thought it was very good and well handled. Sure the beginning the animation is basic stuff but when we get to the actual action and emotional scenes of the series the animation really shines. The best examples of this were Taiga vs Sumire fight in episode 16 to Taiga emotional breakdown in episode 19.
Fantastic job J.C Staff

The soundtrack for Toradora is fantastic and nicely composed. I know not many people were a not fan of the soundtrack and I can understand they are coming from but I thought the soundtrack for Toradora was well made as it perfectly captures the tone and setting of Toradora perfectly. One of the song track Lost my Pieces from Toradora is not only my favourite track from Toradora but it’s also my second favourite track piece from a romance only losing to Always be With You from Kodocha.

Some of my other favourite tracks include Startup, Magic of Love, Morning Glory, Happy Monday and Ready Steady Go. They are just brilliant tracks overall.

All the opening and endings themes in Toradora are great in their own ways and they are extremely catchy.

Now for sub vs dub.
I only saw the sub twice back in 2012 but I remember it being great filled with talented Seiyuus. However, as soon as I put in DVD disc one for Toradora as well watching the first couple of episodes dubbed I immediately decided to never touch the sub again. Don’t get me wrong the sub is great but the dub was a special case of awesomeness. Out of all the romcom anime that I have seen Toradora has the best English dub that I have seen from a romcom anime. I was blown away by how awesome the dub was as every single voice actor and I mean every single one did a fantastic job voicing their respective characters. The one thing that the Toradora dub had over the sub is how realistic the acting was. Just a well-made and directed dub overall.

Toradora is a perfect example of a modern romcom anime done right. The story is well written, theme exploration is masterful, the characters are wonderful in their own ways, the visuals were nice, the soundtrack was great and the English dub was perfect.

Toradora is not only the best modern romcom anime to ever come out it’s but it’s also my third favourite romcom anime period. The show may not be for everyone but for those who adored the series such we can get past its predictable nature and flaws we see a show that is beautiful and heartwarming.
If you’re looking for a great romcom anime that has great characters and amazing themes exploration then I recommend Toradora.
It is a anime that will forerver stay in my elite four of romcom anime.

First of all, if you're into Romantic Genres, you'll LOVE this, if you like School Life Themes, you'll LOVE THIS, in fact if you like anything you'll LOVE TORADORA!(Contains heavy Spoilers, not reccomended to read if you haven't watched it)

ToraDora has a very interesting story, probably the reason why I keep on watching it, I love it. Taiga loves Kitamura(which is Ryuuji's Friend) while Ryuuji loves Minorin(Taiga's friend) sound simple? as if, Both Taiga and Ryuuji really doesn't feel comfortable talking to the people they like so they decide to both help each other. That's the story in a nutshell, but what makes the story ... so epic is how they develop their feelings for each other. The story is indeed a bit cliche however, how they develop it is interesting. The fact that they go from accomplice to lovers is what I found very outstanding. They go through life not noticing that the person they love is actually just right beside them. Indeed a very Interesting Story. I have got to say that the ending is also very fitting and I liked it very much!

I got nothing more to say to the art apart from it's decent, I liked the way they drew everyone, it's brilliant and I couldn't wish for anything more. Although to be honest with you, Ryuuji doesn't look THAT scary =), other than that, it's good.

Sound, probably the only thing I don't like about ToraDora, I don't hate it, it's just not my cup of tea. However, even if I didn't like the sound, it is very fitting, the cute atmosphere that the opening gives is good.

Characters, Aside from the storyline the characters plays a vital point in the story itself, if it wasn't for the characters it wouldn't be such a good anime.

Ryuuji is what you would call scary, yet very admirable inside, he's easily misunderstood because of his appearance. Looks can be deceiving. He is caring and helped taiga "survive" everyday life by giving her comfort and food. He also want to make Taiga very happy, which is probably the reason why I liked this character. She helps her with her communication difficulties and even helped her make decisions that she would probably never done herself. She Likes Minorin, and tries very hard, however he is too shy to express his feelings.

Taiga is what you would call Tsundere - I.E. a violent human outside yet in the inside is a caring girl. She is very interesting in the fact that she can't seem to do anything right! she needs ryuuji(and was shown through the last few episodes of the anime itself) to live life. She Likes Kitamura to the point where she can barely talk to him. She also has a very special relationship with Ryuuji, the fact that he takes care of her is a special bond between Taiga and Ryuuji. She wants Ryuuji to be Happy by confessing to Minoring, however she regrets that because deep inside she likes Ryuuji, she cries and regrets. She actually Loves Ryuuji and in fact looking back at it now she loved Ryuuji from the start.

Kitamura, is also yet another interesting character, he doesn't dislike Taiga and in fact he got rejected by Taiga before. He likes the Student Council president very much that he'd actually die for her. He is very caring and doesn't want to hurt anybody. But he'd do anything for his Love, to the extreme point.

Minorin, is probably my favourite character, she is sweet, air headed but very cunning, she knows taiga the most in the series and that fact is vital to the ending of the story itself. She blows off fear by being very lively, that's one of the reason why Ryuuji liked her. She doesn't like anyone though she reveals that she liked Ryuuji in the end however she thinks that Taiga is what best for Ryuuji, she sacrificed her love for her friend, I really loved Minorin.

Ami, is a very dark and distinct character that works behind the scenes most of the time. She is afraid to show her true colours as she wants people to believe that she's actually evil inside, she has show her true colours on the main characters. She goes through her life as a model, she has a stalker, but she couldn't find the courage to stand up for herself, instead Ryuuji helped her to face her fear. She, only hinted, loves Ryuuji because of the fact that Ryuuji would like her for what she is and not for what she isn't. She is indeed an interesting character.

The Enjoyment of the show is 100% 100/10. I love it, in fact it took me less than 24 hours to actually watch the whole show, that's how much I love it. The Comedy and the Romance scene are very well put, if I was a bit more emotional I'd have cried through the series. Cry laughing and Cry sad. I would've also cried on how I wanted so much more of ToraDora, but that's how it is.

Overall a very outstanding anime. Reccomended!