Anime 4224 Toradora Reviews Filter Check 2

The premise of the show is pretty hard to believe. After an accidental meeting involving two violent outbursts, Taiga Aisaka and Ryuuji Takasu make an agreement to help one another pursue their respective love interests, Kitamura and Kushieda, who also happen to be Ryuuji and Taiga's mutual friends. It's the stockholm syndrome trope, create a situation in which the two main characters are forced to spend large amounts of time together and wait for them to fall in love. High school ‘contracts’ are an object of fiction, much like the accidentally overheard conversations that drive most of the character development. People do overhear things occasionally, ... but when the relationship is progressed entirely through cliches, it’s pretty hard to take it seriously.

However, after a rocky beginning I actually began to enjoy watching Taiga and Ryuuji. Ryuuji is more functional than most adults, doing all the cooking and cleaning for his mom who comes home late from her job as a cocktail waitress and sleeps most of the day. Ryuuji finds another dependent in Taiga, whom he feeds and launders for on a daily basis. He discovers her living amongst dirty dishes and garbage after entering her unlocked apartment to wake her up and make her breakfast. What’s important here is Ryuuji isn’t just a caretaker to Taiga, he represents something she’s never had, a person who genuinely cares about her and accepts her for who she is. He's a surrogate parent, which will be incredibly significant as we learn more of her backstory. He doesn’t complain that Taiga’s a mess, he just helps her pick it up and she slowly improves. This relationship does have some kind of benefit for Ryuuji as well, though it's far from ideal for him.

He seems to derive enjoyment from taking care of the dysfunctional Taiga, and given his relationship with his mother, who's equally bad at taking care of herself, it's very understandable that he's okay with it, he's used to it after all. But not only is their relationship is entirely one-sided, Ryuuji deals with being verbally and physically abused by Taiga constantly, aggression can definitely be attractive in a girl, but there's a difference between being aggressive and abusive. As part of their agreement, Taiga calls him a dog and commands him to do whatever she wishes... and he agrees. I guess he just really, REALLY wants Kushieda, and somehow plotting schemes with the diminutive and violent Taiga seems a better idea to him than simply talking to somebody he's already friends with. It's not like Kushieda's distant with him either, she bubbly, confident, and provides Ryuuji multiple opportunities to get closer to her, hell, they get locked in a storage room together for hours. At this point the overbearing use of cliches started to make me believe Toradora! was a satire, but given the amount of melodrama I'm pretty sure that it's takes its romance seriously. However, it’s important to remember that it’s Kushieda he’s interested in, so it’s not like the show is trying to force TaigaxRyuuji down your throat, they’re simply spending time together, so Ryuuji maintaining Kushieda as a love interest helps the story feel somewhat believable, despite Taiga’s abuse.

As the plot continues to carve its destructive path, Ami is introduced, and with her, more opportunities for "contract" agreements that force characters to be in the same place together despite their apparent misgivings. I'm not sure if Ryuuji is aware that he isn't legally bound by the results of immature high school contests. In any case, the writers continue to create contrived situations that force character interactions that would not otherwise happen.

I liked both Ryuuji and Taiga, despite the unbelievable circumstances that make up their character development. I stated before Ryuuji enjoys cooking and cleaning and is very good at both of them, this detail is the precipitating factor for most of their interactions. Taiga is pretty helpless when it comes to household tasks and Ryuuji provides those services to her. Despite the horribly unrealistic circumstances I felt that Taiga and Ryuuji actually acted in reasonable ways for the most part. Taiga beats Ryuuji frequently but it's clear that she actually does like spending time with him. They're both laughably bad at pursuing their romantic interest but that's pretty typical of high schoolers so it's hardly surprising.

Kushieda is obnoxiously positive. She shares many traits with Ryuuji including domestic competence and is very hard working. I'm sure you've all encountered that person in high school who magically balanced multiple jobs, sports, and school, all while staying unusually cheery. Most of the time she was on screen I just found her really annoying, she's just WAY too positive, there is such a thing. I don't think she was necessarily a bad character, just not the type of character I liked and I wasn't remotely invested in her. I didn't care if Ryuuji made in success in pursuing her because 1. Taiga the obvious romantic interest so you know that nothing's going to happen anyway, and 2. because Ryuuji was such an idiot when it came to trying to win her over that I wanted him to fail. She also becomes the source of more forced drama later on, making it even harder to take seriously and threatening to ruin ending.

Kitamura is the man. At first you get the impression that he's the stereotypical "obvlivious anime male highschool student" but he has his own agenda, and it plays out in spectacular fashion. You have not seen a love confession until you’ve seen Kitamura. To be fair, his arc’s only purpose is to help make TaigaxRyuuji a thing, it also results in a fantastic sword fight, but he’s still pretty funny to watch.

Kawashima is introduced later and is absolutely fantastic. She’s far more mature than the rest of the cast due to growing up as a model in the “adult” world, but is stunted in some ways by her air of superiority. Her development was the best part of the show and creates some of the only believable drama between characters. Her conversations with Ryuuji are similarly realistic, they are rarely on the same page but it’s clear to the audience what she’s trying to tell him, which makes their interactions much easier to understand, why Kawashima finds Ryuuji interesting etc.

The biggest mark against the show is that it’s totally drowned in melodrama. Taiga overreacts in ways the get old fast, and the forced pathos ruins the genuinely emotional moments in the show. I need to emphasize this, there were truly some great emotional moments. The Christmas episode with the bear costume (you’ll know it when you see it) [i]almost[/i] caused me to shed a tear, a feat that only Grave of the Fireflies is capable of, but because of the melodrama surrounding most of the show, these scenes lose their effect. Of course, there’s also the incredibly contrived situations (See accidentally overheard conversations/confessions) that bring these scenes about, which doesn’t help.

The production quality was fairly good, I liked the character designs and the animation quality was impressive at times and never bad. Nothing else about its artwork or animation stood out but that’s not terrible in a romcom. The OST was kind of forgettable but does add a lot to the emotion in certain scenes and I wasn’t a fan of the OP/EDs.

Toradora! certainly isn’t bad. Despite its issues it delivers an heartfelt romance with well-defined characters, but the frustration with its asinine story telling was enough to outweigh most of the positive aspects. If you like melodrama, you’ll probably like Toradora!.

One final note, the ending is talked about incessantly, and it is very good. Many complain that it was rushed and didn't explain things well enough, but if you pay attention to the character’s values and motivations, you shouldn’t need the writers to spoon feed you Taiga’s reasons for why she did what she did. Just make sure you watch the last episode all the way through, past the credits and everything.

Fairly enjoyable but not really cutting edge.


Overall - 6/10

I personally found Toradora to be somewhat enjoyable to watch but not exactly outstanding. My biggest gripe was the use of Kugimiya Rie, coupled with J.C.Staff being the producer, which really dampened the potential impact this series.

For people not very informed, Kugimiya Rie has played the role of a tsundere with fairly similar personalities in 4 different anime works (Shana, Zero no Tsukaima, Hayate no Gotoku, Zettai Karen Children). I liked the use of a deeper, lower tone for Taiga and I acknowledge this, but I simply found the (over) use of Rie rather stifling.


Story ... - 6/10

A fairly normal high school setting which sets the stage for the intriguing characters to work on. The story is really character-driven and while the characters do a great job, the background course of events are less than stellar, like as if a B-rate movie writer did it. The events of the Cultural Festival, and the Ski Trip were really touching, and that made me almost raise the rating to 7. However, the pacing seems to drag on over the winter period but feels rather rushed towards the end with bits and pieces missing. I just didn't feel really satisfied with this.


Character - 8/10

I really enjoyed the cast and the way they transformed over the course of the series. We get given characters with rather eccentric personalities which work nicely with everyone else. There is good coverage of the thoughts, feelings and the transformation that occurs in the main leads and that is really pleasing to see. I would personally liked to have seen more airtime for Ami's personality growth as she's probably the deepest person in the entire cast, and the "answer" to her was really rushed. Overall a really great, and enjoyable cast.

The Seiyuu for Ryuuj/Nojima Hirofumi put in a solid performance but my pick of the lot is Minorin/Horie Yui who really brought up Minorin's eccentricity and hyperactivity in an excellent fashion. My gripe with Taiga has already been mentioned.


Sound - 7/10

Nothing fancy in the BGM but I really loved the OP themes. The two OPs really conveyed the mood of the story as it changed from one to another. The timing in which OP2 was introduced was perfect.


Enjoyment - 6/10

My enjoyment in Toradora was closely linked with the story. Unfortunately, despite the characters which gave me great joy worthy of an 8, the story felt really dragged out, so at the end of it all I feel it's a mildly enjoying show overall, but not one where my mind would get totally transfixed to.


Art and Animation - 6/10

Fairly good and consistent. It's no KyoAni but does the job.

Here is the story. The hot tempered girl is in love with the class rep. And the scary guy is head over heals for his odd, softball playing classmate. Both Taiga and Ryuj are unable to convey their feelings to the person they have feeling for. Therefore, they team up and try to fix their problems together. As if that isn't enough, a secretive demon like actress is thrown into the mix. Many hilarious and troubling events take place so that you end up falling in love with Toradora before it ends. It's cute, a good laugh, and well animated. In every category it's a ... very enjoyable watch! I'd recommend it to everyone that likes a high school story about love and life.

So why the low score? Let's just say, I despised the ending. In order to keep from revealing anything, I won't say why. I loved the show up till the end of episode 19. Certain events took place that made me hate the show with a burning passion. That doesn't stop me from suggesting it to everyone else though. Most people liked it, and I bet you will too!

There are two kinds of camps I have seen when it comes to people who dislike this show. Some will watch the first couple of episodes and just find not to like it, which is somewhat understandable. But then worse fate is being part of the group who watches the show and enjoys it just to have it ruined by the ending.

In a way, I feel like alot of the people who say the ending is fine or even good are on huge doses of copium because they enjoyed the show like I did. I wont spoil it here, but trust me when I say ... it feels very dumb and not well written.

Despite that this show has a cast of likeable and unique characters, so its not the worst thing in the world. without the ending I would call this a solid 7.5/8

Toradora is based off of some romantic comedy light novels written by Takemiya Yuyuko. From October '08 to March '09, an anime adaptation aired. It was brought to us by J.C. Staff, the same studio behind Shakugan no Shana, Yami no Matsuei & Hachimitsu to Clover. So, this could be terrible, really good or bland, based on that. The anime version's writer doesn't help narrow things down either. It was handled by Okada Mari. She's worked on such anime as Canaan & Kuroshitsuji II. So, let's take a look and see if this is one of J.C's better works, or at least entertainingly bad ... like their work on Garzey no Tsubasa.

Story:

Ryuuji has romantic feelings for his classmate, Kushieda. Kushieda's best friend, Taiga, has a crush on Ryuuji's best friend, Kitamura. A fact that Ryuuji learns when she mistakenly leaves love letter in his bag. Ryuuji and Taiga become friends, planning to help one another in order to make their romantic dreams come true. Next stop, shenanigans.

The biggest flaw with the series is that its relatively unique set up for a rom-com becomes progressively more clichéd and predictable as the series progresses. In fact, a lot of you will be able to guess how the series ends just from applying romantic comedy logic to that short description. It's a shame because the early stuff can be fairly amusing. The series also has its share of always so “wonderful” jokes about a girl hitting a guy. Although, in all fairness, they aren't as prevalent in Toradora as they are in certain other series. The main romance is also quite bad with a convoluted love... heptagon... no, hexagon and with several overly melodramatic moments leading up to it.

Moving on to the positives. To reiterate, the early episodes are pretty entertaining and there are some genuinely funny moments in there with clever set ups and good pay offs. Seeing Ryuuji and Taiga try to help one another leads to quite a few good jokes.

Characters:

The characters in this aren't particularly complex, but they're perfectly functional for a comedic series and most of the main cast get their share of good comedic moments. Where the series really excels is with the developing friendship between Ryuuji and Taiga early on. Although, the series sets about ruining it in the second half.

Art:

The animation in this is pretty good. Granted, they don't have to do much with it since most of the series takes place in a rather generic townscape and at a rather generic school, but it has some strong details and the characters do look unique. The series also has some success at using lighting to set the mood at various points. It's a nice little detail.

Sound:

They got some good actors for this series. Kugimiya Rie, Majima Junji, Horie Yui, Nojima Hirofumi & Kitamura Eri are all fine actors. I won't claim that Toradora shows any of them at their absolute best, but there's enough for them to work with that they can show their skills. The music is pretty mediocre. There's nothing that really sets it apart from the music of any other romantic comedy.

Ho-yay:

There are points in the story where it definitely seems like Kushieda has feelings beyond friendship for Taiga. But as the series continues and becomes more trite, it becomes apparent that that isn't the case.

Final Thoughts:

Toradora is a series with a strong start. In the beginning, it has a lot going for it. A legitimately different premise. Some strong comedic scenes. A good dynamic betwixt Ryuuji and Taiga. However, as the series progresses it gradually eliminates all of that. It tosses it away to make things, to be completely frank, boring and generic. Instead of taking some risks, Takemiya decides to play it the safe, dull route we've seen in every romantic comedy ever made. As a result, the series squanders its early good will and ends things on a disappointing note. I sill wouldn't call it a bad series but I would say it ends up being as mediocre as Hachimitsu to Clover. My final rating is a 5/10. If you really like the standard rom-com clichés, you'll probably like it throughout. If you want something unique in any way you'll spend the first half of the series thinking “this could work if they don't decide to bog it down with obvious clichés” and the second half pressing your palm against your face a lot. Next week I'll look at Sword Art Online II.

Looking to expand my occasionally action or intellectually centered anime tastes, I perused the top rated anime list in the hopes of sparking interest for something a little different. Toradora has been recommended to me a number of times over the years, but I've always been hesitant or too busy to give it a try. Perhaps it's the inconsistencies I have with the romantic comedies genre. Shows like Nodame Cantabile have left significant impressions on me, while others have been mediocre or laughable at best. Believable love stories can be difficult to convey as a narrative, especially when you start to add petty high school ... drama and love triangles into the mix. Finish everything off with an emotional punching bag mc and exasperating tsundere and you've got the potential for failure. It took me over two months to finish Toradora for good reason. I took small breaks from it, tried to put it on hold and even considered dropping it entirely, but through sheer willpower I have reached its conclusion and wish to share why Toradora just doesn't work as a romantic anime.

I'll cut right to the chase. From its opening scene, you can tell Toradora is not trying to be your stereotypical slice of life anime. The dialogue is witty and the comedy is crass and rapidfire. Ryuji initially seemed like a refreshing protagonist in both appearance and attitude. Given his parental background, his desire to be self-sufficient is understandable. This perception quickly deteriorates as more of the characters and setting are introduced, and the infamous tsundere, Aisaka or "Taiga" steals the show. Now if there's one thing I've learned, it's that girls and guys have a limited number of situations in which it's believable for them to be friends. Maybe they were in diapers together or what have you but most of the time it doesn't work out without someone getting hurt or having feelings for each other. Knowing this fact you can pretty much sum up the entire plot of Toradora within the first two episodes. They're eventually going to end up together. Ryuchi and Taiga are both in love with each other's best friends, so naturally they miserably attempt to help each other pursue the affections of the other party. Every attempt to get the prospective couples alone goes awry, a great bit of foreshadowing on the writer's behalf. It sounds like a simple love story, and it really should've been. Except the countless awkward conversations and feeble advances our main characters had with their respective love interests help to cement the fact they don't deserve to be in love at their age. The ensuing 25 episodes consist of these awkward exchanges and the melodrama is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Most every interaction is misunderstood or blown out of proportion, and literally everything becomes an emotional crisis with these characters. All the while Ryuji is incessantly berated with physical and emotional abuse from Taiga. But it's OK, that just means she loves him... or something like that.

Forgive my philosophical ramblings, but I've learned through the years and relationships I've had that you can't choose who you want to fall in love with. Love just happens. It can be crude and fickle, but at the end of the day it can give you a feeling unlike anything you've felt before. This is why I don't question the validity of odd couple romances (Ore Monogatari/Nodame Cantabile etc.) throughout entertainment. Sometimes characters are polar opposites in personality and looks but something subconscious draws them together. This is what Toradora tries to accomplish. However, a relationship constructed in this manner must be done with finesse, while not being overshadowed by such melodrama as this series has. Similarly growing up in a house without a father as I have, the furthest idea from my mind would be to take care of someone with so much baggage. Taiga takes advantage of the doormat Ryuji is and carries herself in the most bombastic way possible. Ryuji is most certainly a glutton for punishment. Even if I would've enjoyed the romance elements I don't know if I could've stomached the abortion of an ending Toradora had. Many anime fail at getting love right, and this series ends up no different. All it takes is for someone to have an overly emo moment and the entire conclusion gets blown to smithereens. As the final credits were about to roll, the same tsundere stigma that was starting to fade away was slammed back into my face, taking a big shit on my hopes and expectations for the show. Those who have seen the series know exactly what I'm talking about, One of the worst endings I have seen in quite some time, a romance cop out.

Toradora's writing was frustratingly inconsistent. Character's dialogue and emotions would swap from operatic to deeply intellectual within seconds, leaving me dumbfounded as a viewer. All five main characters put on some sort of a façade with their personality, driving the story into many arguments and miscommunications. That was an aspect that I enjoyed to some extent, as I believe most everyone acts a little differently in groups of people than in a one on one interaction. The pacing is well constructed, and the series ends up being split into three major parts. The first half of the series is used mostly to set up the relationships for the five characters, but unfortunately ended up being quite boring as a result. Around episode 14 things really begin to pick up, with conflicts coming to a head as the main characters start running out of time to profess their love appropriately. Everything is assimilated effectively but falls flat due to a train wreck ending. I feel like most people who consider the ending good are only fooling themselves with false reassurance for investing so much time in the series only to be greatly disappointed. I understand that I'm probably not the target audience for this anime, but just because you're portraying a high school romantic comedy doesn't mean you have to sensationalize each line of dialogue or character's emotions. We all went to high school, but I never felt like everyone was that annoying... at least not all the time.

Although there were numerous moments of immaturity, Toradora created a setting that made me quite reminiscent of my time in high school. Embarking on school trips, creating chances to talk to that one girl you liked since grade school, or waiting for that same opportunity during a school dance or function. Although I'm frustrated by it now, hindsight is 20/20 and I could probably imagine myself being slightly timid or awkward when it came to confession time... perhaps just not on the same level as the writer portrayed here. I also love the scene with Ryuji and Minori when they were at Ami's beachhouse at night. The way they were talking about love without coming out and blatantly saying the word kind of made me laugh, and help me put back into perspective what I was watching, and how young the characters really were.

I found it irritating when the writers tried to pass off Ryuji's slanted eyes as the reason everyone thought he was rough around the edges. I know I've judged books by their covers before, but this one is just silly... not to mention the fact that most, if not all of these characters are Asian, which kind of throws that reasoning out the window. As I said before, I related to Ryuji based on personal experiences, and I was initially hoping he'd be a character I could identify with. His germaphobic nature and desire to be the patriarchal figure in his household was right on point, but I didn't buy into his relationship with Taiga one bit. The tsundere trope has always felt unnecessary to me. Even yanderes like Senjougahara from the Monogatari series has some believability, because I've encountered some crazy chicks in my lifetime... And sometimes it makes them even hotter. But it just isn't working in Taiga's case. I can give positive remarks to the amount of depth she had as a character though... and the relationship with her parents was certainly believable. I guess you never realize how pampered some kids can be until they start trying to live on their own (Taiga=primordial millennial). I just don't understand everyone's general praise for Taiga as a character, he'll she's not even the most enjoyable character from the series, let alone all of anime.

Minori actually had some depth as a character. She put on such a ditzy and carefree attitude, but in all actuality she was just as perceptive as anyone else in the series, especially when it came to Ryuji. It was refreshing to see a character playing an "out of reach" love interest that was everything but one-dimensional. That scene when she approached Ryuji while he was in the bear suit was kind of heartbreaking. By that point you knew the feelings she had for him were mutual, and how covered up she got them to be for Taiga's sake. Kitamura is a turd. High school taught me how vain and superficial girls can be, and if I learned anything from that, it's that no girls are attracted to the guy with glasses. Not to mention he was a complete dweeb, with spastic mannerisms that often made no sense and a complete lack of composure when he finds out his crush doesn't like him. Grow up dude, you're barely old enough to drive! It's like he almost went completely nihilistic after he bleached his hair. I kind of kept wondering how Ryuji even became friends with him, they're really nothing alike. Ami is the only character in Toradora that I actually liked to be honest. It seems that her history and modeling has actually injected a sense of maturity into her mind that the other characters just don't have. While the rest of the cast is laden with melodrama, Ami seems to come out of left field with a comment I'd expect to see in real life. Although I don't understand what she saw in Ryuji, I would've preferred if they would've ended up together vice the way that it turned out. I can only imagine how she struggled to take her friends seriously.

The music in Toradora is so-so. It didn't necessarily add or subtract much from the series... But there wasn't much variety in the use of background music. I really enjoyed the first OP and ED, but the 2nd OP really didn't flow well with the rest of the show for me... And those lyrics are ghastly. I will give props to the voice acting in Toradora, as most all of the characters were played fantastically and were very distinguishable. Most notably was Rie Kugimiya as Taiga. Her voice absolutely nailed Taiga's seething personality and tsunderisms to a tee. Yui Horie also dos a fine job as the spacey Minori. The art and animation is okay, considering the anime came out over 7 years ago I'd say it aged quite well. As I mentioned above I was pleased by the stark differences between the five main characters, in character models especially. Some older anime have trouble differentiating the characters due to lackluster illustrators, but Toradora does not fall into that trap.

Overall, I was quite disappointed with this series. It just didn't capture the natural, unadulterated love that so many romance stories have. It even got boring with its unneeded drama and emotion-stricken scenes, leaving me to take the characters less seriously. People say that Toradora is the pinnacle of the romantic comedy genre, and if that's the case I may not be returning to it for quite some time. I can't say I enjoyed it all that much. I'd recommend Toradora to fans of romance anime since that's the target audience, or someone who enjoys the tsundere trope... it just wasn't necessarily for me. As always, thanks for reading and be sure to check out my other reviews!

Mehh!

I love shoujo animes but when it comes to toradora I can honestly say a anime has never made me love it and hate it at the same time, For the first half of the show I was enjoying it and found it pretty enjoyable, Until the second half where the melo- drama comes in .

I don't mind melo-drama but when it feels ... like its getting shoved down my throat that's when I stop, I can honestly say all the characters were getting on my nerve by the time it ended. And don't get me started on how the ending couple turned out I mean of all the girls why her, I mean I understand why she fell for him,but how in the hell did he fall for her?. She could've been replaced by any other girl even Ami and the relationship would've made more sense.

Overall I didn't hate this anime but the cons severely out weight the pros, I know im one of the few that didn't enjoy this show that much but I cant see why people praise this show so much.

Oh where to go with this review.... I have never been so frustrated by an anime as I have been with this one. An explanation for my score though is worthwhile. This anime is absolutely wonderful as a slice-of-life anime with romantic overtones from episode 1 to about episode 23. The last two episodes however.... horrendous. If you thought NGE had a confusing last two episodes then this will feel right on the same path. Honestly the show up till ep 24 was probably a solid 8 and is the only reason I didn't rate this at 3 or less. The last two episodes, however, ... just felt like a whole different pace with lots of sudden and poorly explained choices by the main characters and then it honestly left the ending way too open for my liking. It was too bad, even if it was fairly predictable a completed ending would have been nice. I won't get too into it as I don't want to include spoilers but I would say only one of the ~5 most prominent characters actually had an a conclusion to their story. One of five is NOT good.
I've seen some other reviews that highlight the overall flow of the show but if you can get over the fact that the plot doesn't really move along for about 3 or 4 episodes in the middle (still fun to watch) then this show is a great watch up till that ep 24 mark. If you're cool dropping the anime there and just reading fanfic to finish the story then by all means go for that and you might avoid the anger I feel about the ending.

Toradora.

It's probably the dullest, most clichéd, yet best romance anime you're likely to see. Why? Because the competition just isn't there. Before I paint the devil on the wall at this point, I need to make it clear. I liked Toradora as an anime, it entertained me, and I also liked the character relationships, the romances, and the sometimes amusing humor. As a whole, the anime is quite entertaining, as long as you're looking for a simple teen romance. And since the market only has either harems or some over-the-top cliché bombs with no content, Toradora offers a counterbalance worth mentioning as a relatively over-the-top ... romance drama.

First of all, what exactly did the anime do wrong? The biggest problem is the appalling lack of creativity. The anime drags on from one scenario to the next and the same sequence of events always happens. Taiga is blunt, Ryuuji has no idea what is happening and tries to help her although he receives no gratitude anyway. Minori and Ami, meanwhile, try desperately not to let the boat sink by acting as the two one-sided best characters.

This isn't enough in the long run, unfortunately, and the fact that the whole thing has so many episodes and too little content to balance it out works hard on the atmosphere. Either you just see Ryuuji acting like a hero, giving swimming lessons, cleaning his apartment or you get an overdose of drama that only 14-year-olds can experience. On 16 episodes this would be very decent and you could keep the most important, but 25 episodes are way too much of a good thing.



But as said, the anime is better than one could claim. So despite the flaws, it manages to offer the viewer what he came for. To watch a subtle, slow, cliched anime romance. And that is exactly what one finds here. I don't like the choice of the protagonist at all, as Minori or Ami would fulfill a better lead role by far, but it is what it is. Regardless, Taiga and Ryuuji have a decent tsundere x protagonist relationship that builds over the series. You learn more about each character's relationships in between, and there are some amusing events and relationship problems.

[Story 4]

As mentioned before, the biggest problem with anime is that it drags from one event to the next. You skip everything along the way and practically find yourself in the next arc, where the romance either gets a plus or provokes a Dramatic Event.

Although the characters have appropriate backgrounds and their relationships are the biggest strength of this show, this is significantly watered down from this.


[Characters 5]

Taiga is the only obstacle among the characters. If she were not such an aggressive Tsundere, there would be much fewer complications. Unfortunately, she is deaf in both ears and always averse to good suggestions. She acts like an angry 10-year-old and creates one problem after another. From time to time I am not sure if she goes to the right school. She's not bad from the ground up, but hurts the romantic potential and could have been plain better.

Ryuuji is...I like his personality and traits. Unfortunately, he's almost more of a side character than the protagonist. He simply has too little charisma to make himself noticeable. He gets lost in conversations and scenes and as long as he doesn't handle a main event, you almost forget that he is the protagonist.

Ami and Minori are relatively similar as characters and that has nothing to do with me being too lazy to write and therefore summarizing it. Both are part of the drama of the relationship and both are the parents of the protagonists, who despite everything offer them constant support and manage to present the best and most amusing dialogues in the whole series. Ami through her adult nature and Minori through her maternal one. I also like the variation between their serious and silly personalities.

Only the character drama could have been left out here or at least done better, it's an unhealthy dose of over-dramatization.


[Animations 6/ Music 7]

Toradora has one of the most famous intros which almost everyone knows who watches at least a few years of anime. It's not to my taste, but I can't deny that it fits the style of the series and has a strong recognition value among other things.

The animations in Toradora are strongly above average when it is needed. Unfortunately, the animations are not consistent and often vary greatly in quality.


[Conclusion 6]


A big problem with Toradora is that the series is just too cliché and just can't offer enough variety to the viewer. It's not so much that the series has too many weaknesses, but rather that it has too few strengths. It can just about prove itself as an above-average romance, and just barely at that.

And that's coming from a person who has watched this Anime 3 times by now.

I really wanted to love Toradora! Honestly, I thought that it had all the ingredients of an anime that I would enjoy. Sadly, while the series started off good, it slowly faded into a mediocre show.

The story follows Taiga and Ryuuji as they try to help each other with dating and other aspects of life. Unfortunately, this continues throughout most of the anime, even when it's clear what the ending will be from the very first episode. I think this was part of the reason I was so disappointed by Toradora! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know what will happen to Taiga ... and Ryuuji when the series finishes. The problem is that you don't get to seize that moment until much later on. A ton of the episodes feel like filler, especially a big chunk that deals with Taiga and a personal problem she's having, which is not ever resolved. This would've worked better as a series with 12 episodes instead of 25.

The animation used for Toradora! is pretty good, but nothing special. It's just one of those things that works for this type of show. I was never blown away by the animation. The character designs suffered a bit due to this. In particular, I was hoping Taiga would be a bit more polished. Perhaps that's not the right word. JC Staff usually deliver when it comes to female characters, which is why I really enjoyed Aria and Shana so much. Here, Taiga looks plain. There's nothing really special about her. Maybe that's what JC Staff were aiming for. I just wished she had more of a flare or special quality to her design.

As for sound, it was okay. The soundtrack used in the anime isn't memorable at all. The first OP used in the first half of the series was okay, at first, but I soon got very sick of it. The second OP, as well as the ED's played during the credits, were bad.

I didn't really have a problem with Taiga. In fact, I quite liked her character It's Ryuuji that annoyed the hell out of me. As I said before, from the very first episode, you know exactly where things are going with each character. For the first half of the series, I had no real problems with Ryuuji. I just saw him as bland. Later on, I learned that he is not only bland, but also completely oblivious to to the world around him. Get ready to be pissed off during the second half of the series as Ryuuji becomes unaware about the wants and desires of other character around him. Sure, for some this might be fun to watch, but I was having none of it.

Overall, I am quite disappointed by Toradora! I was hoping that since this was one of the highest rated productions by JC Staff that it would become one of my all time favorites. Sadly, due to the filler episodes, unsolved subplots, and Ryuuji, I can't say too many positive things about Toradora! It's a show that could've been truly amazing, but tried too hard to be an epic masterpiece.

Story: 7
At least this anime had a story, but it is a very cliche one. I could guess what happens, even withot finishing it. Tsundere and scary looking guy. They both like a guy and a girl. While helping each other out, they end up liking each other, meanwhile, their former crush likes them. That may not be spot on, but im guessing thats what happens.

Art:8
It was pretty decent. I liked it.

Characters:7
I personally hated Taiga. She was annoying, and well, I just hate tsunderes in general.
I didnt care much for ryuji and minorin. I did however, like Ami. She shows the human flaws. She ... looks prerty and nice on the outside, but shes not om the inside. Eventually, she does become caring though.

Overall:6
I didnt hate the anime. I just didnt care about it enough. Some character irritated me , and the plot was cliche and predictable. Dont get me wrong, it wasnt bad. If you like romance with a bit of action, go for it.

School life crushes. Back then for some you were either too shy to talk to them or no matter how hard you tried thing didn't go to plan. Others however manage to catch them. But regardless of the outcome and the happiness of now, one always looks back and smiles at them self at the memories their youth brought them.

Toradora has a story that is somewhat easy to predict at most points and at other times adds a small twist that's just enough to poke at your feels. However they story is somewhat flat for the large portion of the anime. It starts and rises ... steady for the first few but then it pans out when all the characters are introduced and despite the little wavers it has at points, it still resolves in the same outcomes an episode or two later. It's not until the last quarter of the anime that the story really peaks up again and the line between romance and comedy becomes more apparent

Style of art could not be any more generic. The only things that stand out is the emotion and colour they give the faces when they express large amounts of affection and grief as well as the art used inside western style houses. Tones and gradients are well used to depict the scenery and really adds to the emotion of some moments while other times basic uses means it wouldn't matter the time of day, the character atmosphere would remain the same.

Sound works hand in hand with the art style in some areas and others, excels the scenes mood. While used mostly to add a scene of feel so the viewer has a bit more sense of emotion, other times it gives the scene the much need oomph to take a decent scene, into an interesting development, making you want to know where the anime is going.

Character development leaves you high and dry for the longest part of the anime. It plays through the past as a heavy need to know and only speaks of it, if the situation needs it. This leaves a lot of questions about the characters pasts. Then there's development within themselves which is actually well played out. While the story plays at a flat pace, everything that happens with the characters is reminisced upon when the latter part of the anime comes along and really shows just how far everyone has come with not only each others feelings, but how they truly feel about them selves

This leads to the enjoyment factor. It's a bit of an up and down ride as you find yourself bored at times but either a comedic scene that lasts or a dramatic addition keeps your interest peaked. Towards the end however it builds up on both feels and romance but it fails to juggle them both It end up having to drop one, so it goes full romance at a key point, leaving you expecting heavy feels but it does not deliver.

Now before marking this as unhelpful cause of my really low mark, hear me out. I like Toradora, It's a good anime, just.. there is some stuff that bugs me about it. Anyway, on with the review :

Story 7/10 : So the story revolves around 2 characters, Aisaka Taiga, and Takasu Ryuuji, who both have a crush, Ryuuji's crush being Kushieda Minori and Taiga's being Kitamura Yuukasu. And so, after one encounter, begins their journey of helping each other to get their crush to like them. The story is well paced, and the originality is there, [POTENTIAL SPOILER] having a "love square" instead of ... a triangle. The story is just generally well presented, nothing much to say here.

[SPOILER RANT-ISH EXPLANATION] : Now the reasons why I hate it. [SPOILER, DON'T READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS, SERIOUSLY] In the last episode the love between Ryuuji and Taiga develops even more. Their crushes are pretty much ok with them being together, they even kiss. Then Taiga runs away, for no reason at all (maybe something philosophical) and leaves this "Harem"-esque ending. The story was built up, but then crashed down and left a cliffhanger. Yes I am salty about the ending, and that's my reason for a lower mark.

Art 8/10 : Nothing particular or Revolutionary here. The art is good however.

Sound 7/10 : The voice acting, as always is good. Taiga's voice is perfect for her character, same for all the other characters. The openings is what made this mark lower. They are, well, meh. I do not like them that much, I found myself just skipping them each time.

Character 6/10 : This is where, IN MY OPINION, this anime lacks. The only well done character is Taiga, being not a straight Tsundere, but a different kind, only having the violent side of a Tsundere. The rest however... not as good. Ryuuji : Classical "badass" MC (one of the other better done characters), really nothing special for him. Yasuko : the "young mother", I really felt weird about her, for example how is she that young if ryuuji is like 16. Kushieda : Classical tomboy with feelings, this character seemed poorly executed, as instead of character progression she had a complete change.
Kitamura : The popular guy of the class, all the girls are his. He also was poorly executed, going from the popular guy to something strange in between. I can't really explain why he is poorly executed. Ami : I have no idea what this character is supposed to be. The popular idol girl? The weak inside girl? The mature person to look up to? She seemed to have too many purposes, thus making her bad. I could go on but it's pretty much the same everywhere. The anime would be better if the characters would be better developed.

Enjoyment 6/10 : Again, because of the last episode, I now dislike this anime. It was good to watch, but I kept questioning myself about the characters. Now this is purely my mark, you may like it, I don't.

Overall : 6/10 This is not a bad 6. The anime was overall ok, with a bit of flaws. But these little flaws really ruined the anime for me. This anime is actually really good according to to other people, this is plainly my opinion.

Sorry for making this a rant-ish review.

I really don't get why this anime is regarded as the best ever in the genre.
I really disliked it from the start because it may only be due to my over analísation of everything I see, but from the intro I could tell then ending that Minorin would like him back but he chooses Taiga because Tsundere funny. I hate tsundere's in general too. But other then the awfull story telling and every character being as liner as the hungarian economy except taiga, the artstyle was great the sound design too.
Now I don't know if it was the source material was what was written in ... this matter or the adoption ruined the story telling. I jsut think this series had serious potential but it wqas ruined by the problems I talked about.

First time giving a review here. SPOILER

Story: Well, I liked the idea of the show. Helping each other to win their respective crushes' heart but end up liking each other. Made me cry in some parts especially the part where Ryujii said those things to his mom and knowing the backstory of her. Damn that's quite sad. Imagine being pregnant at 15 and then raising your son alone. Quite a tragic backstory if you ask me. Bad ending tho, I don't really understand why leave after deciding that you should be together? Like what? That was really anti-climatic. Confession? Done. Promised that they would be ... together? Done. Time to left then. I get it, it was to repair Taiga relationship with her family but it just doesn't make sense to dip like that lmao. The only reason I give it a 7 because it ended normally, no cliffhanger bs.

Art: Nothing really considering the year it was produced

Sound: Nothing special

Character: Boy oh boy, Taiga was really a effing bitch innit? Like wtf how can Ryujii stay in a relationship with someone like that. Yes it was an anime but fking hell mate, how was that sweet whatsoever. Selfish, short-tempered, violent, ungrateful bitch lmao and the only thing developed was her love towards Ryujii and some minor parts like her decision to fix her family relationship etc. Hell even Ami had better character development than her. Minorin is just obnoxiously optimistic and I don't understand her friendship with Taiga. They claimed they are bff but can't even sort out their feelings toward Ryujii. Kitamura character after the president confession was like just a placeholder for something to happen. Block the door, here. Pretend that he saved Taiga, here.

Overall: I think the show is overrated tbh. People claimed that it was very good and I decided to give it a go and it;s okay I guess. It's not that bad but I was left disappointed with the show because of the impression from reviews I've read.

( spoilers )

Well where to start..
I like these kind of anime where they don't leave the ending open and where a couple is actually formed instead of leaving it open at the end so you can imagine what you'd like.
However i can't feel disappointed with this one.
The story:
I give this a 5 cus it is all over the place with jumps here and there at random.
There is no real build-up between the main characters and somewhere in the middle it seems they suddenly had a change of heart to who will be with who..
You are starting with the two main characters who each have their ... crush and they team up together in the hope to win their hearts over...But then one of them get's shut down and the other isn't allowed to say how he feels , then out of nowhere the other main get's feelings for the other , everybody notices except ofc the mail main and he has to forget his feelings for the stupid reason that he spend time together and his crush feels guilty and she thinks the two mains suddenly should be together even tho she has mutual feelings...
So apparently the mains feelings change cus well the other main says she has feelings...
I hated this tbh i was hoping for an original storyline where Minori and Ryuuji would grow closer OR what i was hoping for all season long that somehow Kawashima would end up with Ryuuji as a big surprise coming over her flaws and growing as a character but i got disappointed and this series became this fan thing for lolly cons where the small girl get's a love story...
The more i watched the more i was thinking "oh pls no..." And in the end i regretted watching it.
The ending was so random , it was as if they dragged on for 20 episodes , realised they only had 4 left and then made a random turn in whatever direction the wind was going.
Adding drama wherever they had a whole to try and make it an interesting watch , instead of making the story feel like it was going somewhere and not making you feel like the first 15 episodes where a filler and the next 5 where a diffrent story following by the last episodes making a quick slot cus they ran out of episodes, funding and time...
The whole build-up for something original was somewhat there which is the reason i feel like they went from something potentially amazing with more episodes then the usual anime and screwed it up


Art:
Also on point , nice drawings.
This anime has tons of locations and backgrounds change a lot so you have the feeling you are all over the city which is nice and not repetitive so a solid 10

Sound:
Overall just great , nothing bad to say about this.
Music on point , voice acting very well done.10

Character:
Well there is no character build-up except maybe for Ryuuji and Taiga so that should be a dead giveaway that every other character becomes obsolete later on.
Again the ending makes me feel like the whole Minori story and even Ami are there to fill airtime...Not even talking about the supporting characters that could easily have been left out cus they had no real role or meaning.
Just a very disappointing story that just still leaves me with the feeling why did i start to care about half of them and i really don't like a Tsundere character type so i give this a 5

Enjoyment
Mediocre 5 , the few times i laughed where actually rare for an anime that is supposed to be funny
The story feels more like random filler kind half of the anime
The ending was for me disappointing and this is def not worth watching again for me


Overall i give this anime a 5
It has some good moments but they get sidetracked ,forgotten or are in the end looking back to few to give this anime more then a 5
It left me wondering why this was so hyped up in the first place and just asking why? looking at how the story evolves.

After watching the first 6 episodes, you can say, I was so hyped for the rest of the story. I thought this would easily be on the top 5 animes I've watched. But I was mistaken.

The story had a good approach and had so much potential. But after the 13th episode, it made me a little bored, but I thought, maybe it'll get boring for a bit and then better a few episodes later. It didn't, the story just didn't feel right and then eventually the "gang", or the group of the 5 main characters just slipt up, one character hating this one and another ... hated that one. It just made me disappointed in the story. It had a few good jokes here and there and for the ending, it kinda made it up for it.

Story - 5/10:
At the beginning, the story was just simply put, amazing. But then it felt like it got worse and worse as it went on. if just felt, not as good after they started hating one another. I was mainly enjoying when they spent their time together, and it's another one of those typically animes where they're in love with someone they knew awhile ago, new character steps in, they fall in love.

They could've sciped it up a bit if you know what I mean.

Art - 7/10:
For the time it was made, the art is surprisingly modern -- or just that the art style hasn't really changed as significantly as you'd expect it might from over 10 years ago.

Sound - 9/10:
The sounds for footsteps, things falling over, and all that were surprisingly well, the sounds felt natural and like if it were real life, it'd make those sounds as it was in the anime. It was excellent.

Character(s) - 8/10:
The designs for the character just felt right with me, it just sat right. I don't know how to explain it. The development was also pretty good and suiting for how the story went.

Enjoyment - 6/10:
As I somewhat said earlier, it was the most enjoyable in the beginning. But then, it just decreased and decreased and decreased. I wished they just didn't make everyone hate each other for the last 1/4 of the anime, and the end they weren't mean to each other, but before, they somewhat were. Like Ami to Miniori and Ryuuji. If it were jokingly, friendly way, or even in a not-serious way, I'd had enjoyed it more. But it really felt like pure hatred.

Overall - 6/10:
This concludes my first review that I wrote at 2:20AM and I am too tired to proofread or chec k for any errors ok gn, yea.

Warning: I really tried, but spoilers below.

I think that there’s really three stages of finishing an anime. The first stage is when the credits of the last episode roll and you’re left staring at your computer screen (hopefully in satisfaction) with the final scene seared into your mind. The second stage is shortly afterward, where your mind can’t help but replay what it can – the big moments, the emotional curveballs, the “what if” statements. And the final stage is a while afterward, after you’ve had time to reflect, think about the series retrospectively, maybe talk to some friends about it and really come ... up with your opinion about the show.

For me, most review writing occurs in either the second or the third stage. I rarely pick up the pen (er, keyboard) seconds after the final scene fades. However, I have noticed a strange correlation between my disposition toward the show and within what category the review falls. For shows that I dislike, I’ll frequently postpone the review writing until stage three, when I’ve had more time to think about what exactly transpired. For shows I like, or those that intrigued me and leave some open questions, I’ll turn sooner to my review desk so I can use the act of writing to flush out those issues in my own mind. The only exception is the really good shows that I can’t feel that I can review properly and thus will sit untouched to this day. However, this isn’t always consistent – some shows I don’t favor will get an earlier review as a sort of emotional catharsis, and some really good shows will be put off till later so I can properly vocalize exactly why I found them well-done.

For me, Toradora falls within the second category. I’m returning soon after the final episode with a mixed bag of emotions running through my mind. Unfortunately, not all of those emotions are positive, and are pointedly negative, in a frustrating opposition to my favorable disposition towards the first three-quarters of this anime’s runtime. I’m generally one to say that I’ll return to amend reviews, and I’ll repeat that refrain here. However, for now, I’ll say that Toradora provided one of the most infuriating falls from grace that I’ve experienced so far.

What do I mean by this? I’ll illustrate using some examples. Some shows I know I’m going to dislike right from the beginning. Rideback is a pretty typical instance of this. Right from the first few episodes I was disappointed by the lackluster plot, side-character development, and pacing, and this initial disposition remained the same throughout the entire show. On the other hand, Hyouka amazed me with the excellent music, characterization, and compelling story-telling from the early episodes to the end. I can sum this up pretty well using MAL ratings – I knew Rideback was going to be sub-average right from the get-go and that Hyouka would be very good from the opening episode alone. My opinions about the shows, although greatly expanded with new knowledge about plot, characters, and setting, ultimately did not alter in their final judgement. Toradora, on the other hand, started in the Classic Lit clubroom and ended on a mecha motorcycle – my opinion about the show fell dramatically as the series drew to a close.

Enough waffling around. As usual, I’ll look to my typical categories of music, art, and characters. Starting with the former, I don’t see how anyone can’t be anything but impressed. Both openings, beyond being very nostalgic for me (listening to anything years before even knowing what it’s from will do that to you) are really good songs in their own right, and best of all are performed by Horie Yui, whom I’ve already praised in reviews for other shows. They’re very lighthearted, energetic, and very well summarize the majority of the show’s romantic-comedy nature. The only time I skipped the OPs were when I was hanging too far over the cliff – and that’s generally a good sign that they’re doing it for me. Both endings, although particularly the first one, are also really good. I can’t quite say the same for the insert song, but otherwise, the show’s soundtrack was solid, albeit not particularly outstanding. However, in this case I don’t think it needed to be – incredibly standout soundtracks are more fitting for shows with action and reflective scenes, and as much of Toradora is dialogue-based I think a really notable soundtrack may have been intrusive. Overall, I have almost nothing but good things to say about the show’s music, and I really think it did nothing but contribute to the show.

The art, as it tends to be, was more of a mixed bag. Some people really love it, and there’s definetely some scenes where I can see why. It’s hard for me to describe, but I think the best term I can use is “pastel.” This isn’t a Takemoto show where vibrancy is everywhere and tells a story of its own. The colors are a little more muted and a little more subtle, details are a little less explicit and the animation is slightly less exhaustive. It’s not bad, but it’s generally not exactly eye-candy in the way that some other shows are. Again, it’s hard to describe, but it’s also hard for me to explain, because there’s no particularly spot in the show that I can cite exemplifying a unique shortcoming. I think the purpose of this art is to step back a bit and let the characters do the talking, and if that’s true, I feel it achieves this purpose adequately. Not blown away, but can’t complain either.

And here we go, back to my favorite part – the characters. I’ll start by saying that this show has a fairly average-sized cast. There’s five main characters, with about the same number of supporting characters, and a few others that appear shortly to disappear afterward. I will say this right off the bat – I am impressed, very impressed even, with the amount of work that the writers put into developing a truly unique dynamic between each combination of the main five. I feel like too many shows, particularly those in the slice-of-life and romcom genres, generalize interactions between the main cast, where one character will treat most of the others in exactly the same way, perhaps treating only one differently. Perhaps this would be most easily illustrated using an example. A male lead responds to every comment made to him, regardless of from who, with a sarcastic response. In doing so, we can easily characterize this lead as being “sarcastic,” and we pay special attention when he responds to someone without using sarcasm. While this is a helpful category, I really find it more interesting where the unique personality of each character influences the way they interact with each other, rather than each interaction being formulaic. Toradora absolutely does this, and I’d say does it quite well, thanks to its solid characterization and time spent building each of the leads.

OK, time for some specifics. I normally have a hard time deciding who to talk about first, so I’m just going to go off the deep end and start with Taiga. I’ll be honest – when I started the show I wasn’t the biggest fan. I don’t know if “abrasive” is the right word to describe her personality, as she can be positively endearing to her actual friends, but I think a good descriptor would be pretty close. She’s basically described as scary, and short of using the titular analogy here, a pretty typical tsundere. However, as the show progressed, I really began to appreciate her character more and more. She’s quite negative toward Ryuuji, particularly as the show starts, frequently calling him names and accusing him of things he doesn’t deserve. This, however, is tempered throughout the show as their relationship grows and I began to realize that her behavior actually stems from a rather unique upbringing, beyond her stereotypical tsundere qualities. I will say that I did like her determination and will to keep fighting, although this proved increasingly confounding as the show drew to a close – more on that later.

With her out of the way, let’s turn to her male counterpart. Years ago, when I saw the OP animation for the first time, my primary question was “who is the dude with the evil-looking eyes and why is he scrubbing a window-frame with such intensity?” I too, even as a kid, was unknowingly sucked into the common misconception of his delinquency. So it was much to my delight when I learned that he was such a homely, kind person who really seemed to value other people’s well-being above his own, and generally treated everyone with genuine respect. I’ve ranted on this before, but I feel that too many male MCs are flat and lifeless, with maybe one defining character quality that isn’t particularly instructive or redemptive. I’m not saying that Ryuuji is a model character, or that his penchant to cook and clean makes him a saint, but he’s certainly pleasant to watch and is a person I’d love to be around in real life. Building off of this, although the show primarily focuses on his interactions with Taiga, I was also really struck with how he communicates and respects the other three leads. However, his characterization isn’t without its flaws, which again, I’ll get to later.

I’ll turn now to the other male MC, Yuusaku. He’s a bit more of a mixed bag and a confusing one at that. I also think his characterization is one of the weaker ones, as he begins as a sort of generic respectable student council member who happens to be Ryuuji’s best friend, with little other defining features of his own besides being the love interest of the Tiger herself. However, I do feel that he has his defining moments, particularly with the introduction of Ami and during his own sub-arc. He just comes across as being kind of a convenient character, serving multiple roles that could have been picked up by side or extra characters, which confuses his characterization in my mind. Out of the four I can definetely say that he changes the most in the shortest amount of time, at the expense of deeper character development throughout the entire course of the show – kind of too bad.

Since she was referenced in the above paragraph, I’ll swap over to Ami now. She, of everyone, positively infuriated me throughout the show, albeit for different reasons. At first, this was pretty obvious – her two-faced character and incredibly irritating façade frustrated me to no end, although I eagerly looked forward to how this would influence the plot of the show and her own characterization as a whole. As the series bore on, however, I started to become frustrated for a new reason, specifically being that her defining character trait – the fascia itself – seemed to have very little bearing on the plot, and she showed very limited signs of getting past it, although being the very thing that Yuusaku wished for right from the start. Moreover, Ami became infuriating due to just how many times her feigned niceties became downright small cruelties – my worst memory is her pressing a button on the vending machine right as Ryuuji is about to make a different selection. It exposed nothing more about her background and upbringing other than sweeping away any growing respect I had for her, and that, too, is a shame. Again, more on that later.

What’s left is Minori, who is definetely the best-voiced character and by far the most confusing. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, as she’s certainly portrayed as eccentric, and that eccentricity is a defining part of both her own character and her interaction with others. I also like how that character trait adds to the comedic elements of the rom-com, although I found it becoming strangely less funny and more positively confounding as the show progressed. I want to think this is just her growing involvement in the drama becoming explicit in her mannerisms, but I have a suspicion that the writers simply didn’t know how she should react to more intense situations. I don’t dislike her character, as I do appreciate her desire to work hard and always chase her goals, but I do dislike how little about her is discovered throughout the entire show, and even then in the final few episodes. I feel like her interactions with the males in general and Ryuuji specifically were also among the weakest of the five leads.

Okay, the music has been heard, the art scrutinized, the characters thought-through, what we are left with is the plot. I will say this – I was, in more ways than one – really amazed and impressed with the unique angle that the love triangle/rhombus/polygon took right from the get-go. Most of the time, these romantic comedies have an extremely obvious couple right from the start, and the entire series focuses around their growing relationship culminating in a confession at the end. Toradora has the extremely obvious couple, but the confessions occur much earlier – and not even to each other! Specifically, I thought that the relationship between Taiga and Yuusaku, with the former rejecting the latter, the latter finding a new love interest, and then the latter rejecting the former, formed a much more interesting story. I always dance carefully around using the word “realistic” in anime but somehow the surreptitious route of Taiga’s interest in Yuusaku always appealed to me, and honestly started the show on a very high note. Ryuuji and Minori was a bit weaker, as it’s a pretty common anime trope for someone to become friends with their crush’s bestie, but I did like how it pitted the kindhearted guy with the eccentric girl. Of course, Ryuuji and Taiga teaming up to pair each other with their respective best friends was itself a really entertaining premise, and I found myself becoming surprisingly invested in both characters’ relationships.

Then Ami happened. Beyond my gripes with her character that I bemoaned above, I actually found myself not minding her introduction so much, despite her apparent antagonism towards almost everything that Taiga attempted to accomplish. Specifically, I thought that her quick resolution of the stalker episode would cause a cracking in her untenable façade, but that didn’t prove as effective as I imagined. Instead, I quickly ascribed her odd interest in Ryuuji, and her frustratingly-possessive behavior towards his person (which honestly bordered on creepy), to completely dash her remaining front of niceness when she realized that he saw right through her. I just couldn’t understand how she remained antagonistic to absolutely everyone – Yuusaku, Ryuuji, Taiga and Minori alike – even as it became increasingly obvious that she wasn’t going to gain his interest.

I do think that Yuusaku’s arc remains the strongest in the show, with his interest in the school’s president coming to light and really helping to clarify his rejection of Taiga at the show’s very beginning. It’s in this arc that I feel that all of the characters are at their strongest, with both Ryuuji and Taiga taking different actions (and working together!) to stand up for their friend and do what they think is for the best. I also found that Yuusaku’s experience of extremely high expectations, physical abuse from his family, and mental turmoil regarding commitment to someone that ultimately left him, was highly compelling to me. And that’s even without considering this revelation for the romantic plot, which ultimately marked Taiga’s regained ability to interact with him without being nervous.
While many people regard the final five or six episodes as the highest point of the show, it’s not until here that my disposition toward the series began to shift. I felt that the resolution of the Christmas arc – ending the episode before with Ryuuji feeling effectively rejected by his love interest, would form the apex of the action. Minori’s increasing eccentricity, particularly surrounding her desire to avoid the Christmas party despite her friends’ wishes, made me believe that we would finally get her full story after the fact. I was actually highly disappointed when the twist – Taiga effectively avoiding Ryuuji to increase the two’s interactions – led to nothing significant on Minori’s character despite some cryptic statements on UFOs and ghosts. The ski trip arc was perhaps the most infuriating for me, with surprisingly little true character development besides some bizarre fighting among side-characters, a fruitless Minori-Ryuuji conversation, and a lot of physical violence erupting with the now purely-antagonistic Ami. Taiga’s unconscious confession, although what I now know to be the true climax of the show, left me intrigued but confused, feeling that Minori’s arc had been slammed aside in favor of the two lovebirds.

And after that, everything unravels. In the final four episodes, an odd sub-arc regarding Ryuuji and Taiga’s college and future plans suddenly appears from nowhere, distracting from the parallel plot. Both characters’ nuclear families, and drama surrounding their apparent dysfunctionalities, pop to the forefront, literally in the middle of the true confession episode. This episode itself combines the last meaningful words we hear from all three of Yuusaku, Ami and Minori, who seem to suddenly and instantly resolve their interpersonal problems by gifting the now-eloping-and-escaping couple their valuables. We get a bizarre and extremely rushed resolution to the question of Ryuuji’s biological father and his mother’s relationship with her own parents, immediately resolving a problem that was only hinted at in earlier episodes. The anime ends with Taiga, despite her apparent commitment to Ryuuji, running away a second time to resolve some perceived issues in her own nuclear family, except this resolution seems to take at least an entire year.

This ending frustrates me both with topics involved and how earlier plot points are tossed aside, seemingly at random. Issues within the nuclear family are truly meaningful and should be given proper time to resolve. In Taiga’s case, the arc with her father coming to resolution much earlier makes me feel that the anime has already dealt with the topic, just to uncover it again during critical moments right at the end. In Ryuuji’s case, the question of his own father, his relationship with his grandparents, and his own mother comes across once or twice in earlier episodes, but is literally both brought to the absolutely forefront and totally resolved within about one, right at the very end. The odd sub-arc about Ryuuji’s college plans, his mother’s commitment to fund them, and his future in general is introduced but also left frustratingly unresolved. Taiga’s future is also left completely up in the air, with her literally disappearing again at the end of the show leaving only cryptic text messages, a full-year time skip, and a weird anticlimactic reunion between the two mains. Meanwhile, other meaningful plot topics are abandoned. Yuusau goes to study in the United States – did he resolve his relationship with the president or is that irrelevant now? Minori’s true feelings, yelled out across the school hallways a few episodes prior, are pretty much lost to the wind. Ami, as far as I can tell, remains just as meanspirited beneath her cheery exterior as ever.

Looping back around to my earlier assertion about my disposition toward this anime changing as it got closer to the end, I can safely say that I was considering giving this show an 8 about ¾ of the way through, only to have the score drop all the way to a 6 by the time it ended. I just can’t accept an ending that throws aside so many nuanced character relationships for the sake of bringing up side-topics that were apparently resolved earlier in the anime or otherwise merely hinted at. Taiga and Ryuuji’s relationships with their immediately families are super important in their own rights, but should have been given proper time to work themselves out, rather than being slammed in together at the end, basically forcing out any resolution for the remaining three leads. In my mind, cut out the horror-cave episodes to put Taiga’s family resolution within the arc concerning her father, and leave Ryuuji ample time to work out his own pain points with his mother and relatives.

Wow, somehow this review, along with ballooning to over 3500 words, has become more of a complaint and criticism about how it should have ended, typically something that I dislike and try to avoid. Maybe it’s this close proximity to having just finished the show itself, but somehow, I feel the need to put this series down for a while. Disappointment in a show isn’t something I’m unfamiliar with, but generally this disappointment is something I can expect from the early episodes. Toradora is something not that I wanted to love, but something that I actually loved, throughout so much of it, just to have my expectations dashed in what I can only describe as an unsatisfactory end. As always, your mileage may vary, but I have warned you in the only way I know how.

Toradora, Toradora, Toradora.

This is all my opinion. If you like this show, great! But I did not like the second half. This is fully personal/subjective. I am fully prepared to get rekt for this review. Have at you, lovers of Toradora!

To start, the story. SPOILERS!

TL:DR; A boy named Ryuuji with slanty evil eyes meets a girl named Taiga who breaks into his house and attempts to murder him brutally with a wooden sword in order to keep her crush on his best friend a secret. Hilarity ENSUES!
Yeah. That's the spoiler-free version. Continuing, Ryuuji has a crush in TAIGA'S best friend. They ... attempt to help each other with the romantic pursuits of each other's best friends, but end up falling in love with each other. Shocker. it's not like the ending is LITERALLY THE TITLE, ELIMINATING ALL ELEMENT OF SURPRISE, but I digress. This was a romantic comedy, and was actually funny for about 15ish episodes. Then it turned into a soap opera. A very annoying one. The only reason I didn't drop this show after the stupid shit started happening was the surprising amount of bitch fights. Like when Taiga attempted to murder some chick with a sword for not being in love with her (ex?)crush. Good times.

Art: No complaint.

Sound: The first OP was like the first half of the show; fun, bouncy and very addictive. The second OP was kinda meh, but with a good beat. The OST was forgettable. The voice acting was great. Props to Taiga's voice actor for being able to be a sociopathic monster in a perfect way.

Character: I have been waiting to write THIS section. I'll start with Ryuuji. WHY THE FLYING FUCK DID YOU GIVE UP MINORI FOR TAIGA YOU DUMBASS??!?!??! He is literally an angel, but he is too DAMN STUPID FOR MY LIFE. How can such a nice person have such shit taste? You could have had a nice girl, like MINORI, but no. You choose HER. There's dense, and this fucker is a black hole. DEAR LORD save me from male harem-leaders.

Now Taiga. HOW ON EARTH DOES ANYONE LOVE HER? I may be biased against tsunderes naturally, but even that could NOT distract me from the fact that she is just a bad person. In the first episode, she fucks up her confession, and stalks Ryuuji to his house, breaks in and TRIES TO KILL HIM WITH A SWORD. HAVE I MENTIONED THIS. CALM YO CALAMITIES, CRAZY. And then for the rest of the show she verbally and physically abuses Ryuuji, and nearly EVERYONE around her. Her tsun level is freaking over 9000. Off the charts. I have yet to see her redeeming trait in the entire show. Lets count off; she's friends with Minori, and steals the boy she likes because FUCK HER apparently, she constantly abuses Ryuuji until he gets fucking Stockholm syndrome apparently, because I don't know how he fell for her unless he's a super masochist, she KNEES her dad in the nuts, refuses to talk to her mom because FUCK HER TOO, and is a general all around bitch. I honestly cannot see why people like her, because I CANNOT STAND HER. Her level of tsun can only be eclipsed by Louise from The Familiar of Zero, but not for lack of trying. Taiga is a character whom I cannot like. I hate her so much. She is essentially why I hated this show.

The other characters, were ok. I loved Kitamura (being voiced by the Bosch may have done that) and Minori was awesome. Ami was mildly interesting, too. That bird pissed me off tho.

Overall; I didn't hate this show. Actually, I really liked the firsthalf. It was like an 8. It kept me laughing, and I anticipated each new episode with joy. When it was clear that the show was no longer a comedy, I hated it. It was so freaking melodramatic I could not bear to watch. I finished the show out of completionism and a vague glimmer of hope that the show would redeem itself. (It didn't) The second part of the show was like a 2 for me. Average it out, and we got a score of 4. But I'll give it a six because watching Taiga get punched in her bitch face during that bitch fight deserves 2 points.

Ok, with that off my chest, come at me, fanboys/girls.

Anime... we need to talk. Honestly though it's me, not you, I've changed and I realize that now. The unfortunate collateral though is Toradora, which by all rights is fine. Toradora you're not the problem either, you're not even bad, it's just me. A decade and a half plus of anime watching and being an adult will do that to you. So Toradora, don't feel bad about my score, you're still OK, but it's just not want I want now and perhaps for others like me which is why I've decided to write this.

In a different time and place, perhaps ... 10 years ago or maybe back in college this might of been a show I feel in love with and it could be for you. I feel that I need to say that this show probably will be (and heck, clearly is) loved by many. For me though, I just can't do it anymore.

Toradora has some truly awesome moments, probably about 3 or 4 really stand out scenes that make you think "OK, this is why we're here, this is what we've signed up for", but than just kinda continues and as lame of a description as I know this is, that's Toradora. It just continues. It plods along, gives you a great moment than just continues for many episodes, shows you something special and than... continues for episode after episode and... well you get it. Toradora isn't slow, there aren't pacing problems, it just moves smoothly along at 5 below the speed limit as to not get a ticket. When all you really want is for it to just pick it up to 10 over because no one will ticket you for that and we can get to the destination sooner.

Again going back to this being my problem I hopped on this show way after the fact. So basically I've been inundated with threads, scores and youtube videos saying how great the romance is. This is where my years of anime and age will hurt you Toradora because well... that isn't really what I think of when I think romance. Man if lets say episode 26 was actually episode 20, that would be been amazing. That's what I wanted. I wasn't really looking for the weirdly rushed and out of place moments in the conclusion.

I want to see love, I want to see couples, I don't want to see dozens of episodes of the main characters "friends" saying they want to help and be their for the couple, but well, they aren't really or people leading others on with no intention of doing anything. Or episode after episode of two characters clearly knowing what they want, but neither doing anything about it. These aren't the helpful friends the show says they are or the great characters I hope to see.

What's the main romance wasn't even bad, it wasn't cheap, it wasn't rushed or any of the multitude of ways you can describe romances you didn't like, it was, well, wishy washy. I don't want to see that kind of stuff in real life let alone 26 episodes of wishy washy behavior. You can't even give it the classic "will they or won't they" description since it's more "they should be, just what is taking so long". Dragging it out and making things take too long doesn't make a payoff all the more grand, it almost makes the payoff just a sigh of relief, when you can say "finally, it's about time" and that's not a good thing.

And that brings me back to my main point. Toradora, it's me, you're just not for me anymore. You might of been, heck you most likely really were right in my wheel house, but now I just can't put up with it. You can't give me 3 awesome moments, ignore them, give me 10 minutes of great in the last episode and than insult your own ending by being all anime. Obviously I'm in a minority and this show is loved by many. I mentioned early it's not bad, this is purely a personal preference which I can clearly see. So this goes out to people like me, if you could imagine yourself saying these words than Toradora isn't for you because it will leave you disappointed and frustrated in the end.

Oh and lets see... show looks fine with satisfactory character designs, but I'm also done with little girl looking characters, but for some reason it didn't make me stop watching so good on you Toradora. I honestly can't remember music so it couldn't of been that good. Basically it was as by the book, fine as you can get from production values. Though there are a few moments when characters scream at each other or fight where things get all serious like you're about to watch some absurd fight in an action/adventure that stood out in an odd way.

Before I close this way too long review I just want to mention the supporting characters one more time because for the most part they were ehh... they kinda grated on me, I mention about how everyone's outlook is just frustrating and it seems like they aren't really great friends. Hearing someone say "but I just wanted you to be happy", but not actually helping the couple get together isn't helping that person be happy. Anime needs to learn this, that one is on you anime, that's not my problem, that's one of the few problems that's yours.