Ranked #50

Toradora!

Toradora! is a wonderfully fresh comedy-romance about two unique people finding an unlikely relationship with one another.

There's a simple storyline: I like your best friend, you like my best friend--hey, why don't we work together and help one another out?? Takasu Ryuuji has a crush on the best friend of Aisaka Taiga. Coincidentally, Taiga has a crush on Ryuuji's best friend. Being two of the most misunderstood people on campus, and having certain related romantic goals, they decide to help one another out.

So the story turns into what is one of the most hilarious, interesting, and involving tales of matchmaking by two of the most unqualified people in anime. Sure, the content for the story is not the most original. Even in Shakespearean times, stories of matchmakers end rather predictably. The difference with Toradora! is that perhaps the destination is known but it took a very different route to get there. And as the story continues to play out, it actually manages to surprise us by ending up somewhere that we did not plan for, but is infinitely so much better.

Each action in this anime is handled well; significant things happen during the most inane of moments only to come back a few episodes later to surprise us. The plotting of Toradora! is linear, but it dishes out details so carefully that by the end of an episode, you're left wondering what has just happened and what it means for the next episode, the next few episodes and for the anime in its entirety. The only downfall is again, the mentioned predictability. If you can come up with at least three different scenarios while watching this anime, there's a chance that at least one of those will actually happen. For purely enjoyment's sake, the storyline is actually rather amazing.

Toradora! has a simple art style. The clean character art lacks detail. The use of colour is actually rather commendable, as it has a robust colouring. The character design is very good, although perhaps at points, some characters' eyes may be too large for them for their own good. The animated sequences however are rather excellent. There is great use of the animation for the intense facial features the characters express during emotional scenes; it shows us best that when we're angry or sad, we don't exactly look the prettiest.

Sound for the anime is not exactly the most memorable aspect. The background music suited the energy of the anime. There are some poppy, catchy OP and ED theme songs, sung by the seiyuu themselves. The voice acting for this anime is pretty tight, and each character certainly gives their seiyuu a run for their money, evoking almost every sort of emotion imaginable without once sounding contrived, forced or uninvolved in their roles.

This was what interested me the most about this anime--the characters. Certainly the protagonist Ryuuji is one of the more unusual I have ever met. Unusual in the sense that he's really just a nice guy. Unfortunately, despite being a gentle, caring and easy-going person, everyone around Takasu thinks he's a ruffian bad boy because of his appearance. He has his quirks that make him endearing, such as his penchant to be a neat freak and his ability to manage a home like a housewife could. Ryuuji's one downfall seems to be his inability to take action in his life, to take charge of anything, though throughout the course of the anime, he very slowly learns that despite thinking he's a grown up (living with an excitable, slightly immature, very young mother made him assume the role of the "adult" in the house), he still needs to grow up.

Then there's Taiga, the series' second protagonist, a pint-sized tsundere with a mouth and mind that's as devious as her punch (and trust me... it's pretty devious). Taiga spends most of the anime being an irrational hothead, getting into scrapes and fights to stand up for her beliefs. On the flip side, she is rather incompetent when it comes to her emotions, becoming an insecure mess whenever she realises that she cannot solve a problem by pushing it away from her.

Alongside two interesting protagonists, Toradora! has an amazing supporting cast.

Kushieda Minori or Minorin, is Taiga's best friend and Ryuuji's love interest for the most part. While she comes across initially as a cheerful, carefree airhead, Kushieda manages to surprise both the audience and other characters by being a lot deeper emotionally than her eccentric behaviour allows us to think. Like most of the characters, who are young, confused and are bursting with feeling, Kushieda surprisingly is the type of person who withdraws within herself, keeping a distance from her problems. Though, as she learns throughout the anime, running away and stepping back might actually be more of a selfish thing to do than selfless. And selfless she is, as everything she does is to make other people, especially Taiga, happy.

Ami provides some rival-based humour to the anime, being a contending force against Taiga's sovereignty in the school. But she's not just the snarky, bitchy antagonist; Ami is probably the smartest, most perceptive character in the entire cast. Not simply because she's sly that allows Ami to be so adept to people's behaviour or feelings, but because of her cleverness and level of maturity, she has a deep understanding everyone's motives before they even have a clue about it themselves.

And then there's Kitamura, who is Taiga's love interest for the most part, as well as Ryuuji's best friend. Kitamura is rather zany, but is probably the most dependable character of the anime. His reliability makes him a source of emotional and logical strength for the other characters, however, as any teenager may be, he is just as flawed and has his weaknesses as anyone else.

Toradora! has numerous strengths, which makes its weaknesses all the more noticeable, however, the magnificent aspects of this anime overshadow any of its flaws. In the end, it remains simply as one of the most enjoyable, fun, emotionally involving story about the lives of these high schooled kids on their way to being adults. And that way is certainly laden with confusion, humour and bittersweet pain. But that's how it is to be a teenager. The anime does not play out the way we think it will, and when it does, it still manages to add a twist here and there to keep a viewer on their toes.

With a twist on an old story, amazingly absorbing characters, and lots of humour, drama and romance thrown in, Toradora! manages to be a great addition to the anime world, having one of the most different conclusions than other anime of its type would ever have.

Toradora! is a great anime that should not be passed up. Taiga and Ryuuji are two people you will definitely become attached to. And who doesn't want to see the only two beasts who can compare to one another, a tiger and a dragon, try to figure out their lives? read more

“Since ancient times, the dragon has been the only beast to equal the tiger.”


STORY - Let's see, for the entire series, the plot was about an odd/unlikely couple's life after they met at school one day. The two really disliked each other at the beginning; you'll be surprised into seeing HOW and how much their relationship develops.

The storyline, at first, may seem really plain and boring to you, and it really will. Toradora! is about a boy, Ryuuji, and a girl, Taiga, (both also known as Dragon and Tiger) who bumps into each other at school. Now, these two are probably the most strangest people in that school, according to the students there. Taiga and Ryuuji "dislike" each other, but it was later revealed that they both like each other's best friend, so they decide to help each other out (a little confusing, yeah?). From there on, their lives are not going to be what it used to be like anymore. No matter how you look at it, you'll probably say it's a cliched storyline; I wouldn't jump to conclusions yet.

Toradora! then becomes a very funny, entertaining and dramatic, even, anime. The situations that Taiga and Ryuuji get into will make you angry, smile, or maybe even cry.You may think this anime is so predictable, especially the ending (heck, that's probably been decided before the show even aired), but how the "plot" is set up, really, was [maybe] not predicted at all.

ART/ANIMATION - The art/animation was not one of Toradora!'s great qualities; it was a little over average. There were those big eyes on some characters. I don't know why; those get on my nerves, sometimes, but that's just my opinion. I really liked the use of all the colors, though! Their facial expressions, I loved also. Most expressions fit the atmosphere they're currently in.

SOUND - I'll just start out by saying that I loved all the openings and endings (excluding the second ending, for some reason). The first opening fitted the mood for the first half of the season- hilarious, peppy... etc. Then, the second opening changed a lot, because it was more serious-sounding, which, I thought, fit the drama in the second half of the series. Therefore, those did not disappoint. Now, the seiyuus... I thought they did really good. All of them had strong emotion in those intense scenes, and they never sounded like they were pushing theirselves too much when they were mad.

CHARACTER - Wow, where should I start with this section? There was AMAZING characterization. This is probably why I kept watching this series. It was amusing, really. Taiga Aisaka is a midgit, yet her personality is... Well, let's just say if you're just now meeting her, you'll get a horrible first impression. She gets mad or gets into fights over everything that gets onto her nerves, although I thought her personality developed a lot throughout the series.

There was Ryuuji Takasu. I thought it was strange that people were frightened because of his eyes, when he, in truth, is a friendly person. He is a "clean freak", and I'm guessing he loves to cook. Eh, let's just say he has almost all the "skills" a housewife might have.

Also, there was Yuusaku Kitamura, who is Ryuuji's best friend... and also Taiga's crush, primarily. I would say... Kitamura is a persevering person. He's the vice-president of the student council, and he likes the president, Sumire Kanou.

Oh, Ami, what would we do without you?! Although Ami Kawashima is not my favorite character in Toradora!, she has a very caring personality, and I respect her for that. Ami is Kitamura's childhood friend, and transfers to their school. She's a model, but stops, temporarily. She hides her "true self" and acts generous and/or kind, but she has a bad temper; despite that, she's honest and definitely cares for others, as I mentioned earlier.

Last but not least, Minori Kushieda is the last protagonist I'm going to speak of. She is Taiga's best friend and Ryuuji's crush. She's peppy, smiling almost all the time, and is a scatterbrain, so you'd be surprised to see her all serious for she can really express her emotions. Minori tends to run away or ignore her problems, rather than face them.

ENJOYMENT/OVERALL - Oh, man, this show has been so fun to watch that I'm really sad it's over. Almost every episode has left me wanting more. There were a few weak points in the show, for example, the slow start of the series. I'm really glad I decided to give Toradora! a chance, though, and I think you should, too.
Overall, I give Toradora! a 9/10.

*Sorry, if this is a bad review; it's my first one, so there are a lot of flaws in it, although I'd love it if anyone could tell me what I could do to improve. read more