Toradora!: SOS! Kuishinbou Banbanzai

I watched this right after Toradora! and this cracked me up.

The story is basically somebody talking about food and Ryuugi says it delicious at "Jonny's" where Minorin is there to duel with her own variation of the food they talk about with Taiga and Ami as victims..er.. tasters.

the art is not nearly as good as the Parent story but very cute as most of the girls have animal ears and tails exsept for Minorin who has a flower.

dont look for a deep meaning to it but its 20 minutes of you life you wont miss. ( P.S, Ryuugi is wierd around minori, You'll see..)

Oh God, why did I watch this...? *Sigh* It's not bad, it really isn't. It was just... Boring.

To start off, unlike it's parent series Toradora!, which revolved around a love dodecahedron of sorts, SOS focuses on... Food. While this is interesting at first, it soon looses its panache. There isn't really much plot to talk about. It's just talking about food and saying that it's delicious.

The art as well isn't great. As this is more or less a gag spin-off, the character models are all very chibi and seems a bit reminiscent of Haruhi-chan. What's interesting about the character designs is that the girls all ... have something that relates to their nicknames. Taiga, the Palmtop Tiger, has tiger ears and a tail, Ami, also known as Stupid Chihuahua has dog ears and a tail and Minori has... a flower? The boys don't have anything though, which is a bit sad.

The backgrounds also are very simple, keeping an undetailed version of the backgrounds from the series with people in the background just being gray blobs.

As for the characterization itself, all the characters maintain the personalities they would have had around the middle of Toradora!, but with any hints of drama taken away of course. The main problems they have is that they do roughly the same thing, from dialogue to actions, in every episode.

The soundtrack as well is very similar to the original series, though it only uses the more upbeat tracks and it isn't very noticeable anyways. The voice acting is the same as Toradora! though and the actors do great with the given material.

Some people will enjoy this, some people won't. If you've watched Toradora! beforehand though (which you should considering this is a spin-off) you will probably find something in this to enjoy and luckily it's not a long show so it doesn't have time to get too boring. Chances are though, you'll know from the first episode whether or not you will enjoy it.

With that said, I give this delicious "Strawberry On Shortcake" a 6 out of 10.

So I LOVE Toradoa! I had to watch all of the extras. As a huge fan of Toradora I can tell you that this isn't really worth the watch. First off, it's all chibi. Second off the first three episodes follow this pretty much: A food is brought up and they say it tastes bad, Takasu says at Johnny's it tastes good so they go, Minori calls Takasu an idiot and a challenge between two servings of the food goes on we get some weird lectures and then Kitamura comes in for a word and then we hear from Inko. The last episode is a ... little different where they stalk Baka-Chi because she's gaining weight and they lecture her on eating and then she shows them disgusting food that tastes good and some weird lectures and then Kitamura comes in and says a word then we hear from Inko and voila, done.
Like, it's really not worth the watch, sadly.

After watching the series I had to see the OVA's especially when I found out these dealt with food. Let me say this first off.. To me.. this was almost better than the series. I thought the series lacked the comedy everyone had said it had.. but to me.. these four OVA's completely made up for it.

All of the episodes are about 5 minutes long and they honestly move very quickly. The characters are all in chibi form.. plus the girls have animal ears and tails added lol... so.. the art is pretty cute.. and makes you laugh already..except Kushieda-chan has a flower on her ... head.. lol.. I didnt understand it either.. but it made it that much more fun..

The episodes talk about cuisine.. and that is basically ALL they are about but.. honestly they are very very informative.. There is alot of information in each one.. Surprisingly.. Taiga-chan's response to every food she tastes was enough to leave me laughing even thinking about it.

These are definitely fun to watch.. and worth the 20 minutes youll spend to see all of them.. I loved them more than the series lol.

While I'm a huge fan of Toradora, I made the mistake of thinking that anything Toradora-related would be great. Chibi versions of my favorite characters in a silly, four episode special? What could go wrong! Unfortunately, plenty of things. I actually found myself fast-forwarding out of irritation with how poor the first couple episodes were treated. The art is sporadic, the dialogue is not aligned with the character personalities I've experienced from the original series, and the premise of SOS is awful.

The episodes follow the same theme. Taiga and crew start off at school, usually prattling on about some sort of food tasting poor. ... Ryuji, being the food expert, exclaims that the food in question is actually really good because they've never had it cooked properly. They go to a restaurant called Jonny's so that Ryuji can change their mind about the rating of the food they were talking about earlier in the episode. Minori chimes in, challenging Ryuji to some eating competition. They eat two servings of food, Ryuji talks about the historical background of the food for a solid forty-five seconds, and Kitamura declares the winner at the end.

The dialogue is where I was mostly put-off, especially when it came to Ryuji. It was difficult to sit through his lectures on how, "Curry is cooked differently in various households and some families use pig innards for meat," or how, "In the 1970s, people followed a practice called the Triangular Order." While these may be interesting facts about the food present in the episode, it becomes irritating when it drones on for nearly a minute. I supposed I expected more between characters and dialogue that was relative to the parent series, rather than a history lesson on food.

I wasn't a big fan of the art, either. It seemed like they were going for something cutesy and minimal in attempts to make it relative to the chibi characters, but it honestly just seemed rushed. I especially didn't enjoy the design for the characters, where each of them had something on their head based on their nicknames in the parent series. Taiga wore cat ears, Ami had dog ears (for being a dumb-chi), and Minori had some sort of flower. I thought the show could have done without those, as it ended up being more a mess on top of an already really disheveled art-style.

Overall, I was expecting something far different from what I received. I was frustrated watching this and ended up forwarding through most of the episodes. I was annoyed with the characters for acting so out-of-place, particularly Ryuji that kept giving long lectures on the food in the episode. The only positive of this series is that it's only four episodes, all with a five minute duration. I would venture to say that this is not worth watching in the least, but if you're a fan of this type of anime, then maybe you can find enjoyment out of it. Otherwise, stay away from Toradora!: SOS!

well, there's 20 minutes of my life that i'll never get back.

i am a toradora fan so i really wanted to check this out. but sadly, i found that these four episodes were pretty... boring. by the time i completed the second episode, i wasn't looking forward to the next episode as much as i did watching the original toradora anime.

( i mean, i know that takasu loves food but i don't know of many people who would enjoy sitting through one of takasu's lectures about curry or what have you )

the art is definitely cute but very simple. the backgrounds look a bit ... sloppy as well. but what i really don't get is the design of the chibis. i can get why taiga looks like a tiger and why ami looks like a dog (dumb-chi), but why wouldn't takasu have anything? he has been referred to as a dragon a few times. saying that, why does minori have a flower?

the soundtrack was fine, but sometimes the music didn't match the mood of the current event.

in all, this spin-off was not too bad, but it didn't come near to the bar that its parent had set. however, this is worth a watch as you'll know if you love it or not.


RATING: C

Got a headache while watching this. Also my eyes and ears are bleeding for obvious reasons. There's no way someone rate this at that high.

Not unique, predictable, not funny, not enjoyable, terrible, ugly, disgusting, please don't make me write this and just pass, full of stereotypes, mockery of the series, abuse to an anime world, annoying and go outside or whatever. Worst half an hour in my life. There's no another word I can say about it.

First point for being ToraDora, second point for self-irony, third point for absurdity. I am too kind for reviewing this thing. Go rewatch ToraDora.

So they managed to shrink Taiga even more I sure am impressed. Make her even more loli well played.

Anyway I only watched it because I wanted to watch all the extras and why not lel wasting 20 min of my life ain't a big deal. To be fair it ain't that bad. The characters are cute and all but still the story kinda boring (If you call it a story).
I really liked that they gave some of the characters animal ears and tails. Made 'em look even cuter. The Art ain't that bad and ain't that good either it's not like the original series. ...


In the end if you like to watch cute characters eating food this is for you

Once you hit the play button, it feels like an eternity even though it's just 5 minutes an episode. That was really boring and very hard to keep track with, and honestly, not worth the effort. It's like playing of one VSauce's videos at x3 speed, so much trivia all over the place with a bad sense of humor, (not that Micheal is not funny). The animation didn't help either.
The main focus of this specials was the different foods that get brought up, they go from Tarako Spaghetti, Pudding, Curry... I forgot what the last one was, probably that poor parrot. The title SOS probably ... meant “Shortcake of Strawberry”, that would complement the nature of the special.

After having watched the full 'Toradora!' series, the first full anime series I have ever actually completed, I found myself wanting more. Luckily, there are extra little 'Toradora!' projects/specials like this in existence. Unluckily, 'Toradora!: SOS' is extremely flawed and is laughable compared to the original series; however, the characters ARE still here, and are fun to spend further time with, even if, for some reason, they are these bizarre miniature versions of themselves with bigger heads and smaller bodies. Also, it was kind of upsetting to see that, for literally no reason, Taiga and Ami are just these weird cat girls now; they ... have cat ears on their heads and tails. Everything else about them is human, except for the ears and tails, they're neko girls and I kind of hate it. There's one point in which Taiga is excited to see her friend Minori, and her means of greeting Minori is heartwarming in a way due to what we've seen previously in the series, due to how truly loving and powerful their bond and friendship is, but then it just cuts to Taiga's cat tail wagging excitedly and it's like "wtf even is this". Other than that, it's a mostly silly show in which these lovable characters react absurdly to various foods, and it's pretty consistently funny and extremely short. If you loved the original series, you might as well see this if not just as a curio.

this review will probably be short otherwise lets get into it

Story: nothing really to the story just the main cast here going and eating different foods and kinda learning about the foods really nothing her for a story.

Art: in terms with the anime it actually uses a chibi kinda style for the characters while also keeping the art the same from the anime

Sound: No real Op they did add the ED from the anime but that's really about it i watched the dub not the sub for the anime but the sub in this was pretty good.

Character: Taiga is one of the females ... lead and she can be a bit of a bad attitude and also she is known as the Plamtop tiger as i said she goes have a feisty side to her but also a good side to her as well. Ryuuji is one of the male leads well the legit male lead and he is a pretty nice guy a person who loves cleaning and just doing household stuff well but all in all a pretty nice and just cool character. Yuusaku is the last male lead and well he is the vice president of the school honestly he is a pretty chill and pretty nice person nothing else really to say about him honestly. Ami is another female lead and well shes a model and well she kinda has a bratty attitude and also she puts on a act that she is pretty much nice and sweet. Minori is the last female lead of the anime and she is well she is like bat crazy but in a good way but also she does tend to dodge stuff a lot like many of the characters but honestly shes another good character. (just coping and pasting this from my review of Toradora sense the basically act the same here as well.)

Enjoyment: Things that i liked: honestly ill admit that the shorts were enjoyable of a watch just to see the characters here and it has a tiny bit of comedy here. Things that didn't like: the comedy isn't really here in this at least for me honestly that's really about it.

Overall: im giving this a 6 if your a die hard fan of the anime like me than watch these they are enjoyable to a extent and a nice way to kill some time.

{ My goal is to write reviews that don't take much time to read, yet get the point across, as well as being as spoiler-free as possible. Please be assured that you will learn nothing you can't already read in the synopsis unless mentioned priorly }

Very enjoyable special!

I hopped right into this once I completed Toradora and my did I enjoy it. The idea of the food "competitions" if you will, was very entertaining!

The art was simple, but for the type of small anime special it is, it's appropriate to use.

It felt like the voice actors were talking instead of the actual characters, and just ... having a good time overall which made it feel homey in a sense.

I loved seeing the characters interact, it felt like watching a group of good friends enjoying themselves. They didn't make me laugh, but certainly, put me in a good mood.

This was refreshing to watch! It felt like a shitpost in a good way. You don't need to have watched Toradora to understand what happens, and it's lighthearted and fun!

I would recommend to anyone who has watched Toradora, but also someone looking for a few short videos to enjoy (each "episode" is 5 minutes long)

Toradora! SOS is an unsightly stain to the Toradora name. It is a festering, maggot-filled wound; a rotting limb that requires immediate amputation lest the infection spreads; a dying scream in the night that is best unacknowledged.

“How bad can 4 short episodes be?” you may ask. It pains me to answer.

I fully realize that this is supposed to be a silly comedy. Lighthearted fluff. Trivial fanservice.

However, how can I laugh when the multi-dimensional characters of one of my favorite romance shows are reduced to colorful, brainless meat puppets? These people are supposed to be Ryuuji, Taiga, Minori, Ami…but all I can see are cartoonish cardboard ... cutouts prattling about nothing. Their charming personalities are gone and only vapid imitations remain. The fact that the only character that stays true to its form is Inko-chan should tell you something. Even then, the special darkly suggests that something sinister befalls upon him.

The comedy in Toradora amusingly highlighted the cast’s quirks and tangled relationships with each other. The comedy in Toradora! SOS made me question the sanity of J.C. Staff. If you find random bits of trivia about gout, Mt. Fuji, and piranhas haphazardly thrown in hilarious, you will love this. Everyone else, prepare to be bored to tears.

But the most insulting thing that this special does is taking the bittersweet songs ‘Lost My Pieces’ and ‘Sorairo no Houkago’ – songs that were used during some of the most emotionally-devastating moments in the original show – and using them for cheap pudding jokes. Two beautiful piano pieces that accompanied moments of unrequited love and lost innocence in Toradora are now enmeshed in Toradora! SOS as punchlines for characters eating corned beef. Disgraceful.

Not once did I smile. Not once did I feel nostalgia. Not once did I feel happiness.

My life is all the worse for having watched this. Avoid at all costs.

This is a much shorter review since there is not that much to unpack.

It is a nice comedy special.

The food was good, the animation was not as good as the main, and the comedy was good. I really enjoyed it!

The story is definitely unique as criticizing food is not something a lot of anime does. I enjoyed it particularly since the Toradora cast were the ones doing it.

The characters had amazing reactions. The character design was cute with the animal characteristics haha

...
The music was okay. The OP is the same as Toradora! OP 1 so I liked it but then again isnt original to this series so no points added here


If you enjoyed Toradora this is a good watch!

Final Score: 6/10
Thanks!
-CyanCheetah

I would make a long paragraph like most reviewers but this anime is DELICIOUSLY GOOD! The moments are random and funny. Also, the animation is top-tier outstanding! 10/10 and also since each episode is 6 mins long, this anime is great and awesome. It is very exhilarating! Toradora revolves around Ryuuji Takasu, despite his gentle personality, his eyes make him look like an intimidating delinquent. Class rearrangements on his second high school year put him together with his best friend, Yusaku Kitamura, and his hidden crush, Minori Kushieda. This random SOS anime does not tie in or in any shape connects to the actual anime.

Toradora!: SOS! seems to be is what happens when a creator has an idea for an original shorts series but lacks the courage, budget, or both to make a new original IP, so they slap a successful IP's name onto it.

On the one hand, it's an amusing series of shorts about five friends eating/talking about Japanese cuisine that even includes a few bits of educational trivia. On the other, it simply doesn't feel related to ToraDora! in any way, shape, or form. While the characters occasionally say a line or two that reminds you of who they were in the original series, most of ... the time they feel like original characters. The only part of the episodes that really felt like ToraDora were the endcaps with Inko in them doing the same style of gag she does in the original show.

I might have enjoyed this more if I went into it expecting some characters I don't know talking about food (I'm actually a huge sucker for food anime AND short anime) but since I went into it expecting a reunion with a series I loved and not really getting that, I felt baited and switched, and it meant the series ended up leaving a bad taste in my mouth... pun intended.

This is Toradora, right? I am pretty sure I didn't smoke anything...

This "Special" seems like the writers told the actors and artist to do whatever you want. And this what comes out. Toradora high on catnip.

The episodes consisting of mainly the gang going out and eat. Ruyyji and Kitamura making really long explanations of stuff that is really important.

The whacky characters are who they are but, also seem to be high on catnip.

Overall it's okay, but I didn't crack any laughs of any sort. I would only suggest watching this if you really liked Toradora.

... Overall a 5 out of 10.

"Toradora on catnip"