After about 6 months of hearing all the constant chatter about how amazing Toradora! is, I decide to watch it. I've seen quite a few of RomComs, such as Lovely Complex and Zero no Tsukaima, and I've been a fan of them for a while. The only problem with RomComs these days is that they either suck, or they have an unoriginal story to it. Very rarely do I find a RomCom now a days that deserves anything above an 8, and I was actually really happy once I started watching Toradora, 'cause this is one of the rare RomComs I was just talking about. I don't know what made me love it the most, but I can definitely say that this inparticular RomCom is one of my most favorites of all time.
To start off, I'll give you a brief idea about what the story is about. We have Takasu and Taiga, who are both known in the school as "Dragon and Tiger". It start's off pretty normally, Takasu has a crush on Minori, the friend of Taiga, and Taiga has a crush on Kitamura, the friend of Takasu. Once Takasu and Taiga find out they've been living right next door to eachother, they decide to help eachother out by trying to set eachother up with their friends. With that, there are many moments full of laughter, romance, heartbreak, and plain old fun. It may sound like a cliché storyline, but the way they made this anime makes it the opposite of a cliché. I was satisfied for most of the show, despite the ending being the slightest bit anti-climactic. Overall, the story was very well made, and the comedy thrown into it makes Toradora definitely worth watching.
Artwork was great. I liked how the characters were portrayed, their looks seem to fit their personalities, at least except for Takasu. You don't see many tall, scary looking guys who are obsessed with cleaning and cooking. Taiga's character was probably my favorite in terms of appearance. The fact that she can kick ass at 4'7" is amazing. Other than her shortness, she brings this kid-like cuteness mixed in with a sexy-like cuteness... she definitely gave off some weird vibes, but I didn't care, I still loved her.
Rie Kugimiya, the goddess of Tsundere voice-acting roles! Voiced the best character in Toradora (Taiga again)! Her and her professionalism made Taiga practically perfect, and she has an amazing voice when it comes to singing as well, good Lord. Junji Majima rocked Takusu's voice as well. His calm-like personality made Takasu even more funny during comedic situations. Everyone else practically nailed their roles, the voice acting was grade A.
Taiga. Taiga is still my favorite. She made it on my "Top 10 Female Anime Characters" list. I don't know whether it's because I'm a fan of Tsunderes, or because she's just plain lovable, but she was my favorite character in Toradora. Her personality made it even easier for me to love her, and I'd be surprised if there were any Taiga-Haters out there, because if there were, I'd need to go slap some sense into them. Takasu was really cool, he made it onto my "Top 10 Male Anime Characters" list... in otherwords, there were quite a few nominees in this anime that could have made it onto my list. Takasu is like the ideal partner. Ladies who can't cook or clean, here you go, Takasu is your man. Next theirs Minori. Hyperactive and funny, but at the same time, I kept getting mad at her at some points. There wasn't anything I hated about her, it's just some moments in this anime that made me think I did. Once you watch, you'll understand. Next there's the Chihuahua (Kawashima). Snobby model/actress personality made her seem like the villain of the show. Luckily she wasn't. She actually proved herself to be one of the most reliable characters on the show, helping people with their love life and such. Finally, there's the God of Unrequited Love (AKA Kitamura). When I heard that nickname I thought, "What the hell?". Other then that, he seemed like a funny guy, but I did question his stripping habits in a few of the episodes. But he's the ideal best friend. Overall characters in this show were all awesome!
Enjoyed every minute of every enjoyable second. Got sad every minute of every sad second. Laughed every minute of every funny moment. This is your ideal RomCom (God, so many "Ideals" in this...). If you're looking for good comedy, romance, and enjoyableness... enjoyability... wait, what... anyways, look no further, Toradora is the anime for you. I recommend this to everyone, even if you don't like RomComs and are more of the action/sci-fi/thriller/whatever genre that isn't Romance or Comedy type, watch this. It'll be well worth it, I assure you.
