The story of the romantic struggles and conflicts of a group of high school friends, Toradora! seems to barely stray away from the common cliches of high school romcom anime. From a plot perspective, there's hardly anything exciting about the anime with such a predictable turn of events. The main heroine is a tsundere. Whoa! Never saw that one before! And let's not forget the pivotal culture festival, Christmas, and Valentine's Day scenes that exists in EVERY SINGLE high school romance (looking at you, Shana).
What we as anime viewers may not be aware of is that all these common cliches are not signs of bad writing, or lack of creativity. In fact, it would be quite stupid not to include such climatic and exciting events of a school year if the anime was situated at school. A tsundere main always makes things more exciting and allows the anime to leverage a wide range of emotions. The reason why these aspects are often frowned upon is that anime creators have taken these ideas and concepts and treated them as cookie cutters instead of baking instructions. Rather than use these ideas as launching pads for their own styles, anime makers have simply plopped characters and stories into these molds without bothering to really make it theirs, uniquely theirs. Anime, instead of being an artistic creation like a song or a painting, is mass-produced like a model of a car or an industry-standard table.
Not Toradora.
Toradora! takes the basic plot of the romcom and breathes the breath of life into the characters, into the events, into the very atmosphere of the anime. Not afraid to be cliche, not afraid to be unique, Toradora! stands firm and resolute as its own unique story, its own special drawing, its own melodic song. It is a classic among anime.
Story (8/10)
Art (9/10)
Sound (8/10)
Character (10/10)
Enjoyment (9/10)
Toradora!'s story is ridiculously predictable. A girl likes a guy who is a friend of a guy who likes a friend of the girl's. The former girl and the latter guy team up to help each other find their loves. At this point, it should almost be a given that the two of them are going to fall for each other. Ryuuji and Taiga don't even try to hide it in the first episode, making weird smirks and grins at each other at school. Sure, Ami is introduced into the fray but is almost immediately dismissed as someone non-influential (from a romantic sense).
Everything goes according to an obvious plan. And that's what made the anime such an exciting watch.
When I first saw Ryuuji and Taiga, I thought they were made for each other...wait, that's true...Anyways, I wanted to see them get paired up since their pair dynamic was just simply awesome. But I then immediately recalled a few anime (COUGH COUGH MASHIROIRO SYMPHONY) where the main heroine actually doesn't become the chosen girl. I spent the entire anime praying that this would not be the case, and was overjoyed when Taiga confessed her love to Ryuuji.
In a way, the obvious predictability of the anime made me more aware of the possible divergences the anime could have taken that would have made it a total disaster. In the end, I gained a new appreciation for anime that doesn't try to stupidly make something original without giving a care for quality or consequence.
I loved the art. Taiga's character design is simply beautiful - the way her hair juxtaposes her figure, the way her eyes grace her pose. Her smile is simply enchanting. Ryuuji is one of the first protagonist designs that I airfisted for: finally, a main character with a notable characteristic! Those eyes are killer, and really make him seem like a "dragon" type character. The anime also has some very nice environment and object designs, like the shining Christmas tree.
Although, is it just me, or does did Taiga's getup at the Christmas party look really bad...?
The soundtrack was quite a grab bag. Pre-parade has a very weird and unique sound for a romcom anime. My Silky Heart seemed to be a better fit, although both were wonderfully done OPs. The winning ticket has to go to Orange, however, for best song in the series. The actual anime has some good music to back up the scenes - nothing extraordinary, however. Personally, I think the insert song could have also been better. The seiyuus are all wonderful, in particular Kugimiya Rie aka Ms. Tsundere, voice of Shana and Louise.
Now let's talk about where Toradora! trumps all other anime of similar genre: character.
Character design is where about 90% of the common romcom anime fail. They create the standard plot with the standard events and standard characters, and then do NOTHING ELSE with the characters, leaving them static for the entire anime.
In contrast, every main character in Toradora! is dynamic.
Let's start with Ryuuji. As typical for a protagonist, he has an urge to protect and support the girls around him, especially Taiga. He begins the anime as a kid with a mean glare but a very timid interior, lacking both resolve and confidence. Over the course of the anime and his relationship with Taiga, he slowly begins to be accepted with his looks as he changes his character from within. Clapping at the culture festival, dressing up as Santa Bear; all these are examples of Ryuuji's character changing positively because of Taiga. By the end of the anime, not only is he accepted by those who once rejected him, but he also has found a purpose in his life where he once had no goal.
Taiga, Taiga, Taiga. Ms. Tsundere, you have truly given life to another wonderful character. Taiga starts of the anime as a prototypical violent tsundere. I had little hope that this tiny girl would actually change her persona, but I was delighted to be completely wrong. Just as her namesake changes colors and appearance through the seasons, Taiga grows and matures (never physically, though!) and becomes a lovable character. When the anime hit winter, I was wondering if it was still the same girl I was watching. Even still, they kept her fighting tiger spirit alive until the very last headbutt.
Minori is an interesting side character. My initial prediction was that she actually liked Yuusaku, but that was quickly rebuffed. Her relationship with Taiga is a mystery but gives her a wonderful reason to become a dynamic side character. Her energy is a driving force in the anime, as are her tears. Minori feels similar to Taiga, but has the will and the drive to make herself happy by her own hands without necessarily relying on even another's love. A great supporting character and love rival, really refreshing to watch (vs. someone like Siesta).
Yuusaku basically steals the spotilght for a quarter of the episodes. With his own love issues and conflicts, Yuusaku shows that a side character can still get major attention in anime. He acts as the voice of reason for the group, as well as another source of energy like Minori. He also likes running around shirtless.
I had slightly different expectations for Ami, but in the end I'm not disappointed. More than anything, I expected her to put on more of a show, to give more of a fight. Instead, she naturally accepts things as they are and goes with the flow, which is...totally unprecedented with her given character mold. She's supposed to be the girl that potentially steals the protagonist, but she barely even steals his attention. However, her relationship with Taiga and the rest of the cast allows her to mature as a person, and ultimately allows her to accept herself as she is. She may resign herself from romance, but she ultimately discovers the precious gift called friendship which is enough to make her happy.
The rest of the cast plays important supporting roles. Even the teacher makes an important and meaningful speech at the end. The characters truly brought the anime alive in a way I never thought was possible.
Holistically, the anime was a complete package, wrapped with ribbons and all. The beginning of the anime was intriguing, captivating, and made you want to follow how Ryuuji and Taiga were going to get along despite knowing the obvious conclusion. This anime had the best kiss scene of any anime ever. Easily. The resolution was also perfect, wholly wrapping up the anime with no holes and leaving with a light and breezy feeling. A great anime ending that left me perfectly happy and at ease.
Overall (9/10)
Toradora! deserves to be part of the prestigious top 100 on MAL, and will undoubtedly be a classic anime for years to come. I hope other anime producers will see and be inspired by this anime, so that Toradora! will not be the last of its kind, of anime that both meets our expectations and exceeds our dreams.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and find a Sudohbucks mug.
