Reviews

Toradora! As an avid anime watcher who especially enjoys lighthearted romances, I was surprised to have discovered that I skipped out on one of the most popular romcoms out there. The general plot of Toradora is nothing new; the MC has a crush but gradually realizes his love for another girl (not really a spoiler, since the title makes everything quite obvious for anyone who's watched anime before). So why bother watching an anime with such a generic story, especially one where you know how it'll likely end up? It boils down to the comfortable pacing and length of the anime that allows the hilarity and seriousness of a typical romance to dovetail into a near perfect experience. Unlike many romance animes, Toradora lacks the overdramatized moments in which forced tears and exaggerated life issues would deceive viewers into mistaking rather saccharine plot devices with genuine tragedies. Instead, Toradora thrives on the relatable nature of the couple, as both MC's sincerely commit themselves to chasing their love interests, allowing for further events to unfold both realistically and in a timely fashion. With that said, this anime is not without its flaws. Perhaps it is my own fault for being too absorbed by certain characters, but as one who watches the anime will find out, not all the main/supporting characters were developed to their fullest extent. Furthermore, the naivety of young love is quite prevalent in the closing episodes. However, it's arguable that Tatsuyuki's intention was to keep the fan-coveted analytical evaluations of those characters to a minimum, in order to avoid dreary monologues and bring focus to what the anime shines for: an admirable love gradually developing between two friends who are always there for each other.

Highly recommend, especially if you enjoy cute stories. 8.5/10