This is what Toradora revolves around; finding someone who couldn't care less how you look like and stares at all the flaws in a person's personality to love them for who they are.
The story is very character-driven and largely focuses on Ryuuji, an extremely mature person who unfortunately looks way too much like a delinquent for his own good, and Taiga, an immature person who looks way too young for her own good. Their interactions are the driving force behind the show and work extremely well, although it certainly doesn't hint that way at the beginning (though certainly grows with time).
Story is mainly driven around the themes I mentioned previously and how do the various characters view them initially, conflict with one another over their various perspectives and ultimately grow up as the show continues.
This adds a layer of maturity to the show, since not only do the characters accept their emotions and learn to be true to themselves, but also learn to face reality and slowly but surely develop over the course of the show. No character remains underdeveloped and no character is as simple as they seem, as the various characters all change by the end of the show.
There is a lot of subtlety in portraying their emotions, and this works extremely well in the show's more quiet moments. The show does become very dramatic at many points, but I never felt it was overblown and usually the characters have reasons for acting the way they do.
The soundtrack is solid, though doesn't have a lot of hearing value outside of the show with the exception of specific tracks. A particular mention needs to go to the track "Lost my pieces", which is one of my favorite tracks out of anime period. The voice acting is solid, and while I am no fan of Rie Kugimiya she certainly did a good job voicing Taiga here.
Both openings are exceptionally well-done and fit the mood of the show, but I found myself liking the second opening better than the first. The first is extremely catchy, sure, but I found the slow build up in the second opening until it goes full to be much better done and much more lively to watch and better fitting the tone of the show. They're certainly great and I don't recall skipping either, so there's that.
The artwork is nice and consistent, but lacks the look that made it so distinct in the manga and the light novel illustrations. Characters are easily identifiable and the coloring looks great, but I couldn't help but feel (after I read the manga and took a look at the LN illustrations) that a lot of the charm in those character designs was lost when it made it to anime format. This is just a nitpick that bothered me well after I finished the show, but I can see why this wouldn't bother anyone else.
The animation quality is smooth and consistent, though not particularly amazing to look at but still filled with energy and movement. The background looks nice, and a lot of the motions have a lot of clear effort put into them. JC Staff put a lot of effort into this show, and it really shows.
While the drama does feel out of hand sometimes, I still think Toradora is a very charming series that is surprisingly mature and manages to wrap up all of its themes and characters extremely well. The characters are loveable and the story is well-paced, and I certainly am very fond of it and can say that it deserves most of its praise.
I greatly enjoyed Toradora and recommend it if you feel bored of the typical shoujo/shonen romance and want to watch something that follows many of the typical cliches, but has a very distinct identity of its own and manages to do everything very well.
