Toradora is primarily slice of life. With this in mind, do not start this anime with a mindset of heavy action, intensity, and mind-boggling plot twists. Normally, slice of life, as a genre, is more mundane than other types of anime. This does not mean that it is boring by any means. The events are simply more akin to what may happen in our own lives. In Toradora, I have found the plot to be very engaging. It has some of the school slice of life arcs such as festivals and beaches, but I felt that Toradora did those parts distinctly better than other animes.
I thought about why I enjoyed this anime more than other of its genre. I then realized that the cast was the difference. Toradora has amazing characters. The three main girls (Taiga, Ami, and Minori) are all very detailed and have distinct and unique personalities. Personally, I felt that Taiga carried the show. Her character is heartwarming, sad, funny, and adorable. Ryuji, the protagonist, is very solid as well.
Art and sound are both great. The art is very well done in the right moments and scenes, although, it may fall off a little in a small portion of more mundane screen time. The sound is average at the beginning. By the second half, some viewers may notice a certain emotionally powerful song in the OST (Lost My Pieces). This song is breathtaking. It has drove me to tears by simply listening to it. The track has completely revolutionized my score for sound. The OPs and EDs are pretty good.
When it comes to enjoyment, Toradora has performed great. At the end of the anime, I was reaching a difficult decision between giving it a 9 or a 10. I thought that the anime was excellent. However, I thought that there could be some flaws to it. Some anime watchers may have trouble with Taiga. Others may dislike the melodrama and how over the top everything seems later. That was when one of the themes of Toradora hit me.
*Possible spoilers* The theme of society's influence on an individual and truly knowing someone coincided with how I was deciding and it is present in Toradora. I always felt that I was a special snowflake, that I was free of society's molds. However, how I was giving Toradora's score was evident of how other viewers may think and not my personal opinion. *Possible spoilers done*
That is what has changed my opinion. At the end of an anime, what truly matters is enjoyment. Looking back at it, I love Toradora. It is an emotional roller coaster and now I understand why some people say that it has defind the romantic comedy genre. It feels like Taiga is the pioneer of the tsundere archetype. Surely, there may be some flaws in Toradora, but none have bothered me enough to even bring this masterpiece to a 9. The pros about the anime are simply too high. The characters, the feels, the soundtrack, the story. All of it is done at a high level that I would not expect from a slice of life, romcom anime. That is why I am sticking with a 10.
In conclusion, here are a few of some questions you should ask yourself if you want to recommend this anime to yourself.
-Do you like tsunderes?
-Do you like feels/melodrama?
-Do you like a high school/slice of life setting at all?
-Finally, do you like a romance that is not all rainbows and sunshine?
If yes to any of these questions, watch Toradora now.
Overall: 9.5/10
