Toradora! was one of the first romance anime I watched, and as such I consider it a great "gateway" anime as it effectively displayed some of the greatest modern feats the romance genre can accomplish. Although lately romance kind of has had a bad reputation for being immature, boring, and cliche (which I somewhat even agree upon), Toradora!, despite remaining true to those stereotypes, present us with a meaningful, character-driven, and conclusive story.
Story:
Toradora! follows a very simple story structure comprised of several arcs, in which each arc falls under a story archetype as you would typically see in many Slice of Life anime. Although this formula normally would be bland, it compensates for itself by having each arc serve the purpose of developing a specific character, or even several characters. While the first half of the series is more light-hearted and comedic, the second half arguably has a heavier mood.
Characters:
The cast of Toradora! is definitely its strong suit, as each of the main characters contrast with one another and provide interesting character interactions. However, as a highly character-driven series, Toradora! excels not specifically through character development, but rather more precisely "relationship development" (although not everyone gets relatively equal amounts of development). Throughout each story arc, our main characters struggle to cope with each of their personal issues and internal conflicts, as well as overcome the various new obstacles they each encounter. As this occurs, they obtain deeper insight on the personalities and natures of one another as well as the effects that they consciously or unconsciously impose on each other. It is not until near the very end of the series, when they decide to make their final, influential decisions, be it either selfish or altruistic, but nonetheless satisfied with the ending results that were chosen.
Art and Sound:
One can expect relatively fluid animation and solid backgrounds from J.C Staff, and this series is no exception. There's little to say about the art itself; it is simply pleasing to look at and is not exceptional by any stretch of the imagination.
The soundtrack, mainly comprised of simple piano pieces, also serves its purpose in amplifying the tone of the current scene, be it calming and quiet or loud and dramatic. Some songs in particular, such as "Lost My Pieces", really help in making the show a bit more dramatic and causing anime watchers to just lose it and start tearing up.
Overall:
Toradora! presents to us a touching story whose main focus is on the development of each character's persona as well as each of the relationships they maintain. Overall, I would highly recommend this series to anyone who would be interested in watching a character-driven romance series.
