The story of Toradora starts out pretty simple. Our main protagonists have a crush on each other's best friend. They discover this fact and pledge to help each other with their respective crushes. Aside from general character building, that's pretty much it. I can tell you that right after I watched the first episode, I had a very sure fire prediction about what was going to happen by the end show. Whether I was right or wrong is irrelevant. What is relevant is that I was always hanging by the edge of my seat to see what happened in the next episode.
The success of Toradora's story was built upon the strong foundation of its characters. My favorite thing about Toradora is how it's characters just refuse to conform to common tropes. I wouldn't say everyone is completely realistic, but they all have just enough unique characteristics to define themselves with. Also, there aren't any characters that are "perfect." Each of them has their own faults and insecurities. However, aside from the main five cast members you see in the opening sequence, most everyone else is kind of forgettable.
Speaking of the big five characters in Toradora, we have:
1. Ryuugi Takasu, an intimidating young man with a talent for various kinds of housework.
2. Taiga Aisaka, a cute and clumsy girl who has a tendency to lash out at others.
3. Ami Kawashima, a teen model who pretends to be airheaded, although she is actually quite arrogant.
4. Minori Kushieda, a cheerful and athletic girl who is also the best friend of Taiga.
5. Yuusaku Kitamura, the vice-president of the student council who is also the best friend of Ryuugi.
As you have probably put together by now, Ryuugi likes Minori and Taiga likes Yuusaku, and Ryuugi and Taiga make up our special love alliance.
Each character takes a few episodes down the line to develop, but the story of Toradora isn't ever focused on just one particular character. The relationship between everyone is always developing, it’s just that the characters take turns to flesh out their backstory.
About the sound and animation in Toradora, there is nothing wrong going on. However, I was a bit disappointed with character designs. Having two girls with the same face and different hair colors doesn't exactly speak creativity. Also, my favorite track was actually the opening theme, and then they changed it about halfway through the show.
Time for some final thoughts on Toradora. Firstly, I think that if you plan on watching it, you should decide beforehand to watch the whole thing. It’s not the kind of anime that can be judged until you have finished it. About eight or nine episodes into it, I thought of Toradora as a funny high school sitcom. Turned out, I was very wrong. Also, I think that Toradora is a great access point for getting into the slice-of-life genre. It spends some time tugging onto your heart strings, but nothing overly strenuous. I spent more time laughing than anything else when I was watching it.
Final Verdict: Toradora is pleasant, funny, and entertaining. You can watch it to have a good time with friends, have an enjoyable evening, or maybe just to see a touching teen romance. And if you're looking for a way to get into a new genre of anime, Toradora is a great place to start with!
