Toradora! is an anime based on a series of light novels written by Yuyuko Takemiya with illustrations by Yasu. J.C. Staff, best known for their other works like Azumanga Daioh, Zero no Tsukaima and Shakugan no Shana produced the anime adaptation of the said light novel.
It justs any other ordinary for Ryuji Takasu, a second year student who has a crush on Minori Kushieda, a member of the school’s baseball club and a very hyperactive and sort of tomboyish that loves to do part time jobs since she has time to do it. And Takasu had troubled confessing his feelings to her.
Enter Taiga Aisaka, a rich girl who lives alone in her large apartment. Short and like her size, she is short tempered. Because of this, she was christened with the nickname, “Palm Top Tiger.” Like Takasu, she had trouble in confessing her feeling to her crush, Yusaku Kitamura, a member of the Student Council and Ryuji’s best friend. Small world and it gets smaller when Aisaka accidentally left her love letter on Ryuji’s bag!
When Ryuji returned home, she noticed the love letter, opened it and learned that it is empty. Little did he know that someone entered his small house and attacked him! It was Taiga, angry that he has her love letter. She was then calmed when she learned that it is empty. She later learned that Ryuji had a crush on her friend thus the two agreed to help each other with their respective crushes. Ryuji later learned that her apartment and his house are just a few centimeters away!
Because of this, they were always seen together starting a rumor that they are in a relationship. The two later proved that they are not in the relationship.
Later on, Ami Kawashima came into picture. She is Kitamura’s childhood friend, a model and runs away from a stalker that is why she moved in Kitamura’s high school. She is kind and generous towards others, but the truth is, it is just a mask and her true personality is quite similar to Taiga thus, starting the small rivalry between the two. Ami is the mature one from the group and has a crush on Ryuji.
As the series progressed, the Ryuji tried her best to make Kitamura and Taiga much closer. It goes for Taiga in Ryuji’s crush. Slowly, Taiga develops feelings for Ryuji and slowly feels that at the very end, she will be alone with Ryuji being happy with Minori. However, is this case with Ryuji? That is the thing I don’t want to spoil you.
On to the review, Toradora! is one of the rare anime shows that have a good mix of comedy and drama. The writers knew where to do the comedy and where to execute the drama. The first few episodes of this show have the classic romantic comedy vibe but there is a story arc that gave the show its depth in drama, it’s the School Festival Arc.
The arc is about Taiga’s relationship with his father and Ryuji wants Taiga and her father to reconnect to each other since Ryuji doesn’t experience having a father figure while growing up. In this arc, we have seen Kushieda’s other side.
Most of the live-action dramas that I saw in TV has this clichéd storyline and you know how will all end. Toradora! offered a different approached in the genre, when I first saw this I knew how would it end but I was surprised on how the show turned out.
One of the things that I loved about this show is that its drama is not cheesy, the drama has good build up and we see the clear development of the relationships among the characters.
The character development is good especially in Taiga’s case. Taiga was a doll stuck in a large dollhouse like what Ryuji describes, she came from a broken family and decides to live on her own for them to stop fighting who will take care of her. After she met Ryuji, her life drastically changed. She met Ryuji’s mother and slowly feels she belonged in a family. She was once the impulsive tiger, she mellowed down and in some point, she sacrifices her own feelings for Ryuji’s own happiness.
The only thing that is disappointing in Toradora! is Kitamura, he had some good character development in the series and was later turned into some regular comic relief character after Sumire, the Student Council President left for America after confessing his feelings for her, thus earning a nickname of “The God of Broken Hearts.”
Ami Kawashiwa is one of my personal favorites in this show; she is the mature one and knows what is going with the core cast in terms of their relationships. She, in my opinion is like the “bridge” between Taiga and Ryuji. She made Ryuji realize to stop playing around and express his true feeling for Taiga.
Overall, Toradora! is one of the best shows produced in the past decade. Sure, this show doesn’t have a creepy notebook or awesome eyes, but the show has the feeling that it is realistic and it can happen on anyone. If this show will be adapted into a live-action film or a series, hope they will execute the elements that I loved in this show properly.