Toradora | Anime Review | Pinnedupink.com

Toradora

A GENRE DEFINING ROM-COM

Toradora is one of the most, if not the most popular, rom-com anime of all time with millions of fans all around the globe. At first glance, Toradora looks like just another rom-com with a somewhat predictable story; however, it is much more than just that. This anime takes the same old story about two people slowly falling in love but presents it freshly and excitingly.

Today, we’ll be taking a closer look at all the aspects of Toradora that make it stand out as a rom-com anime.

The plot of Toradora follows the story of a guy named Ryuuji Takasu and a girl named Taiga Aisaka. Both of them are misunderstood by the people around them. Ryuuji is a caring and humble boy, but everyone mistakes him for a delinquent because of the way he looks. On the other hand, Taiga is a beautiful short girl, but her feisty and short-tempered personality has earned her the nickname “Palm-top tiger.”

After an accident, Ryuuji discovers that the aggressive and scary little Taiga has a crush on his best friend named Yuusaku Kitamura. Ryuuji also reveals to Taiga that he has a crush on a girl Minori Kushieda who happens to be Taiga’s best friend. Ryuuji and Taiga form a pretty strange bond as the two of them try to help each other.

The plot of Toradora sounds quite cliché and uninteresting. However, your mind will quickly change as you start watching this series. As I said before, Toradora takes the same old cliché story that can be found in many other rom-com anime and presents it in its own way. While the plot itself seems a bit uninteresting, the story progression of Toradora is what defines it. The show slowly starts to become more and more serious and emotional as you progress in the story.

This aspect is the biggest problem for most rom-com anime out there. Usually, the characters in rom-com anime are just defined by using certain tropes and clichés. These characters are not dynamic and realistic, and they lack any kind of foundation for their actions. However, the characters in Toradora are different!

While these characters also seem baseless and unrealistic at first, you soon realize that all of these characters’ personalities have actual depth. These characters have real backstories and reasons to act the way that they act.

Let us take a closer look at the four main characters in the series:

Taiga Aisaka:

Taiga Aisaka is the main female character in the series, and she has a pretty straight-forward and aggressive personality that makes her unapproachable. While she does seem like a bad person, this is not the real personality of Taiga. As the show progresses, Taiga slowly learns to accept her real feelings. With divorced parents and no one to look out for her, Taiga doesn’t have a perfect life.

In terms of looks, Taiga is an absolute beauty. Though, her short height and doll-like face don’t go well with her personality.

Ryuuji Takasu:

Ryuuji Takasu is the male lead of the show and an extremely likable guy. Ryuuji relates to Taiga in the sense that his personality and looks don’t complement each other. Ryuuji might have a humble and friendly personality, but his eyes make him look pretty scary and unapproachable. As he grew up in a house without a father, Ryuuji is pretty good at household chores and knows how to take care of himself. Just like Taiga, Ryuuji’s personality also develops quite a lot as the show progresses.

Minori Kushieda:

Minori is Ryuuji’s crush and Taiga’s best friend. Despite being a supporting character in the series, Minori’s character is dynamic and realistic. Unlike Taiga, this girl is always cheerful and smiling. Minori is an airhead and the captain of the girls’ softball club at school.

Yuusaku Kitamura:

Yuusaku is the best friend of Ryuuji and Taiga’s crush. This guy is basically an all-rounder! He is the vice president of the student council, class representative, and the captain of the boys’ softball club. Despite having many qualities, the boy isn’t too confident when it comes to communicating with girls.

The art and animation quality of Toradora is decent, but nothing out of the ordinary. J.C.Staff has handled the animation, which is also responsible for other famous shows like Food Wars. The transitions between different scenes have been handled perfectly, and the narrative direction is also pretty good. Overall, you won’t have any complaints regarding the animation quality of Toradora.

IS IT A MUST-WATCH ANIME?

Yes, Toradora is a must-watch anime, even if you don’t usually watch rom-com anime. This show is a unique take on the genre that presents all of the cliché rom-com tropes in its way and completely captivates us. The story of Toradora develops in such a way that we get hooked after only a few episodes.

The characters of Toradora are what define it! We learn more about these characters with every new episode and get emotionally attached.

According to some fans, the ending of the anime was pretty anticlimactic. Still, I seriously liked the end as it gave us a reasonable conclusion for the story in only 25 episodes.

If you haven’t watched Toradora, then you should do it right now! This anime is exciting, unique, and filled with astounding twists and turns in the story. The story of Toradora does not seem repetitive at all, and you will enjoy every single episode. The quirky humor of the show is also something quite entertaining. I like that this show doesn’t lose its light-heartedness even when the story starts to get serious.

Whether you are a rom-com fan or not, you will enjoy watching Toradora. I would especially recommend this anime to people who are new to the genre.

Toradora Anime Review - Pinnedupink.com