Toradora!: A Romantic Comedy with the Power to Immerse

It’s rare that a form of entertainment moves me in such a way that I actually become emotionally vested in it. However, Toradora! does just that. The series’ ability to tell an incredible and emotional love story while being outright hilarious at the same time has easily made Toradora! one of my favorite anime of all time. This isn’t technically a review, so I’m not categorizing it as such. Consider this as more of a reflection.

BACKGROUND

Toradora! (sometimes called Tiger X Dragon) started out as a light novel series in Japan in 2006. Since then, it has sparked an anime series, a manga series, and a PSP game as well. Having only seen the anime, I’m unable to compare it to the others. However, the anime is one exceptional piece of work you will not want to miss out on.

THE PLOT

Toradora! is a romantic comedy involving five high school students and their trials & tribulations with their families, school, and relationships. The male protagonist, Ryuuji Takasu, is considered to be a delinquent due to his  facial appearance. Although he isn’t really a delinquent, many of his classmates and teachers are intimidated by him.

Enter Taiga Aisaka, a short girl who bears the same reputation as Ryuuji. After bumping into each other in the hallway, Ryuuji comes to learn that Taiga is in love with his close friend, Yuusaku Kitamura. Taiga soon finds out about this, and also discovers that Ryuuji lives in the apartment building next to hers and their apartments are directly across from each other. Taiga uses this to her advantage and sneaks into Ryuuji’s apartment to attack him. Did I mention she’s crazy?

Through a series of events, they actually end up getting closer and Ryuuji promises to help Taiga confess to Kitamura while Taiga agrees to help Ryuuji form a relationship with her close friend, Minori Kushieda, whom he likes. However, things don’t work out so well, and Kitamura rejects Taiga after she openly confesses to him. To make matters worse, there’s a new girl in town: Ami Kawashima. Ami is a magazine model and the daughter of a famous actress so naturally, she’s the “popular girl”.  Despite becoming friends with the other girls, feelings of rivalry and animosity brew among them.

The first half of Toradora! revolves around these five characters living their everyday school lives. They go on trips together, do activities, and have fun. Near the end of the first half, the series transitions into more of a drama. More about the characters’ families is revealed, and the tension between the characters escalates, causing the series to get very emotional at parts. Despite this, the show still manages to maintain the comedy aspect, a challenging feat that is wonderfully done. By the end of the series, Toradora! will have you both in tears and laughing at the same time.

Cover to the original Toradora! light novel

THE CHARACTERS

Toradora! has some of the best character designs I have ever seen. The characters are so fun, you’re bound to fall in love with them. Each character has a unique personality, making them easily distinguishable from one another not just by looks.

Taiga has the oh-so-famous tsundere personality, but the way in which her character is presented is nice and fresh, making it seem like something totally original. She is a very “random” character, and constantly surprises the audience by doing things one would not expect. Best of all are her facial expressions, which (typical to anime) are over-exaggerated, but manage to get the message across about how Taiga feels about the situation at hand.

Minori is the “crazy girl”, she gets excited about everything and is almost always running around hyper. Despite this, she has a very serious side to her, and even gets “bitchy” at times. This especially comes out in the second half of the series. Overall, she is a very enjoyable and funny character, and is my personal favorite.

Ami, although initially depicted as the “conceited princess-type character”, actually does have a nice side to her. She acts as kind of a “moderator” among the other characters. Although she’s not interested in forming a relationship with any of the other characters (although it is hinted that she might be), she does have an affect on how the other characters interact with each other, and may very well be the cause of a major turning point in the series.

Toradora!'s characters. From the left: Taiga, Ryuuji, Ami, Minori, and Kitamura.

THE MUSIC

All of the music used in Toradora! are catchy tunes that fit the series very well. This is especially prevalent in the latter half of the series, when the song “Orange” is used as an ending theme. “Orange” constantly switches from a slow song to a more catchy upbeat song, and then back. It really reflects what is happening with the characters in the series at the time it is used, and fits beautifully.

Of course, “Pre-Parade” definitely deserves a mention as well. Used as the first opening theme, this song is off the walls. I feel the producers used this song to help develop Taiga’s personality, because the overall sound seems to directly correlate with how crazy Taiga is.

As a result, the theme songs used in Toradora! make it seem like even each song is part of the show, and are even necessary in effectively telling the story. It’s not often that a an anime’s opening and ending themes actually feel like they’re part of the show, but Toradora! pulls it off with sheer excellence.

The cover to the "Orange" CD single, from Toradora!

IN CONCLUSION

Toradora! is an absolute masterpiece. While other anime series’ suffer from lack of character development, plot slowdowns, and overused archetypes, Toradora! is a shining ray of light among them. Its fresh comedy style, character design and overall plot is sure to make one fall in love with it. Even if you’re not an anime fan, if you enjoy romantic comedies, you surely do not want to miss out on this.

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