Anine News Network encyclopedia entry
My Anime List entry
Wikipedia page
Taiga reclines on a couch while Ryuuji listens to her speak.
Romantic-comedies, especially in anime, are tricky to nail, for two main reasons: 1) They are predictable, and 2) They often revel in that predictability, rarely making any real effort to either break from the mold or at least make the exercise worthwhile. However, Toradora!, although it admittedly retains a basic sense of predictability, cheerfully twists many character archetypes and plots common to romantic-comedies, and at the same time presents a charming, emotionally fulfilling romantic journey that is full of spirit.
The story follows Ryuuji Takasu (played by Junji Majima), a humble, good-hearted young man who unfortunately has the face of a Yakuza boss, which tends to scare people away from him. One day he runs into Taiga Aisaka (Rie Kugimiya), whose reputation as the ferocious Palmtop Tiger has people cowering in fear whenever she storms down a hall. After initially getting off on the wrong foot, Ryuuji and Taiga discover that each is best friends with the others' secret crush -- Ryuuji with Yuusaku Kitamura (Hirofumi Nojima), and Taiga with Minori Kushieda (Yui Horie). Ryuuji and Taiga hatch a plain to help each other gain the favor of their crushes, but their relationship deepens considerably along the way.
It's a simple set-up (similar to 2007's Lovely Complex) that scarcely reveals the emotional depth the series has hidden below the surface. Something Toradora! excels at is showing certain characters as one thing, and then revealing them to be completely different than the surface appearance. For instance, Minori, on the surface, is the traditional anime genki girl -- she is full of spirit and energy, whirling around at 1,000 miles per hour and speaking as if she just inhaled a boatload of sugary confections. But she is shown to be much more perceptive and aware of the world around her, and also aware of her own weaknesses as a person, than one would expect from the mask she wears. Her role as the genki girl is deliberate on her part, and while such a development could come off as forced or cheesy, Toradora! spins it beautifully.
That is one of the biggest strengths of Toradora! The series takes overused, predictable tropes and uses them to its advantage. Taiga's status as a tsundere type is one of the best examples of this. At the beginning of the series, Taiga is a tsundere through and through: She is ferocious on the outside, pounding people when they set off her vicious temper, but she is sweet and gentle when people unexpectedly enter her emotional core. However, like Minori, Taiga is also revealed to be more perceptive than she seems, and as the series progresses, she is able to curtail her temper and handle situations with grace rather than the emotional clumsiness she displays at the outset of Toradora! The series is brilliant in how it uses the tsundere character type to highlight the development of Taiga's maturity.
The struggle to gain and maintain that maturity is one of the most important aspects of Toradora! What makes the series more than just another romantic-comedy is that it lets its characters breathe and be real people. These characters are not dumb, lovestruck idiots (when the show is not going for laughs, anyway), but neither are they perfect in every way. They are just real teenagers, tentatively trying to find love as they also search for somewhere to fit in the world. They try to be as honest with their feelings as they can, while also helping their friends find their way. It can be occasionally frustrating to watch characters act in ways that hurt them because they are trying to do the right thing and also resolve the emotional turmoil within themselves, but it is also in these parts where Toradora! displays its gentle, caring spirit in allowing the characters to be flawed and make mistakes, because they always have loved ones to back them up if their emotional journey leads them down the wrong path.
If Toradora! has a weakness, it is that by its very nature it occasionally falls into predictability. As much as the series pushes against boring, dull character and story types, it also has a plan that is clear from the outset. However, that the story leads down expected paths is not at all a weakness, or at least is not a weakness that is big enough to detract from the overall quality of the show. Predictability hurts a story when that series has only plot going for it, and nothing else. This is not the case with Toradora! If the series can be predictable at times, then so what? It has the emotional depth and great characterization needed to weather through that. Knowing where the series is likely to end up does not at all detract from its emotional power, because plot twists are not at all the point of this show.
Toradora! deserves to be named alongside Honey and Clover (another wonderful J.C. Staff anime) as the cream of the crop of romantic-comedies in the past five years. This series builds on just about every show of its type that came before it and launches on a breakneck pace that never slows until the show concludes (25 episodes and virtually no filler whatsoever, which is astounding for a romantic-comedy). Toradora! is consistently funny, heartwarming and surprisingly beautiful (the animation is top notch throughout). For people who have been wary of romantic-comedies in the past, Toradora! is definitely the series to turn those feelings around.
And for your listening pleasure, here is the second ED of Toradora!, "Orange," as performed by Rie Kugimiya, Yui Horie and Eri Kitamura (who plays Ami Kawashima). It's somewhat rare that an ED ends up being the standout song of a series, but "Orange" is a great tune that is somehow light and fun while also being bittersweet (just read the translated lyrics, haha).
