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Let me start by addressing Kouko because it seems like a large amount of the criticism for Golden Time comes from Kouko as a character. Unless you're 12 or otherwise retarded in some way you'd be able to deduce that Kouko is objectively the most genuine character in the series. From her first introduction to the very last scene Kouko is entirely forthright with what she wants always telling first Mitsuo and eventually Banri exactly what she wants and not being subtle about it. Kouko falls hopelessly in love with Banri and that remains her singular driving character trait for the entire show. Kouko's so ... wholesome I thought it was all an act to manipulate Banri but turns out she just really loved him the whole time. Kouko is the sincerest deredere I've ever seen or read in fiction. Despite Banri being denser than a dying star Kouko does her absolute best to accommodate and change for him so enough with the Kouko slander I'm tired of the low IQ takes about her clinginess and possessiveness. Banri fell in love with Kouko in part due to her psycho nature therefore he knew what he was getting into when they got together. If the behavior is consensual and mutual there's no flaw or reason to complain about clinginess or possessiveness.

Now with the Banri slander. Banri isn't a terrible protagonist, but unfortunately, he often suffers from retardation. That's bad enough on its own but worst of all is the strange supernatural element to his amnesia. It's poorly introduced, executed, resolved, and it's never explained in any satisfactory way. A total and complete writing mess. The supernatural element very conveniently seems to suddenly take effect in only the most inopportune moments and of course this causes cascading drama as a result. This happens so frequently it becomes silly and by the end you're just rolling your eyes in mild frustration when it occurs. The supernatural element is very poorly thought-out it's without question the worst part of Golden Time an because it's so heavily tied to Banri as a character it does a lot of harm to him as a character.

Speaking of characters Kouko, Chinami, Mitsuo, and 2D are excellent characters who often carried the show. Banri and Linda are good enough but suffer from being tied to the past and thus the poorly executed amnesia plot. That being said while I loved the characters there isn't a ton of development for them. I think basically all of the character development is focused on Banri and Kouko. Which could be a huge problem if you don't end up liking Kouko and/or Banri as they get the overwhelming focus.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Golden Time but mainly because I was invested in the love story of Banri and Kouko. If you aren't hooked by their relationship like I was then I could very easily see you not finding much to like about this story but if you go into Golden Time expecting a pure romance, I think you'll be satisfied once all is said and done.

Oh, and there is in fact a happy ending for those sensitive to such things like I am.

I struggle to understand why Toradora! gets the praise it does. It's carried by its characters and quality drama but completely let down by its unbelievable, unsatisfactory, and rushed romance plot. Toradora! is a fine anime and gets a 6/10 by me.

If you go into Toradora! with the expectation of a romance story like I did, then don't bother. This series is 90% drama and 10% romance with all the romance taking place in the last few episodes and at an unbelievably rushed pace. For 20 or so episodes the dual protagonists Ryuuji and Taiga have a completely platonic relationship. I never got so much ... as a hint of sexual or romantic tension between Ryuuji and Taiga until way too late in the series. Ryuuji and Taiga act like close siblings so virtually none of their body language conveys any sort of romantic chemistry for most of the show. With that being said I found their sudden shift into "loving" each other at the end to be extremely jarring and unjustified in particular with Ryuuji. It's impossible for me to buy into their romance when all they do is talk about and think about other characters for the overwhelming majority of the series until suddenly, and without reason they stop and now love each other. The transition was way too fast and poorly executed by the writers. It becomes even more unbelievable when the first thing Ryuuji and Taiga decide to do is elope and get married! Holy moly we went from completely platonic to run away and get married in the span of a couple episodes! The pacing of the series suddenly sped up so much by the end that I got audience whiplash, and I could no longer suspend my disbelief. To make this all so much worse the writers decided to undercut the already unbelievable romance by Taiga deciding out of nowhere to just up and leave Ryuuji for a whole year?! What narrative purpose did arbitrarily separating them do? It came across as a very cheap excuse to add some last-minute drama to the final episode. I think Toradora! abjectly fails as a romance anime. Very disappointing as the characters had amazing potential.

After all that it might seem like I hated Toradora! but not quite. I loved all five of the main characters as well as all the secondary characters. I found the character writing and character development to be quite good here. I think all of the main cast were unique and interesting and I didn't find any of them to be miserable to watch. The interpersonal relationships between the characters were really great and I enjoyed watching them fight, grow, and overcome various challenges together. I appreciated that many of the drama fights weren't just people screaming at each other and crying. This group of characters are absolutely not afraid to settle things with overt violence and some blood which I find refreshing. Overall, I think Toradora! excels at the drama aspect as there was plenty of funny and interesting drama in this series and more importantly the characters actually grew and developed with the coming and resolving of the drama. Toradora! just falls completely flat with the romance so please don't watch this if you're looking for a good or even competent love story because you won't find it here.

Also, the OP's and ED's were all bangers. Loved em. Especially the Christmas one!