Just from reading the synopsis and glancing over a few of the scores this anime received, I decided not to watch to it. One day I was in the mood for a romance and decided to check out Toradora! again, this time reading through several of the reviews. And, in all honesty, if I hadn't, I probably would have dropped the anime after the first few episodes. Yet, the promises that it would get a lot better by around episode six kept me watching. That, plus the fact that so many of the reviewers like it so much. It was also said to be similar
...
to Lovely Complex, which it wasn't. At all.
Story/Characters;
It goes like this: Meet cute, crazy stuff, they work together and develop a sort of abusive friendship, then a lot, lot, lot of crazy stuff happens, not just with the two main characters, but also with the majority of the supporting characters. This anime makes sure to focus on everyone in the anime -- and nobody in class 2-C seems to have a boring life.
A lot of people seemed to rate this anime lower than they would have liked to due to predictability. If that is something that turns you off, then in my opinion, you should totally watch this anime. It was one of the least predictable animes I have ever watched. Sure, you think you know what is going to happen (and what obviously is supposed to happen) at the start, but then everything goes haywire and you are left with several different options. And all of them have a very, very likely chance of being correct. Until the very end, each option is given enough supporting evidence to be proven a valid guess. I promise you, it is very unlikely that you will know what will happen next in this story. If anything, you will be dying to know or pissed off because all of your assumptions were incorrect.
Now, I didn't like the story of this anime so much. Although it seemed obvious that they will be happiest together, I feel like Taiga and Ryuuji are an odd couple. Taiga is pretty abusive towards Ryuuji throughout the show, and a lot of the time I felt like he deserved better. They are both pretty selfish characters in their own way, as well. I never felt like they really belonged together. They seemed to be perfect best friends for each other, but no more than that. While watching the show, I really did get the sense of a father/daughter relationship between them, instead of two classmates and peers. That didn't really appeal to me.
Most romantic animes really let you see inside the characters' heads and into their hearts. This show doesn't do that. At the end, you will find that there is a lot that you didn't know about the characters -- things that could have completely changed your feelings about the show had they been introduced earlier. Instead of feeling like someone watching the lives of these characters play out before you, you almost just feel like an invisible person sitting in their classrooms and sometimes following the characters around. Like a stalker. Not a fan of the show, but a stalker. Although that does sound very nice, it does help you feel like you are a part of the characters' lives. You learn things just as slowly as any involved fellow classmate would.
Now for a hardcore romance fan like myself, this story like may seem very tedious and hard to get through, for the romantic progression is very slow. It's there, but it is dragging along to the point where you may feel like skipping a few episodes in order to find out if the pace will ever speed up. I am here to tell you that it does. For about the last five or six episodes, it does. And what you get in those last episodes isn't really enough to endure for. For those who love humor, I didn't really feel like this show was great for that either. I didn't really find myself laughing a lot. Then again, that may just be because everything else is so consuming that I didn't really pay attention to any possible humor.
Now, the characters in this show are pretty...amazing, to say the least. They all of have depth and each one could easily have at least a mediocre level anime set around them. Each character is very important to the show, as you will see if you watch it. They take up some screen time, but because of the time and effort put into their character development, that screen time is very enjoyable to watch. I was never frustrated when episodes focused on another character more often than Taiga and Ryuuji. Each character also has a nice air of mystery around them, which I feel added to the show's overall enjoyability.
While many people say that this is one of the best animes that they have ever watched, I disagree. Surely it is memorable because of how original it is and because of the ending, but not because I was blown away by it. The ending wasn't enough to make up for the other 20 or so episodes.
Art/Sound;
The art in Toradora! was pretty unique. It's memorable for being different, just like the rest of the show. The coloring is pretty arrogant, but very eye-catching. The action scenes are drawn very well, though. They were very good about keeping proportions throughout the show. Now, while things were accurate, all of the detail seemed to be focused on the eyes of the characters -- which were some of the best I have ever seen. Although at times the eyes just seemed to take over their entire face, I didn't find it to be too distracting. The facial expressions were amazing as well. You could really feel what the character's felt just by looking at their intense and masterfully drawn expressions.
I did love the music for the anime, though. Both the EDs and the OPs were very nice. I believe that I will be listening to them for quite some time. I also really liked the fact that the voice actors sang the songs. It helped me really connect to the show.
Conclusion;
I wouldn't recommend this to a friend, but I wouldn't tell them it would be a waste of their time to watch it if they felt like it. I don't feel like this anime held up to all the astounding reviews it had, but it also didn't hold up for all the weak points other reviewers suggested, in my mind. It is a very memorable show, but only because it is different and what you think will happen doesn't really happens -- this show really manages to shock you very frequently. This show is a lot more about friendship than it is about romance, in my opinion.
Should I watch it?;
If you are in the mood for a dramatic romance, or a hysterical romantic comedy, that has a predictable plot line and focuses on the ups and downs of one relationship and lets you see into the hearts of the characters -- a show that talks about how high school life fits into a romance, one that has a nice shoujo art style and really helps you feel for the characters, I suggest you find something else. On the other hand, if you want to watch a nice coming-of-age story, one that deals with friendship a lot more than it does romance, one that focuses on the difficulties of finding and accepting yourself while still pleasing others, and is about finding those that mean a lot to you and filling a void in your life -- one that has a not-so-normal couple and a lot of love possibilities (and a lot of possibility in general), one that gives each character a lot of depth, mystery, and some adequate screen time, and one that makes you feel like a part of the story and is a pretty memorable tale, then this is for you.
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Dec 15, 2010
Just from reading the synopsis and glancing over a few of the scores this anime received, I decided not to watch to it. One day I was in the mood for a romance and decided to check out Toradora! again, this time reading through several of the reviews. And, in all honesty, if I hadn't, I probably would have dropped the anime after the first few episodes. Yet, the promises that it would get a lot better by around episode six kept me watching. That, plus the fact that so many of the reviewers like it so much. It was also said to be similar
...
Dec 12, 2010
Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
(Anime)
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When I started watching this anime, I wasn't so sure if I was going to like it or not. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but I had heard really good things about it and I was in the mood for a romance, so I gave it a go. I have to say, I wasn't disappointed, but I wouldn't say that I was pleasantly surprised.
Art/Music; I loved the art, that is for sure. I thought that it was one of the best aspects of the series. The entire series is very detailed, and the chibi scenes are cute, but they don't overwhelm the ... 
Jul 22, 2010
Okay, so, when I first started reading this manga, I was kind of expecting what I was used to: A predictable story line. But I like those, so I was okay with it. In the beginning, that is what it seems like, too. But I was so wrong.
This is one of the best shoujo mangas that I have ever read. Honestly, there were points in time where I had no idea why it was even being called a shoujo manga anymore. It managed to capture so many different genres, I am sure that there are a lot of people out there that will like ... |
