1. Characters - 10/10
Holy shit man, these are some of the most fleshed out, 3 dimensional characters I've ever seen. I say that for a lot of anime, but even though it's a constant for most anime I watch, for some reason I am always still blown away.
Taiga is an amazing character. She started out a bit too violent for my taste, but she changes so much throughout the show that by the end, she's the sweetest girl ever. Seeing her in the Christmas arc made me so happy, like she's so cheerful and no one can ruin her mood.
Ryuji is so realistic.
...
Every time something happens to him, I can see myself reacting the same way. He is very kind, but isn't afraid to get angry at someone who wronged him. He really likes cooking and cleaning, which is pretty rare in male main characters.
Minori is so much fun. She's always goofing around and being silly, but she's even better when she's serious. She puts others in front of herself no matter what, even if it's at the cost of her being heartbroken.
Ami is fine. She starts out being insufferable, but slowly becomes nicer. I wish she was nicer to Taiga, though. At the end of the show, her small positives and small negatives kind of cancelled out, and now I'm pretty neutral about her.
Yukasu uhh exists. I wish we got to know more about him. He is pretty goofy and incredibly clueless.
Ryuji's mom started out to me as incredibly annoying and haha big boob, but near the end of the show we finally start to see a new side to her. At the end, I was pretty happy with her as a character.
Every side character is so fucking good. The teacher, being a single 30 year old woman and on the brink of insanity. The other guy side characters always goofing around, and having personalities of their own. Every character in Toradora is good, most of them being amazing.
2. Plot - 9/10
Oh boy. Okay. I took a break at around episode 8 because it was starting to plateau, but after that it was just so good. The fight scene in episode 16 was so packed with emotion and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The relationships, which are the highlight of the show, are excecated nearly perfectly and even though I liked the prospect of Ryuji and Minori ending up together, Ryuji and Taiga being together was still a really good ending, if not a bit cliché. I feel so fucking bad for Minori, having to suffer with heartbreak now :( I cried a bit the end, it was beautiful. This show gives so much to reflect on. The class was in grade 12 I think, meaning they were about to graduate. The show touches on how the class is like a big friend group and that this year is the last time that they will all be friends, before they all part and go their separate ways. It was mentioned a lot during the ski trip. Toradora also touches on what the characters are going to do once they are done high school, and Ryugi doesn't know exactly what he wants to do. If the show leaned a but further into that, I would have probably cried harder. Most of us here just left high school, and I'm really feeling the effects of not seeing my friends very often. I also don't know what I want from life, so I relate to Ryuji in that regard.
3. Animation - 9/10
I love it! It's so cute and detailed. During the fight scene in episode 16 and a few other points in the show the animation quality drops off unexpectedly, but that's okay since the fight scene was so good anyways. One of my favourite animation styles I've seen so far.
4. Voice acting - 10/10
I watched the dub, and the voice acting was spectacular. Every main character sounds so good, with Minori my favourite. She's so energetic and her voice is high pitched to match that, but when she's serious, she sounds a lot more real. Taiga and Ryuji are also highlights, always sounding perfect for the situation. Overall great voice acting, bonus points because it's a dub.
5. Music/Intro - 9/10
Some of the sound effects were goofy and felt out of place. Maybe because the fucking funny cat video has ruined my perception of generic sound effects permanently. There were 2 intros and outros. The first intro was pretty good, not the best but still good. The music was fine and the animation was good. The second intro was worse, it wasn't terrible or anything but compared to Chainsaw Man or something, it's pretty weak. The first outro was good, very good for the type of feeling you get after finishing the episode. The second intro was fine, not much to say. The other music in the show was amazing and very heartfelt and emotional.
6. Pacing/Flow - N/A
The start was a bit slow, but that it had me hooked until the very end.
7. Cinematography - N/A
Yeah it was good, I don't notice this sort of stuff very often to be honest. I still love the fight scene so much.
Conclusion
I love this show so much! It started out as an above average rom com, and at then end of it I was in tears. This is my favourite anime that I've finished. Chainsaw man season 2 will probably dethrone Toradora because it will have arcs I like more, but for the time being, Toradora is at the top. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a heartfelt story with a lot of laughs, that leaves you with a lot to think about. I would give the show a 9 out of 10. I loved so much of it, but the ending was just a tiny but disappointing, the start was a bit too slow and Ami should've faced a few more consequences for her actions. I would give the show a 9.5/10. Thanks for reading :)
Jan 22, 2023
1. Characters - 10/10
Holy shit man, these are some of the most fleshed out, 3 dimensional characters I've ever seen. I say that for a lot of anime, but even though it's a constant for most anime I watch, for some reason I am always still blown away. Taiga is an amazing character. She started out a bit too violent for my taste, but she changes so much throughout the show that by the end, she's the sweetest girl ever. Seeing her in the Christmas arc made me so happy, like she's so cheerful and no one can ruin her mood. Ryuji is so realistic. ... |