Yuppie Anime Review: Toradora!
Posted by Rio S.
Nico, an ex-colleague who shares my love for anime, recommended Toradora about a few months back. I was otherwise immersed in all things D Grayman back then and so the recommendation was buried under tons of other things. I came across Toradora (officially Toradora!) again while trolling for Japanese light novels and BAM! I’m hopelessly hooked.
Toradora is a series set in a high school and naturally, the characters are high school students. Ah, high school.
If you’re anything like me, most of your high school memories have been properly repressed in the deepest darkest pit of your mind. Come to think of it, maybe this repression is the reason behind the fact that I love high school anime: I want to replace my own memories with somebody else’s. Who wants to remember real life zits and angst brought about by hormonal imbalance anyway? Some parts were good though, maybe good enough for you to remember what you were wearing at the time. In my case, I remember the most horrible. JS Prom, anyone? Anyway, I digress.
Like most of my anime addictions (a couple of which being The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Full Metal Panic!), Toradora started out as a light novel. From there, it has spawned an internet radio show, a manga, a video game, and an anime series. The series creator, Yuyuko Takemiya, has so far written nine volumes into the light novels and hopefully, she’ll write more.
So what is Toradora all about? When I first saw it, I remembered School Rumble, another high school anime series, but about two episodes into Toradora, I thought, ‘It IS School Rumble, but with more plot.’ (Don’t get me wrong, I like School Rumble; it’s just that I’m getting impatient with its characters and sluggish story movement.)
Speaking of which, Toradora has… interesting characters. On one hand, you have Ryuuji Takasu, who in a genetic twist of fate inherited his father’s scary eyes which causes him to be continually perceived as a delinquent though it’s the complete opposite of his real nature. Then you have Taiga Aisaka, whose small stature leads those who don’t know her to think that she’s a little delicate girl. Those who do know her call her the Palmtop Tiger because of her fiery and highly volatile temperament.
The rest of the cast can’t be called stock characters either. Yuusaku Kitagawa is the studious student council vice president and Ryuuji’s best friend, and he can be best described as weird. A running gag in the series has him popping up during the most inopportune times, like when Ryuuji and Taiga are plotting. Another weird character comes in the form of Minori Kushieda, captain of the softball team and Taiga’s best friend. Her sort of weirdness is a bit hard to describe, as she has a certain fondness for a bald wig and pretends to be a monk. Though she can be a bit airheaded at times, she is surprisingly perceptive.
Now add into the mix the queen of duality, Ami Kawashima (Yuusaku’s childhood friend and a model by profession) and you’ve got an interesting group of characters. Ami’s sweet and ditzy behavior can be endearing, the problem is, that is just one side of her personality.
Conflict in Toradora is pretty complicated. You see, Ryuuji likes Taiga’s best friend while Taiga likes Ryuuji’s best friend. When Taiga finds out that Ryuuji likes Minori, she uses it mercilessly to her advantage, having him cook and clean for her on top of helping her with her relationship with Yuusaku. During rare moments when she’s feeling charitable, she also nudges Ryuuji’s chances with Minori. If you’ve got a healthy imagination, you know that that set up is just asking for trouble.
(I’m finding it hard to write about this without gushing so please excuse stifled review.)
The series is ongoing and has 21 episodes as of this writing. And so far, I’m finding myself thoroughly entertained. Every episode either leaves me laughing so hard it’s a wonder I haven’t burst at the seams or crying buckets. That said, my recommendation to all the young underpaid professionals looking for an anime fix is: WATCHITWATCHITWATCHIT.
PS. If you need another reason to watch Toradora, here’s another one: You don’t want to miss the most epic catfight in the history of forever.
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