Toradora! is a breath of fresh air
I wasn’t too familiar with Toradora! before it started airing. All I had under my belt was about two chapters of the manga adaptation, and just from that I had no idea as to what direction it would go in. Toradora!, at an uninformed and cynical glance looks like More Of The Same. Another highschool romantic comedy. What sets it apart from the rest of the pack is how it completely re-writes the rules you have set down in your head about this genre.
The first big shocker is that the two leading characters, the titular Tora and Dora, Taiga and Ryuuji, aren’t romantically interested in each other. Taiga isn’t tsuntsun towards Ryuuji because she’s trying to hide feelings for him–that’s just her personality. Similarly, Ryuuji doesn’t cook for Taiga because he likes her–she’s just hopeless, and can’t care for herself. Their relationship is very much that of bickering siblings, as opposed to that of a tsundere girl and bone-headed guy.
Another aspect of the show that shakes things up are the characters that Taiga and Ryuuji are interested in– Kitamura and Kushieda. Taiga and Ryuuji working together to help each other win the hearts of their crushes makes for an interesting dynamic, never mind the fact that Kitamura and Kushieda are wholly interesting individuals in their own right. All this plus the two-faced Ami Kawashima, who just may have a crush on Ryuuji, is a winning equation for a satisfying highschool romantic comedy.
I’m not going to ponder as to why the show is turning out the way it is, nor will I compare it to other shows, but I do have to give JC Staff and Yuyuko Takemiya a thumbs up for making a great series. We have fifteen episodes left to go, and I believe that the series won’t take a turn for the cliché.
I have been really enjoying this one too. Hopefully JC Staff can keep it going well. Novel spoilers that I’ve been seeing lately sound like it could turn into a typical high school drama, so I just pray it doesn’t loose its charm.
15 eps left?
According to Ann its just going to be 13 episodes
Myanimelist.net says 25. I have no idea what their source is. You could be right.
And even with the trope subversion, it’s still a surprisingly solid, entertaining show that shows no signs of letting up. Definitely one of my favourites this season.
And DVD information says 25 episodes. Episode titles have only been released for the first 13 episodes, so that might be why they only say that much on other sources. But it’s definitely 25.
Toradora is doing good so far. But I hope it will be good until the end.
If you go to Amazon Japan, It lists 8 DVDs for Toradora and the eighth one has episodes 23-25. Also, the first volume is currently ranked #76 in DVD sales over there.
My only fear is that it won’t be able to keep up the pace. Here’s hoping that the novels don’t jump the shark at some point.
I guess it depends on what you are looking for. If you are wanting more of that character interactions, then the novel still has it in spades, I just finished reading the 6th volume and things are getting quite intense. The comedy is still there as well and it has this swing back of comedy and seriousness that is similiar to how the last couple of episodes are setup, and I’m really liking how the anime has managed to pick just enough of the right materials to show such that the pace never felt draggy for someone who’s read the novel like me while still hitting the right balance for non-readers, so I’m expecting more great things to come.
So she´s not interested? Is that why she claims ownership of him? As soon as she gets a little flustered she goes on and on about Yuji?
But I might read to much into it. Expressions and all be said. Taiga hasn´t understood it herself yet.
And 25 episodes is to much for a show like this. Sure it gives time to take a deep dive into the personalities and develop the characters but it still feels way to long.
Toradora is imo the best show this season, or at least the most enjoyable one. If only the animation would be better… But I still like it so much that I rewatch the series from the beginning each time new episode comes out(and I never did something like that before).
Characters are great, and their interactions are the heart of Toradora. Ryuuji is a protagonist who is actually likeable, Taiga is a lovely mess, Minorin is… Minorin, and Ami… Don’t even get me started on Ami. I didn’t like her at first, but after she beat up the stalker… I’m in love. Triple personalities for the win!
Seiyu are good, especially Yui Horie shines as Minorin, and Taiga is a first time I actually liked Kugimiya’s voice acting. The rest of the cast is pretty solid too.
Add to that pretty decent music with a great OP, and you have yourself an awesome show.
Still, I liked the manga better, but only for one reason – Taiga in the manga was just incredibly moe.
It is exactly as you said a breath of fresh air
Toradora is imo the best show this season, or at least the most enjoyable one. If only the animation would be better… <-- the animation is perfectly fluid and never jerky at all??? Perhaps you're getting animation quality mixed up with character design, since the animation is totally pro. Actually I should have mentioned how well-done the animation is. Remember that scene in episode, I think, 10? where Taiga rubs her feet on Yuuji's back. That was just... awesome.
Yup, I meant that the characters sometimes look really hideous. But other than that I have no complaints.
I like the concept behind the character designs… I like the thought process… if that makes any sense. In practice, though, it only kind of works. For the most part the characters look great, except for at a profile view. For some reason the girls have a pronounced cleft when looking at them from the side. I don’t hate it, but I don’t find it cute either.