Toradora! [review]

On Sunday, June 5, 2011 0 comentarii


Toradora Plot:

Toradora!'s story begins with the male protagonist Takasu Ryuuji who is frustrated at trying to improve his look as he enters his second year of high school. Despite his gentle personality, he has a natural outer-appearance which makes him look like an intimidating delinquent so he is utterly hopeless about his chances of getting a girlfriend anytime soon, and does not have many close friends either. After being greeted by his hungover mother in the morning, Ryuuji goes to school and finds out that he is in the same class as his best friend Kitamura Yuusaku. But what makes him extremely happy is that he gets to be in the same class as his crush Kushieda Minori. However, it is then that he unexpectedly knocks into "the creature ranked most dangerous in the school" — Aisaka Taiga —, who goes by the nickname "Palmtop Tiger" and who just happens to also be in his class.

Taiga has a negative attitude towards others and will not hesitate to snap at people. After a series of misunderstandings between Ryuuji and Taiga, Ryuuji is taken in by Taiga as her personal servant. Taiga had moved out to live on her own due to family issues and isn't able to do any housechores. After discovering the state of her apartment Ryuuji, who has a real talent at domestic chores, decided to do all of her housechores. Taiga spends a lot of her time over at his house, so much so that she could almost be considered a member of his family. Since Ryuuji spends a lot of time with Taiga, he is opened up to her world and to a side of her that most people do not see. The two also attempt to help each other in order to improve their relationship with their crush (Taiga has a crush on Ryuuji's best friend, Yuusaku, and Ryuuji has a crush on Taiga's best friend, Minori). Unknown to them, however, people they know from school start to become curious about their strange relationship together and rumors begin to spread about them.


Alternative Titles
English: Toradora!
Synonyms: Tiger X Dragon
Japanese: とらドラ!

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 25
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 1, 2008 to Mar 25, 2009
Producers: J.C. Staff, Genco, NIS America, Inc.
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Slice of Life
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older



Toradora Review

Animation: 8/10

Though technically not the greatest, it's J.C. Staff (Shakugan no Shana, Zero no Tsukaima) after all, animation of Toradora! possesses undeniable charm, similar to that of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Some facial deformation and awkward movements during "action" scenes only add up to the style and likability of the show, though I must admit I didn't particularly like how hair moved in big chunks as opposed, to well, how hair really moves. Anyway, the most important part for the genre - character designs are cute and adorable, furthermore they really work well with the personalities of the characters and even the plot of the show. I mean, the show would have lost half of its novelty if Taiga had looked different than she does now, right? Anyway, though not as finely detailed as in most modern anime, all characters have their own style and "moe" qualities which make this show even better to watch. Backgrounds, the same way as characters, don't particularly exhibit a high level of detail, but work nonetheless. Slightly grainy color palette makes the show look realistic and it's good since it really happens in a reasonably realistic world for a change. Fluidity is lacking and character movement is slightly choppy when compared to today's standards, but as I have mentioned before, for some reason, it doesn't disturb, it just adds to the overall charm anyway. Perfection is boring and imperfections are attractive because there are times when they look better than usual, thus making them more memorable. Also, unlike most of the shows which run out of budget near the end, Toradora! actually improves its animations in last episodes.

Sound: 7/10

Toradora! has one of the best OP/ED combinations I have ever seen in anime before. First OP Pre-Parade by the three main female seiyuu of the show is an awesome upbeat piece of music which wonderfully blends with the comedic and cute atmosphere of the first half of the show. It's funny how the first frame of the first OP is the only scene in the whole show which looks relatively like fanservice. However, the way it is carried out feels more like a satyric attempt to make fun out of erotic innuendos so popular in the genre, I mean, the look in her eyes is deadly. Anyway, the OP not only contributes to the atmosphere, it also gives some depth to characters, whose actions, while perfectly timed with the music, actually reveal their personality traits rather than useless and random imaginary found in virtually all anime around. First ED Vanilla Salt by Horie Yui is also a pretty good song perfect for the atmosphere of the show, though on the contrary to the first OP I didn't listen to it for hundreds of times, that Pre-Parade is damn addicting. Anyway, once the anime finally jumps into its serious stage new OP and ED are introduced, and they are as good as the ones before, also more fitting since they cut down on upbeat nature, but never go as down as to sound gloomy or emo-like. Anyway, both the second OP silky heart by Horie Yui and the second ED Orange by the three main seiyuu of the show are good pieces of music to listen to. Now that I think about it, they are not that special as stand alone, only when combined with the show they give off that great feeling, as even the lyrics fit. Anyway, it only proves that making seiyuu sing for their own shows makes it all better because they know what they are singing about by heart.

Background music doesn't exceed as OPs/EDs do, but is still satisfactory to listen to. It's actually not the quality of compositions by Hashimoto Yukari, but their timing what makes them so acoustically pleasing. Most of the music disperses into the background the moment it ends playing, but there are some scenes when some above average music pieces are timed so well they work perfectly with both character voices and their actions, giving the scene an epic feel. I remember seeing many such scenes in Gundam Seed which wouldn't feel half as epic without their perfectly timed music. Anyway, I think you'll easily notice what I am talking about, as though I wouldn't listen to the OST, I would definitely like (and actually did) to re-listen to some scenes again. BGM does not shock, but is satisfying nonetheless.

Finally voice-work in Toradora is as top-notch as it gets. Tsundere master Kugimiya Rie (Shakugan no Shana as Shana, Hayate no Gotoku as Nagi) yet again offers a magnificent performance as Taiga, sounding considerably different from her other roles this time around. I didn't know she could produce such low-pitched voice and growl. Kushieda Minori is voiced by Horie Yui (Love Hina as Narusegawa, School Rumble as Sawachika Eri) and Kawashima Ami has the voice of Kitamura Eri (Chaos;Head as Sakihata Rimi, Seto no Hanayome as Shinarui Akeno). Needless to say that both veterans sound great. This show combines some of the best female seiyuu in the anime industry and I must say it works well in its favor. You can even hear Tanaka Rie in the background.


Story: 8/10

Though the show takes place in the real world, which I usually find boring, it turns its setting into one of its main strengths. The setup is quite simple - main character and heroine meet up by chance, have some comedic and hilarious misunderstandings and finally stick up together to help each other with their love, since both of them are best friends of the other's love interest. I must say I wasn't particularly amazed by the first episode, indeed I noticed the good pace and great potential outright, but I expected it to fall apart once the fanservice kicked in... but it never did. Nor did it ever fall apart. To the contrary, the further the show goes, the better in becomes. For that I must commend great director of this show since he made an almost revolutionary step and decided to ignore all the factors which make romantic comedies turn into crap. He never did any "anime original" fillers, he never did any fanservice, he never used idiotic deus-ex machina and he managed to turn each second of every episode into a meaningful tribute to the anime's plot. Though it's not completely clear at the beginning, all the episodes in the first, more light-hearted half of the show, are meant to give depth and develop characters all the while guiding them to the high quality drama which awaits them near the end. There is not a boring moment in the show, when the cute tsundere romance feeling is about to burn out you get a good joke and once the high-spirits from comedy run out you get some important drama to spice things up. The show keeps great balance between healthy angst and comedy, benefiting from them both. Even when the serious side kicks in, the show doesn't rely on blind romantic fanservice, but actually builds up mature and realistic relationships suiting the anime's real world setting.

What's even better is that the plot becomes better with every episode and never degrades. By having spent couple of years watching anime I have noticed that most of the shows tend to have good beginnings and fucked-up endings, especially in the genre Toradora! belongs to. It's truly a miracle that Toradora!'s conclusive ending is not only better than its beginning, it also has parallels with it, thus proving that the show was planned out solid before it even started airing, unlike most of the random crap around. Anyway, I must say Toradora! starts getting epic little by little since kicking into the second half and the last five or so episodes are pure brilliance. All the build-up and character depth given in the beginning finally blows up and you get the chance to finally taste a ripe fruit of romance so rare in anime media. Not only it's the best harem/romantic comedy around, it's one of the best romance shows in anime industry as well. Though it doesn't offer enough novelty to remain classic among people forever, I will never forget Toradora! as the best crafted tribute to romantic comedies ever.

Characters: 9/10

Obviously, most of Toradora's quality comes from its characters. The main lead, Takasu Ryuuji, though a normal high school student living a relatively normal life (that would be an insult to the genre if he wasn't anyway), is much more interesting and nowhere near as generic as I have originally thought. Though his obsession with cleaning and assorting stuff is not the most innovative, his stubborn feelings for Kushieda and surprisingly strong spine makes him rise above most of the generic leads in the genre. His "evil" eyes also add some needed spice to the comedy. He is still a perfectly normal human being, nonetheless, he is interesting, mostly due to the fact that most of his personality traits completely contrast with Taiga's thus creating a really entertaining relationship.

Anyway, the real star of the show is Aisaka Taiga, who is also known as Tenori Taiga (palmtop tiger). She is there on a fine line between man and a beast, as I wouldn't be surprised if she would beat someone to death one day. I mean, she doesn't even mind raiding classrooms and hitting other girls with fists to let the steam off. I must say her existence itself is a really heavy blow to the whole tried and true tsundere stereotype industry. Hell, is she even a tsundere? Now that I think about it, tsundere's defining trait is that she masks embarrassment with violence and is never honest, that doesn't add up to Taiga, because she is almost always honest. Actually Taiga is naturally violent and stubborn, she hits people because she wants to, not because she is embarrassed about something. Furthermore, she rarely acts violent in regard to those she loves, she'd rather go all red and be unable to piece a sentence together. Her relationship with Kushieda also shows that she is completely honest concerning feelings to people she likes or doesn't. Then again, if you would have to describe her personality, tsundere is probably the closest word to it. Either way, Taiga is an awesome character who literally shatters all stereotypes (and their skulls) and becomes one of the best leading heroines in romantic comedy genre and anime industry as a whole. I'm buying her figure, because there is definitely no other character like her elsewhere and if there ever will be, it will be guys copying THIS show.

There are only three other characters who are in the center of attention, but as I say, quality beats quantity any day. Other heroines include Kushieda Minori who usually behaves like a wacky entity from another planet or something, doing incomprehensible things, walking with "bald" wig sometimes and generally appearing very hyperactive and high-spirited (or just insane if you are a doctor). Obviously, that wouldn't account for the awesome character she is, hence all that is just a facade to mask her true feelings which are hard to perceive even for the most experienced of viewers. The other heroine in question is Kawashima Ami who is a two-faced narcissistic model appearing innocent and "clumsy" to the masses and majority of people around her. Her acting cracks up once Taiga decides to beat the hell out of her, thus revealing a surprisingly mature and experienced character who, though standing at sidelines, is the only one who perceives the situation in a crystal like view and is the wisest of the bunch. Her meaningful yet ambiguous one-liners is one of the highlights of the show. Finally, the third one is Kitamura Yuusaku who is Taiga's love interest and, again, isn't really honest to others. Despite appearing cheerful and wacky all the time he never really tells anyone his inner feelings and usually plays stupid, even though he realizes the complex relationships going around him. His worth both as a comedic relief and plot device exceeds the complexity of his personality, but he is, as all the characters in this show, interesting and deep.

All characters in this show, even the background ones, are very realistic and resemble real world human beings very much in the sense that they are rarely honest to others or even themselves. Despite posing as exaggerated anime stereotypes, all of them are very realistic inside. Even miscellaneous things, like Ami's tendency to sit in a short gap between two vending machines, give characters great depth and brings them even closer to full fleshed human beings. I wonder if it is the influence of Honey & Clover since I have never seen such complex characters in other romantic comedies.

Value and Enjoyment 8.5/10

This series was highly regarded and anticipated, and rightly so: it's an excellent investment of time (and money, if you buy the DVDs). When I've had a chance to view the discs, I will comment on their value, but the series is well worth your time, and is recommended without qualification. I enjoyed the series enough to wish someone would put together another season with the same characters, and give them a chance to do some soap-opera dramatic turns. 8 points for value, and 9 for enjoyment.

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