Toradora! Review (Anime)

I recently reviewed my first anime, Golden Time, and it helped me to realise that I love talking about anime and that it’s something I should do more often. I’ll now be reviewing plenty of anime, and what better show to start with than the one that introduced me to Golden Time?

 

A word of warning: I will gush over anything that author Yuyuko Takemiya writes, even if there’s a different scriptwriter for the anime adaptations. My favuorite genre is slice of life and I love a good romantic story to go with it; I love other genres as well, but I love the ability to relate to characters who enjoy and struggle through daily life like the rest of us do.

 

Toradora follows Ryuuji and Taiga as they attempt to help eachother progress with their respective crushes Minori and Yusaku, who happen to already be good friends with them. It’s easy to write it off as your run of the mill romcom but it’s much more fleshed out and realistic; you’ll find yourself rooting for everybody to have a happy ending, especially after seeing the broken hearts, confused emotions and awkward moments that every teenager experiences in their lives.

 

I fell in love with all the characters, although I’d have to say my favourite is the pop idol Ami. Yeah yeah, Toradora has a pop idol like countless of anime before it, but her character development is great, and how she reacts to events around her is entirely human. We might be ashamed to admit it, but many people have been incredibly jealous of the happiness of others and wanted to both preserve that but have it for themselves, leading you to do some reckless and selfish things.

 

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Of course, it isn’t all about Ami as the previously mentioned four characters fill out the rest of the main ensemble. Ryuuji is assumed to be a thug due to his ‘gangster eyes’, and he despises his dad who abandoned him and his mother, especially as he works his mother overwork herself for his sake. Taiga lives alone and also had family issues, something which is explored in detail in the anime, and they come together as they find a kindred spirit in one another. There’s also an incredibly dumb but loveable bird which spends the entire series trying to say its own name, but can easily repeat swear words.

 

Toradora ran from 2008 to 2009, not that you’d expect it as it’s visually gorgeous. I had the pleasure of viewing it on Blu-ray and the colours pop, the animations are fluid and the detail is amazing. I tend to pick a lot of anime I watch based on if I like the animation style, and whilst I always thought Toradora looked nice, it never really appealed to me until it officially released in the UK recently. I wish I had watched it sooner, because I was sorely missing out and now I enjoy re-watching it and its beautiful art. I tend to not get attracted to loli type characters, but Taiga is a terrific tsundere character.

 

Although Toradora proves itself to be capable of so, it doesn’t rely on visual gags for humour. Sure, watching Taiga explode into a fit of rage is amusing, but it’s not as over the top as it could be; most of the visual humour is provided by Yusaku though, who’s not half as sensible as he’s depicted to be, but his character development explains his behaviour. You’ve got a bit of fan-service with Ami, and of course there’s the complimentary beach episode, but it’s reasonable and never made me feel uncomfortable watching it.

 

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The retail release comes with both the English Dub and original Japanese voice-over, but I opted for English and wasn’t disappointed. The Japanese voice-over is amazing, especially with tsundere queen Rie Kugimiya voicing Taiga, but I felt that the English cast did an equally good job. Inko the bird is voiced by Wendee Lee, what else do you want? Other voice talent includes the forever prominent Johnny Yong-Bosch, Karen Strassman, Erik Kimerer, Cassandra Lee Morris, Christine Marie Cabanos and Erika Harlacher; the latter two are now voicing Mako and Ryuko in the Kill la Kill dub respectively.

 

The official soundtrack is something I adore, especially the track Start Up; it fires me up and is usually used when a character is both desperate and overwhelmed by their emotions, but it’s a hopeful tune to let you know that they’re doing the right thing. Yui Horie provides vocals on many of the songs, including some of the shows opening and ending tracks, as well as Minori’s character track; she also lent her vocals to the opening and ending themes of Golden Time.

 

Toradora is a romantic comedy that defies convention even if you can guess many of the things that are going to happen. Although it may be predictable, it manages to be realistic and copes with the pain of being a teenager who isn’t sure how to express their feelings. We’ve all been a little awkward, and many of us are awkward still, So it’s easy to relate. Toradora teaches us a unique lesson – it’s okay to keep trying but it’s also okay to give up, as long as you make that decision then you can live with your choices.

 

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After all is said and done, there are on-disc bonuses including an OVA revolving around Ryuuji and Yusaku’s grandmother being in competition over who can prepare the best bento, and there is a mini four episode series dubbed Hurray for Gourmands.

 

Toradora sits comfortably in my top five all-time anime as Yuyuko Takemiya manages to capture realistic experiences which have been re-created in anime form, and this allows for a much more enjoyable experience for me personally, but it’s something everybody should be able to enjoy. MVM Entertainment have created a great must own set with their Blu-ray and DVD releases of the show, and you should definitely give it a watch if you haven’t already; don’t wait several years like I did!

 

“There is something in this world that no one has ever seen before. It is gentle and sweet. Maybe if it could be seen, everyone would fight over it. That is why the world hid it, so that no one could get their hands on it so easily. However, someday, someone will find it. The person who deserves it the most will definitely find it.”

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