Toradora AKA Tiger X Dragon.
Story
Toradora
AKA Tiger and Dragon, is a romantic comedy that involves a group of
High School friends the story centers around Ryuji, who is often
mistaken as a delinquent due to his fathers looks that he inherited.
Ryuji has always liked Minori since middle school but they never talk to
each other. At the start of his first year in high school. He manages
to be placed in the same class has his best friend Kitamura, who is very
popular. He is also in the same class as Minori and Taiga. Taiga is
known as the Palmtop Tiger because of her height and feisty attitude.
This show is about how Ryuji and Taiga form a relationship in order to
solve each others problems. Eventually this relationship turns into
something more. The group of main characters help each other with their
problems though each have their own motivations for doing so. While
still a generic slice of life show, it handles all the dramatic or
touching moments with expertise.
Characters
Taiga
Taiga
despite being small has a vicious personality. Ryuji bumps into Taiga
on the first day of school, Taiga takes this as a show of dominance and
punches him in the face.That night she breaks into Ryuji’s house with a
wooden sword, initially seeking more violence. She is, however, won over
by the food Ryuji makes her.
Ryuji
Ryuji
looks like a delinquent thanks to his father. This is not an accurate
impression because he is really a nice guy, who is borderline feminine
due to his love for cooking and cleaning. He has a goofy single mother
that he often has to take care of. His goals for the school year are to
look more approachable and to talk to Minori. He meets Taiga and the two
become friends, after a few fights.
Ami
Ami
is an old friend of Kitamura, she shows up at the High School to escape
from her modeling problems. She first meets Ryuji and Taiga in a diner
and right away she gets a slap to the face. Ami is the typical double
faced bitch, she is nice to people she likes and she is a bitch to
everyone who she doesn’t like. Kitamura shows Ryuji this on the first
day so he doesn’t get the wrong impression.
Kitamura
Kitamura
is the most popular guy in school adored by most everyone. He is on the
student council and is generally in a cheery and motivational mood. He
is best friends with Ryuji and is the only one who really understands
that Ryuji isn’t the troublemaker people make him out to be.
Sound & Music
The
sound and music his handled very well throughout the series, including
all the opening and ending songs as well as the voice acting. Especially
the songs during the dramatic scenes really work to perpetuate the
tension and emotion. All the opening and ending songs are catchy and
reflect the tone of the current story.
Art & Animation
Enjoyment
I really enjoyed Toradora. It keeps things interesting the whole way
through with it’s small story arcs spliced across one large one. I
always wanted to continue on with the next episode. This anime does a
great job of satisfying all your requires for a rom/com.
Overall
The
only flaws I could find with Toradora is the fact there isn’t anymore, I
think sometime similar to Clannad’s after story would be appropriate
for this series. Also at some points in the show you had to suspend
disbelief on some of the drama so that the plot could advance or deepen.
I would give it an 9/10.
