Toradora!

It's your typical "Will They Won't They" for the majority of the episodes, and by "They", I mean everybody. It's not a love triangle, it's a love circle, and that's probably one of the things that make Toradora! so entertaining and fun to watch.

Toradora! does fall in its genre's tropes sometimes, and there are times when things get a little bit too predictable story-wise. But in the end, I felt like there were a lot of things that it did right, and the story was overall satisfying.

Yes, it's another teen coming of age / "slice of life" anime, it has many of the classic character stereotypes represented, and yes many of the classic tropes are represented, but unlike so many others it's well done.

What surprised me is how naturally the series develops.

The characters are simple but not one dimensional, depth is obtained through flawed but very human choices and the consequences of them. Tropes are present but instead of being shoehorned in they exist as integral parts of the story, often noticed after the fact instead of standing out like the "fan-service" we've come to expect (and often dread). Episodes flow well, without the gaps and jumps I've grown to expect and when the end is reached it felt natural.

It would be easy to go on, but in the end it's an enjoyable series that makes me interested in taking a second look at the "Slice of Life" genre.

Pro's:

• Quality story telling.
• Fairly consistent animation.
• Characters that feel natural.
• A compete story arc.
• Good depth and growth.

Con's:

• Some animation inconsistencies at the end.
• Ending arc could have used another episode.
• Some over the top silliness.
• Fairly predictable (still very enjoyable).

Last episode almost made me cry too, one of my most favourite romantic animes 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭👏😢

Probably one of the best and most underrated romance animes of all time! Great plot/storyline, characters, animation, and amazing music! (although will admit i thought they kept the first opening and closings themes for a bit too long into the show, the second opening/closing themes were great!)

Not much else to say other than one other random point - first watched this anime as a younger teenager and sort of overlooked it a bit because i didn't completely understand it (and there wasn't as much ecchi and comedy as other anime i had watched at the time (lol) but after rewatching it a few years later i came to fully understand the story and just how great it was made!.... and now randomly saw it on IMDb so giving it a review :P

I can usually find lots of things to complain about in everything I watch, but toradora gives me very few. There is more than one person who likes the main character, but you always know who he will actually end up with so that doesn't matter as much. The girl is a tsundere, but they become friends quickly and that doesn't impose on the story too much. I'd like to say that they took too long to get together but really that's just personal preference and I don't think them getting together sooner would have much positive impact on the story, unless we were to have an arc where they were already together.

One thing I do wish was different is that I wish they would have realized their feeling sooner, so that there wouldn't be as much drama or people being sad in the end.

Overall, if you like slice of life anime, or drama anime, or comedy anime, or romance anime, there is a very good chance that you will like this show.