Toradora!

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

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

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).

Me: an occasional anime watcher. Very lazy, so dubs for me.

This is a real gem. It's a story of 5 friends as they come of age, grow together, and the overzealous love of teenagers.

What sells this is that the two primary characters are both quite believable. You have Ryuuji, who is a deeply caring guy, and Taiga, who is aggressive, cocky, and also vulnerable. While the story is told from Ryuuji's perspective, the most interesting character throughout is Taiga as she handles the trials of growing up. Fundamentally, she is not a cookie-cutter "cute girl" to stick in the centre of what is essentially a romantic series; she is needy and often unpleasant, while also caring for her friends deeply.

A lot of anime have craaazy hijinks and characters who are incredibly dense at reading others. The joy of this series is that for the most part, these guys are limited by their own inhibitions in a relatable way and often guess what each other is feeling. It's rare that you want to punch characters for being stupid, at least. Although they may punch each other.

Voice acting in English is pretty solid, certainly above average for anime dubs.

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.