Toradora!

I think this show is incredible and would give it a 10/10 if the ending was better, but it wasn't as bad as a lot of people I talked to said it was. I completely recommend it!

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 am trying to describe what I felt for Toradora and it really complicates me, it was such a beautiful and sad trip at the same time that it left me with a warm feeling of having seen a story that caught me from beginning to end. I know that Toradora may seem to some the development of a toxic story and it may be true, but you have to look beyond that. It is, for me, a story of unions, of fitting in somewhere, of belonging, of learning to feel important for others and for others, a story that is and will be precious to me. Because that's the way it should be

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 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭👏😢