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.

Toradora is an enigma to me as I do not usually like romantic comedies, or even anime in general. And this anime does a lot of things that make me dislike anime: it pulls characters from tropes, however this show made me realize maybe that in itself is not a bad thing, because this show did that but did it so well that that didn't matter to me. The main love interest IS a tsundere but there was so much more to her than that, unlike many shows where the trope defines them, where it IS their character; Tiaga is herself first and tsundere second. This can really be said for all of the characters in this show, many of them seem at first very two dimensional, but in reality as you watch the show you realize they each have their own personality and Toradora shows that, it makes you care for them. You feel these characters struggle and succeed on a personal level until the very end. This show is, for the moment, my favorite anime, and I would say almost perfect if it weren't for the lack-luster ending.

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).

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!