“Toradora” is known to be one of the quintessential romance animes and most audiences would agree.
“Toradora” (2008, J.C. Staff) follows a stoic faced student named Ryuuji Takasu (voiced by Junji Majima) pursuing a relationship with Minori Kushieda (Yui Horie) only to stumble around and end up in an unexpected relationship.
The actual plot of the show is very wholesome, a chance encounter between Ryuuji and Taiga (Rie Kugimiya) spurs them into working together to ask out their crushes with them growing closer in the process. Watching the two banter with each other has captured the hearts of viewers for years and is still a great stepping stone for those wanting to get into anime.
Ryuuji has all the skills of a household husband, from cleaning, cooking, and doing the laundry. He takes care of himself and his mother since his father bailed on them.
The art style of the show is very cutesy, having the cast stand out from the background and even letting background characters be unique and express themselves. Even though the style is simplistic, it’s to its benefit, since some shows with more complex styles have a harder time staying consistent.
The sound design of the show is pretty good, in one scene they cleverly use bells as a rolling sound. Most other noises like footsteps and echos are standard, but this show uses alternative sounds, like the bells, to create a mystical feeling for the viewers.
There are a lot of areas where this show shines, but there are a few points where it falls flat.
Again, background characters do not move, a lot of animes do this but it’s very noticeable here. Another issue with background characters is that there’s so little detail in their design, though they can be distinguished from each other, they’re still very mundane.
Only one character in this show uses CG for far away shots, and that’s the bird, Inko (Saori Gotō). When every other character is drawn it becomes painfully apparent which one is CG.
As for the characters, overall, there is a lack of intelligence that could get annoying for an audience just looking for a romance comedy. When a new character is made part of the main cast, this fact is put on stage for them to see.
Another issue is that with some set pieces it looks like somebody took a picture with a camera and color corrected some things to make it look like they drew it.
Although there are a few flaws to this show, it’s still a fantastic watch for audiences wanting to view a romance comedy anime. However, if the flaws are problematic to the viewers, then they should continue on their search for a romcom.