Title: Toradora
Publisher: NIS America
U.S. Release Date: July 1, 2014 (English Dub version)
Format and Length: DVD/ Blu-ray combo, 25 episodes, 617 minutes
Genre: High School Comedy Romance
Industry Age Rating: 13+
Overall Personal Rating:B+
Synopsis:
High School student Ryuji lives with his ditsy mother in a traditional styled Japanese home. He meets a fellow student, Taiga who lives alone in the apartment building next door. In contrast to Ryuji’s self reliance and domestic skills, Taiga may have money, but she doesn’t know how to cook or clean anything. Another opposite between the two ” is his practical and friendly attitude to her spit-fire cantankerous behavior (which give rise to her nickname of Tiger).
Still, once they realize that the other one is friends with whom they have a crush on, that a working friendship might be what they need to find the romance they are looking for. They make a pact to do what they can to help the other pursue their romance.
As time continues on in school, Ryuj and Taiga spend more time together, especially since his cooking is way better than take out. They work on their plans as school life goes on. They have their holidays, trip to the beach and the school festival. Also included in this typical list is a new trasfer student, Ami. She is a model and has an attitude to rival Taiga’s. Romance is not forgotten among the students, as each struggles to connect and how to deal with it when things don’t go the way they hope.
Adulthood is looming near, the whole gang needs to find their way, discover who they are, and still take time to enjoy this last bit of childhood.
Commentary:
Toradora seems to be popular. A lot of people could tell what I was watching just by the sound. A romantic comedy, it is set in high school but the characters are the most important part. We see and hear about who they are and what makes them reach forward and grow as people. There are 5 main characters with most of the stories focused on Taiga and Ryuj. Their love interest/friends are the next, but what Ami, the transfer student, is for wasn’t exactly clear. I suspect it was to give an objective voice to what was going on, and to perhaps create tension for the audience who expects her to be a rival. Even so, her character depth was developed.
I watched the anime in the English dubbed, although after, I watched 2 episodes in Japanese with English subtitles. I thought they did a great job with the voice acting, even when compared to the Japanese. Everything seemed to fit well.
Visually, the anime works well. The settings really helped describe who the characters are, especially with Taiga and Ryuj’s homes. They reflected what was going on within them, and even hinted at what they wanted or needed in the future. It is another layer of enjoyment to see what was going on around them.
Okay, to what I didn’t like. The pet bird was so odd and it seemed to be choking on its on tongue most of the time. Although it is in the manga, which I haven’t read, I think its screen time was a waste. The other thing I had problems with was that Tiga’s attitude was too much. Around episode 6, I was really tired of hearing her yell at everyone but I do have to say, by the end Ryuj didn’t seem to mind and she did soften up a bit.
Toradora is a well paced anime with plenty of story, character development, friendship and comedy to keep the audience happy and leaving with fond memories.
Extras: Chibi Skits, OVA episodes on Ryuj’s obession with Bentos and a book with character bios and artwork. The OVA was really excellent and the best comedic part of the series.
Overall Grade: B+
