 Aisaka Taiga |
For this review i’ll talk about a well-known anime that many of you already watched. I’m referencing to Tora-Dora who was a true and intense experience for every romance fan. Our hero, Takasu Ryuuji is a schoolboy with fearsome eyes inherited from his deceased father. This particularity made him feared by his comrades who think he’s a delinquent. |
He’s in love with Kushieda Minori, a cheerful, athletic and friendly girl he met across Kitamura. But he just can’t tell her how he feel.
On his first day school he’ll bump against a small girl, Aisaka Taiga who punch him out without warnings. She’s Minori’s best friend and she’s as strong and violent as she’s short.
Because of Taiga’s clumsiness, Ryuuji will discover that she’s in love with Kitamura. After an assault during his sleep planned by Taiga to made him forget about his finding, he accidentally reveal his love for Minori.
In exchange for her silence, Ryuuji promise to be Taiga’s pet and help her by any mean necessary to bring her close to Kitamura.
Taiga can be ... rude
At first the plot look fairly common. A secret double loves between friends in a school is something i’ve seen before but Tora-Dora got a unique atmosphere with lovable characters.
Ryuuji is a benevolent kid who suffer from his father genetic legacy. Everybody sees him as a violent bad boy who love to fight. But in reality he have a calm personality and got exited when he sees moistures on a wall. He cook and do the cleaning at home with his childish mother. He own a hilarious parrot named Inko-chan, always trying to say his own name but fail every one with a retarded look on his face.
Minori and a cup of tea
Taiga is much more savage and violent but only because she can’t express her feelings. She in conflict with both her parents and so she live by herself but cannot do any cleaning of any kind, moreover she’s a terrible cook.
Ryuuji just can’t stand the dirtiness of Taiga’s apartment nor the way she’s used to feed.
Before they can realize it, their quest to reveal their respective feeling to Kitamura and Minori will result in a strong bond. That bond will be the basement for all the show.
It began as a mutual interest relationship to evolve in a strong friendship and even more …
That probably hurt ...
I don’t want to spoil so i’ll end here but if you still haven’t see this i strongly suggest you to take the time to watch it.
You can’t be in love with Taiga even when she’s acting a bit like a spoiled child.
Ryuuji is a friend everybody wish to have, dedicated, true and helpful.
You want their happiness all along and i committed myself to them while watching, being happy and sad at the same time as them.
Inko-chan tries to say his name ...
Don’t miss it 
Scenario : 8/10 – The plot is rather standard but wonderfully staged. A new character (Amy) is introduced around the middle and it helps to deepen the story.
Fun : 9.5/10 – Every episodes got what it needs to let ourself burst into laughter. Taiga and Ryuuji is the perfect funny duo. The parrot appear once in a while but always in a funny way
Graphics : 9/10 – Nothing wrong to say here. It’s clean and constant. I didn’t saw any drop of quality around the middle.
Ending : 8.5/10 – I expected the ending so it wasn’t a big surprise. The force of this anime is in the constant relationship development between all the characters. I cried a few times in key emotional moments.
Total : 9/10 – One of the best romance anime i’ve ever seen. I you love romantic comedy with well defined characters, jump on that one. 
wish have love story ^^;;
in my 18 years life I never have a GF
Wow that was fast
I won’t tell about my own love life but believe me it’s far worse. Come here if you need some comforting 
I love Toradora! Enough to watch it twice… Lol..
Though I disagree with most of the blogosphere in that for me, Minori is way more lovable than Taiga..
blur´s last blog ..Tears to Tiara
I watched it twice already
Minori is cute but several factors made me to prefer Taiga over her. First i love long hairs, secondly i haaaate sports so since she’s the captain of the baseball club …
But i like her temper a lot ! Very mature of her at the end but i won’t say anything more, don’t want to spoil.
That’s an excellent subject. I loved that anime who’s a must see for me.
Taiga’s temper remind me my own : rude sometimes but with a shyly kindness.
A real tsu-tsun in fact
Very good post !
Lylibellule´s last blog ..2 years of a collection, worth a party! (Part 2 : The buying fever)
Thanks for the praise ^^
If you are a bit like Taiga i would definitely like you :p
Hope you’re not as rude as she is, don’t want to be hurt by a flying fist of anger
I’m with blur on this one. Although I liked Taiga, Minori was just a tad more loveable to me. Great show though!
Karianne´s last blog ..Yesterday.
I didnt really like Taiga and well Tsunderes in general and I really hoped that this Anime would atleast once break away from the norm and deliver us an unexpected ending like Riuji ending up with Ami or Minorin instead of the girl you know hell end up with.
Personally my favorite Girl turned out to be Ami and while the Anime was enjoyable I was a bit turned down by the cheesecake ending
Blowfish´s last blog ..Masters of Queens Blade Excellent!! Official Figure & Visual Book
Maybe the anime would have been better with a different ending. We’ll never know
Myself i’m completely satisfied by the ending and i watch a lot of romantic shows.
Am i less demanding when it comes to romance ? Well that’s a possibility, in fact there’s only one thing that stop me for watching a show, a too long misunderstanding.
I agree that Amy is a very interesting character and it deserved to be deepened.
Well Ive once read about a study regarding the viewing habits of men and women and generally men prefer a story with plottwists and unexpected things happening while women prefer a clear,predicatable plot thats not suprising at all.They do not care as much about the conclusion of a show but more of the way up to the conclusion.
Thats why many Romantic Shows make it clear right from the beginning with who the protagonist will end up and wont suprise anyone ^^
Blowfish´s last blog ..Masters of Queens Blade Excellent!! Official Figure & Visual Book
Oh really ? That’s interesting, indeed for me all the way up to the end is very important. In fact in Tora-Dora my most lovable moments are not in the last episodes.
So i’m good with romance on how they’re usually staged.
And i don’t like surprises lool
i love Toradora! its one of my fav animes ever. great review, and screen cap choices lol
ive watch it a few times but its never enough… TAIGAAA!!!
Thanks for your praises and visit
It reminded me when Ryuuji enter Taiga’s home for the first time and sees the kitchen … Using censorship on sink to mask the dirtiness was a good idea and after that … AISAKAAAAA
Toradora is one of my favorite anime ! I love tsundere, and Taiga is really cute. There is a real emotion on the last episodes. I would like a 2nd season to see again character ^^ Nice presentation !
Leonia´s last blog ..Décembre 2009
Thanks !
Why not a second season to discover what would happen to all the characters. University, weddings, jobs, babies ….
Unfortunately it’s rare that those events are staged in a show.
I haven’t seen this one but seriously plan to do so.
Plus, I just want to tell you that I now have my own banner and will add you to my blogroll as well.
my banner is here
http://canime.wordpress.com/about/
Canne´s last blog ..Last post of 2009: Anime decade lists, To my readers and Happy Holidays!
Ohhh that’s sweeeeet ! I’ll replace the text with your banner immediately.
Come again here to tell me what do you think once you finish watching.
Wow! An interesting post. I was happily reading your synopsis and you ended it there. I guess I’ll have to search for this and watch it. Thank you for sharing this anime
softz´s last blog ..Korea & Jeju Winter Fun – Part 6 (Teddy Bear Museum)
I didn’t want to reveal too much information, wouldn’t be nice of me to ruin the pleasure of discovering
This was one of my most fav anime ever!
usually I dont watch romantic type shows but this one has my vote~