I've rewatched plenty of shows before, especially anime since they're short. However, whenever I do rewatch something, it's either for a show I haven't reviewed and wanted to jog my memory of (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Clone Wars), or it's that I said all I needed to say in my review and just wanted to rewatch it again (Madoka, FLCL). Toradora, however, is the rare show that I actually wanted to rewatch and re-review. I love Toradora for its complex characters and willingness to go in some pretty unconventional directions for a rom com, but that also means I definitely didn't pick up on everything in my first watch, and it didn't help that Toradora was one of my first reviews, written at a time when I was a lot more unexperienced. Thus, it's time for me to watch Toradora a second time, and really dive into what makes it my favorite romantic comedy (and one of my favorite anime) ever made.
Toradora is an anime about two high school students named Ryuji and Taiga. The son of a mobster, Ryuji has a terrifying appearance despite actually being a sweetheart once you get to know him. Meanwhile, Taiga may look like a sweet girl but she's actually a terrifying jerk. After finding out that they have crushes on each others' friends, Ryuji and Taiga team up to help other confess their feelings, only to end up developing feelings for each other. This isn't a super original premise for a rom com, but what really carries Toradora is the dynamic between Ryuji and Taiga. Besides all of the obvious parallels, it's made clear that they bring out the best in each other, and with a length of 25 episodes, the show takes its sweet time to slowly and naturally develop their relationship. Toradora does the heavy lifting to sell the viewer on Ryuji and Taiga's connection, something that I can't say a lot of rom coms really do. I also really like how the romance plays out, as Taiga, Ryuji, and the rest of the cast are high schoolers, and they act that way. The cast is immature and make a lot of irrational decisions due to their own idealistic conceptions of what love is. Taiga and Ryuji can't get together until they both grow and mature in their own ways (especially Taiga), making Toradora almost as much of a coming of age story as it is a romantic comedy. It's all this that makes Toradora's romance stand out, it's entirely character-driven and feels more realistic than the standard rom-com formula.
Even more than just the central romance, however, a big reason why Toradora has stuck out to me is just how complex and fleshed-out the characters are. Ryuji is an absolute sweetheart, and his conflict about not wanting to be a burden on others is actually really relatable. Minori turns from the funniest character to one of the most heartbreaking, and deserves so much better than how the show left her. Ami's character development from grade-A jerk to blunt but well-meaning confidant is super natural and fascinating. And of course, Taiga is a very complicated and interesting character with a lot of interesting baggage that elevates her beyond the basic Tsundere trope, and her development and the way she matures throughout the series is a sight to behold. The only character I don't like is Yusaku, who gets the least screentime and my least favorite moment in the anime. Otherwise, the side characters are pretty great too. All of the students in Class 2-C have colorful personalities that make you really feel for when they have to say goodbye at the end of the series, Mrs Yuri is one of my most memorable anime teachers for how much of an absolute wreck she is, and then there's Yasuko, Ryuji's mom and my favorite character in the show. She may seem like a useless mess at first but she's the beating heart of Toradora and the reveal of how hard she's worked to be a good single mom to Ryuji was one of the show's most impactful moments.
I actually have a lot more to say on Toradora's presentation as well, especially compared to the first review. The animation is still pretty good, even if certain moments (the classroom fight, Taiga and Ryuji kissing) are more fluid than others. The characters are super expressive, and the body language and posing is really well-done especially in the more subtle moments. However, I couldn't help but feel like the show was a bit off-model at times, particularly with Minori, whose head just looked way too big in half the scenes she's in. The voice acting is fantastic, though. Rie Kugimiya (Taiga) is definitely the star here, especially during the emotional moments, and her chemistry with Junji Majima (Ryuji) is perfect. But what really impressed me this time was Eri Kitamura's performance as Ami, seamlessly shifting between her high-pitched fake voice and more aggressive real voice. As for the music, it's still amazing. There's a nice blend of piano and synth giving the score a very meloncholy feel that fits the show great, and I can't rave about Lost My Pieces (the big emotional piece) enough. Being one of my first anime, I felt really nostalgic rewatching Toradora, but it was the music that really hit those nostalgia pangs for me.
Highlights:
Taiga And Ryuji: Toradora has a bunch of episodes that are just iconic for me, they live in my brain completely rent-free, and Taiga And Ryuji is one of the most iconic. It works phenomenally as a self-contained love story and a mission statement for the series as a whole. It starts off light-hearted with a bunch of fun skits about Taiga and Ryuji trying and failing to win over their respective love interests, only to delve into darker territory as Taiga struggles to grapple with her frustration and rage towards herself, before ending on a cheesy yet very heartwarming speech from Ryuji about how they support each other. This whole episode is just Toradora in a nutshell, and it's easily one of my favorites in the show. Also, that lamppost kicking scene hits me so freaking hard every single time I see it, an absolute masterclass.
Who Is This For?: Yet another very iconic episode. Its premise is already pretty fun, being about Ami and Taiga competing in a race, which the latter tries to win using a typically cruel strategy. But the high point is easily the scene where Taiga saves Ryuji before angrily declaring "Ryuji is mine!". It's such an amazing moment on rewatch because it shows the exact point where Taiga starts to develop feelings for Ryuji and because it marks the first time Taiga takes care of Ryuji the way he took care of her.
Ohashi High School Culture Festival: The first half of Toradora ends with a pretty massive three-parter, focusing around the school holding a grand culture festival all the while Taiga's father shows up and claims he wants to reconcile. There's a great balance of goofy school antics with the former storyline and emotional moments in the latter, culminating in that ridiculously fun and satisfying final race sequence.
One Step Forward: Yusaku's breakdown is probably my least favorite moment in Toradora, it comes out of nowhere and is generally really awkward to watch. However, the resolution to this plot point is actually one of my favorite episodes. Sumire gets a lot of depth and development here, revealing a very complex and interesting side character, and Taiga staging a fake campaign to bait Yusaku into running again is great fun. The big classroom fight scene at the end of the episode is also fantastic, and is somehow animated better than a lot of fights in more action-heavy anime.
Christmas Eve Party: This is hands down the best Toradora episode, and one of my favorite episodes of any anime ever, but I've said everything I needed to say about it in my post about Christmas episodes, so I'll post it here:
"...It's the ultimate Christmas episode. We got singing, we got a party, we got heartwarming moments, tearjerking moments, and a nearly perfect second half. Ryuji comforting Taiga by dressing up as Santa is one of the most wholesome things I've ever seen, only to be followed up by one of the most heartwrenching things I've ever seen as Taiga realizes she likes Ryugi right as he proceeds to ask Minori out. Taiga's breakdown makes me tear up every time, especially considering that Minori actually ends up rejecting Ryuji anyway. This isn't just an amazing Christmas episode, it's a massive turning point in Toradora and a truly emotional rollercoaster. Christmas Eve Party is unequivocally the best Christmas episode in all of television."
Can't Help Myself: Upon rewatch, I feel really bad for Ami. She's the only one willing to express her feelings for Ryuji, but she also never really had a chance, and she knows this. And as Minori and Taiga continue to beat around the bush and start drama, Ami finally snapped in this episode, and it's rough. Taiga and Sumire's fight was more fun but Ami's brawl with Minori was just plain hard to watch, but at least it led to that great scene where Taiga reveals her feelings for Ryuji... to Ryuji himself.
Confession: One of the best episodes in the series, Confession has three big elements to talk about. First, and most obviously, there's Taiga and Ryuji confessing their feelings for each other and running away together, a massive moment on its own made even better by that fantastic bridge scene. Then, there's the stuff with the parents which I've always found especially emotionally impactful. Taiga finally reveals why she left, and Ryuji making Yasuko cry gets me ever time (this is where she became my favorite character). And then, there's Minori, probably the MVP of this episode. Revealing her crush on Ryuji, making up with Ami, helping Ryuji and Taiga get together, she went through a lot this episode and I'm glad she had that cry with Ami.
Toradora: The final episode of Toradora is one that I simultaneously love and am left pretty mixed by. As an episode, it's fantastic, its first half in particular is phenomenal. Everything about Yasuko reconnecting with her parents and Ryuji is amazing and solidified her as my favorite member of the cast. That kiss scene is one of the best in the series too. I actually liked Taiga leaving for a bit to mature, it makes sense for the story and her character arc, and upon rewatch, you can see the moment she makes this decision. And of course, that post-credits scene just makes me so happy.
However, my one other gripe with Toradora (the anime, I mean) aside from Yusaku's breakdown is that it needed an epilogue. I love this episode but it just doesn't resolve everything, especially regarding the side characters. What do Ryuji and Taiga do when they get together? Does Ryuji go to college? Whatever happened to Kihara's crush on Yusaku? Did Minori get into that baseball university? Will Ami continue modeling? And do Minori and Ami find anyone? We have no idea, though admittedly I'd like to think Minori and Ami got together around that snowball fight in the previous episode.
Overall, Toradora is amazing. On my first viewing, it became my favorite rom com of all time, but on my second viewing, it became one of my favorite anime period. The relationship between Ryuji and Taiga is so well-developed, the characters (except Yusaku) are all so well-developed and complex, and the drama is so impactful. It's not just a rom com, it's also a dense, introspective, and messy coming of age story, and an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish.
5/5 Stars
