Toradora, A name that any avid anime watcher should know. A staple in the Romantic comedy genre, it set a precedent for rom-coms going forward. If you haven’t seen the show (stop reading this and go watch it) ill do a quick rundown for you. The show follows the story of our two leads, Taiga Aisaka, and Ryuuji Takasu. While Ryuuji acts more like a single mother than a high school student, his daunting appearance makes it hard for people to talk to him. Taiga is a small and short-tempered girl; she is THE definition of a tsundere which I will go into more detail about later. These two find themselves being in love with each other’s best friends. We follow Taiga and Ryuuji through their many hi-jinks, as they try to confess their love. In doing this they end up spending a lot of time together, learning more and more about one another as time goes on.

with the rundown out of the way, let's go into more detail on the characters individually. Starting with the main man himself, Ryuuji. Like I said earlier Ryuuji acts much differently than he looks. Living in a fatherless household, he became very self-sufficient. He does all the cooking and cleaning while his mother works. Despite his looks, he is a very kind person who can see the good side in all kinds of people. He struggles with showing his emotions, which leads to many problematic situations as the show progresses. This apathetic attitude is the complete polar opposite of his female counterpart. I feel that this weird chemistry between the two makes all their interactions much more enjoyable. It’s kind of like a chocolate-covered pretzel with a combination of sweet and salty.

Speaking of the female counterpart, let's talk about Taiga. The palmtop Tiger, a very fitting nickname for this small short-tempered girl. Born into a very wealthy family, Taiga was always handed the things she needed. She didn’t get along very well with her parents and moved away to live on her own. Due to her upbringing, she lacked the basic ability to cook or clean. Throughout the show, this characteristic of Taiga leads to lots of development between her and Ryuuji. This is one of my favorite aspects of the show. Watching these to people who in any other situation would never get along. With the help of Ryuuji Taiga slowly changes as the show progresses, adopting many of his good qualities.

Next on our list is Yusaku Kitamura. (sigh) Oh Kitamura, being Taiga's love interest throughout most of the show he has a pretty important role. Unfortunately, this is pretty much all he has to offer. In my humble opinion, his character is weak at the start of the show. Not much is known about his background, other than his childhood friendship with Ryuuji. He has a unique way of handling different situations during the show. This, to me, comes across as “fake”, like he’s trying to hide his true personality from the people around him. He does get better later in the show as we get to see what’s going on in his weird head.

On the topic of fake characters, Minori Kushieda is up next. The super Athletic, super bubbly never-ending flow of energy. Minori is Taigas's best friend and the love interest of Ryuuji. On the outside, Minori is a super peppy go-getter who wastes no time. She’s the captain of the softball team and holds several part-time jobs all at the same time. Alongside all that, she has to deal with the emotional wreck that is the rest of the cast. This is where her “fake” tag comes into play. Unlike Kitamura, I feel like Minori acts differently around her friends because she doesn’t want them to worry about her. She always puts everyone else’s feelings ahead of hers. There are several scenes where her personality does a complete 180 as she gets deep into thought.

Last on the list is Ami Kawashima. Ami is a very unique character in the show. She was introduced as a friend of Kitamura. She’s shown as a very kind and clumsy girl, who models for a living. We quickly see what makes her special as her alter ego comes out from time to time. Her other side is mean, snobby, and brutally honest. She tries to hide this from people to try and fit in better. She has spent a lot of her time around adults which gives her a different look at the things happening around her. I think Someone as honest as her is a necessity when dealing with all of the developing relationships going on. She puts things in perspective for the other cast members, a perspective they wouldn’t be able to see otherwise. Unfortunately, she is often left on the sideline when it comes to her own emotions.

Now, with all the main characters out of the way let's get into the real meat and potatoes. This show has a very special place in my heart. Back to my first watch-through to my most recent, this show always hits me like a truck. I have yet to find a show that makes me feel the same way this one does, and there are a few reasons for that. The emotional ties this show puts on the watcher are extremely tight. Watching the characters change and grow, seeing how their decisions vary as they expand their horizons. Nothing is ever cut and dry, things are always moving and changing. In my eyes, there was never a dull moment. Each episode felt like it had development, some greater than others. This constant story building is what I think many modern romantic comedies lack. When watching some newer shows, I find myself wanting episodes to end so I can see more progression. They almost feel like a standstill in some cases. This is something that Toradora doesn’t have a problem with. Now I like to think of myself as a serious guy that tends not to get very emotional when watching something. Or that’s what id like to think. This show makes me cry like a newborn baby, really gets the waterworks going. (especially the outro on the last episode) That’s something, at least in my case, that very few shows have done. Even now I can’t help but shed a few tears when watching it. The big emotional scenes (at least the ones between the two mains) are done extremely well. I’ve gotten tired of watching shows with half-baked messes for impactful scenes. When something happens that is going to change the complexion of the show, or the relationship between two characters I want to be able to look back on it, not forget about it in an episode or two. Many parts of the show have stuck with me and I can vividly remember how they went. This is also achieved by the great soundtrack the show has. Many of the songs throughout the anime will be engraved in your head. You will be able to see the scenes play out just by hearing the song associated with them. I will say, not every song on the ost has aged very well, but it is still home to some great songs. The last thing I want to touch on is the ending. Many recent shows I’ve watched feel very rushed when it comes to the endings. The new trend seems to be dragging the relationship of the two big love interests so the main character can finally get the kiss that has been teased throughout the entire series. This is a trope that I’m not very fond of and is not a problem that Toradora suffered from. Toradora focused on building the main relationship right up to the very end, and the ending in my eyes was a great way to wrap up the show.

Overall Toradora is hands down the best romantic comedy that I’ve seen. It set the path of success for other shows in the genre and has gone down as an all-time great. It will be talked about for years to come.