Every so often, I treat myself to lighter fare in anime, since I tend to watch shows that can get quite emotional and crazy. I thought Toradora! would be another nice break, but boy, was I wrong. That’s not to say it wasn’t good, but it wasn’t just fun and humorous. A high school student named Takasu Ryuuji is constantly assumed to be a deliquent because of his eyes (which he inherited from his father, who actually was one). When he gets placed in class with his crush, Kushieda Minori, he also gets placed in class with the Palmtop Tiger, or Tenori Tiger, Aisaka Taiga, Minori’s best friend and an extremely violent, ill-tempered short girl. Taiga lives in the apartment directly next to Ryuuji’s, and when she accidentally puts a love note for Ryuuji’s close friend, Kitamura Yuusaku, in Ryuuji’s bag, she comes to his house to beat the crap out of him and retrieve the note. As a result, the two discover their crushes on each other’s friends, and they agree to assist each other. They slowly become closer and eventually realize their feelings for each other, though not without great trials and tribulations.
Again, it seems like this is just going to be a romantic comedy, but about halfway through, during the culture festival arc, everything gets a lot more serious, when Taiga’s dad shows up, and all the dark, emotional underpinnings of the show pop up. From then on, there’s still humor, but there’s more fighting, more heartfelt professions of anger and love, etc. Admittedly, some of the characters act kind of stupid, but they’re teenagers in love. Isn’t that how they’re supposed to act? So even though the show becomes darker, it doesn’t really hamper its quality. Rather, this is a truly touching show about a very small, intimate cast of lovable characters. That does include even the acerbic, seemingly bipolar Kawashima Ami, the fifth of the main characters. She’s one of the only characters I can think of in anything who can be a total bitch yet likable. And you even kind of like the epileptic bird, Inko-chan, whose random outbursts can be the funniest yet strangest moments of the show.
Then there’s the fact that everything technically about this show is well done. The animation is absolutely top-quality and very colorful, and the music, including all opening, closing, and insert songs, are very memorable, if bizarre. After all, a song called “Vanilla Salt” sounds just weird. Then, each of the main characters is voiced absolutely superbly by an all-star cast. The most prominent two members of said cast are Kugimiya Rie (Taiga), famous for Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist and Shana from Shakugan no Shana, and Horie Yui (Minori), famous for Honda Touru/Tohru from Fruits Basket and Narusegawa Naru from Love Hina. Majima Junji (Ryuuji), Nojima Hirofumi (Yuusaku), and Kitamura Emi (Ami) are also all very good. Emi in particular is quite skilled at illustrating the difference between Ami’s “mask” personality and her real one. My other favorite is Ouhara Sayaka, Ryuuji’s mom, who does a superb job of voicing a tired, drunken woman with a heart of gold. This is one of the most touching shows I’ve ever seen, and the ending will leave you quite happy. Just remember. If this along with Fullmetal Alchemist have taught me anything, it’s that you don’t tell really short people how short they are. They WILL kill you.
Story: 9.0 Animation: 9.4 Soundtrack: 8.8 Acting: 9.5 Overall: 9.0
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