My main issue with Toradora, the underlying source of all my frustration with this show, is the structurally weak foundation of the characters and their interactions that the entire show is built on. Weak and unconvincing motivations and relationship dynamics make the characters feel empty and shallow with little meaning to back up their actions, however the plot depends on you believing and justifying these actions in order to have any stake in the outcome. It’s not helped by the fact that reactions and emotional climaxes are way too over-dramatic to the point where they seem completely manufactured for shock value and don’t try to tell a convincing story, but instead try to sell you on drama. This can be great if the intentions and the rationale behind actions are appropriately worthy of the drama, or as satirical and ironic comedic relief, but in TD not only is it way too overused, but it leans on these flawed conflicts as the only things moving the plot forward. It also takes everyone forever to accomplish anything meaningful, because no one is forward or open with their desires despite very, VERY obviously showing them.

All of these factors make it feel as if the resulting illogical and irrational decisions are solely used to create drama for the sake of creating drama, instead of depicting a natural progression of a complicated story. Simple problems, that have simple solutions that should be as obvious as the sun is bright, are dragged out for hours resulting in a plot that barely goes anywhere for well into two-thirds of the way through. By that point, around episode 15 where the plot finally starts seeing some progress, it is hard to have any stake in the outcome as any credibility to the realism of these character relationships has been destroyed. The rest of the show and final arc after e16 feels rushed, finally progressing on a relationship on which the foundation is shaky and unconvincing.

I honestly do not understand why this show is so highly rated. There are a few good moments scattered throughout, but every single character except Ami (who is the exception to most of what I said in this opening) does not deserve a happy ending. Spoilers from here on out.
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So let’s start with Taiga and Ryuuji. First, starting at the very beginning of the show, is the fact that their relationship is built on their crushes for other people, of which both crushes are are poorly justified from the very beginning and go more or less unexplained by the very end. However, my main complaint is that Ryuuji is a complete doormat to Taiga and her extreme verbal and physical abuse, and selfish, ungrateful, and downright nasty attitude. A little masochism can be great don’t get me wrong. However, there is absolutely no logical or justifiable reason for Ryuuji to continue taking that level of mistreatment. And sure there are people who love cooking, cleaning, and taking care of others, but the level that Taiga takes the abuse up to, and the level that Ryuuji takes the role of caretaker to, are just way too extreme to ever be believable or enjoyable. While it may be funny the first few times, this same dynamic relentlessly drags on well into +16 episodes.

I personally get zero enjoyment out of the “quirkiness” or “eccentricity” of these 2 main characters and their interactions / relationship. It’s straight up domestic violence between strangers trying to pass as a wacky and funny relationship, and it’s just not convincing to me at all. And I have tried to understand peoples’ explanations about why Ryuuji likes Taiga. They just don’t make sense. “Having someone to vent to and act natural around” and “understanding and compassion” fall down in the face of Ryuuji literally getting the shit beat out him, and where Taiga reciprocates nothing but both Minori and Ami do to some extent. Honestly the only justification that would ever make sense is if Ryuuji were both a massive lolicon and masochist.

I can understand that others may enjoy or even relate to Taiga and Ryuuji’s relationship, but I find it way too unrealistic and frustrating. This is the underlying problem I have with TD. It just falls apart if you do not find the main relationship of the plot to be believable from start to finish, since everything revolves around and is built upon it.

So now onto Kitamura, who is honestly pathetic. He spends a few episodes brooding and running away from an extremely simple problem in the most pathetic way possible. We later find out that it was all a pitiful stunt to try and win over the sitting student council president. A cry for help should not drive the plot of over 40 minutes of screen time. Again, completely unconvincing since we have very little backstory and reason for why we should be invested in his crush and his actions, and absurd dramatization and over-personification. While this arc of his is more of a side story and easy to separate from the main plot, it does become the motivating factor / foundation for many of the events between Ryuuji and Taiga. This adds another layer of unconvincing motivations which makes everything that follows that much harder to believe and to justify. Back to the story; so now this goes back to Taiga who finally realizes that Kitamura, the guy she has been creaming herself over for the past +16 episodes, loves someone else and not her - something that a chimp would be able to understand after him repeatedly ignoring her in every interaction between the two of them, during which she was publicly aroused around him to the point where it might as well have been hentai. After about 6 whole hours of this extremely frustrating and largely stagnant character dynamic, she does an immediate 180 and realizes that Ryuuji is the one she loves. How quickly this happens, (especially compared to how long and drawn out the plot was before this point) requires a major suspension of disbelief and is not even trying to present a natural or realistic progression of a meaningful relationship at all. And the kicker is, Ryuuji welcomes it even after the prolonged abuse and contempt that Taiga has been inflicting constantly over the past 16 or so episodes. Repeating what I said before, it just seems ridiculous that the ending and payoff of the show depends on believing in the validity or legitimacy of Taiga and Ryuuji’s feelings for one another when presented with things like this.

But the main conflict of the show is that Ryuuji likes Minori and we find out that she likes him back, right as taiga realizes that she also likes him. Keep in mind that this is more than 15 episodes in, where before it was long and drawn out story of X loves Y who loves Z who loves etc. Within that time by the way, the whole plot could have been easily solved if someone actually said something, ANYTHING. So much time spent on nothing, driven by everyone not wanting to say anything but showing it so obviously that it numbs the brain how it goes unresolved. So anyways, now we actually have a love triangle but the problem is that Minori is extremely loyal, obedient, and submissive to Taiga. Trying to pass this dynamic off as believable is another aspect that the plot depends on in order to move forward, and is the main focus of my frustration with Minori. Again, extremely unconvincing. Taiga deserves basically none of the affection she gets, both from Minori and from Ryuuji. Oh boo hoo her dad is rich and pays for anything she wants but she is too unmotivated to actually do anything and lives in filth and does nothing, on her own volition. Father not around? Neither is Ryuuji's, plus he’s poor, and it is implied that his mother is an actual prostitute. Got family issues? So does literally every single one of the 5 main characters.

So now we get to Ami, the only redeemable character. She makes decisions that for the most part make sense, has a great character arc, and reasonable, well explained plot development that adds substantial depth to her character which is not just used as a cheap trick to move the story along. She seems to be the only one of the group who has eyes and uses them to perceive the world around her. The only one who actually confronts people and talks about things and who does not let their blinding emotional desires overpower simple decision making. The only one who calls out the stupidity of the overly dramatic and emotional conflicts within the group, which are poorly defined but are the only things driving the plot forward. Sure she starts out as a terrible person, but literally the next episode her entire motivation and backstory is explained in a way that makes sense and explains her behavior, and she pretty much stops being such a terrible person. Her attraction to the MC is one that grows over time instead of a blinding love seemingly popping into existence at just the right time to create some drama and keep the plot going.
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Not everyone needs a happy ending - I am perfectly fine with that. However, Taiga definitely does not deserve one being the terrible person that she is, especially at the expense of both Minori and Ami. They are much better and more redeemable characters whose motivations and decisions are more reasonable, and whose attraction to the MC is much more believable and convincing. After having it explained to me, the last few episodes with the eloping (as weird as they were) do show Taiga's arc and ultimate motivations, but it is such an abrupt departure from her personality and her behavior from the previous +20 episodes that it is just not believable in my opinion, and also makes that final arc feel extremely rushed compared to slow and stagnant progression up until that point.

The ending, actually the entire show really but the ending in particular, requires big jumps in logic and assumptions to be made; putting trust in both the changing and unchanging motivations that drive the decisions of these characters that you must believe but which are not actually shown. A fitting end, where the outcome relies on superimposing your personal belief that these characters have grown and progressed. Making the assumption that you will just believe it and go along with it without showing the effort and the self reflection of telling a nuanced and complicated story, instead opting for derivative, trumped up drama and showing you the result, hoping that you will fill in the gaps yourself and believe it to be convincing. While I can understand some of the appeal in that, in my opinion; the situations and character personalities presented compared to the outcomes of the plot are just too big of gaps to fill in.