My mouth’s watering just looking at itBentou no Gokui (literally Bento Battle) is an unaired episode of Toradora. It’s mostly a fluff episode; Kitamura brings an extravagant bento box made by his grandmother. Seeing this ludicrously lavish lunch makes Ryuuji feel inferior, so he retaliates by trying to best Kitamura’s grandmother’s cooking.
I watched Toradora on via its Blu-Ray, so I naturally watched Bentou no Gokui after I had finished the series proper.
And let me tell you, don’t skip out on Bentou no Gokui despite it being an OVA with little-to-no bearing on the plot. It's good stuff. It’s actually better than the series as a whole.
Okay, okay, hear me out before scrolling away. If you read my review, you’ll know that my biggest gripe from the series came from the beginning. Without this difference in quality to bog my perception of it down, Bentou no Gokui is optimal Toradora! The characters were all pretty funny and Ryuuji was surprisingly deep despite this being a fun little episode about cooking. Taiga wasn't an annoying tsundere in this episode, thus lifting the barrier to entry for the early episodes for me. While my favroite episodes of Toradora! were the dramatic ones toward the end, I loved this one as well
Honestly, it’s the perfect episode of the “comedy” side of the romantic-comedy Toradora! The animation and facial expressions helped convey the comedy and the absurdity of Ryuuji’s “rivalry” was a riot. I consistently laughed throughout the episode. I can’t recall any other episode of Toradora! that had this effect on me. For this reason, I consider it the funniest episode in the show. Despite this focus on comedy, it’s still sweet, too. The romance is wonderfully apparent and it made me feel warm inside. Bentou no Gokui was the perfect blend of comedy and romance. While it wasn’t the most romantic episode, it’s romantic enough to be good. The episode, tonally, could fit well in the middle of the series, prior to the School Festival Arc.The music was superb as always.
The perfect OVA if you’re a fan of Toradora! and can’t get enough. Honestly, I think it’s pretty good for newcomers as well. I didn’t see anything too spoiler-y, and it’s honestly a better exposure to the series than the first episode is, in some ways.
8.5/10
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