As much as I personally don't really like the romance genre in anime, I was pleasantly surprised by shows like Sing Yesterday for Me, which many people say is mediocre but I disagree, and Rent a Girlfriend, which many people have a problem with the main character and I didn't.

So when I heard that so many people really liked Toradora, I checked it out and thought it was just ok. It wasn't bad or anything, I wouldn't even say it was bland, boring or mediocre. I just didn't think it was anything special and I was personally annoyed at the presentation of certain scenes. One example I can think of is with Taiga's father being a douchebag episode and how Minori was really mad at Ryuuji from the beginning. I thought that was really stupid especially considering his circumstances. I get that he ignored negative aspects of her father's character but I still felt that episode didn't work in the way it wanted to. I felt that Minori was being overtly ignorant to how Ryuuji would and does view the situation, making me dislike her during the course of the episode.

Another example of my annoyance with the presentation of events in the anime comes with Yuusaku's rebellious phase. When that was happening, I already knew it had to do with some sort of rejection on the Student Council President's part based on the scene with only the two of them in the council room. Given that information, everything that followed was too hard to believe for me. They didn't characterize Yuusaku as someone very reactive or emotionally vulnerable and as such his reaction to this situation felt invalid and overly dramatic for the sake of engaging the audience. You can argue that his surprising reaction to this situation was the point, adding layers to his character, but I personally see it as the writers inventing a problem that can be relatable to the audience through pandering and to get us to be more invested in his character and the show as whole. In addition to that, they antagonized the Council President to what I felt was an absurd degree and I got really upset when Taiga went into her classroom to fight her as i felt that was just too much and further supported my suspicion of this arc to be an additional hook into the show with it's overly dramatic presentation of events.

As far as characters go, I don't have much of an issue with the show. The only downside I would say is that they failed to make Minori an interesting, layered character, so it was hard to see why Ryuuji loved her. While I suppose it could just be a case of him loving her positive spirit that she brings with her, that's just something that I find to be a bit boring. Taiga's character surprisingly didn't really annoy me much as i felt her actions weren't too ridiculous for me to handle besides Yuusaku's arc where I felt both her and Yuusaku's characters were at their worst. I do think they did a great job of characterizing Ami as she was the most interesting character with the most interesting developments in her attitude towards Ryuuji and becoming less abrasive and pushy to the main cast.

I also didn't fully get why the ending was meant to be satisfying or cathartic. I get that Tiger went to patch things up with her mom to make things right and get the relationship she wants without it being something the mother would hate for her. Even with that, it felt like it came out of nowhere and the random decision beforehand to run away together felt really forced. It was as if they got feedback to hurry and wrap the story up so they rushed Ryuuji's and Taiga's confession of love to each other while also separating them from any conflict that would get in the way of that conclusion. Ryuuji's mother's character was also highlighted in the ending of the show which made me upset because I felt that this idea of his mom essentially being a kid with a kid was just an idea floating in the air up until this point and they only chose to fully address it at the end, robbing us of any build up and development up to this point in the show's end. When Taiga returns to the school in the last few moments, I didn't feel satisfied or emotional, I just felt disappointed.

For what I really enjoyed in the series, it can be summed up in the Beach house arc. There I felt is where every character was at their strongest and the writing itself was at its best. As much as admittedly nothing really happened during this arc, it gave greater insight into Ami who I already enjoyed as a character and Minori where they give a hint to a more interesting side of herself. The comedy was fairly enjoyable, character interactions were fun and it just felt like this is where the team behind the show were really enjoying themselves. It had me invested with a minimal amount of drama, purely through the strength of the characters.

In all, the show was enjoyable, especially Ami's relationship with Ryuuji. I think it begins ok, the middle is the really enjoyable part for me and the ending was stupid. Toradora is a frustrating show with enough enjoyable elements for the viewer to come out with a net positive experience, though I can see this show being very easy to hate or love. With that, it's solidly above average for me but not far above average. Hope you can enjoy the show more than I did, form your own opinion and maybe even justify some of the things I dislike.

Thanks for reading!