Toradora!

Genre exploitation to the maximum. A romantic comedy that knows how to be truly romantic (that is to say thoughtful, deeply moving, and full of grand gestures) and equally humorous (and therefore absurdly crazy). I finally experienced Toradora after a long delay, fourteen years after it was created, when it was already an echo of the past. And yet I immediately fell into its madcap world with enthusiasm. School anime is a beautiful subgenre, and Ryûji and Taiga belong to its absolute peak. The enthusiasm with which the creators threw themselves into every occasion on the calendar, with Christmas in the lead, is unmatched. (09/08/2022)

If it had kept the format of the first few episodes... if only... it would have been something awesome! Funny! Energetic! Something that'll give you positive energy! But it didn't. After those first few great episodes, it fell into the mire of mediocre school anime. Sure, there were bright moments throughout the series, but it wasn't enough to keep me from asking the whole time: “Why? What did you do this to that comedy? Why are you pushing this awful love polygon into it?" I wanted to laugh, but instead I was dealing with the terrible problems of teenagers who wanted to act and solve their problems like well-adjusted adults (which was funny, but not in the way I would have liked). There have been and will continue to be shows like that. Did it bring anything new to the table? No. Even if it didn't bring anything new, was it cool and fun to watch, did it make you smile with satisfaction? No. So it doesn't get a better rating from me. (04/29/2013)