Toradora!: final thoughts

I was hesitant, but I finally watched the last episode of Toradora! a couple of nights ago. And thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised that it pulled off a fairly good ending…

Since I’ve already written my thoughts about the first half of Toradora! here, I’m just going to focus on the latter half of the series and the ending on this post. From what I’ve seen, most people thought that the first episode of the series was unimpressive, but the second episode is what really got people to want to watch more. The first half of the series had a lot of good episodes and a few mediocre ones, but I can definitely say that in the latter half, just about every episode kept me absorbed and begging for more.

I can understand the gripe that some people might have with Toradora! – the characters do a lot of outrageous things that, despite being a slice-of-life series, real people would probably never do, for example, Taiga’s crazy battle against Kanou or Minori literally beating down the competition so Ryuuji could win the race. But I think that’s what makes the series so appealing; I could never predict what the characters would do, how they would handle their situations, or what emotions would come up. I don’t think anime characters, especially slice-of-life anime characters, should necessarily have to mirror real people; of course they can be realistic, but I believe one thing that makes them likable is that they express deep emotions, proclaim self-discoveries, and perform unexpected actions that most real people would not be courageous or daring enough to do. The emotions that Taiga and the others expressed and the things they discovered about themselves and each other over the course of the series were touching and endearing, even if it couldn’t happen exactly like that in real life.

While the first half of the series was mostly focused on introducing the characters, the latter half is where they each get to shine. Toradora! has some of the best character development I’ve seen in a while. Taiga, who starts out violent and negative with hidden insecurities, finally realizes that it’s okay to love Ryuuji, but also that she can’t always rely on him for everything. Minori, who started out as just hyper and cheerful, shows her angry, sad, and insecure sides as well. And Ami, who seemed to be an arrogant troublemaker in the beginning, became an indispensable part of the series; she was the one character who knew what was really going and, without being too obvious, she guided the other characters to what they needed to do, especially Ryuuji, which was something I never saw coming for her. And as for Ryuuji and Kitamura, we get to see more sides to them than just their nice guy stereotypes, for example, when Ryuuji realizes he’s using Taiga’s relationship with her father to fulfill his own lack of a father, or when he suddenly shows his angry side and lashes out at Yasuko before running away with Taiga. And Kitamura, who seemed so perfect in the beginning, showed his faults as well during the arc involving him and Kanou. Even a side character like Yasuko, who I thought was just going to be comic relief at first, ended up showing her different sides too, i.e., her affection for Taiga and her close but difficult relationship she’s had with raising Ryuuji. Another great thing about Toradora! that most lesser anime fail to do, is focus on relationships between more than one character. For example, although a lot of focus is placed on the relationship between Ryuuji and Taiga, the relationships between Taiga and Minori, Ami and Minori, Yasuko and Taiga, Yasuko and Ryuuji, Kitamura and Ami, Taiga and Ami, Ryuuji and Ami, Ryuuji and Minori, etc., are not ignored either. By the end of the series, we know exactly how each of the main characters feels about the others. Because of all this, I can only say that Toradora! has some of the best characters I’ve seen and I won’t forget any of them anytime soon.

The conclusion of the series left me feeling happy and satisfied, while I was expecting to feel deprived and frustrated. It wasn’t perfect, but I could definitely accept it, and it seems like a lot of other serious fans feel the same way. After much misunderstanding and emotion, everyone finally realizes that it’s Ryuuji and Taiga who should be together. And once the two of them accept their feelings for each other, they decide to run away together. This decision did seem kind of dumb to me at first, but when you’re young and in love, you’re bound to do some pretty senseless things. Although Taiga’s departure was a little abrupt, I can understand why she did what she did – she realized that she couldn’t keep depending on Ryuuji as “shelter” from her family problems or her own flaws. She took it upon herself to face her family and work things out with them once and for all. She stopped running away from her feelings for Ryuuji and she had to stop running away from her family too. Although we didn’t get to read it, I’m sure the letter she left Ryuuji said something along those lines (though I think she should have informed Minori and the others too). By the final scene, we get a good feeling of closure; Taiga finally comes back to Ryuuji (in all her tsundere glory XD), and the rest of the characters have graduated and are moving on with their lives. I’m sure some fans are pinning for a second series but I don’t feel it’s necessary. An OVA or some side stories would be nice to keep the fandom going though =)

To sum things up, I didn’t expect to love Toradora! as much as I did. It’s a prime example of a good character-driven series with extremely well-developed and sympathetic characters in both amusing and dramatic situations. But I’m curious, if anyone can help me out, does anyone know how closely the anime followed the novels, both in the ending and the rest of the episodes? Not sure when/if I’ll get around to reading translations of them. Anyway, I will miss the series very much. Taiga and the others will surely be remembered among anime fans for years to come.