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Does Toradora Hold Up Today?


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maric



Joined: 05 Jun 2021
Posts: 23
PostPosted: Wed Dec 14, 2022 12:52 pm Reply with quote
Man I miss when there were more romance shows that were just normal stories about two characters growing together and developing an actual relationship with ups and downs. Too many shows these days are either just light fluff with nothing more than two characters being cute together, or there has to be some lame gimmick/fetish thrown in for fan service.
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dmanatunga



Joined: 12 Jan 2015
Posts: 55
PostPosted: Wed Dec 14, 2022 1:01 pm Reply with quote
Yes.

This show saved my life and got me back into anime.
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TanyaTheEvil



Joined: 11 May 2018
Posts: 331
PostPosted: Wed Dec 14, 2022 1:14 pm Reply with quote
I Really like this review that Mr AJ Cosplay. Torador has always been one of my favorite anime. The story is well written and the characters are very likable. Thank so much for reminding me about one of my favorite anime
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NeverConvex
Subscriber



Joined: 08 Jun 2013
Posts: 2316
PostPosted: Wed Dec 14, 2022 1:58 pm Reply with quote
AJ wrote:
But as Toradora! demonstrated, the moment you think you've reached the end of maturity is probably when you need to grow up the most; that's why I still manage to cry a few times watching this series for what feels like the 15th time over 11 years.


Oh, man. I guess my going back for a rewatch is inevitable, now...
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Wed Dec 14, 2022 4:14 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
like March comes in like a lion, Barakamon, Fruits Basket, and Toradora!


I don't think I've ever heard any of these show referred as slice of life, maybe if you take the very wide definition of slice of life as "any show that happens in a real world rather than fantasy", but even then that would disqualify fruit basket.

Toradora was fun, but I always felt like the main character were the weakest part of it and would have rather the show focus on its side character or being more of an ensemble cast. I vaguely remember the end being the two lead running away, or something like that, and having long section of just the two of them feeling like the show runner were stretching the running time.
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Generations



Joined: 21 Jul 2016
Posts: 204
PostPosted: Wed Dec 14, 2022 9:37 pm Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
I don't think I've ever heard any of these show referred as slice of life, maybe if you take the very wide definition of slice of life as "any show that happens in a real world rather than fantasy", but even then that would disqualify fruit basket.


Dunno about Fruits Basket, but the other three are definitely slice-of-life, that's not even in doubt. A show can have more than one genre, it's not exclusive.

And for the record, JoJo Part 4 is absolutely a slice-of-life.
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Glordit



Joined: 11 Sep 2020
Posts: 482
PostPosted: Wed Dec 14, 2022 10:22 pm Reply with quote
maric wrote:
Man I miss when there were more romance shows that were just normal stories about two characters growing together and developing an actual relationship with ups and downs. Too many shows these days are either just light fluff with nothing more than two characters being cute together, or there has to be some lame gimmick/fetish thrown in for fan service.


The major difference between then and now is that there are way less complete adaptions being animated. A large majority of them are based on on going series so their job is to make you want to read the source to find out more.
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Minos_Kurumada



Joined: 04 Nov 2015
Posts: 1029
PostPosted: Wed Dec 14, 2022 10:28 pm Reply with quote
Never watched it but, in the latin world this series suddenly got some videos about how the Girl lead was a self-centered and egoistical Mary Sue who manipulates everybody around her and the plot never acknowledges how terrible she is.

I always found funny how suddenly so many people thought it was a good idea to talk about how much they hated the show at the same time.
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JustMonika



Joined: 17 Jan 2022
Posts: 985
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 2022 12:57 am Reply with quote
Toradora will always be the GOAT
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AholePony



Joined: 04 Jun 2015
Posts: 330
Location: Arizona
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 2022 1:51 am Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
Quote:
like March comes in like a lion, Barakamon, Fruits Basket, and Toradora!


I don't think I've ever heard any of these show referred as slice of life, maybe if you take the very wide definition of slice of life as "any show that happens in a real world rather than fantasy", but even then that would disqualify fruit basket.


There's been a weird thing in social media for (mostly younger gen z) people to call all real world shows slice of life. It kind of annoys me too. I think it's because they grew up after video rental stores died and don't remember we had special "drama" and "romance" sections in them. The term "slice of life" as far as I'm concerned was coined BECAUSE it was a unique genre to itself that wasn't drama or romance. March is a drama and fruits is a romance in my books. Barakamon toes the line (a little dramatic) and something like k-on certainly isn't dramatic or contain romance as central premises.
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pip25



Joined: 22 Sep 2017
Posts: 156
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 2022 9:02 am Reply with quote
I loved Toradora... up to around the halfway point. After that, some characters practically disappeared from the story, while Taiga was reduced to a shadow of her former self. The group dynamics that contributed to much of the show's charm in the first half were mostly annihilated, and the angst they've put in as a replacement was more frustrating than enjoyable, even though I am not at all against some well-written drama.
I realize I'm in the minority, but to me the series did not live up to the hype at all overall.
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Oggers



Joined: 29 Nov 2017
Posts: 366
Location: Ontario, Canada
PostPosted: Thu Dec 15, 2022 12:19 pm Reply with quote
AholePony wrote:
meiam wrote:
Quote:
like March comes in like a lion, Barakamon, Fruits Basket, and Toradora!


I don't think I've ever heard any of these show referred as slice of life, maybe if you take the very wide definition of slice of life as "any show that happens in a real world rather than fantasy", but even then that would disqualify fruit basket.


There's been a weird thing in social media for (mostly younger gen z) people to call all real world shows slice of life. It kind of annoys me too. I think it's because they grew up after video rental stores died and don't remember we had special "drama" and "romance" sections in them. The term "slice of life" as far as I'm concerned was coined BECAUSE it was a unique genre to itself that wasn't drama or romance. March is a drama and fruits is a romance in my books. Barakamon toes the line (a little dramatic) and something like k-on certainly isn't dramatic or contain romance as central premises.


Yeah, I wouldn't classify Fruits Basket or Toradora as slice of life just because they take place in largely mundane present-day settings (and Furuba does have some fantasy elements with the Sohma curse), since both those series' narratives do put focus on both drama and romance. The term "slice of life" tends to get thrown around a lot, but I personally view a real slice of life series as one that focuses solely on ordinary, everyday activities the characters do with little to no serious conflict (with Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star and K-On being prime examples).

More on topic, I should definitely rewatch Toradora to see if it still holds up for me.
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Gemnist



Joined: 10 Feb 2016
Posts: 1758
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 12:18 am Reply with quote
Having seen it for the first time a couple years ago, it’s still a great show. The characters are all great and lovable, the comedy is solid, and the drama towards the end actually resonates with me.

My main problem is, unfortunately, with the main couple. Ryuji and Taiga just don’t click. They’re supposed to fall in love because they “know each other for real”, but that’s a flimsy reason in context. Ryuji not actually being a punk is barely dealt with and practically isn’t a problem, and Taiga’s hidden problems like her bad home life are completely out of her control. On top of that, the two have almost no chemistry other than their bickering.

This brings me to the other side of the equation: the other options. The show has no pretenses: it’s extremely obvious Ryuji and Taiga will not get with Minori and Kitamura, but with each other, and the show knows that the audience knows that. And personally, they should have leaned into that by showing us why Ryuji and Taiga just do not work with their respective crushes. This is actually done really well with Taiga and Kitamura: Taiga already Kitamura in the past, she gets so flustered around him whenever they meet that they can never have a conversation, and Kitamura’s already moved on to a different girl. It’s Minori where this is truly prominent. It seems with her, Takemiya and Okada wanted to have their cake and eat it too because with her, she actually WORKS with Ryuji. They have similar hobbies and motivations, and on top of that get along well with each other. Some of my favorite scenes in the show are them just having normal, down-to-Earth conversations about their desires in life, stargazing metaphors and all. And then as we know, Minori falls in love with Ryuji, but turns him down because she realizes Taiga needs Ryuji more. I’d be okay with this - if it weren’t for the fact that the ENTIRE CONCEIT of Minori’s character is that she’s too self-sacrificing! To make her whole character about doing too much for other people, and then have that be her defining moment in the climax, is just so disrespectful to her character arc. And it just proves there is absolutely nothing getting in the way of Ryūji and Minori, at the very least, trying it out. I’d honestly prefer it if they did become a couple (say around the sports festival episode), but then broke off for some reason. It would at least make sense. And don’t get me started on Ami, whose feelings for Ryūji are such a throwaway that they almost seem like they were put just for them to say “See? It was a love PENTAGON all along!”.

I’m sorry, I didn’t want to rant like this, I still love Toradora, definite 8 out of 10 anime for me. And I‘m also not butthurt “my ship didn’t happen”, since the VN has Ryūji going with the other options anyway. I just needed to get that off my chest.[/quote]
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Kibako



Joined: 07 Feb 2019
Posts: 40
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 8:58 am Reply with quote
Rewatched it a few times, but the part where Taiga chased after Ryuji in the Eve night always got me teary. I believe this is the 3rd anime I've watched after started being an otaku, Zero no tsukaima and Shakugan no shana were the 1st and 2nd (yes I loved Rie Kugimiya, how could you tell?).
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TheStorm



Joined: 16 Dec 2022
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 8:19 pm Reply with quote
Toradora meant so much to me growing up in high school. Waiting each week to watch every episode in parts on Youtube is a memory I hold dear so many years later.
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