Takasu Ryuji, the son of a hooligan and son of a member of some illegal organization, lives a life neglected by people around him. People, including his classmates and teachers, all have the impression that he’s a hooligan, like his father, just because of his scary, sanpaku eyes. All these are all just misunderstandings and it’s true when they say to never judge a book by its cover. Though, things began to change when people started getting to know him better.
One day, a cute but aggressive young girl, Aisaka Taiga, got into a conflict with Ryuji. Nicknamed “Palmtop Tiger” for her brutal ways, she was angry and furious at Ryuji when he accidentally bumped into her. That was how their friendship began. Despite having such a bad first impression, they became quite close together and Ryuji even helps her with chores. Taiga, on the other hand, comes from a very troublesome family; she’s taken care by her stepfather because her biological father left them when they declared themselves bankrupt. She lives with her mother but has difficulties getting along with the rest of her family members. Taiga and Ryuji becomes good friends, and they can consider each other as “family”.
Minori, also known as Ryuji’s crush, has a nickname called “Minorin”. She’s best friend to Taiga and has a cheerful and happy personality. She’s a real athletic and she captains the softball team. She is a very observant young lady and is able to see Ryuji’s true nature, gentle, rather than see him as a hooligan like everyone else.
Aside from that, another character in this school adventure would be Kitamaru, Yusaka Kitamaru, who is also the best friend to Ryuji. People know him for his high post of Vice President of the Student Council, and he had a crush on the “Palmtop Tiger”. He once confessed to her during their freshmen year, but disappointingly, he was rejected. Taiga soon revealed that this was a regretful act, but it was too late. Kitamaru fell in love with the President of the Student Council instead.
Kawashima Ami is a childhood friend of Kitamaru, and soon was transferred to the same school Kitamaru was in. She is known for being innocent and air headed but this isn’t her true personality. She prefers to hide and keep her “true” personality to herself. Kitamaru knows about this and usually encourages her to be herself rather than hide herself.
There are other recurring characters like Kano Sumire. She’s the head of the student council and as mentioned above, Kitamaru admires her a lot. Sumire later left for America to pursue her dream of becoming an astronaut, but this however was a huge blow to Kitamaru. Kitamaru was emotionally hurt and for some time, and so he avoided his goal of becoming President. After awhile, Kitamaru got his senses back and realised that he was wrong to feel this way.
Ratings: 3.5 out of 5
Toradora is an endearing anime which revolves very much around the lives of the characters, but you can’t help feeling like the producers could have done much more. Every episode reveals their everyday problems, and the importance of friends. It’s mostly a romance Anime, but it’s too based on their school lives. Still, the anime is a pretty good one, and is worth a recommendation.