WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE ANIME TORADORA! THIS CONTAINS MANY PLOT SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Toradora! has been called the greatest love story anime ever told by some on the internet. I personally don’t know if I would go that far, but the two main characters Taiga Aisaka and Ryūji Takasu definitely leave a lasting impression on you. To call these two an “odd couple” is probably a bit of an understatement, and the way they end up together was something only fate could ordain.
Ryūji is a quiet, soft spoken guy for the most part, but because of his looks he is quite often mistaken for a delinquent. As a result, he doesn’t have many friends to speak of except for student council vice president Yūsaku Kitamura. Aisaka is the text book definition of a Tsundere character: rough and hateful on the outside, but she does have softer side she will rarely show, and only to those she gets close to. Her only real close friend is Minori Kushieda, who I personally think is just a fun-loving nut, but there is nothing wrong with that. She is always smiling and cheerful, which is in stark contrast to her friend Taiga.
Ryūji and Taiga’s paths cross when the often clumsy Taiga leaves a love note that was intended for Kitamura in Ryūji’s bag by mistake. She notices her mistake as he comes to claim his bag from the classroom, but by that point it is much too late. Since she lives just next door to him, she raids his house in the middle of the night to get the letter back. At that point the two discover that they are in love with each other’s best friends, and they begin to form a plot to help each other out. The most ironic part of this is Kitamura had confessed his love to Taiga the previous year and she turned him down. I feel Taiga has a bit of a complex due to her parents divorce and they way they treat her. She doesn’t feel as if she deserves to be loved.
The two start hanging out together quite often to help each other with their love interests. This turns out to be quite humorous most of the time because both of them are so awkward. Taiga lives alone due to her parents being divorced, so Ryūji basically ends up taking care of her for the most part because she is a poor cook and doesn’t really clean up after herself very well. Ryūji is very good at these sorts of things since his mother works nights at a bar and frequently comes in drunk, forcing him to take care of her. He also has quite a complex when it comes to cleaning, he could really put Monk to shame with his OCD.
They soon begin to realize that even though they feel awkward and uncomfortable around their crushes they feel completely at ease being close to each other. The story has many twists and turns, and you want to strangle both of them for doing stupid things at times. They eventually come to realize that they are meant for each other, and they each confess their love.
I guess this goes to show sometimes what you really need is a lot closer than you might ever expect. There is just something magical about seeing these two come together over the course of the series that cannot be easily explained with words. The two are so different, yet similar in many ways that you really don’t see right off hand, but they should have realized they were perfect for each from the start. After all, only a Dragon can tame a Tiger.
If you would like to purchase yourself a copy of Toradora! you can do so from the NIS America store.
This video is from YouTube user Sweety Mina
