Toradora! 01 - とらドラ
The gang over at JC Staff are firm believers in reincarnation. Drawing heavily from the Hindu mythos, they’ve applied the metaphysical belief in rebirth to their anime productions. The eternal soul of the successful Shakugan no Shana lives on in Toradora!, the new Kugimiya Rie tsundere hit to take off. Toradora! feels like something I’ve seen before – the premise makes little attempt to dodge the cold hard fact that it’s soul aim is to market a cute young tsundere. While there are a few twists to the story, such as a male character who actually has a character and plot to him and the fact that they’re (for now) comrades in love, there really isn’t a whole lot more to it than that. Evidently, Shana and Zero no Tsukaima have spawned a loyal fanbase who are willing to lap up any iteration of the tsundere formula – and I’m sure this show will appeal to those fans. Myself, I enjoyed Shana and, to a lesser degree, Zero no Tsukaima, but after trying the second season of both, I realised the tsundere charm of the show is not sustainable without a decent plot to go with it. And, as any Zero no Tsukaima fan will be quick to tell you, the static relationships that those shows revolve around eventually get irksome. From the get-go this show looks set to follow the same path as its forbears; however I’m not prepared to rule out the show surprising us by taking a road less traveled.
If there is any sign of that in this episode it is the rather sharp sense of humour. I mean, it’s not brimming with the scathing wit of Faulty Towers, but it does have an edge over most anime in the humour department. If the show winds up taking itself less seriously and being more of a comedy then it might be able to escape the aura of formulaicness. Although I might not sound immensely enthusiastic, don’t mistake me for being a traitorous non-fan of tsundere; I’m definitely on the bandwagon. I really got into Shana’s character, and Louise before the second season made her look like a manic torturess. But, for some reason, Taiga holds little moe appeal to me at all. Perhaps it’s because the episode only gave us a pretty fleeting introduction into her character, but, despite the cute character design, I’m far from infatuated with her. Whereas Shana’s obstinance and iconic “Urusai, urusai, urusai!”s were cute, Taiga Aisaka’s slothfulness, bossiness and impoliteness came off as little more than rude. On the other hand, the male lead exhibits some more charisma, and has his own defining quirk, unlike the plain Saitou or Yuji. Thus far, I actually like him more than Taiga. Minori, on the other hand, shows more promise in the moe department – voiced by the delectable Yui Horie, and having a flowery liveliness to her.
I mildly enjoyed this episode, despite being severely disappointed by the customary tsundere centerpiece, Taiga. She has a really attractive character design (and nice pyjamas), but comes off as being too rude and selfish. Toradora! Is mediocre and formulaic, but is able to throw in a few laughs, and may yet show its true appeal.
Ｅｔ Ｃｅｔｅｒａ 。。。
◆ Not too sure I buy into Ryuuji’s evil eyes subplot. I mean, I get that people can have an unduly mean look to them, but the character design didn’t pull it off. Rather than having the expression of a ruthless bastard he looked more like he hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in a few weeks. He needs lessons from Mitama Mayo.
◆ The hair colour palette is a bit too liberal for my conservative tastes. I prefer it when, with only some exceptions, the general look of a show feels like it’s grounded in reality. At least Taiga’s hair is a nice colour.
◆ The name Taiga triggers repressed memories of that FSN character. That was one hell of a bad character.
◆ Speaking of bad characters, Ryuuji’s mother is already annoying. Although she seems like an angel compared to the likes of Yukari (Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu), she is a character in that vein and hence fundamentally unlikeable.
◆ Hearing Taiga start talking about Ryuuji being a slave-dog gives me sinister Zero no Tsukaima II vibes.
◆ I appreciated the fact that Kugimiya pulled all the stops and actually changed her voice for her portrayal of Taiga. Having heard her as Nagi, Shana and Louise, the appeal of her voice could wear thin. So it’s nice that it’s varied, and it makes Taiga seem more like her own character as a result.
I’m worried more about how J.C. Staff will fuck up the story, which in the novels at least isn’t as formulaic as it looks like it might get here. At least Taiga refrained from physical violence most of the time, outside of that first meeting in the night… and I’m afraid J.C. Staff will add more violence here so they can put in a Shana homage. In the manga and the novels, the whole point is that they’re ‘together’ in order to try to pair up with the other person’s best friend, and Ryuuji provides Taiga with the acceptance she never got from her family. That, and he both mothers her as well as acts like a responsible elder brother… and while she takes advantage of it, she’s not completely heartless like Louise of the anime adaptation of ZnT tends to be. In fact, Taiga rather appreciates having someone other than Minorin pay attention to her in a normal way without having expectations that she act like a sweet little girl… which she isn’t.
And Minorin’s very bubbly… but she does have another side to her, which may explain why she and Taiga hang out. Wait for Ami Kawashima to show up if you want to see what I mean.
Well thanks for the heads up. As someone who hadn’t read any of the novels and only the first few chapters of the manga, I suppose I was a bit disadvantaged in terms of what to expect. It does sound like the show might have another layer to it to shield it from being another clone. I’ll watch on..
But I do hope Taiga becomes a bit more sensible and restrained later on :\
The novels are on Baka-Tsuki, if you want to take a gander. Musashi’s done up to chapter 12, which was published only last month in the magazines. They added more violence in the first episode already, which is part of why I’m concerned - the original only had him end up on his ass after he mentioned the ‘Palmtop Tiger’ part; it’s implied she either shoved him or else he fell backwards due to her aura of menace hitting him like a physical blow…. rather than the TAIGA UPPERCUT of this episode. And she does learn restraint, at least with regards to Ryuuji.
I just hope to God they don’t screw up the confession. That was a nice change from the standard tsundere formula… but they may fuck it up here, just to be more Louise-like.
Now that I’ve started the anime I probably won’t pick up the novels because I will inevitably become one of those people who can’t think past the novel–anime differences and dissapointments, which will probably dour the whole experience even more!
>>just to be more Louise-like
Please, no.
That’s why I’m worried, Washi - J.C. Staff’s been on a roll as far as fucking up their light novel adaptations; Shana was moderately modified, while ZnT was completely massacred in a way that would make 4Kids proud. Mark my words, if they go in the ‘Taiga = non-magical Louise with twice the yandere’, then they’ll have permanently screwed up their reputation as far as I’m concerned.
I shall watch on out of curiosity. If you have any useful insights as to how JC are fucking up (or not fucking up if we’re lucky) the novel please share!
You can check out the novels yourself at Baka-Tsuki, like I said. Beyond that, they’ve already added more violence. I just hope they don’t screw up the confession…