Toradora! 1

Yuyuko Takemiya / Zekkyo – Seven Seas Entertainment – 2011 – 4+ volumes

Wow. I’m not much for comedy-heavy romantic comedies, especially shounen ones, and this had another strike against it since I knew it was an adaptation of a light novel series. But this was pretty great. I went into Toradora not expecting much, but the two main characters make it a lot of fun, and I’d love to read more of it.

Our main character is a boy named Ryuuji. He gets a bad rap at school due to his scary face and quiet ways… basically, everyone is afraid he is about to beat them up, when really he’s just very shy. His shyness makes it difficult for him to talk to the girl he has a crush on, Minori. Unfortunately, due to a series of very clumsy circumstances, he winds up tangled with Minori’s best friend, a girl named Taiga. Taiga has the nickname “Palmtop Tiger,” due to her small stature and bad attitude. Taiga gets herself in all sorts of trouble when she accidentally gives Ryuuji a love letter meant for his best friend, then threatens to beat him silly until he forgets the whole mess. To save himself a beating, Ryuuji not only confesses that he has a crush on her best friend Minori, but also agrees to be her slave. So the two scariest students in school are now partners in crime, helping each other past their crippling shyness to try and get closer to the objects of their affections.

If that’s all there was to it, I would be put off. But the thing I like best about this series is Ryuuji’s nurturing streak, paired with Taiga’s need to have someone around to take care of her. She lives by herself in a luxury condo next door to Ryuuji, and as he gets to know her, he starts offering to cook her meals, watches out for her when her clumsy ways get the better of her, and generally just takes care of her. Taiga’s attitude seems to be that she’s entitled to this care since Ryuuji promised to do whatever she says, but Ryuuji does a lot of things without being asked, and the two bicker back and forth about it constantly.

It’s a good formula, and I love that the series seems to be taking its time about getting the two of them together. As of right now, neither of them has any interest in the other, but the fact they are constantly together is leading to rumors. The fact that Ryuuji is such a nice guy, but not nice enough to let Taiga walk all over him; and Taiga is more loud neglected child than she is spoiled rich girl makes the two of them work well together.

The sense of humor is understated, too. Normally these types of shounen romances tend to be very loud and do lots of embarrassing scenes about the characters walking in on one another, full of cheap laughs and a little eye candy. Not that this series isn’t above that, but the humor is more about Ryuuji and Taiga’s interactions than it is about “accidents” and embarrassing situations. The most embarrassed Ryuuji ever gets around Taiga is when he lands in a situation where he may have to explain why they have the same bento. I only usually like shounen comedies when they feature character-oriented humor like this, and so far Toradora is doing a nice job.

I won’t lie, I loved the first volume of this. Ryuuji’s scowling face and Taiga’s angry demeanor go well together. I’ll happily read more of it. Another interesting thing is that it strikes me as a crowd-pleaser, because while it is a shounen romance, it’s also got some very shoujo-esque character development. There are a lot of directions it could take from here, not all of them good, but I’d say if this sounds at all appealing to you, go for it. You won’t be disappointed with the first volume.

This was a review copy provided by Seven Seas Entertainment.