Type: Television Show
Episodes: 25, 1 Short
Rating: TV-14
Runtime Per Episode: 24 min
Director: Nagai Tatsuyuki
Produced By GENCO and J.C. Staff
Year Produced: 2008
In modern-day Japan, there is a young man attending high school. His name is Ryuuji, and he's got more than his fare share of problems.
The first is that his father was a gangster... or Yakuza, if there's a difference. I kind of get the idea that Yakuza is an organization like the Mafia rather than a group of unorganized thugs... but I can't really say.
Thanks to his fathers... "profession", Ryuuji has been cursed with an unshakable genetic inheritance!
His eyes, man.
This kind of eye is a common delinquent trait... that and the coat over the shoulders, the scars, the cigarette, and the bokken. And the hairdoo is usually key.
Because of this unfortunate trait, Ryuuji is doomed to spend the rest of his school life being viewed as a delinquent, even though he is actually a calm, nice man... who can cook! That's like... 3 out of 4 (or whatever).
God dang it.
Living in a small(ish) house in the shadow of a huge, mysterious apartment complex, Ryuuji's clean-freak tendencies shine at home, but when he gets to school, he never really has the opportunity to prove that he's actually a decent person. All that happens is he says something and...
Doesn't sound too bad, yeah? Well it does to him, and I suppose if your moral character were being questioned to the point where everybody thought you were a total thug, then you'd lose patience too.
... But the way I see it, if they're not going to listen to you, keep the wallet!
Living with his working mother...
Absolutely!
... and an awesome one at that... not exactly text-book mother, but funny, Ryuuji is the man of the house since his father passed away. As such, he's learned how to cook (as previously stated), not to mention clean, sew, and generally take care of the house. Outside of the house, Ryuuji has a severe lack of friends... save one.
Kitamura
The only person who's had the courage to stay with him long enough to learn his "secret" (oh my God, he's nice!), Kitamura is also the only person that Ryuuji can comfortably talk to in school. Good thing he's in Ryuuji's class.
Ryuuji has a secret beyond his actual nature secret. He (like all teenage boys in anime), has a crush that he can't speak normally to. You might think that anime guys are lucky as hell for all the play that they get, but personally, I think that anyone who can't even chat normally with the person they like is kind of pathetic. Actually, they're probably worse than that.
... well I wouldn't go that far.
I can understand having a problem confessing, I've had some severe fails, but the best thing about it is that if you keep trying, someone'll say "yes"! Sounds like a pie in the sky thing, well, that's just because you haven't practiced enough. Love (although that's a pretty heavy word for asking someone out on a date) is a difficult thing to handle.
Anyway, it's the start of a new year at high school, and Ryuuji isn't looking forward to having to explain to a whole new class about his... not being a delinquent. On the way down the hall, he meets his crush... well, not meets, but sees again.
Her name is Minori, and she's... energetic to say the least. As my friend would describe it; "She's a freaking light particle!". She's also in his class (of 2-C). After having a brief encounter with her, during which the only thing he could manage to say was her name, Ryuuji turns away to catch his breath... and bumps into...
... Aisaka Taiga, apparently... who's not having a good day. While listening to the whispers around him, Ryuuji manages to remember where he's heard the name Aisaka Taiga before.
P... Palm... Palm...tree? No. Palm... top... Palmtop... Tiger... Taiga... Palmtop Taiga!
Cute nickname.
After putting all of the pieces together, Ryuuji gets... punched for his troubles. She must not like her nickname very much... either that or she doesn't like bumping into people.
Owned.
... she's in his class too... and she's friends with Minori! Suddenly thing's aren't looking as grand as they first seemed.
When the day is over, Ryuuji is called into the teacher's lounge and asked to fill out the career-choice form thing. I get the idea behind this, but I've never actually done one of these. I kind of want to, but I prefer those tests that tell you what you're best suited to become.
Jesus, even the teacher's fear him.
When he gets back to the classroom, there are chairs and desks flying everywhere.
... Huh?
As Ryuuji looks around, he notices the broom cabinet... tottering, and then falling. When it opens, a curled up Taiga rolls out, surprisingly managing to retain her original position.
Roll roll roll...
Choosing (wisely) to ignore her beyond the "Are you alright?" (a stupid reflex question, obviously not), Ryuuji goes and picks up his bag to leave. There's a stuttering from the corner, and Taiga starts asking him what he's doing.
When Ryuuji tells her that he's just picking up the bag, Taiga has some kind of attack.
Okay, so maybe she's not having an attack per say, rather, she's going to attack someone. Namely Ryuuji.
Guayahhhhh!!!
(I've got to have at least one per post)
After struggling over the bag, Taiga leaves the room, calling Ryuuji an idiot for protecting his personal property.
Later that night, Ryuuji remembers the career form that he has to fill out, and as he's searching through his bag, he finds a letter addressed to Kitamura from Taiga. A love letter... that comes open when Ryuuji is being an idiot.
Well, not that it's open, I should... no, actually, in the interest of surviving, I shouldn't read it.
As he's trying to reseal it, Ryuuji discovers that it's actually... empty.
I've done bad, but this is an epic fail (as my friend would say).
Ryuuji goes to bed. After sleeping for several hours, Ryuuji's is woken by the sound of something in the house being opened. Since his mother's not supposed to be home yet, Ryuuji goes out to see what's going on.
Crap.
Well, not that it's open, I should... no, actually, in the interest of surviving, I shouldn't read it.
As he's trying to reseal it, Ryuuji discovers that it's actually... empty.
I've done bad, but this is an epic fail (as my friend would say).
Ryuuji goes to bed. After sleeping for several hours, Ryuuji's is woken by the sound of something in the house being opened. Since his mother's not supposed to be home yet, Ryuuji goes out to see what's going on.
As he ventures into the living room, he sees that the window is open. As he's wondering how it got so, he figures out. Something... small comes out of a room behind him and attacks with a bokken.
After evading being bludgeoned to death for a while, Ryuuji manages to turn on the light.
AISAKA!!
She's found Ryuuji and has come to cleanse the shame of the... thing that she put in his bag. And she needs him to die to do that, especially since he already knows what it was.
Now that someone knows what was in the bag, there is only one choice... well, two I suppose.
He he...
Now that someone knows what was in the bag, there is only one choice... well, two I suppose.
There's logic for you.
Taiga finally stops attacking after Ryuuji yells at her the fact that the envelope was actually empty... and then she passes out for lack of food.
During Taiga's dinner at Ryuuji's place, she yells at him that confessing is embarrassing. After she's finished yelling at him for being an idiot... she insults him for being a lower-class citizen. When he tries to yell at her for insulting him, Ryuuji is caught off guard by her expression and decides to show her his box of shame.
Um... no...?
But since he's never had the courage to tell her how he feels... none of it has, or probably ever will happen.
Ryuuji suddenly realizes that his mother's going to be home soon, so he frantically tells Taiga that he'll keep her secret, but Taiga doesn't exactly trust him.
Backed into a corner, Ryuuji tells her that he'll help her.
Ryuuji agrees... and then she says this.
I dunno about dog...
But Ryuuji agrees anyway and finally gets her to go home.
The next morning, Ryuuji gets a phone call.
Taiga demands that Ryuuji come over to where she is, and when he asks where Taiga, he is led out onto the veranda, and discovers that she's living in the huge apartment complex that's standing next to his house.
Ryuuji asks for some more time to finish the food.
When Ryuuji arrives at the complex, he discovers that there's only two floors. He goes and finds Aisaka's door and presses the buzzer.
And here I was wondering who "Ai Saka" was! Ha ha!
... I'm such an idiot.
Ryuuji discovers that the door is open, and when he lets himself in, he discovers a horrific smell. Upon further investigation, he finds the source of the smell.
A scene so horrific or pornographic that it was mosaic-ed out. That's bad.
Filled with the spirit of a true Filth-Fighter, Ryuuji is spurred into anger.
Ryuuji tears all around the house looking for Taiga, and when he finds her, she's sleeping again.
As Ryuuji looks around the house, he sees that it looks like nobody else is living there, which is true.
And so Ryuuji begins to clean.
After about 15 minutes, Taiga wakes up again, and when she goes to the kitchen, she finds the house is... actually clean. When she figures out it's Ryuuji (her dog) who did it, she yells at him.
Now, I don't know if "Forced Cleaning" is a crime, but maybe it is in Japan. Doesn't sound that bad to me.
And so they being their exciting school life together. Taiga has agreed to help Ryuuji get a date with Minori if he'll help her get a date with Kitamura.
Let me just start off by saying that when I was going into this project, I had decided that I'd review things in kind or a random order.
I knew that there would be a Miyazaki Marathon somewhere in there, and I knew that I wanted to do a couple of other things, those namely being Mugen no Juunin, Ookami to Koushinryou, and Gankutsuou (out of the ones that I've already done).
There was also this, and the upcoming four reviews, but I had arranged them in a kind of order that I like them in (except for the third one, which I just figured I needed a break from movies).
I have to admit that I have seen this anime before, and I have just realized that it is among my favorite five (if were talking series here). The other ones that I can tell you now because it won't spoil the surprise are Ookami to Koushinryou (as you have probably already figured out if you read my review), KissxSis, Zero no Tsukaima, and both To Aru Majutsu no Index and To Aru no Choudenjibou (for which this blog is named, and I just realized that I have not made plans to review it... shamed).
I haven't decided to review these in the near future. KissxSis because this is partly a school engagement, Zero no Tsukaima because I just discovered it, and To Aru Majutsu no Index and To Aru no Choudenjibou... I don't know why. There are also two others that I am reviewing in the future, but if I tell you now, it'll ruin the surprise.
That being said, I might be kind of biased here, but at least it's a positive bias. I know I hate negative biases.
In case you couldn't see it coming, I think this anime is awesome.
It's funny and I lose it for tsundere, height-sensitive girls, especially ones played by Kugimiya Rie. Taiga is one of my all-time favorite characters.
Close to being a typical school life anime, this was saved by the preferences and just the fact that the story (to me) was different than those typical high school love stories, and that made it cool. Actually, this anime has received the tag of "Love Rectangle" from several people. I didn't even know that was a thing. Damn.
Like I said before, Kugimiya Rie (Taiga) is one of my favorite Japanese voice actresses, and she's been in a lot of other stuff. She was the main character in the Zero no Tsukaima series, as well as the Shakugan no Shana series. She also got the Kouta part in Midori no Hibi, which I reviewed a while back (it's not hard to find, just look for the boobs).
I loved how Taiga and Ryuuji's relationship developed, and how their friendship affected Minori and Kitamura, not to mention the others in the class.
The drawing style was a bit more anime than the manga, but I still liked it because I read the manga, got interested, then got cut off because they haven't finished translating it yet. This is actually one of the few animes that I have actively looked for to find out what happens.
They didn't make an English version (thank God), but they did make a Tagalog version, so thank the Lord for that.
... Where is Tagalog? I don't know, but it's apparently a country of some sort. Either way, stick with the Japanese version.
The music was awesome. At least the opening song was, and that's good enough for me. Pre-Parade is a lot of fun to listen to, and even if you don't watch the anime, you should check out the song. Kugimiya Rie leads because she can sing, and has apparently done so for several other opening songs for the animes she's worked on.
The most important thing that I can say for this anime is to be sure to watch at least the last episode to the end. If you don't, you'll have an aneurysm.
Toradora! Minitheatre
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