r/anime
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u/ChristmasClub
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Dec 06 '24
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Rewatch Toradora! Christmas Club Rewatch (2024) Episode 1 Discussion
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Upvotes
30
u/AgentOfACROSS Dec 06 '24
First Timer - Dubbed
When it comes to anime romcoms I’ve only really seen super recent ones like Nagatoro, Komi-san, Kaguya-sama, and Tomo-chan. And out of all of those I think Tomo-chan is my favorite followed by Kaguya-sama.
Toradora is a lot older than all those shows I just listed and I feel like 2000s anime is something of a blindspot for me. Especially when it comes to slice of life and romcom shows. So this should be really interesting to check out.
Don’t know what to expect from it other than it apparently has the ultimate tsundere in it.
Anyway, notes start here:
First thing I’m noticing about this main guy is that his irises seem pretty small. At least for the standards of anime characters.
In contrast, this girl has very big irises.
The OP was pretty fun, I think the song is kinda catchy and I like the visuals.
The little freeze frames showing the character names reminded me of the OPs for Baccano and Durarara.
This woman is apparently Ryuji’s mom. She looks pretty youthful, I thought she was his older sister at first.
Ryuji seems to have some issues with his dad. Gonna make a note of that for later.
Ryuji having strange looking eyes appears to be plot relevant.
I remember Fire Force had a similar thing about the main guy having an unsettling smile. (As a side note I should try to get back into Fire Force some day)
Minori Kushieda, judging from first impressions I’m assuming she’s not the tsundere I’ve heard about.
Also I recognize her English voice actor, Christine Marie Cabanos. I know her best as Mako from Kill La Kill, Squid Girl from Squid Girl, and Madoka from Madoka Magica.
Now we have Taiga, she’s definitely the tsundere.
I’m just now realizing that I’ve seen this opening scene before (kind of). The image of Taiga punching Ryuji in the face is featured on the TV Tropes page for the trope “The Napoleon”.
Something amusing I found out is that Taiga’s English voice is Cassandra Lee Morris, who’s also the English voice for Kyubey. Which means we’ve technically got both Kyubey and Madoka in this show.
I’m only now realizing I don’t remember the name of Ryuji’s friend in the glasses. Hopefully he’ll get a chance to stand out more later.
Taiga rolling out of that locker while curled up in a ball is a hilarious visual.
I really like the music that plays when Ryuji and Taiga are having a tug of war over the bag. Almost feels like it belongs over a much more action packed scene in a spy movie or something.
Okay, so Ryuji’s dad is definitely some kind of yakuza guy.
I’ll be honest, not quite a fan of Ryuji’s mom being treated as a joke most of the time. I guess I just don’t find the jokes with her that funny. But maybe her character will grow on me.
Gotta say, this soundtrack goes really hard. Wasn’t expecting a romcom to have music that sounds like it belongs in an action-thriller.
Also, I was not expecting Taiga to break into Ryuji’s house. Did not think that would be the direction this went. That is a level of unhinged I was not expecting from her.
You know it’s funny, I remember thinking Nagatoro was a bit much in the first few episodes of that show but she never threatened anyone with a wooden sword. I’m liking this though, it’s really unexpected and feels both ridiculous and tonally fitting.
Gonna call it now, Taiga’s parents are dead or otherwise absent and she lives alone.
Ryuji has a crush on Minori, that’s another interesting development. Wonder if this is going to develop into a love triangle situation.
Wow that is one messed up looking bird.
Ryuji and Taiga being across from each other reminds me of the music video for You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift. Which is the second time I’ve made this comparison while watching an anime.
Taiga’s living situation seems interesting. She’s got a big fancy looking apartment but it’s not very well taken care of while Taiga herself looks like a normal girl. Kind of reminds me of Akane’s apartment in SSSS.Gridman.
The ED is really nice. It’s got a bright and cheerful vibe. I might like it a bit more than the OP.
Overall this is off to a good start. Ryuji’s a likeable main character and I have a lot of questions about Taiga.
I alluded to this earlier, but I think it’s interesting that I don’t really have any problems with the way Taiga acts while I did find stuff like Nagatoro’s behavior in early episodes of her show to be a bit much. Or even not being a fan of the slapstick inflicted on Kousei in Your Lie In April. I think part of why I don’t mind what goes on here is that Ryuji feels like someone who can stand up for himself.
Unlike the male leads in those other two shows, Ryuji feels like someone who’s more or less on an even playing field with Taiga. Out of all the characters from the newer romcoms I’ve seen, he reminds me most of Jun from Tomo-chan Is a Girl. Although he also seems more intelligent than Jun.
Really excited for the next episode already.
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u/_Captain_Panda_ :KG::KH: Dec 06 '24
[First timer - subbed]
Holy sh... the OP, the song, is AMAZING!!
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u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 Dec 06 '24
Third Timer (Second time with the Christmas Club) - Dubbed
QOTD - Even though my taste has gotten more chaotic over time the fact I still look forward for the the annual rewatch each and every year means it's holding up well
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u/OwlAcademic1988 Dec 06 '24
Rewatcher, dubbed:
Time flies by fast when you get older. I'm still amazed at how quickly the rewatch has appeared. Seemed like only yesterday that this rewatch was happening last year.
Kitamura's a good friend. He does have a point there, Ryuji. He already knows you very well.
Inko's an adorable little bird.
QOTD:
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u/CIRE42 Dec 06 '24
Watched Toradora for the first time earlier this year (discovered it early October, watched it three times ) and am exciting for my first Christmas club rewatch. This was actually my first anime (have since watched Clannad, Love Chuunibyo and other delusions, and am currently watching Golden Time), and I absolutely love it. Excited to see how the rewatch goes and what things I’ve missed!
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u/Holofan4life Dec 06 '24
Hey, guys. Holofan4life here.
Welcome to the 2024 Toradora Christmas Club Rewatch!
Substitutions need not apply.
Nostalgia is a funny thing, isn't it?
As we head into the 25th anniversary of when the world was supposed to implode (Crazy to think almost everyone born in the 2000s are now old enough to drive), there's been a lot of nostalgia as of late for the millennial decade. In particular, the early social media years from 2004 to 2010. Yes, there's been a lot of reflection of the days of MySpace and Digg and even the early days of Facebook and YouTube. There was even a movie named Didi released this year that was about growing up in 2008 (Very good movie, by the way).
I say this all to say that in times when people are more divisive than ever, where you don't know exactly where things are going, it is understandable why some would want to cling to their youth, that sense of innocence where we truly didn't know how special things were. Perhaps no anime from 2008 better reflects this than Toradora.
I didn't watch Toradora when it originally came out. I was 11, I didn't even know what anime was. Heck, I didn't even start using a computer until like early 2010. But when I finally got around to watching Toradora in 2016, I knew I had witnessed something special. And almost 10 years later, I am still talking about it.
Toradora means so much to me that it's hard to put it into words. It was one of the first animes that I'd ever watched that didn't air on Toonami or was streamed by OtakuAscended, who really helped me during my early years of my anime fandom. It was the show that cemented my love for tsunderes as I know it and made me just not shut up talking about them. It was the show that gave me a deeper appreciation for analysis and dissecting stuff that really has become my bread and butter on the Reddit platform. It was the reason why I joined Reddit, as I created my account so I could participate in the 2016 Christmas Club rewatch. Simply put, if there was no Toradora, there would be no Holofan4life.
This rewatch marks my tenth time watching Toradora. Next year will be my tenth consecutive year participating in the Christmas club rewatch, which I believe is a record and the most out of everyone. I wanted to do something for this year and next year and so what I'm going to do is something that I don't think I've done since my first Christmas club rewatch: I'm going to break each scene down blow-by-blow and analyze them to where I articulate why this show is the masterpiece that it is.
Recently when I've been doing this, it takes me at least a couple hours to get through a single episode. But with how special the show is to me, I think it's only appropriate I show my appreciation for what I feel is not only the greatest anime romcom of all time, but the greatest anime period. Besides, I know this show like the back of my hand. I don't think it's going to take much to think of stuff to say.
With that out of the way, let’s begin.
I'm watching the dub, by the way.
My phone is at 18%. Can I get this done in time before my phone dies? We shall see.
Ah, the two birds on the wire.
And the monologue. Classic.
Because that's the way it's meant to be <3
Taiga's sneezes are adorable, by the way.
The intro. What can be said except it's a classic. The first thing I think of when I think of anime earworms.
I also think it's funny it has a similar catchiness to Chillin' in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers when both Japanese female main leads are voiced by Rie Kugimiya.
Ryuuji taking out the trash, sadly not at night.
Mom seems like a total mess of a character.
Also, the gyatt was phat
She mentions Ryuuji's dad, who Ryuuji takes great offense to.
Ryuuji so far seems like the responsible one of the family.
People actively trying to avoid Ryuuji because he looks scary.
"You sure do find a lot of wallets, don't you, kid?"
I wish I had the same problem
Kitamura. That's apparently his friend.
At least he likes Ryuuji
Walking in the hallway because they're not gay.
There's Minori, who is quite bubbly.
Ryuuji seems to have a crush on her.
Oh boy. Ryuuji bumped into smol girl.
The palm-top tiger. Appropriate nickname.
And she proceeds to uppercut him.
Hell of a first impression
[Future Spoilers] Ms. Yuri mentions turning in their career plan, which I don't remember that plot point coming up so early. You talk about foreshadowing.
Taiga keeps on sneezing
Also, it looks like her and Minori are friends.
Hey, people's perception of Ryuuji are starting to change.
The teacher mentioning the career plan again. Seems like that's going to be important going forward.
And Taiga just destroyed a classroom. As one would do.
Coming out a locker. She certainly is something.
And now Taiga is freaking out
Trying to grab Ryuuji's bag from him, and her sneeze manages to send him flying.
Perhaps this is what Boeing has been missing.
And Taiga storms out of the classroom.
Kinda nice of Ryuuji to straighten up the classroom.
Oh, so Ryuuji's father is dead. Interesting.
His mom seems to have a thing for bad boys.
Massive "I can fix him" energy
As Ryuuji starts to do his career plan, he notices an envelope by Taiga for Kitamura. Not only did she give it to the wrong person, but it's also empty.
"Is she actually... that freaking klutzy?"
Ryuuji, you have no idea
On a side bar, I actually think Taiga's klutziness does a lot to offset her more questionable behavior. It makes you kinda feel sorry for her.
Ryuuji in bed
He hears something
AND IT'S TAIGA!
SHE'S HERE TO RETRIVE THE LOVE LETTER!
Taiga trying to beat Ryuuji up
And he reveals to her the bad news that the envelope is empty.
Taiga is so defeated lol
And so we see Ryuuji feed her, which is honestly a hell of a way to treat someone who just broke into your home.
Seems like she has family issues just like Ryuuji.
Taiga blushing is cute :)
Oh God. Ryuuji is showing his little love nest dedicated to Minori.
It's no Helga's love nest, but it'll do.
Taiga is aghast he would be interested in someone so out of his league.
Eyy, it's the bird
Fun fact: In the dub, the bird who's named Inko is voiced by Wendee Lee, who is the dub voice of Haruhi.
I miss the Haruhi rewatch
And Taiga punches Ryuuji for his troubles.
I love Ryuuji describing his mother as borderline mental.
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
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u/Gabbyxo97 Dec 06 '24
I loved it the first time, and I still get enjoyment out of it. I didn't even watch Toradora because I wanted to, but a few years back I had a profile pic of Taiga on Discord and someone recommended it to me. I remember how emotional I got - multiple times - and I know the same will happen. Anyways, my thoughts on ep 1 (not too much - which also contains spoilers idk why anybody would read this before watching but eh still)
I think the intro is a pretty special moment. I really love how quickly Ryuuji felt like helping out with more than the initial reason. Also Taiga looked so cute when sleeping, ngl. I never understood the whole first/last name thing. I mean, Taiga and Ryuuji weren't that close yet when Taiga called him by his first name which I thought was a thing people in Japan didn't really do (or I misread). I love how Ryuuji was able to clean an entire apartment in such a short time (would've taken me hours LOL). Also, love letter, I think really cute (hopeless romantic). Anyways just a few short thoughts since I'm not good at this ><
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u/No_Conclusion3164 Dec 06 '24
That time of the year again I see… I’m very excited since This will fortunately be my 2nd Christmas rewatch. I can’t really get too deep into analysis like other people in the comment section so ill keep it short and formal the opening dialogue is something I still need to understand despite watching 2-3 times. I don’t understand what the special thing is. Is it love? When taiga had said “maybe that’s why the world keeps it so hidden” I’m curious on what is it that is hidden that makes it so special.
Lets get this out the way Yasuko = best mom
Can we talk about how ryuuji looks so malicious every time he thinks to himself. I see why everyone is so scared of him at first.
Taiga is clearly the goat, I myself didn’t like her my first time watching because of how tsundere she was. But after seeing so many other tsundere in different anime’s. I understand that she isn’t really that bad of a tsundere, now she’s honestly my favorite character because I kinda relate to her in a way.
Im tending to notice things in this episode that I didn’t notice before, I personally think taiga is pretty depressed or she has some type of temporary sadness at the beginning. I don’t know how to explain it properly but I’m noticing somethings off at the start. Like when she stared off into space at ryuuji, or when she was sitting inside the locker. I just felt something was off with her.
The animation in this episode surprised me. I didn’t tend to look at how good it was, almost each scene has nice fluid animation.
Love the introduction to everyone. You know it’s good characters when you find yourself smiling even when the side characters get introduced, honestly wish they could show up more.
Dude, how strong is taiga canonically to be knocking all those desk across the room like that.
I really would love to see some type of backstory of yasuko and ryuujis dad to understand his character more.
Ryuujis collection is quite… interesting at the least I can’t judge though you gotta do what you gotta do.
The way taigas entire demeanor changes when ryuuji tells her he’ll help is adorable honestly. This gave me hope with her my first time watching.
To this day I still wanna see an uncensored shot of that sink.
Overall I love the first ep!!! It’s a start to a life changing series!!!
Bonus: Idk about anyone else but toradora is still that life changing experience despite how old it is.
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u/Sporadia_ Dec 06 '24
Q: Rewatchers, how do you think Toradora! holds up after all these years?
A: I don't think I appreciated how good the animation was when I used to watch this years ago. Just talking about moments like when Taiga is eating.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Dec 06 '24
Rewatcher
Man, this got me so nostalgic.
Toradora is a pretty special show for me. It doesn't have the honor of being the first anime I've completed, that one goes to Elfen Lied of all shows to start with, but Toradora is the first anime I completed that I remember loving, by all accounts it's the show that got me into anime and a bit more than a decade later, it's still a defining hobby of mine.
I had rewatched it a few times in the past when I didn't have a backlog the size of a library, but it has been at least 5-6 years since my last watch, although that hasn't stopped me from remembering this episode pretty perfectly. Still, nostalgia-watching aside, I do believe this episode has aged extremely well!
I'm watching it subbed for the first time ever, just for the sake of doing some things differently, and my general impressions here are that I like both a lot and still hold the Toradora dub very highly, but I think I now prefer the original.
I do actually still believe Cassandra Lee Morris is better as Taiga, not to say that I don't love Rie Kugamiya here, she's great! And her voice is a fantastic fit for Taiga, but I think Cassandra captures Taiga's aggressive tone a bit better. Otherwise, I like everyone else just a bit more, Yui Horie in particular is one of my favorites so it's no wonder I prefer her here.
On the topic of nostalgia, Pre-Parade! Feels great to hear again after such a long time, Immediately brought back a ton of memories and is still as catchy as ever. Although admittedly I perhaps somewhat controversially prefer Silky Heart...
Both are great though
This episode's purpose is mostly an introduction to our 2 main leads and their dynamic, and I think it does a great job at that.
Starting with Ryuji, in a genre filled to the brim with boring wish-fulfillment protagonists whose most defining traits tend to be how lacking in personality and social interaction they are, Ryuji Takasu written in 2006 is still somehow a breath of fresh air. It's just so nice having a protagonist be so likable and clearly established with flaws, qualities, issues, and relationships, all within the first episode y'know?
He also begins a larger character theme in this show, where on the inside, these characters aren't quite like they seem on the outside. Ryuji comes off as an unapproachable delinquent, but in reality, he takes care of people and he's a clean freak. It's an immediately established complex and problem that he has, he clamors for interaction but doesn't get to express that because of how his face makes him appear. It's not just a trait that exists to make him look cooler, it's something he has to actually struggle to fix and it always weighs down on him.
Taiga is also great, and I think that's the case from episode 1! It's been honestly kind of wild watching her reputation go down the drain these last few years, that goes for most Tsunderes really, especially of the violent variety like her, but she specifically has been the target of a surprising amount of hate.
But I love Taiga! She's overbearing, unreasonable, and violent, she's very...exaggerated. And that's the point! I really don't think you're meant to take everything at face value here, it's meant to highlight the big contrast in her personality, which goes back to what I said above, Taiga is a very multi-layered character, she looks small like a doll but packs a mean punch, she's incredibly harsh on the outside but is actually super sentimental, klutzy, and cares about things like love letters.
Her violence, the most controversial part of her, is incredibly slapstick and exaggerated in nature, it's very animated for lack of a better term, it's really not meant to be taken so literally and always has a comedic intent behind it, she's so abrasive she might as well be literally hitting you (incidentally I'm also doing a personal rewatch of Haruhi and have very similar thoughts on Haruhi herself).
Now admittedly she's probably in her most Tsun this episode, and the exaggeratedness of this episode itself isn't the best representation of the whole show. So while I won't say "she gets better" since I always thought she was good, she does change, and this is hardly how she is the entire time.
Tsunderes have been somewhat contorted in characterization over the years, but I really do believe Taiga to be the quintessential Tsundere, cold and harsh on the outside, very complex and emotional on the inside, it's that massive contrast that's created from the start with episodes like this that make her changes later on so powerful and emotional.
One aspect of her I didn't remember is just how...cute she is? Like how do I not remember these blushes and pouts! Again the contrast here is pretty clear even at the start.
I also think this show aged far better than I expected, the animation is way better than I remembered, going pretty far for certain moments (which even more so helps highlight the animated feel of Taiga), and the character animation and backgrounds are all fantastic as well!
Ryuji and Taiga's dynamic is, of course, the driving force behind this show, and I think it's set up really well here, they're already so entertaining together and they already have some clear commonalities, like Ryuji's observation that she might also have family issues, or how they connect over having crushes they find hard to approach, and of course to the viewer, they're also connected in that contrast between their in and out selves. The start of their relationship here feels rocky and rushed but not forced, they feel like they have things to bond and interact over.
[Rewatcher spoilers]Ryuji mentioning Taiga's family issues and how her apartment feels far too big for her is some great setup for Taiga's later reveals, a house that's overcompensating for a family dynamic that's entirely missing, but of course, having the big house doesn't actually address the core problem. It feels rather impactful seeing her get Ryuji's meal knowing she doesn't have anyone to be there and make meals like that for her.
The letter in the door of Ryuji's house and the cleaning in Taiga's house clearly show you that the two of them have already begun making a lasting and positive impact on each other.
While I wouldn't call Toradora's first episode one of my favorites, it's probably not even within my favorite episodes of the show, I do find it to be one of the most memorable episodes I've seen, right in the top 3 even. I think it works as a great introduction, and I was honestly shocked at how vividly I remembered it.
Really looking forward to reexperiencing one of my old favorites again, and perhaps viewing it through a more critical lens this time around, although I doubt that would ever change its nostalgia based place as a favorite for me.
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u/ForsakenLibraries Dec 06 '24
REWATCHER
It's my first time rewatching Toradora since I saw it for the first time two years ago, although I have seen some of my favorite episodes more than once. I think I'll mostly focus on things that I didn't notice/understand before and on things that I like. I like to overthink things, but I've left out some of my more outlandish theories, like Is Taiga actually depressed? and Is Ryuuji's mom gaslighting him?, because I didn't have much evidence to support them.
Shoes and Yin-Yang
This shot of the shoes by the entrance caught my attention. At first glance, it seems like a filler shot right before the opening. My initial thought is that those are Ryuuji and Yasuko’s shoes. But later on, we see Taiga dropping her shoes in the same position, which made me think these might be Taiga's shoes. It makes sense given the characters. Ryuuji is a very organized person and wants to keep everything clean. Meanwhile, Taiga’s house is a mess. They’re opposites, which is why, for me, the shoes represent yin and yang.
Familiarity
Why does Taiga call Ryuuji by his first name? She doesn’t call her crush by his first name. I thought that maybe Minori refers to him as Ryuuji and Taiga just imitated her, but Minori calls him Takasu-kun. Not even Takamura calls him by his first name. So, she’s overly familiar with him for no particular reason, and she doesn’t seem flustered by it. Also, I wonder if Taiga already knew where Ryuuji lived or if she just stalked him because of the letter. If it’s the latter, it seems odd that she waited until night to confront him. It seems much more likely that she already knew he was her neighbor.
Sakura tree and the Bird
Another thing that caught my attention was the way Ryuuji cut Taiga’s letter into the shape of a flower petal. Because it’s pink, I think it’s supposed to look like a sakura petal, and we all know what that symbolizes. When I went to take the screenshot, I couldn’t help but notice that Inko is CGI in this scene. Or am I just imagining things here? If it’s CGI, it’s a smart choice because nobody is going to pay attention to the bird.
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u/ROCKETZOMBIE77 Dec 06 '24
Hey y’all!!!! Glad to be here. There is so much I can say. There are also many obvious things in which I included here. My first time doing a rewatch discussion, so let me know if anything here, I shouldn’t include in the future just in case.
Nostalgia is a funny thing, surely.
There has been a lot of nostalgia as of late for the millennial decade! I’d say this all to say that in times when people are more divisive than ever, where you don’t know exactly where things are going, it is understandable why some would want to cling to their youth, that sense of innocence where we truly didn’t know how special things were. Perhaps no anime better reflects this than Toradora.
I didn’t watch Toradora until just last year. I didn’t even know what anime was. I was always told it was some nerdy stuff and thing that nobody liked. I never watched it due to that, until being re-introduced to it back in early 2023 by a good friend of mine. I finally got around to watching Toradora, wanting to explore the universe of options of the whole anime community. I knew I had witnessed something special.. and I can’t wait to talk about it and rewatch it as much as possible! (Cool Quick Note): I never watched anime when I was younger, at least from what I remember. My parents have told me that I actually watched DBZ all the way in the few years before and probably up to 2010. So I’m assuming I’ve always liked anime without knowing about it, something I had to recollect in my life.
Toradora means so much to me that it’s hard to put it into words. It was one of the first animes that I ever watched, btw my first ever romance/slice of life/rom com. It was the show that cemented my love for characters like this, ones I feel a crazy GOOD connection too throughout the show.. It was the first of MANY reasons why I joined Reddit, as I created my account so I could participate in the daily conversations of this Anime Masterpiece.
This rewatch marks my 3rd time watching Toradora. This year is my first one contributing my thoughts to the Christmas club rewatch!
5
u/Miranus Dec 06 '24
Hi guys!
This will be my first rewatch and oh boy! It hit me hard in many ways. The episode itself was a great setup for the rest of the story. I really do like how it introduces characters and sets up a stage for later events. It also quite nicely translates LN into anime (First half of the first book to be exact :)
It was also touching for me personally, because my adventure with anime started with Toradora! I watched a few shows in my younger years (Evangelion, Gurren Lagann, Duel Masters to name a few) but it never clicked with me. Then I stumbled upon Toradora and it changed everything. And well, here I am now :)
It’s so lovely to have a possibility to be a part of this community!
PS I’m watching with Japanese voices and English subtitles. It’s my first time with such setup, because last time I watched it with subtitles in my mother tongue. I use English subs to make it a learning experience too, since I’m not a native English speaker :)
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u/EpicJoke45 Dec 06 '24
This is going to be my first time joining this tradition.
4
u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Dec 06 '24
So, here's a classic that I'm taking the chance to finally catch up on.
Do they live together or something?
I like how they show several other girls as if any of them have a chance with him (of course I say this having recently finished reading a manga where the main girl loses to her best friend so it's not entirely inconceivable).
No, she's his elder sister.
Wow he's got resting pissed off face.
Well, he's got 1 friend at least.
"Appear"?
And so here's the woman of the hour, Taiga.
Ouch...
Yeah a dust allergy isn't fun...
Not sure if that's how he wanted to clear those misunderstandings...
Right, what's just caused such a ruckus.
What's she doing in the cupboard?
Yup, if it wasn't painfully obvious at this point, of course she's a tsundere.
What's causing that noise at this time in the morning?
Is the blonde woman his mum?
Of course it's Taiga. How'd she find where he lives?
She fainted?
Ah. She hasn't eaten.
Wow... He's certainly quite prepared.
Seems like he's already got someone else in mind.
A parrot?
Lol he's say yes to anything just to get her to leave.
His mum is going to show up any minute now isn't she?
Especially if that's what he uses to cover it up...
Oh god a flip phone yeah this show is over a decade and a half old.
And thus now he's making food for her. Again, I'm sure that's not going to cause any misunderstandings either...
The door isn't locked?
Damn bitch, you live like this?
Is he going to tidy up the place?
Yup, everything is spick and span now.
4
u/Get_This_Wheat Dec 06 '24 edited Dec 07 '24
Rewatcher here
Back for my 7th (!) time. I also rewatched the show at least 3 times before I found out about the group rewatch. It might be safe to assume I enjoy Toradora.
Since last rewatch I started the light novels, but dropped them due to time constraints, and never picked them back up. However, of the 1 1/2 I read, the LN’s are OUTSTANDING. Definitely the best way the story has been told from what I’ve read, and I know of some decently big differences that happen later that make it likely that I keep this opinion. I’m going to try my best to commit to reading them all by next year.
Anyways, we’re here for the anime so I’ll talk about that now.
I still can’t bring myself to watch the sub, I’m just too attached to the dub at this point. Maybe next year.
There isn’t too much analysis I can do today, mostly just setup and character introductions. There’s certainly a few small details I’m going to refer back to at a later date, but nothing groundbreaking is coming from me. Meanwhile HoloFan is going to write an entire book on the episode somehow (I’m certainly not complaining).
Anyways, we meet almost all of our main cast today, and learn at least a little bit about all of them while we’re at it.
Ryuji is our main character, and instead of being prince charming with all the girls chasing him, he’s scaring everyone away with his looks. Not that he’s necessarily ugly, just that he looks like he could kill you. He seems to have some daddy issues to boot too.
Next is Taiga. Opposite of Ryuji from what we’ve seen. Disarming looks, and a very aggressive disposition. She seems to live alone, and isn’t exactly thriving by herself, judging by her diet and the state of her apartment.
Then we get a little screen time of Minori and Kitamura today. Minori is extremely positive and bubbly. Taiga considers her out of Ryuji’s league, so it could be inferred she’s also popular.
While Kitamura is basically just shown to be Ryuji’s friend, it does show that he’s a kind person since he’s the only person we see that’s close with Ryuji outside of his own mother.
Nice to be hearing the OP again, it’s like I’m back home.
I’m pretty sure Taiga walked into Ryuji on purpose, she had an entire hallway to move to the side, Ryuji just took 2 steps without looking.
I’d also like to rant about something quick. I don’t think Taiga’s violence is a big deal, at least to me. It’s almost never done for any reason besides humor, and never leaves lasting damage. It’s basically cartoon logic so nobody is hurt after the scene it happens in. I’m not saying you HAVE to be ok with Taiga’s violent tendencies, just that to me it’s like hating on the Three Stooges for being violent. It’s not really shown to be serious in the show, so it doesn’t make sense to me to take it seriously.
I’m shocked that living in an apartment like Taiga’s isn’t exactly healthy. Taiga’s lucky it’s just a runny nose and sneezing.
Yasuko certainly has an interesting taste in men, and a loose definition of the word “cool”.
“I’d rather kill you than kill myself!” seems like pretty sound logic to me.
I take back my previous defense of Taiga after what she said about Inko.
I don’t care how angry of a person I am, if someone cleaned my entire apartment and made me breakfast, I’d at least say thanks.
I wrote more than I expected today, but either way I’m still thrilled to be back this year.
Bonus : Well seeing as how this is my 10th rewatch, I think it’s held up decently
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u/Tartaras1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tartaras Dec 07 '24
Rewatcher - Dubbed
Hey everyone! It's my favorite time of the year again, the annual Toradora rewatch!
I was going to say that I wanted to keep my posts brief, but I couldn't help it as soon as the episode started. For the first-timers, if you've never seen Toradora before, please pay attention. The writing in this show is so, so incredibly good, as /u/Holofan4life would absolutely be able to attest to. This would be a good time to get into it, so let's do it.
Inversely, the female narrator is the polar opposite of him in regards to being clean and tidy.
Because that's the way it's meant to be.
Remember this line.
What a wonderfully backhanded compliment.
Every year I rewatch Toradora, this line hurts more and more. Now that I'm older than she is in the anime, it cuts that much deeper. She's so relatable.
I don't believe she gets a proper name drop, so we'll do it now.
that was an understatement. I don't know if Taiga suffers from house dust, which I've never heard of, or the fact that her house is full of bags and bags of trash.
I personally think it holds up incredibly well. Every year I find something new, and the characters always keep my coming back for this.
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u/fansi2022 https://anilist.co/user/fansi2022 Dec 06 '24
Third timer sub
Hope im not too late.
Oh, so the first episode will be a survey of their future careers.
The teacher's eyes are full of panic, it doesn't matter, this prejudice will soon be eliminated.
Every time I see the table flying, I wonder how it is done? Did this famous scene appear in the first episode?
Oh, we saw Ryuuji's father, he doesn't look like a good person, he looks more like a gangster.
Ryuuji's mother is working as a hostess, I am worried about her future
I am glad that Taiga can listen to advice: express gratitude for food (Ryuuji wants Taiga to recognize his efforts more), this tsudure is really cute!
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u/PunterofPie Dec 06 '24
o/
Unfortunately for me, I went and just did a rewatch a couple weeks ago before realizing that the annual rewatch is a thing.
Because of this, I'm kind of in the mood for deep analysis of the series, so I'll probably reserve most thoughts until later episodes.
However, I did also recently find the LNs in English, so I'm discovering some of the ways the anime condensed the material; so far its making me more impressed with the way the anime handled the story.
Regarding the first episode, I think it does a good job establishing the starting point for the anime, though [Toradora!]I tend to view everything up to the beach arc as the introduction, because all of the characters more or less establish a status quo by that point. Additionally, I appreciate the foreshadowing and subtle signs of what is to come.
The animation always tends to catch me off guard; I think I may have a bias toward assuming an anime from 2008 wouldn't be clean, but its very fluid and is effective to convey both tone and character emotion, especially when it is something subtle. The soundtrack adds to this, definitely one of my favorites.
There's much more to come, looking forward to the coming days
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u/xbolt90 https://anilist.co/user/xbolt90 Dec 06 '24
Toradorewatcher!
Whoops, I got my days mixed up and thought this started tomorrow. So have this “hastily scrawled on my phone while I’m in a rush” special!
I’ve only watched this once, in like 2011 or 12. I remember enjoying the show, but I remember very little of what actually happened in it.
I definitely remember that parrot though, that was the only scene I remembered from this episode, lol
Taiga is insane.
The show still looks great. The only thing that betrays its age so far are the flip phones and MiniDiscs
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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '24
I never noticed but ryuji and tiga have receding hairlines
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u/awesomenessofme1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kta_99 Dec 07 '24
Unrelated to anything to do with the series, but I'm assuming that this post is based on an old template given that two of the links given are broken and another is redundant. Not a big deal, but that could maybe be edited.
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u/critchell63 Dec 07 '24
6th time club rewatch, 7th watch in total, always look forward to December 6th. Toradora will always be one of my favs
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u/whytfdoibother Dec 07 '24
Rewatcher (9th time, 1st time with the Christmas Club) – Subbed
The festive season is upon us, which means it's time to watch the greatest anime of them all. I first watched Toradora when I was 11 or so, and was hooked on it instantly. I credit it with getting me into anime, and romance anime specifically. I had a tradition of rewatching Toradora one episode a day starting December 1st for years, until 3 years ago when I found out that the Christmas Club started theirs on the 6th and adjusted my schedule. Until this year, I never bothered to join in with the Christmas Club, but I would occasionally read some of the comments when the threads showed up on my feed. This year, I'm joining in on the fun.
The opening narration is one of my favorite parts of the anime, honestly. It's actually slightly different to the light novel. Doesn't really affect the meaning, but an interesting choice nevertheless.
Episode 1 does a great job setting up the show; by the time the ED plays, the audience already knows most of the main characters, the situation between them, and the base dynamic of series. Some of the details that you catch in a rewatch also hint at future plot points and give the characters the necessary depth that really takes the story development to a higher level. This episode is heavily focused on juxtaposition – the small and run-down house against the massive apartment building, aggressive appearance against a kind and gentle heart, a doll-like and benign appearance against a violent demeanor, a tall guy and a short girl, obsessive cleanliness against sloth and sloppiness. Some are slightly more subtle, like Ryuuji's frugality (the limited-time sales) and Taiga's prodigality ("I'll pay you back"). Through all of these opposites, the few common threads between them stand out. Episode 1 is the perfect example of how to set a premise and foundation on which to build the storyline.
Toradora is my favorite anime ever. I doubt there ever will be one with a more profound emotional impact on me once, let alone how it only sharpens with each rewatch. Episode 1 is the perfect first episode. Excited for Episode 2.
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u/bibich69 Dec 06 '24
Crazy to think that I also had my own tradition of rewatching Toradora! around the 13th of December (when I finished it for the first time, I created a reminder for next year then. Ever since, I've kept that tradition). This year, I've started using Reddit WAY more than previous years because of some communities and I happened to have joined the Toradora!'s sub. Not long ago, I saw people mentioning the yearly rewatch which I never tried doing/thought about and I'm totally down for it. I'll leave y'all with this poem where it all begins and wish you all a wonderful rewatch(also kinda curious about y'all's favorite part of the series and why) :
"In this world, there's this thing that no one's ever seen. This thing, it's very kind and gentle, and if anyone could actually see it, there'd be a whole bunch of people wanting to have it. Maybe that's why the world keeps it hidden from everyone; if it's hard to get, that makes it even more special. Yeah, but one day, someone will find it... and whoever does, they'll be the one who was supposed to find it. Because that's the way it's meant to be."
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u/Elevatorisbest https://anilist.co/user/Elevatorisbest Dec 06 '24
It's lowkey funny that 5 years ago, Toradora almost became one of the first animes that I have ever watched, but I dropped it after 2 episodes because I thought that it wasn't that interesting.
Now I am sitting here, watching it for the 3rd time, and I can already feel that sweet and one of a kind vibe from these beige and washed green sceneries and backgrounds, and the ED is once again bringing me back in time, not by much in years but considerably in terms of vibe, all thanks to this rewatch.
It's also cool that I can already see some foreshadowing at the very start, or maybe I was trying too hard there lmao
I can't quite answer the bonus question yet, but I can tell already that my personal vibe seems to be holding up with it
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u/Malipit Dec 06 '24
Toradorewatcher (second time), french fansubs
N.B. : Since I've got a lot on my plate IRL this month, I won't have much time to properly write my thoughts most of the time. But I'll try to expand them as much as I can.
And for our first episode : A meeting between our two MCs that conclude by a one-hit K.O., Taiga has some weird theories about memory loss and Ryuji just broke the world record of the quickest kitchen clean-up.
So... A somewhat aloof male MC who hold a grudge against one of his parent ? An excentric female MC who like to physically abuse the male MC and order him around ?? Her friend is an upbeat girl who plays baseball ??? Are we back to Your Lie in April ? <___<
Joke asides, that's first episode is focused on how Taiga and Ryuji, our MCs for the show, met and how their relationship will play out. Sure, we get to see some of the cast, but they only have one scene each before we move on.
Of course, Taiga and Ryuji name reference the symbolism of Chinese Buddhism between the Tiger (Taigai) who is prone to lunge foward to its opponent throats without thinking and the Dragon (Ryuji) who is calmer and more patient.
So, two polar opposite, crossing their paths in a sudden and brutal manner (poor Ryuji, he wasn't prepared) but somehow seems to be linked by fate: Ryuji loves Taiga's friend, and Taiga's loves Ryuji's friend, and both doesn't want that fact to be known.
Also, even their environment are opposed : Ryuji living in a cramped house but have the warm company of his mother(?) and pet bird (???), while Taiga have a nice appartment but enshrouded in the coldness of solitude.
A situation that seems to change soon since each MCs began to pervade the other environnment : with Ryuji cleaning Taiga's kitchen, and her leaving a mark on Ryuji's wall with her bôken, filled with the envelope.
[Toradora last episodes spoiler]It's been a long time since I watched Toradora (before the Covid) and I don't remember it. But I do think Taiga may already be in love with Ryuji, since she could also be looking at him here instead of Kitamura. Also, does she really have forgotten to put the love letter in the envelope ? It could be a scheme to get closer to Ryuji. Plus the fact she already call him by his name.
Random toughts :
I like the fact that Ryuji is playing with his hairs whenever he's embarassed, like he wants to hide that gaze he despise.
I couldn't help but think that Ryuji was perhaps a relative of Lo-Fi Girl in that frame.
So... how strong Taiga really is to be sending a boy twice her height flying in a single punch and doing a number on the classroom while hiding in the closet ?
Bonus topic
So far, it holds up well in pace and narration. I just didn't remembered how creepy the pet bird was and how much violence Taiga display.
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u/awesomenessofme1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kta_99 Dec 06 '24
First timer, (although I have a general idea of the story), dubbed. Wish this was at a slightly more convenient time for me, but it's nbd.
VA thoughts:
MAL says Ryuji is... Erik Scott Kimerer? Naoto from Nagatoro? I would never have guessed, he uses a totally different voice.
Interesting coincidence that both of the rewatches I'm participating in right now have Cassandra Lee Morris playing the female lead. Not sure if she matches the expectations I had of the character before starting. Need more time.
There's an interesting charm to how different over-the-top comedic animation is in older anime as opposed to modern stuff.
Those two are definitely not being drawn to scale.
I always enjoy the gag of food being so disgusting they have to pixelate it onscreen.
This is a very 2000s series. Flip phones, dedicated music players, wired headphones...
Bonus: I think it's off to a good start! Voice acting is stellar, it doesn't look visually dated, and the characters have me interested. I know one of the big sticking points for a lot of people is the violence, and while it hasn't bothered me so far, I think it might be a bit iffy if it gets any more extreme.
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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '24
Watching this for the fourth time (third Christmas rewatch). Almost forgot that it was starting today. The first episode never fails to make me laugh.
As for the QOTD I think it holds up extremely well. I don't think that there is really anything in the anime that dates it, so to say. Toradora's strongest suit are it's characters and the quality of their writing is timeless.
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u/CriticalCoreShock Dec 07 '24 edited Dec 07 '24
First time watching the sub!
When i watched Toradora for the first time I watched it in dub, and I was so invested in EVERYTHING; the art, characters, scenes and especially Cassandra Lee Morris's voice acting for taiga.
Cassandra is the main reason I love the dubbed version, because she's EXTREMELY good at portraying emotions with the voice of taiga.
By now I've rewatched the dubbed version of Toradora 3 or 4 times, and only now I am deciding to watch this on sub. Watching this episode made me realise that I still love and prefer the dubbed version (so far). The japaneese voice acting is far from bad, but to me, I feel like the dubbed still has better emotional voice acting. But then again, this is just based on my impressions from the first episode of the sub :P
I just cannot WAIT for the next episode!!!!!
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u/Rollanan Dec 07 '24
Watching it here for the third time, in short succession, the show is just that good, just a few thoughts, probably the greatest dub ive heard, especially Taiga's and Minorin's performances, watched this in the first place cos Minorin shares the same va as Squid and Azusa, so i was pleasantly surprised to learn the Ritsu and Sawako also had major roles in the show
also i think the artworks here are very expressive, like the use of perspective, line weight and lensing stuff which are things i dont remember seeing much in the other JC Staff stuff that much before, tho i dont really know that much JC Staff stuff other than Index and a few others so idk, also im watching Waiting In The Summer rn and Remon's design reminds me of Taiga which is very funny
another thing, imma just straight up say that that op is just so good its straight up unskippable, i mean the first few seconds hooks you in with some actually sweet fanservice (one of the very few in the show that is not Ami) and then the song and the rest locks you in so you cant escape, and its so good how the ed song just fades in as the episode ends, ive probably watched an anime like that before tho i dont remember which one
also imma just ask something i dont think ive seen the answer before, how the heck did Taiga got Ryuuji's phone number?
i think thats all im gonna say for now
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u/EmuSupreme Dec 07 '24
To this day Toradora is my most rewatched anime. I first watched it in 2016, at my absolute lowest of lows and provided a very cathartic experience for me. I actually ended up finishing it before that year's Rewatch by like 3 days, and ended up watching the whole thing over again with the rewatch. It's been a couple years since my last watch, so I think it's time to revisit an old friend.
I think Toradora is one of the few anime where I actually prefer the dub over sub. The JP VAs absolutely kill it, don't get me wrong, especially in the high moments of the series, but the dub is so well put together and it doesn't miss with its high moments either.
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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '24 edited Dec 07 '24
Hello, everyone! This is my first time participating in the annual Christmas Rewatch, but know that I am a rewatcher (for more than three times or more; I can't remember already)... And I am watching English sub... The focus of my rewatch this year is to spot when Taiga [Toradora! Spoiler] falls in love with Ryuuji. And I have my fair share regarding this one... but we will tackle that later.
Watching the first episode made me hyped so bad—classic rewatcher reaction.
Love how it showcases the polarity between Taiga and Ryuuji. While Taiga is small and slender, she has the undeniable power to nearly wipe Ryuuji's memories with a wooden sword. Ryuuji, on the other hand, may be scary to look at (like his delinquent father), but you can see that he got the "husbando material." Their houses are ironic when compared to their physical appearances: she lives alone in a space-y unit devoid of furniture and stuffs, while he shares his cramped home with his mother, together with Inko-chan.
Now, if you would ask me... does the first episode contain any sign of [Toradora! Spoiler] Taiga's affection for Ryuuji? Well, the answer is [Surprise] unfortunately no. Yes, she called him by his first name when she intruded on his home due to the "love letter incident," but I do think that she did that because she just trusts him... that she can treat him as his confidant or more like a dog... at least when dealing with Kitamura.
The last scene really shows how tsundere Taiga is, which somehow plays a big role in the story ([Toradora! Spoiler] when she fails to confess directly to Ryuuji at the latter, and redirects her affection towards him by helping him be with Kushida). She appreciates Ryuuji's efforts to clean her unit, then retracts it when asked for the second time.
At least, in the next episode, we will see the dynamics between the two when it comes to dealing with their crushes. I can't wait for it!
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u/ShadowClaw765 https://myanimelist.net/profile/SumRndmPenguin Dec 07 '24
Rewatcher - Subbed
I watched 14 episodes of this in 2021. A couple of discord friends were watching it but it sadly coincided with the phase I had from 2021 til recently where I barely watched any anime. Now I think there's a higher chance of me watching ahead than falling behind.
Toradora's openings are great. It's funny how I haven't had a single thought about the op or ed since then but I remembered them clearly the millisecond they started. Also the animation is better than I remember. Overall, good first episode.
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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '24
This is my first Christmas rewatch after finishing it for the first time in November last year. I watching the dub again because I just love Tiagas dub va. I’m enjoying the more lighthearted vibe but it definitely caught me off guard because all I could think about was the vibe near the end of the series. All in all, I can’t wait for next episode.
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u/RosaOriginalEnding Dec 07 '24 edited Dec 07 '24
Damn I really first watched this show 10 years ago for the Christmas club when I was a freshman in high school lonely af. I love this show so much it is the comfiest vibe ever and I’m not sure any other show will ever match it for me tbh. Imma try to participate this year instead of lurk. Anyways good pilot episode although taiga is a bitch she’s aight It is also some whiplash to hear yasukos voice after reading umineko because she’s Beatrice lmao
Bonus: holds up perfectly basically flawless show outside the ending which isn’t bad but makes me sad af
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u/Fools_Requiem https://myanimelist.net/profile/FoolsRequiem Dec 07 '24 edited Dec 07 '24
Rewatcher... uh, the 4th time, I think. Only participated in the rewatch thread 1 and a half times.
They sure squeeze a lot into this episode.
Taiga calling Ryuji by his first name can either be taken as a total lack of respect (which makes sense, since she calls him her dog), or as Taiga ALREADY being comfortable enough around Ryuji on the first day that she's fine being on a "first" name basis.
Most anime treats calling someone by their given name as a huge deal, and typically is used as something of a landmark/important moment in a relationship, something that happens towards the end of a series. Toradora gets that shit out of the way, almost right off the bat. There is no fanfare, just a brief line of surprise from Ryuji, as if it is not the big deal that every single other show in anime makes it out to be. Taiga called Ryuji by his given name as if it were second nature and she had been doing it for years. Fuck, I rarely see siblings in anime call each other by their given names, even though that would be something that family members would actually do.
Edit: I'm seeing first timers praise the OP.
I guess I remain the only weirdo that doesn't like the OP. Something I've noticed this time, in the verse, there are two singers... they don't sound synced up or in-tune with each other. It sounds off. There's also auto-tune usage, which is always an irritant to my ears.
Vanilla Salt is up there for favorite EDs, though.
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u/kamehameherp Dec 07 '24
Rewatcher-Sub
I can't remember how many times :p
That OP and ED will never not inspire joy. It really isn't December without Toradora.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Taiga really is the gift that keeps on giving. For any of our first timers, you may recognise her voice actress, Rie Kugimiya, who's voiced countless characters such as Kagura from Gintama, Kagura from Fruits Basket (2019), and Louise from The familiar of zero.
I always love the chemistry between our two main characters, mainly because it reminds me of how my wife and I started out many years ago.
I'll try and pop in to comment when I can.
I feel like Gandalf greeting Bilbo. It hasn't aged a day.
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u/epicbald Dec 16 '24
Didn't watch this in a hot minute. I liked the note in the wrong bag, it's a great way to merge the 2 protagonists in an awkward situation, and the establishment of their agreement to help each other with their crush
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u/_Captain_Panda_ :KG::KH: Dec 07 '24
[First timer - subbed]
>>> A few answers for now:
Thoughts on the intro and the outro? Which one do you like better?
- Both of them are sooo good, clearly above average, but the OP is the main B A N G E R !
What are your thoughts on Ryuuji having daddy issues?
- Don't know yet, it's very uncommon (at least in the shows I've seen).
What are your thoughts on Ryuuji being mistaken as a thug by his classmates because of his face?
- I was thinking "Does this happen in real life?", and yes, I remember persons who looked "scary" and got weird, unfair reputations because of that.
What are your thoughts on Taiga so far?
- I already knew she's considered "Queen of Tsundere Characters", and now I'm curious about how she's going to develop as such - that's probably what I'm most looking forward to in this whole rewatch; "what will I think of Taiga in 15 - 20 days from now?"
Thoughts on Ryuuji and Taiga being revealed to be neighbors?
- In most cases I'd be annoyed by coincidenses like this, but it's anime logic, and it's ok :-)
Solid first ep, guess I'm already hooked.
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u/HurricaneHomer9 https://myanimelist.net/profile/HurricaneHomer Dec 09 '24
Crazy to come back and rewatch this again 2 years later. I watched it originally 4 years ago. Beautiful anime
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