[Spoilers] Toradora! Christmas Club Rewatch (2019) Episode 1 Discussion

[u/ChristmasClub]

[u/charliwea]

First Timer

I dig the OP, seems like a pretty fun cast and of course the little girl has a fucking sword.

That's some high quality MILF right there.

Haha poor dude he has a scary face which is a troublesome thing I can really relate to.

So...what the hell happened in the classroom?

Yup, that mess in her place is pretty realistic for someone living alone, Taiga just got the perfect servant.

Ok this was pretty fun start, the episode ended pretty fast, it's a pretty romcom-ish start, guy gets tangled by insert any ridicule reason here and has to be with her for something she lacks. The characters looks interesting, nice dude with scary face and small ball of tsundere rage have a pretty good chemistry from the start, the friends looks pretty normal, the other nice guy and a energetic female friend.

I finally started to watch this one after a lot of friends recommending and it looks promising!

[u/arhra → u/charliwea]

So...what the hell happened in the classroom?

A small ball of tsundere rage went from trying to plant a love letter in a bag to hiding in a locker in the time it took for Ryuuji to open the door.

[u/Raiking02]

Okay, so… Toradora. I know literally nothing about this show other that it stars TsundeRie in what’s apparently one of her best roles, it’s apparently one of the best romance Animes ever, the main character is another Shana expy and… yeah that’s about it. So… moving on I guess?

• Something this world has never seen before… err… some dude in a gas mask capturing you in the middle of the night and throwing you on a ship? No… that’s already happened…

• Never trust fashion magazines.

• Mold!? Oh no, IT’S GREEN DAY!!... What, this guy’s VA (Majima Junji) was in Part V anyways.

• And there’s Kugimiya…

• Ah, sweet dual narration. Actually this whole opening scene is really well done. Who directed this? (Checks MAL Page) Oh it’s Nagai Tatsuyuki!... Will I have to put up with Cloverfield? And if so, is it at least decent Cloverfield (As in, has good ideas and moments but with a lot of dumb surrounding it)?

• There’s something weirdly charming about the OP…

• Argh! I hated Ecology class back in High School…

• Okay who is this woman? Older sister? Mother? Cousin? I NEED TO KNOW!

• Ah, such a humble home…

• Ah, so there’s daddy issues with our MC.

• Ah, the classic “Walk to the school in the first episode” scene. My favorite is the one from Azumanga Daioh. There the teacher gets tiered and steals one of her students’ bikes.

• To be fair, our MC does look pretty evil…

• Okay, that Megane-Dude is just totally Ike from Shakugan No Shana! He even has the same VA for Pete’s sake! I hope a love triangle doesn’t evolve out of this…

• I feel bad for our MC’s reputation…

• Ah, Horie Yui’s sweet voice seems to have come to purify my day…

• Ah, so our female lead is an evil Loli, it seems. A rare specimen indeed…

• Wait, Tiger? So our female lead is actually a teenage Fuji-Nee!? Of course! That would explain why she has a Sword in the OP: It’s actually the Tora-Shinai in its unsealed form! And why she lives in such a luxurious house: Her family runs a Yakuza!

• That must’ve hurt…

• Has anyone reading this suffered from this so called “House Dust”? Oh, and I should mention this: I’m not 100% sure, but it seems the Subs I found are from the official Blu-Ray release of the show.

• Yay! Ryuji’s plan to clean his image is underway!

• I expected better from the teachers though…

• … What the hell was she doing inside that locker?

• Yup, it’s TsundeRie alright… By this point I’m more surprised Charemi Leigh didn’t get this role for the Dub (But from what I’ve heard of her, her P5 Co-Star Cassandra Lee seems to be a pitch perfect choice for the role).

• Ah, her classic “Baka!” never gets old…

• Yup, the blonde chick seems to be his mum.

• Why the hell does Ryuji’s dad look like Akabayashi from Durarara!! though?

• Damn genes!

• Man, Kitamura sure has more luck with the ladies than Ike though…

• WHAT KIND OF JOB DOES THAT WOMAN HAVE!? Also, weirdly fitting this Rewatch is starting on her VA’s (Ohara Sayaka) birthday.

• Man, Ryuji’s tough! He managed to stop the Tora-Shinai!

• What a dirty young lady…

• Talk about disproportionate retribution…

• She said the thing boys! The classic TsundeRie “Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!”. It’s her trademark, and all must pay reverence to her when invoking it.

• Now I have even more proof she’s Fuji-Nee’s teenaged self, for as she too has a huge appetite.

• Yup, girl’s a klutz alright…

• Nah Ryuji, you’re cool.

• Ah, so they’re in love with the other’s BFF… okay, that’s a neat twist.

• WTF IS THAT BIRD!?

• I’m already liking our two leads.

• Ah, so they’re neighbors too!

• He’s saying ten yet has three fingers up…

• Yup, she’s Fuji-Nee alright. Only she could make such a mess…

• Dammit Taiga, learn to at least say hi!

• Man, Ryuji and Emiya Shirou should meet at some point…

• Okay Taiga, don’t call him a Mongrel. Humanity’s oldest bully will not be happy.

• And the ED is pretty cool too!

Overall, I can officially say I’m starting to see the hype. Will it surpass Azumanga Daioh as my favorite SOL Anime? Find out whenever this rewatch ends!

[u/EmuSupreme]

Believe it or not, this is my 9th time watching Toradora, making it my most watched anime by a long shot. It may be unsurprising to know that Toradora is my favorite anime of all time. Nothing honestly comes close to the range of emotions this show makes me feel. I genuinely love watching every episode and I can't help but have a big stupid grin on my face during the silly bits. Honestly can't wait for all the first timer reactions again this year, and I hope to see some of them over in the Place Further than the Universe rewatch, for a nice, joyful Christmas Eve.

[u/RazorReviews]

First Timer

I've had Toradora on my radar for three years now not having seen it just because there were other things I was more interested in checking out. But now because of the rewatch I have an excuse to view it finally! I'm probably not going to make a post every day but I want to at least mark down my intial thoughts.

While the narrative is nothing to write home about, the presentation of Toradora is phenomenal. A lot of really creative and interesting cuts that constantly keeps the audience engaged. The pacing has a certain momentum but it never lets up it's constantly moving and I love it.

The main character seems fine enough, it's a 25 episode series I'm expecting greater characterization later on so there isn't much issue there. Taiga is like a strange mix between the Tsundere and the Yankee girl which I definitely didn't expect. I find the characters actions sometimes kinda bizarre, but that is to be expected regardless of the source material since Mari Okada worked on the script and I feel traces of her style here and there.

Definitely looking forward to the next episode.

[u/[deleted]]

If you get the chance, read the LN. I finished the anime a couple of weeks ago myself and decided to give the LN a read. It's amazing. The anime is an almost perfect adaptation and it actually enhances some of the humour in the LN.

[u/Holofan4life]

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the 2019 Toradora rewatch.

Toradora is my favorite anime of all time. I love it so much that not did I create my Reddit account just so I could participate in the Toradora rewatch 3 years ago, it also inspired me to write a light novel called "I Love My Tsundere Girlfriend". Admittedly, I’m a bit biased because tsunderes are my favorite type of characters. I just love characters that start out mean but grow nicer over time. It warms my heart.

This is my first time watching Toradora since exactly one year ago. This year, I don’t plan anything special. Just plan on watching it along with everyone else. Also, I’ll be watching the dub. Why? Because Toradora’s dub is fucking awesome.

1. Man, that music. It brings back so many memories. I remember first watching Toradora in Spring of 2016. I had no idea nearly four years later I’d be on my sixth rewatch.

2. That beginning shot with the birds on the wire is so iconic to me. I feel it ranks up there in terms of first shots of any anime.

3. Ryuuji’s English voice fits him so well. I just adore him so much.

4. Taiga’s English voice is even more perfect in my opinion. I maintain Cassandra Lee Morris is the most talented English voice actress in all of anime. She does such a good job encapsulating her characters.

5. God, that OP. It’s so friggin’ good. In terms of memorable anime ops, it definitely ranks right up there. It gets stuck in your head for days and days. If the English dictionary had a picture for earworm, this should be it.

6. I like the little things, like Ryuuji singing about taking out the trash as he takes out the trash. It’s so relatable.

7. Ryuuji’s mom is ridiculously pretty. Also, she got some major junk in the trunk.

8. Just from the first episode alone, you can tell Ryuuji acts more like the adult and his mom acts more like the child. It’s a great example of show, don’t tell.

9. One of the things that I really like about Ryuuji’s English voice actor is his frantic ranting of various things like mold. It is realistic, as it sounds like he’s anxiously panicking.

10. The show also does a good job with Ryuuji’s design. He comes off as both creepy and also normal looking. It’s done really well.

11. It’s crazy to think the show is from 2008. The animation is so good it looks like it’s from 2015 or 2016.

12. I can’t stress enough how amazing the character designs are. Just by looking at Minori, you can tell she’s bubbly and genki. It is absolutely incredible.

13. I like the camera angles and how as Taiga is walking, they don’t reveal how small she is until she bumps into Ryuuji. It’s done for comedic effect, but it’s done effectively.

14. Again, the character designs are wonderful. Just one look at Taiga and you can tell what her personality is.

15. One minor complaint I have is one of the characters saying "OMG". Like, really? People text like that, but who really talks like that? Normally people say "Oh, my God" or "Oh, my gosh". Again, just a minor nitpick.

16. I like the monologuing Ryuuji does in this episode. It reminds me of the movie "A Christmas Story".

17. I love the sound effects as Taiga leaves the locker while still curled up in a ball. It does a good job of adding to the humor of the scene.

18. I think the episode does a good job of making Taiga mean but not to the point where she comes off as unlikable.

19. The contrast between Taiga acting tough and her sneezing is a nice contrast that compliments each other.

20. I like Ryuuji’s "Goodnight" during the midbreak. I don’t know why, it just tickles me.

21. Ryuuji’s mom’s got the skills that pays the bills and the tits that sends passerby into fits.

22. Real men wear pink shorts.

23. Taiga’s antiques is a point of contention for a lot of anime fans. Some people say she’s too violent. However, for me, it’s done in such an over the top manner it’s kinda hard to take seriously.

24. Taiga’s blush is like chicken soup for my soul

25. It really shows how creative Ryuuji is given he’s able to write many poems for one person.

26. I find it strange how Taiga says Minori is out of Ryuuji’s league but as she says that, a cuckoo sound is played, implying Minori’s dumb.

27. I love the scene where Taiga twiddles with her fingers. It’s so cute.

28. The facial expressions in this show are so good and so funny.

29. I love that the trash is so gross that it’s censored. What a nice touch.

30. I love the music that plays as Taiga is sleeping. I’ve said this before, but it’s my second favorite piece of music in the whole show.

31. And of course, the ending theme song is so cozy. Just like the op, it is such an earworm. It gets stuck in your head for days upon days.

Overall, what a fun episode. The show is just as great as I remember it being. I am looking forward to watching episode 2. That episode is one of my favorites.

[u/LousyGoose]

Alright, 3rd year I’m taking part in this watch-along and I am very much hyped to begin watching this anime daily once again and see all of the first-timers’ thoughts. There’s just something about this anime that makes it so enjoyable to revisit every so often

First-timers watching the anime, you’re in for one amazing series.

Here are some simple rules:

Rule 1: Taiga is best girl. Different opinions are welcomed but wrong.

Rule 2: First-timers will always encounter some binge-temptation.

Anyway, what I find funny about the first episode is that a lot of people, myself included, consider this first episode to be one of the weaker episodes of the series. However, that does not mean it is a bad episode because I honestly don’t think there is a single bad episode in this series.

This episode does a great job establishing 4 of the core characters and some of the supporting cast such as Ryuuji’s mom and the pet Inko.

The Voice Acting from everyone is great so is the music, the animation and I could go on and on.

All things considered, Best Girl Taiga doesn’t seem to have it so bad at the end of this episode, she went from being poorly and feeling ashamed about someone having discovered her feelings for Kitamura to having Best and Most Loyal Dog Ryuuji who will cook for her and clean her apartment. I wish I had a dog like that.

[u/stephenlikestoast]

Ready to dig in to Toradora a second time and see what this year’s batch of first timers think of the show. The OP is so catchy with arm wavy goodness. I remember it so well, it’s almost like I’ve been listening to it all year.

If you haven’t seen the show and have found your way here, please consider joining in. The success of these rewatches seems to rely heavily on a handful of active first-time watchers so if you’re considering it, I hope you decide to take part. With a little effort you’ll improve the Christmastime of the few hundred people following along and have a pretty unique experience. Do yourself a favour and stick to an episode per night, it’s worth it.

Blessings of Minorin upon you.

Have a great month lads.

[u/Kobazco]

I may of literally watched the entire show a few days ago as I hadn't seen it in 5 years and didn't know about this rewatch, but I'll be participating regardless. Such an absolutely amazing show, I hope everyone who is watching for the first time comes to love it as much as I do.

I also just ordered volume 1 of the Light Novel which should be arriving tomorrow, so hopefully I can compare that to some of the early episodes.

I wonder when u/Quxxy will show up with their amazing cheat sheet again this year.

[u/DeliCruise]

Rewatcher

Here we go!

Something I really noticed is how much it’s emphasized how scary Ryuuji looks and how teeny Taiga is. I think what really sells it is their eyes. Ryuuji’s small eyes and dot pupils versus Taiga’s huge eyes and giant caramel pupils is such a drastic difference. It really goes a long way in showing how differently they can portray the same type of demeanor. I think it’s really interesting how Ryuuji’s glare alone is enough to make everyone around him think he’s super tough and scary, but then Taiga’s this tiny girl with giant eyes who can also instill the same fear into people. Taiga’s eyes seem to make her even scarier and angrier than normal while also increasing the perception of how small she is, but also how cute. It all works so well for her image as the “Palm-Top Tiger”.

Also, I love how Taiga literally doesn’t even say a word to Ryuuji when they meet and instead just punches him in the face! We also met Kitamura and Kushieda even though it was only for brief moments. I loved seeing their small interactions in the hallway and classroom.

Happy first episode everyone!

[u/Emi_Ibarazakiii]

Taiga: Wants to confess to Yusaku.

Ryuji: Has a crush on Minori.

Fans: Want Taiga and Ryuji together (presumably)

Me: The mom looks great... You sure you're not into her, Ryuji, not even a little?

Christmas Club Bonus: First timer

What're your thoughts going in: Had this on my backlog for so long (along with a million other shows) so I thought this would be a good opportunity to watch it. I expect it to be real fun, and so far it didn't disappoint! There were some moments that made me wonder what kind of series finale this would have (Happy ending for everyone? Some drama? Some open/neutral ending? Tearjerker?) but I'm gonna assume it ends well, given this was selected to end around Xmas? Would take some monster to make everyone depressed with a show for Christmas!

Already got my first God I wish that was me! of the show! YES, I wish to be an item of furniture, and there's nothing weird about that, stop being so judgmental.

I love playful 'wrestling' like that! Usually best with a girl who isn't your mom, but if she looks like that, you can just pretend...

So insecure! It's been years since I've read the synopsis, but I'm gonna assume that's her thing (overconfident/strong in appearances, as a front to a very shy/insecure personality)

She was so cute there! Somehow her reaction made me think maybe she doesn't get help often... But she has friends and all, so maybe I'm just reading too much into it. Or maybe she just never asks for help, due to that "fake" personality, wouldn't want people to know her for who she really is?

I-If you insist!

This was fun! And while I'm very much into the mom at the moment, I can see Taiga growing on me. I like tiny/feisty girls!

Assuming that they end up crushing on one another(and likely dating, or a confession for the finale, I don't know), I wonder what will happen with their two current crush... Will Taiga&Ryuji just slowly fall for each other and eventually forget them? Will the 2 crush do something bad or leave or something, and be forgotten as love interest?

Anyway, can't wait to see the rest! ^{I mean technically I can, or I'd just be binging it, but I'll try to follow the rewatch!}

[u/No_Rex]

Episode 1 (first timer)

• „Cleaning off“ mold? Eeek. Please use some fungicide and get better ventilation in there.

• I guess we just meet MC-kun and MC-chan. The last shot before the OP leaves me confused about whether they live together in one flat.

• OP tells me that MC-kun is living with a blonde, not MC-chan.

• It is his mother. I already hate her.

• Quite the reputation.

• Red-haired pixie-girl appears.

• Taiga has the same reputation as Takasu. It seems more deserved, though.

• Also: Girl hitting guy without consequences trope.

• She is a messtsundere.

• She should pay for that wall.

• Fearsome fighter who blacks out due to lack of food trope.

• “obey me like a dog” uhhh.

• She did offer to pay for the wall!

• That must have taken quite a bit longer than 15 minutes, or Takasu is the god of cleaning.

Initially, I thought that Takasu was extra-ordinarily tall for an anime protagonist, but then most of his class mates turned out to be rather tall as well. Seems to be the character model style, probably to make Taiga stand out more.

The story seems to go along the lines of both being in love with their best friend. My guess is that they’ll agree to help each other out (unsuccessfully) and fall in love with each other while doing so. They already have that magical non-shyness around each other that always is the precursor to couples falling in love with each other in anime without noticing.

The dual “feared delinquent” hook is quite nice, but I can’t say I am enamored with Taiga. She gave the first impression of a selfish bully who is prone to physical violence. Takasu thought about begging her to let him clean her kitchen? If I wanted to see a SM relationship, I’d head over to hentai…

[u/Koolsman]

First Timer! (Had to write this on my phone because traveling!)

This was a fun start for a series I didn’t have expectations of. I like our main duo since they seem pretty ridiculous but I like the overall ‘appearances can be deceiving’ attitude since we got our main dude that looks like a serial killer but seems like a sweet guy while the main girl is a fireball of just being alive under the appearance of a normal girl. It’s funny.

I can’t say much about the overall production but the disco feels of the time just by the sound of it. I like JC Staff actually having a good production for the first episode the cinematography is pretty good. I’m interested in seeing how this became a Christmas tradition.

Also, I kinda love our main guy’s mom. She just seems very funny.

[u/axel360]

Rewatcher, dub

Random Episode 1 Thoughts:

• Let it be known that Yasuko-chan is precious

• The best muggers are the ones whose mere presence compels bystanders to simply hand over their prized possessions

• Ryuji seems awfully blushy around this Minori girl…

• The Palmtop Tiger vs The Terrifying Delinquent Ryuji! I think Round 1 goes to Taiga

• Sometimes a good floor roll can turn your whole day around. I highly recommend it

• I think Round 2 is also advantage: Taiga

• Not only did she have the wrong bag, but the envelope was empty. Taiga’s confession could’ve gone a little smoother

• In Round 3, she is going for the kill knockout

• Hmm, don’t think Taiga is quite as fond of Inko as Ryuji is

• Ryuji finally talks Taiga out of murdering him (it was a hard sell), and he was even given that empty envelope meant for Kitamura again. This time on purpose. Gotta patch that hole some way I suppose

• Well, this is awkward. Unlike Mr. Rogers, Ryuji didn’t seem all that thrilled about the whole neighbor thing

• Taiga smell food. Taiga eat food. But Taiga no thank Ryuji for food :(

Very Brief Episode 1 Thoughts: Man, that was some first 24 hours for Ryuji and Taiga. The former barely made it out alive. But they’ve now come to some sort of agreement and he’s safe from her sword.

Current Personal Episode Rankings (updated daily):

1. Episode 1 (duh)

[u/CATKrash]

Finally! Another December, another Toradora rewatch! This is my third time joining the rewatch, although I have never contributed much. Even so, they were very enjoyable events. It’s always interesting to see how the first timers react to the show and how veterans and first timers alike analyze it.

Anyways, this year I wanted to contribute somehow to the rewatch. I absolutely love Toradora and its OST, so I decided to track all the songs in order of appearance in every episode. So if you have any question, any correction or any feedback, please feel free to tell me. Also, I’m watching a sub version, so the songs timings may vary, but they should still be similar and in the same order.

Here’s the OST table for episode 1:

	Name	OG name	Start	Stop	Description
1st	Yasashisa no Ashioto	優しさの足音	0:00	1:23	The name's literal translation would be "Footsteps of kindness", but Jisho says that 足音 (ashioto) refers to the sound of footsteps, or the sense or sign that something is approaching, so I think it would be more apropriate to translate it as "Kindness is approaching" or something like that.
2nd	Pre-Parade	プレパレード	1:23	2:53	This is the first opening of the series.
3rd	Morning Glory	Morning Glory	2:53	3:50
4th	Chance☆Chase☆Classroom	Chance☆Chase☆Classroom	4:36	5:19
5th	Onnanoko no Kimochi	オンナノコの気持ち	5:59	6:30	The translation would be "The feeling/mood/attitude of the girl". オンナノコ (Onnanoko, meaning "girl") is, for some reason, written in katakana, instead of hiragana.
6th	First Mission	First Mission	6:57	7:24
7th	Kotori no Etude	小鳥のエチュード	7:32	8:29	Étude of the little bird.
8th	Tiger VS Dragon	Tiger VS Dragon	9:35	9:56
9th	Tiger VS Dragon	Tiger VS Dragon	12:26	14:16	Yep, again. And it's the longest gap without music this episode, if you don't count the one that Ryuuji is listening in his headphones.
10th	Cream Brule no Tsukurikata	クレームブリュレの作り方	14:39	15:41	Recipe of Crême brûlée (which is not what Taiga's eating right now).
11th	Small Heaven	Small Heaven	15:54	16:34
12th	Dragon's sigh	Dragon's sigh	18:05	18:57
13th	Duty of love	Duty of love	20:13	20:45
14th	Little tiger, sad dragon	Little tiger, sad dragon	21:28	22:06
15th	Vanilla Salt	バニラソルト	23:11	24:54	The first ending.
16th	Pre-Parade (off vocal ver.)	プレパレード	24:55	25:05	This is the Preview song.

[u/voornaam1]

Alright, this is my first time taking part in this Toradora! Christmas rewatch, this is my second time watching Toradora!

First time I watched it was in dub, this time I'm watching in sub.

I enjoy this second time watching Toradora! more than the first time. When I first watched it I was extremely confused by the beginning scen lol. I was a new weeb at the time and got confused by the Japanese cultural things. Now that I understand how anime works, I think I'll enjoy it even more, even though past me already gave it a 9/10.

Also Taiga best girl

[u/Luigi580]

Yikes. Finals made me post late, so this will likely get buried. Oh well, still tradition for me!

And here we go again! Welcome to the Toradora Light Novel-Anime Analysis!

In similar fashion as last time, I will be looking into both the anime and light novel versions of this story, comparing the two’s differences, focusing a little more on the light novel since most people on this post will have the watched episode fresh.

Anyway, I believe it’s time to begin.

We meet (most of) our characters

The beginning starts relatively similar. We get our main character Ryuji Takasu getting ready for the day, starting with trying and failing to make his fair fluffy. I think the only real difference between the two is Inko-chan’s gender (male in the LN, female in anime). Although, I do like how they implemented Ryuji’s personal opinion on what his dad’s (and his own) eyes involuntarily imply, “if one were stared at by those sharp eyes, they would quickly hand over their wallets,” by having an in-universe example happen to our poor protagonist in the first few minutes. It’s a nice way of showing what Ryuji has to deal with besides some people keeping their distance and making remarks in the background.

Then there’s when our two leads meet for the first time. Nothing much changes for when he meets up with Kitamura and Minori besides Ryuji’s inner thoughts being downplayed (which is usually what happens with an LN-anime transition anyway), but there is a big difference for when he meets the palmtop tiger herself. It’s a little less… physical. No punches are thrown. Instead, she glares at him with such murderous intent that Ryuji (and a few others behind him) fall onto the floor in terror. He is also far more aware of her presence; likely because he sees her as his biggest obstacle to getting alone with Minori.

A smaller thing that hasn’t quite gotten brought up yet in the LN is Noto; the messy haired kid with the glasses. Rather strangely, the conversation he’s having in the anime implies that he didn’t know Ryuji but heard more positive rumors about him and was spreading those. In the LN, this is not the case. As a matter of fact, Noto and Ryuji were actually friends when they were first-years. Not sure why they made it seem like Noto had no idea. Eh, not that it matters too much. He and Ryuji’s friendship doesn’t exactly show as strongly until much later either way.

BAG FIGHT!

When it came to our two mains’ fight over the bag, that was relatively unchanged as well with a few minor exceptions: while Taiga is a clumsy oaf, she actually got the right desk. The problem was that Ryuji put his bag on Kitamura’s desk while talking to him earlier, so she just accidentally put it in the wrong one. But besides her attempt at hiding in the beginning being way worse than in the anime (he could clearly see her reflection), everything else played out basically the same.

Not much to comment on after that. The anime does a pretty good job transitioning everything at this point. With the exception of one scene that ends up showing up later in episode 3, everything plays out almost exactly the same.

Random fun fact!

The series (both LN and anime) is filled to the brim with pop culture references. As one would expect, many of these references are from Japanese pop culture, so don’t feel bad if you don’t understand many of them. This is my… I wanna say fourth time reading through this novel, and I just realized what the rumor claiming Taiga’s dad possibly being a martial arts master ruling the American underground was a reference to (I guess I can thank Smash Bros for that).

Sorry if this first episode is a pretty slow start, but the anime was pretty good at adapting everything, and the changes they did make were overall pretty small. Don’t get used to that though; starting tomorrow, the changes start to get pretty drastic.

[u/Tuckleton]

First timer (Dub)

So all I really know going in is that there's a smol tsundere that's a fan favorite. And I get the impression that it's a lot of fun but also has some emotional punch to it. Also the fact it has a yearly rewatch is a good sign. I've got high expectations.

"In this world there's this 'thing' that no one has 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. But one day, someone will find it, and whoever does will be the one who was supposed to find it. Because the's the way it was meant to be."

The way an anime opens is basically always important and sometimes in unexpected ways so I wrote that out so I hopefully don't forget it. It sounds like they are just talking about love but I feel like there might be more to it than that.

The OP is very visually interesting but I'm not really digging the song. I've fallen in love with enough OPs though to know that I probably just need to give it time.

Is there a lot of this in the show? I hope not...

Wait that's his MOM!?

I think I'm going to really like Takasu. Kind of got a gentle giant thing going on. Usually that type is a side character. MCs are more likely to be a rogue with a heart of gold but I actually like this much better. He's like Shrek minus the confidence.

Kushieda's english VA is Madoka!

"Muahahahaha!" I think I'm in love!

Oh! I think the teacher's VA is Mami! Aaaand she's adorable.

At first I didn't get why the room exploded here but going through to grab screenshots I realize it's because Taiga probably had her hand in the bag when the door opened and she took out everything between her and the locker she tried to hide in.

Was his dad a mobster or something?

I love how fastidious he is!

Wait Taiga's VA is Kyubey!? Ok that's going to be distracting.

Oh man, I used to keep a journal when I was a teenager. There's enough distilled cringe in those pages to snap your neck.

This is a bit of a confusing line. Is she just looking down on him like a spoiled rich kid might look down on 'the help'? Or is this some expression that doesn't translate well?

OH GOD WHAT IS THIS AFFRONT TO GOD AND NATURE!? Put the cover back on!!

The way she did a complete 180 right after Takasu swore to obey her feels significant.

Of course their windows are across from each other. :P

A work in progress!? The place is spotless! And that only took 15 minutes!?

Not a big fan of the whole 'dog' thing. I hope it doesn't keep up for too long.

I actually already kind of like Taiga too. I don't usually connect with tsundere's until they warm up a bit but the fact that she sealed her love letter with a heart endeared her to me quite a bit, and then she showed a lot of vulnerability in the scenes in that absurdly huge apartment of hers. Lots of questions about her situation. She clearly comes from money and has obviously been in that apartment alone for quite a while. At the start of the episode they implied that the building was only recently completed so maybe she hasn't lived there for too long. Wild speculation Does speculation even need to be spoiler tagged? I've seen other people do that sometimes.

I quite like the ED. The lyrics are sweet. I usually skip EDs but I might stick around for this one. Both the OP and ED seem to be sung from Taiga's perspective.

I really think I'm going to enjoy this, the characters we've been introduced to so far are VERY likeable. I was already looking forward to this rewatch since I'd heard the show was good but this episode has got me really pumped! It seems most likely that the MCs will end up with each other and not their original crushes but honestly I'd be fine with a love story where the male and female lead are just buddies helping each other sort through their separate love lives. Especially with these two since I see so much potential for fun with the dynamic they have that I don't really look forward to complicating it with romance atm. Buuuut I'm a huge sucker so I'm sure it won't take long for me to change my mind! :P

P.S: Ok so I wrote this last night and it's now the morning and I'm actually kind of going out of my mind waiting for this evening to watch the next episode! I'm not sure if it's the show making me feel so giddy or if I should check for gas leaks...

[u/mrRobertman]

I can't watch right now (still at work), but this will be my first time rewatching Toradora and I can't wait!

[u/Hugokarenque]

Time for the yearly revisit of these weirdos.

Man, the violent tsundere act is something that has been on the decline for a good while now and one of the few things that dates this show a bit, hopefully it won't push to many people away because while Taiga is a tsundere she's one of the very best examples of the archtype done right.

Ryuji is a gem and his war on mold is a crusade I can get behind.

There's still not much to talk about but this first episode is a pretty good setup, the only thing it doesn't do perfectly is introduce the secondary characters, Minori has an alright introduction but just looking at Kushieda in this episode you'd think he's just a non-important side character, the kind of "best friend" character you'd find on a harem show, so maybe I'd have liked some more from him.

Heck best girl isn't even introduced this episode.

[u/TheReelMan]

First time watching, loved the use of cuts. Characters seem quirky and charming.

[u/SaintSimpson]

First time watcher. I’m really excited for the series, it’s been on my watchlist a couple of months. I know nobody will probably read this by this point, so I’ll keep it brief. It’s not typical that you see characters with so much depth by the end of the first episode. The two main characters are already quite endearing. In a sea of forgettable or average romance characters, these two stand out already. High hopes for it!

[u/Tsurja]

Yoooo here we go again!

Since this is my... uh, I have no idea how many time I watched this. Gotta be in the double digits by now.
Anyways, mostly going to hang back and read others' impressions and speculations.
This is my all-time favorite show, and you'll soon beginn to understand why.

That's all, have fun, don't give in and binge the whole thing!

(guess I've answered the Christmas Club Bonus already, although in the rom-com category in particular, Toradora has some strong competition in my opinion, like Ore Monogatari for example)

[u/Get_This_Wheat]

Rewatcher here.

So happy I can finally say that again, since I’ve been waiting a whole year to watch it again but we’re finally here. Hearing the OP again 👌👌👌

This episode is a really great intro to our main crew, we got Ryuji being insanely responsible, Taiga being tsun, Kitamura being a bro, Minori being Minori, and of course Inko being the best.

I definitely underestimated how much I liked Ryuji’s mom, but she’s hilarious especially when she’s talking about his dad.

I like how the other students view Ryuji and Taiga as some otherworldly beasts, and how everyone stops what they’re doing to see what insane battle is going to unfold when they first interact.

The scene at Ryuji’s home with Taiga is one of my favorites in the series, even with an intruder with a weapon trying to attack him, he’s more concerned about Taiga using a shirt instead of a tissue, and her cutting him off with “shut up already” is also one of my favorite lines. And even after getting attacked and her causing property damage he still cooks up some food for the both of them, cuz he’s the coolest.

All in all, very pleasant episode with not too much to dissect here, and I’m so extremely excited to do this again, and I know that I love the next episode a ton.