Subculture Anime Blog

This show makes me very happy.

Summary:

At the start of the new semester, Takasu Ryuji begins his day as usual at home. He attempts to cover part of his face because of his distinguishing features, but soon gives up. When he sees a stain near the sink, he quickly attempts to clean it up. Ryuji passes by his mother Yasuko while making his way through the living room, then putting up with her usual cheery personality. When Yasuko requests to open the window to brighten up the currently dark room, he replies that it is already open. Next to the Takasu household is an extremely large mansion, blocking their view completely. Blaming this complex for several of his problems, Ryuji can only wonder who lives inside. On the way to school, Ryuji is bumped into by some students. They quickly apologize when they see who they have run into, offering their wallets in exchange for a safe trip. Because of Ryuji’s eyes, many students at school fear him. Even while everyone looks to see what classes they have gotten into, only Ryuji’s friend Kitamura Yusaku approaches him normally.

While walking through the halls in school, Ryuji and Yusaku are greeted by a girl named Kushieda Minori. Ryuji freezes as she has her usual energetic rant, but he is able to reveal that he knows her name when she asks. Ryuji lets Yusaku go to class first, as he enjoys his moment of bliss, but this is interrupted when a small girl bumps into him. Ryuji soon hears that this girl is called the “palm sized tiger”, but he is punched in the face by her before he can think any more about it. In class, Ryuji learns that this girl’s name is Aisaka Taiga. He further sees that she is a good friend of his crush Minori. After a small talk with his timid teacher Koigakubo Yuri in the teachers’ office that afternoon, Ryuji returns to the classroom to get his bag. Ryuji encouters Taiga when he gets inside, however, who attacks him when she learns where his bag is located. Unable to beat Ryuji to the bag, she only leaves in rage while leaving the room a mess.

When Ryuji returns home that night, and after seeing the picture of his mother and father in his drawer, complains about his fate and inherited features again. When he looks into his bag, he finds a love letter written by Taiga inside. Realizing that she meant to put this in Yusaku’s bag, he comes up with ways to return it. Looking at how the letter is put together, Ryuji guesses that Taiga may actually be very clumsy. Not wanting to think about this any longer, he goes to sleep. Ryuji is waken by sounds further in the night, and after realizing that Yasuko should not be home yet, he is attacked by Taiga once again. Before Taiga can lay a final blow on Ryuji, he finally reveals that the contents of her letter were empty. Taiga faints soon after hearing this, but she is revived when Ryuji cooks some fried rice for her.

When Ryuji hears Taiga describing her love letter as shameful, he lectures her by showing her the hard work he had done for his own type of love confessions. In the end, he reminds her that she shouldn’t be ashamed of her attempt. However, Ryuji panics when Taiga finds out that he has a crush on Minori in the process. After introducing Taiga to his disturbing bird, Inko, Ryuji convinces Taiga that he will help her with her crush on Yusaku. He even goes as far as to agreeing to serve her like a dog. Taiga leaves with promises to pay Ryuji back for the damage she has done to her house as she leaves, declining his offer to walk her because she is close by.

Ryuji is given a call from Taiga the next morning, and is then shocked to learn that she is actually living in the mansion beside him. Ryuji brings some food to Taiga when she agrees to have some, but he is shocked to see the messy state of her room and surrounding living quarters when he enters the mansion. Seeing that Taiga had actually fallen back to sleep, Ryuji compares Taiga to a doll inside of a large dollhouse. Ryuji takes the chance to clean the estate, shocking Taiga when she wakes. Ryuji is bothered by Taiga’s usual attitude when she sees the change to her home, but he puts a smile on his face when she sits down to eat the meal he put out for her.

ED: “Vanilla Salt (バニラソルト)” by Yui Horie – Although I’m typically not a big fan of seiyu tracks, Yui Horie has never done anything that I’ve really hated for an anime OP/ED. I love the style that this has too.

Preview: Volleyball. Face. Oops. Spoilers.

Impression:

I can feel the happiness power flowing through my veins…I am in love. The first episode of ToraDora! was even better than I imagined it would be. The visuals for this show are very clean, and some of the best I’ve seen J.C. Staff do in recent seasons. Seeing Taiga’s attacks on Ryuji in action was wonderful, and hearing the characters talk almost exactly like I imagined they would was even better. The cast was perfect in my eyes, and full of top notch actors and actresses (Rei Kugimiya, Eri Kitamura, Rei Tanaka, Sayaka Ohara, and Yui Horie just to name a few..or most). As far as comparing the characters to those in Zero no Tsukaima or Shagukan no Shana, I wouldn’t deny the similarities at all. It’s not like this is a clone though. To me, the lack of excessive fanservice already makes it better than ZnT.

I’ve already mentioned that I love the series’ plot too, as simple as it is. These are the type of stories that come straight from real situations. Ryuji’s being misunderstood because of his looks may be exaggerated, but who hasn’t seen this happen before? Taiga’s aggressive action is something that she does because of her inability to express her emotions otherwise. I already loved hearing Ryuji’s comparing Taiga to a doll in this episode, and looking at her house will probably already give the audience an idea of what her lifestyle is like. Money can’t replace love, right?

Although some people may not like experiencing the same story multiple times, I am probably the opposite when it comes to anime. The magic of animation is seeing the characters from manga or other text come alive, and besides, who wouldn’t want to watch a show they like multiple times? Isn’t that the same reason we buy merchandise after watching a show through broadcast? Anyways, I’m already seeing this as a great show to relieve me of stress in the middle of the week, so I’m definitely on board. …Minori rocks by the way.