Toradora!/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Arc Fatigue: There are some who get sick and tired of Taiga and Ryuugi failing at getting together even though it was obviously the series mission statement from episode 2.
  • Base Breaker: There are as many people who see Taiga as a Jerk Sue, The Scrappy or Creator's Pet as much as there are people who like her. It should be noted, however, this is mostly due to Misaimed Fandom.
  • Broken Base: The second half of the series, which goes into Darker and Edgier territory, focusing more on relationship drama than humor, polarizes a lot of fans.
  • Crowning Moment of Funny: The beginning of episode 9. "They're yours."
  • Crowning Music of Awesome: The second OP marks a definite shift in the series' tone. It appropriately gets even more awesome.
    • "Startup," the OST's first track, is both heartbreakingly beautiful and incredibly inspiring.
  • Designated Hero: Taiga is accused of being this by her detractors. This is only in the first episodes (and she's not portrayed as all that sympathetic, anyway), and her Character Development involves her growing out of her worst traits and stop being this.
  • Die for Our Ship: Ami is the biggest target of it, even though she has less to do with the romantic drama than the other main characters.
  • Ear Worm: The first OP for the anime.
    • "Vanilla Salt" (first credits theme) is also insanely catchy.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse: Inko-chan. A fair number of comments are made about the bird, most of which are nested quite comfortably in What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome? territory.
  • Internet Backdraft: Post anything about Toradora in /a/ and watch the rage flow freely. Bonus points if you use a tripcode.
    • Not helped by the fact that a tripcode user named Taiga has been running amuck in /a/ as of late.[when?]
    • This picture sums it up really well.
  • It Was His Sled: It's well-known by this point by people both in and out of the fandom that: Taiga and Ryuuji get together.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Taiga, in the beginning. By the end, she's just a straight-up Woobie.
    • Ami in her debut appearance, where she was perhaps at her most Jerkass while also being caught in the frightening situation of being stalked by a creepy obsessive fanboy.
  • Les Yay: Minori seems awfully close to Taiga at times.
  • Memetic Mutation: Ami is a bro.
  • Misaimed Fandom: Many people consider Taiga yet another horribly abusive Tsundere Shana Clone on par with Louise from The Familiar of Zero (her having the same design and seiyuu doesn't help). What those people miss is that Taiga is a Deconstruction of those tropes, her abuse of Ryuuji is relatively tame and stops when she falls in love with him, and she actually takes steps in dealing with her issues and become a better person throughout the series so she can be a healthy adult and marry Ryuuji in the process.
  • Nightmare Fuel -- To some people, Inko-chan manages to be both more and less creepy in the manga version, as well. Or just disturbing in different ways. Others find him more Ugly Cute than anything.
  • Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: This is done intentionally with Taiga. Being introduced as a violent Shana Clone Tsundere, she became more popular once she reveals herself to be a Deconstruction of those tropes, as well as her becoming a lot nicer after dealing with her issues. Not to mention her relationship with Ryuuji was very well-received by the fans.
    • She got even more rescued (For some, anyway) when the much more reviled Louise appeared, arguing that Taiga isn't nearly as bad as her, as well as this comparison highlighting her redemptive traits (Specifically, her abuse of Ryuuji stops midway through the series, is not nearly as abusive, shows genuine kindness to others, and actively takes steps to get over her issues and become a better person for Ryuuji's sake)
    • Ami, too. She wasn't very well-received for being a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, but once her Character Development turns her into a Jerk with a Heart of Gold Cool Big Sis, she won a lot of fans.
  • Shipping Bed Death: Notably averted. Taiga and Ryuuji getting together didn't make the interest for their relationship wane any bit. If anything, it amplified it.

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