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I'm late in posting this, but I did say I was going to.
Toradora! is really quite a wonderful series. I walked into this anime (just as it was about to end, so I got to marathon the entire thing) expecting a retard-ass harem anime (I was reluctant to watch it, and I was even more bewildered when I actually started doing so - this is what I get for not doing the research before properly checking it out), but I found myself subtly liking the first episode. I pressed on, and a few episodes later, I was quite hooked. It really wasn't anything like my expectations at all - well, most of them, anyway. Ryuuji is actually an admirable male lead rather than one among the hundreds of ball-less Keitaro Urashimas I've seen over the years, and even though I wasn't a fan of tsundere characters, I found Taiga to be surprisingly enduring, and her bond with Ryuuji even moreso. Each of the supporting characters really helped to get the series moving along without ever detracting from it, and I found each of them likable in their own ways. I wish Yuusaku got a little more development, though, at least as much as the other girls.
I was quite sad to see it end, and personally, I felt the ending itself is a little rushed (I've expressed before of how I'd love if there had been just one more post-series episode detailing how all of the characters are doing in their lives, as well as focusing more on the bond between Ryuuji and Taiga), but it was still pretty satisfying. I liked how it wasn't a reset ending and that it definitely secured the relationship between the two, so as to not leave their futures negatively ambiguous. That doesn't mean I don't want to see more of these characters though, pft.
I walked into it with extremely low expectations, but what I got was a pleasantly surprising romance with enduring characters and a fun observation of these characters' relationships with one another. This is definitely one of the best rom-com anime I've seen, anyway. I'll be watching it again in the future.
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