AnimeSuki Forums

Register Forum Rules FAQ Members List Social Groups Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   AnimeSuki Forum > Anime Discussion > Older Series > Retired > Retired M-Z > Toradora!

Notices

View Poll Results: Toradora! - Total Series Rating
Perfect 10 154 42.78%
9 out of 10 : Excellent 113 31.39%
8 out of 10 : Very Good 53 14.72%
7 out of 10 : Good 23 6.39%
6 out of 10 : Average 7 1.94%
5 out of 10 : Below Average 0 0%
4 out of 10 : Poor 1 0.28%
3 out of 10 : Bad 1 0.28%
2 out of 10 : Very Bad 1 0.28%
1 out of 10 : Painful 7 1.94%
Voters: 360. You may not vote on this poll

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 2009-04-02, 13:04   Link #1
Pellissier
♪~ Daydreaming ~♪
*Graphic Designer
*Administrator
 
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Italy
Toradora! - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating

This thread is to be used for discussing the entire episodes of Toradora! ... your thoughts about the show, overall impressions, expectations and hopes about the DVD only footage etc.

A few subjects you might want to ramble on about:
  • General impression of the series.
  • Opinions on the overall story, writing & plot devices.
  • Thoughts about the animation quality.
  • Characters/Character Design
  • Voice Acting

  • Which kind of footage (DVD only) you feel you'd really like to see.
  • What the show meant to you.
  • What could the creators/animators/writers have done better.

And so on.

The poll represents your total series rating. In other words, how you would rate all the episodes combined (1-10)? If you'd rather rate the whole series by technical/artistic merits, you can do so. An example:

Animation Quality: 1-10
Voice Actors: 1-10
Script: 1-10
Soundtrack: 1-10
Editing: 1-10
Enjoyment: 1-10
Emotional Involvement: 1-10

Average = Total Series Rating

Or a combination of the two. Or your general gut feeling.

Feel free to discuss and more importantly, have fun
Pellissier is offline  
Old 2009-04-02, 15:09   Link #2
typhonsentra
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: USA
I think everyone can guess how I feel about this show.

I might write more about it later but here are my general thoughts:

I was originally very harsh on this show because of the compression but by the end it became clear to me that many of the changes had a method to the madness: Their interpretations of the characters in other words were sometimes slightly different from their novel counterparts. This irked me at first since I was a fan of the books but once I accepted it I saw that the changes weren't necessarily all for the worst, just different. The ending in particular apparently had a ton of changes but it left me satisfied.

The show was solid looking but not spectacularly animated, with a few small slips into ugly designs and sloppy animation here and there. It had what I felt was a superb soundtrack, each musical cue was flawlessly executed (Taiga's breakdown comes to mind first and foremost) and I loved all of the opening and closing themes too. Voice acting too, it was a real group of professionals. Kugimiya has some people polarized as she always does but I felt like she grasped the role and what was needed of her. Some will be distracted by the recognizable voice but she carried the important, emotional scenes as well as one could hope for.

The direction in this show (Unlike some of the arguments we might have over the editing choices) really impressed me in this show. There's a lot of subtle symbolism we discuss regularly in the individual episode threads, but there's also the animation direction. Each and every gesture in this show during conversation reveals some hidden meaning as to what the characters are thinking. I can't think of another cartoon comparable that went through this level of planning, the director was obviously very dedicated and diligent in bringing his vision to the screen.

So yeah, it was my favorite show from the past year. Probably my favorite show in a long, long time (Maybe for a long time coming too). This was a hell of a journey and I'm sad to see it go. 10/10

As for individual scores:

Animation Quality: 7

Nothing wrong with it but nothing impressive either. They clearly were working with a limited budget. Or the director had a fiendish coke habit, who knows.

Voice Actors: 9

Superb acting on everyone's part.

Script: 9.5

I knocked off half a point because of the lack of many of the inner monologues which would've fleshed out the story better, but they did a great job with making up for that with the body language.

Soundtrack: 10

I can't say enough good things about this, say I won't say anymore.

Editing: 8.5

Yeah yeah, I missed some of the things they took out too. I can understand why they did it for both time and artistic license but I still missed some of them.

Enjoyment: 10

Loved it.

Emotional Involvement: 10

I don't know what I'll watch next. I feel like the president after the BSG finale.
typhonsentra is offline  
Old 2009-04-02, 15:12   Link #3
Tyabann
Homo Ludens
 
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Canada
Age: 34
A short overview of my thoughts:

Yeah, the animation was shit at times, and they really could have used at least a few internal monologues to characterize Ryuuji better, but you know what?

This is still the best show I've seen all year.

10/10.
Tyabann is offline  
Old 2009-04-02, 16:17   Link #4
ZeroForever
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: all and none
honestly 10?... eh... not to surprised by the 10's but then again most people aren't critical of what they watch.

Animation Quality: 7, usually it's like a 8-9 but there are a few scenes where it drops to like a 4...

characters/va - 7 overall to many instances where i found myself disliking the characters due to the way they acted, somewhat realistic but at times i wish someone would just take a bat to there heads. Other then those few moments they were usually pretty entertaining.

sound track - 7 good nothing amazing that i would go out of my way to buy, enjoyable but as stated nothing i would just listen to casually.

enjoyment - 7 ups and downs some eps i just couldn't stand though.

overall - 7/10 good overall nothing special, to many moments that annoyed me
__________________
the anti-thesis of myself
ZeroForever is offline  
Old 2009-04-02, 16:24   Link #5
typhonsentra
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: USA
Uh, I'm pretty freaking critical of what I watch and I can honestly say I stand by my score. Not saying you have to write a whole lot but to run into a thread and say "You guys aren't critical enough." while stringing together 1-2 sentence explanations for each individual score to justify your "Average" rating seems pretty hypocritical.

Everyone has a right to their opinion but it goes both ways.
typhonsentra is offline  
Old 2009-04-02, 17:02   Link #6
zigzagzap
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Alright,

Animation Quality: 8 pretty good nothing special, what episodes were you watching Zero?
Voice Actors: 10 I don't see anything wrong
Script: 10 No problems here
Soundtrack: 10 Totally very catchy music =)
Editing: 8 Erm... They left out some stuff out and would have made the series more interesting/longer
Enjoyment: 10 I really enjoyed this series always left me looking for more
Emotional Involvement: 10 Some parts made me laugh,smile and almost cry T_T or go =o
Now I don't have anything to look forward on Thursday's =(

To think if I hadn't clicked that youtube link I would have never discovered this series before(it boggles my mind =S).
I think about the characters in the first Episode and compare it to the last... Big difference IMO.

10/10 Hands down , I truly loved this series and I don't think I'll be able to find something that can match up to this for a while IMO.

Anyone who reading this and hasn't seen the series GOOOOOOOO WATCH IT NOW
OR TAIGA WILL KILL YOU.

=)
zigzagzap is offline  
Old 2009-04-02, 18:09   Link #7
BetoJR
A blast from the past
*Artist
 
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Fortaleza-CE, Brazil
Age: 46
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZeroForever View Post
honestly 10?... eh... not to surprised by the 10's but then again most people aren't critical of what they watch.
Like being highly critical of others' opinions or their general taste, as if you're sooo much better, is something to brag about.

I'll hold on for a few more days, so I can write something thoughtful. Overall, I really, really, enjoyed this series. But I feel like I can elaborate on it a bit more, with a bit of distance.
__________________
It's always a great time to immerse yourself in Deculture love!
All hail the Empress!!!

BetoJR is offline  
Old 2009-04-02, 18:14   Link #8
ZeroForever
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: all and none
Quote:
Originally Posted by typhonsentra View Post
Uh, I'm pretty freaking critical of what I watch and I can honestly say I stand by my score. Not saying you have to write a whole lot but to run into a thread and say "You guys aren't critical enough." while stringing together 1-2 sentence explanations for each individual score to justify your "Average" rating seems pretty hypocritical.

Everyone has a right to their opinion but it goes both ways.
true enough, wasn't trying to be condescending. Personally i don't think any anime (or any show for that matter) really deserves a perfect score maybe if it was rounded up from 9.5 or higher but honestly 10/10 intones that it couldn't have been done better. same general opinion on why 1/10's don't really exist either.

i don't remember the eps off hand but the taiga vs school president fight and a few other scenes i remember definitely looked very poorly drawn/animated to me. maybe that was intentional but personally i didn't think so and if it was it didn't draw me.
__________________
the anti-thesis of myself
ZeroForever is offline  
Old 2009-04-02, 18:27   Link #9
Tyabann
Homo Ludens
 
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Canada
Age: 34
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZeroForever View Post
true enough, wasn't trying to be condescending. Personally i don't think any anime (or any show for that matter) really deserves a perfect score maybe if it was rounded up from 9.5 or higher but honestly 10/10 intones that it couldn't have been done better. same general opinion on why 1/10's don't really exist either.
I rate series more on a) personal enjoyment factor and b) ART factor than any universally accepted rating system.

Which is why this series gets a 10/10 from me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ZeroForever View Post
i don't remember the eps off hand but the taiga vs school president fight and a few other scenes i remember definitely looked very poorly drawn/animated to me. maybe that was intentional but personally i didn't think so and if it was it didn't draw me.
All of JC Staff's budget appears to have gone into Index, is my guess why those episodes ended up like that.

Animation quality isn't THAT important unless it's terrible ALL THE TIME though.
Tyabann is offline  
Old 2009-04-02, 18:31   Link #10
holyalexander
holy alexander
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: vancouver
the anime is cool.. but some episodes kinda bore me.. but cant be bother overall its a great anime..
holyalexander is offline  
Old 2009-04-02, 18:35   Link #11
Tyabann
Homo Ludens
 
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Canada
Age: 34
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gebs- View Post
For me, animation quality has no direct influence on my overall score of a show (unless it is just utterly horrendous of course, although I've never see a show that fits that criteria).
Go watch Akikan or Chaos;HEAd. Then you can say you've seen a (recent) show which fits that criteria, heh.
Tyabann is offline  
Old 2009-04-02, 21:14   Link #12
Megacrash Gr
Ad Astra Per Aspera
 
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: プロビデンス
Age: 30
Send a message via AIM to Megacrash Gr
Animation Quality:10
Didn't notice anything wrong, meaning a smooth flow in the animation.
Voice Actors:10
really, everybody was great including Inko-chan
Script: 9
Even though it was good, I feel they could do better.
Soundtrack:10
BGM, OP AND END, were all good, openings are catchy ^^"
Editing: 8
meh, some of the minor tweaks did good and bad.
Enjoyment: 10
Actually one of a kind if u ask me. Story is just great
Emotional Involvement: 10
Happy when I was watching this, Sad when drama is involved, Dying of cuteness in the love story here, Dead inside, now its over.

hmm yea, two thing werent perfect for me, well, it is a good and not just an average anime for me so.....9.8/10 Other words a big fat 10.
__________________
Megacrash Gr is offline  
Old 2009-04-02, 21:34   Link #13
teachopvutru
Urusai~Urusai~Urusai~
 
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Location
Age: 31
First, I believe where this anime really shines is its subtle touches. I can't really be specific, but the gestures and facial expression conveyed in this anime don't seem out of place like they usually do in many anime. Particularly, I really like the almost-tripping-while-running parts in highly emotional scenes--they do add to these scenes a lot.

I don't have anything to say about soundtrack except that I feel they always come in the right moment and that I like them. As for voice acting, since I'm a fan of Kugimiya, I will praise her in particular, but all the other voice actors have done a good job (well, judging from my emotional involvement since I can't exactly say I have the ears to tell). Anyway... yea, the particular scene that left an impression on my mind is Taiga's breakdown in episode 19 and her sort-of-broken "I don't want that."

The story is spectacular, it stands out among the crowd. No idea about script and editing since I really have no idea about the first; as for the second, I have never read the novel.

Enjoyment and Emotional Involvement are both 10/10. Although most of it is in the beginning, the comedy had me laughing out loud (particularly the "FOUND YOU!" scene). All the subtle touches, the beautiful soundtrack, and the wonderful voice-actings combined really drew me into the screen.

Overall 10/10
__________________

"FOUND YOU!" ~Taiga
teachopvutru is offline  
Old 2009-04-03, 05:07   Link #14
Keio
Serious Business
 
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Philippines
Age: 38
Animation Quality: 8

Quality was pretty good throughout the entire show. I didn't really think that the animation in the Sumire vs. Taiga scene to be bad, they did it so it can be more fluid. However there are some scenes in episode 23 that looked really bad and is easily noticed.

Voice Actors: 10

From the emotional scenes to the funny ones, all voice actors in the did surprisingly well. No one else could probably portray the characters better. A short outline:

Kitamura Eri - I just loved the way she voiced Ami. From being bitchy to genuinely caring, she did an astounding job.
Kugimiya Rie - I dare say that her portrayal of Taiga was her best work to date. Especially the breakdown scene of episode 19.
Horie Yui - I was impressed with the transition from genki girl to Emorin.
Majima Junji - I never heard of him prior to Toradora, yet his portrayal of Ryuuji was great.
Rest of supporting cast - Nonaka Ai really sounded cute as Maya, and Tanaka Rie was hilarious as the Christmas cake teacher. Even Inko-chan.

Script: 9

Since I've read the novels after I watched the first few episodes, I feel that the core of the story the author wants us to see and understand has been adapted superbly. Although I'm all for more inner monologues as well. Body language of the characters and the subtle hints/symbolisms were executed well.

Soundtrack: 10

Great use of the proper BGM in the "impact" scenes. For all the OP and ED songs, those are in my playlist. Enough said.

Editing: 8

Clearly they were working on a limited budget, and stuffed everything in 25 episodes. Personally I feel that extending series for another cour would really help the series and include some of the character development scenes from the novel. Still, the production team did a great job with the time and money given to them.

Enjoyment: 10

Loved it to the point that I watch the raws even if my knowledge of the Japanese language is near non-existent. I found myself looking forward to every Friday for the subs release.

Emotional Involvement: 10

This is the first series that I've shed some tears on the really emotional scenes and I have been watching anime since I was in elementary. When the series finished, I was happy yet sad at the same time. Happy because of the great ending, sad because I know a series of this caliber is hard to come by.

Overall rating: 10/10

Just because I rank enjoyment and involvement higher than the other criteria.

TL;DR: IMO this is the best series I have ever seen.
Keio is offline  
Old 2009-04-03, 08:35   Link #15
wistfulloner
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Singapore
I shall rate this series on one criteria only:

ENJOYMENT: 10/10

It's the only thing that really matters after you peel off the skin.
wistfulloner is offline  
Old 2009-04-03, 09:03   Link #16
Kirku
Junior Member
 
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Loved this Anime, one of my Favorite Animes this season along with Clannad.

Gets a 10/10 from me, i enjoyed all the characters and the story, never missed an episode every week, gonna be a re-watch for me very soon <33333 Inko-chan~
Kirku is offline  
Old 2009-04-03, 10:08   Link #17
Yukinokesshou
ドジ
 
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In a house
Animation Quality: 7 - Just average, could be better. Can't be compared to the quality in Kyo Ani productions, but I did rather like the character designs. Taiga might not be stunningly beautiful, but the way she was animated was extremely cute.

Voice Actors: 10 - Perfect as far as I'm concerned. I'm usually not too critical about voice acting though, because any Japanese voice actor is infinitely better than the horrors we've got in Hong Kong.

Script: 9 - One of the best of the all the anime I have watched.

Soundtrack: 7 - Okay lah. It wasn't bad but I wasn't as impressed as some of you. To each his own, I suppose? I'm one for soft, flowing melodies.

Editing: 8 - Honestly could have been better. I didn't read the novel, but from what I've seen on this forum, it seems like a lot of character development was left out.

Enjoyment: 10
Emotional Involvement: 10

Average: 8.7 --> 9

I agree with Typhonsentra and Kaisos Erranon: especially in terms of enjoyment and emotional involvement, this was one of the best series I have ever watched. I'm pleasantly surprised, since I just started Toradora as Clannad ~After Story~ was ending and I expected that to be the climax of my anime experience.s
Yukinokesshou is offline  
Old 2009-04-03, 12:53   Link #18
DJLowrider
Ahou ga
 
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Age: 47
Animation Quality: 8 - nothing groundbreaking but nothing really stood out as bad here either, I quite liked it

Voice Actors: 10 - I thought the acting was spot-on throughout the series. Fantastic work on all fronts.

Script: 9 - A few pacing problems aside, it was a great story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Soundtrack: 9 - BGM was decent, but the OPs and EDs made it for me. Great tracks.

Editing: 8 - As with any adaptation some stuff needs to be left out, but it wasn't enough to ruin the story. Good job here.

Enjoyment: 10 - This was a flat-out fun series to watch. My wife and I are re-watching it already.

Emotional Involvement: 9 - I can't say this series moved me as much as others did (such as Clannad) but I loved the entire cast and some of the series' twists and turns were truly surprising. I really got caught up in it at times.

Overall: 63 / 70 = 90% => 9

Toradora! was a fantastic series with some of the best storytelling I've seen in a long time. Definitely a new member of my Top 5.
DJLowrider is offline  
Old 2009-04-03, 13:11   Link #19
Vexx
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
*Author
 
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
Stewed over this a while..... I love the series, love the characters, enjoyed it -- but it wasn't flawless. Most of the flaws directly stemmed from trying to pack 10 volumes of text into 25 episodes; not 10 volumes of manga -- but light novel. The information density is much higher.

So I have some respect for the production team for doing as well as they did within the constraints. Only a few of the episodes really showed the strain.

I'm going to be a bit accepting and give it an "9" when parts of me say "8" because I have to compare it with all the recent mediocrity it competes against.
__________________
Vexx is offline  
Old 2009-04-03, 14:06   Link #20
Taken
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Once in a few seasons, something great comes along. Some that I can remember really well are Code Geass, Honey and Clover and FMA. I am glad that Toradora adds to that list of unforgettable anime.

Animation Quality: 9,
I got to say many times it looks like JC Staff is running on a tight budget. But there are quite a number of scenes that have high quality hues and colors.

Voice Actors: 9,
I got to say the emotions are very well captured and they have done their job really well. I think Horie Yui and Rie Tanaka did a wonderul job. Kugimiya Rie-chan unfortunately is still being utilized as a loli character in this series.

Script: 9,
It kinda felt very linear in the first 11 episodes, then they threw a curved ball that is Minori. Kitamura's arc was surprising well-written even though they clearly didn't have enough episodes to do it justice. But I guess the title did give the ending away some what. So it's a 9, I guess.

Soundtrack: 9.5
The first OP and ED played towards a cute comedy romance. The second OP and ED played for more drama in the series. Second ED "Orange" was most enjoyable while second OP "Silky heart" gives a hint of things to come for Minori. (and made Yui-chan looks ridiculous in the PV haha). Half of the OST actually have some delightful tracks with Track 1 "Start up" and Track 21 "Lost my pieces" standing out in critical scenes.

Enjoyment: 10
It's a joy to wait and watch the show. Anticipation always adds to the enjoyment especially towards the end. Since the story doesn't disappoint at all. Lots of metaphors and symbolism in the show to make it rather poetic.

Emotional Involvement: 9.5
The reason why I gave it 9.5 is that I watch Fruits Basket after Toradora to fill my time and that series made me cried "basketloads" haha. Toradora though did get me teary some places. I always rooted for Minori in the show because she really reminds me of someone I know in real life. It's one of those shows that still keeps stirring in your head long after you watched it. I think the forum numbers for Toradora speaks for itself.

Overall series rating: 9.5 => 10 (rounded off)
This series is really good and I think it approaches greatness, that is Honey and Clover. Like Honey and Clover the characters are never 1 or even 2D. Each characters have been fleshed out pretty well (unlike Clannad season 1, hehe). I believe any minor complains could perhaps be blamed on budget and the plan to actually finish the series in 25 episodes. I do believe it somewhat shortchanges the novel (though I didn't read them all).

Well, it's really hard to let go something this good and hopefully something can fill the void that was Toradora. Here's hoping something good/better comes along soon.

Last edited by Taken; 2009-04-03 at 21:35. Reason: Clarification.. hehe
Taken is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:26.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
We use Silk.