Character Analysis: Ryuji Takasu from Toradora

**spoilers ahead**

I started with Taiga, so it only makes sense to end my Toradora analysis series writing about Ryuji. (you can read Ami, Kitamura, and Minori’s here).

In my opinion, Ryuji is one of the best male protagonists in all of anime; there, I said it. He’s kind, he doesn’t have toxic masculinity, he knows how to cook! The bar is pretty low, but Ryuji is leagues above it anyway. Truthfully, Ryuji doesn’t actually go through as much character development as some of the other characters; because he kinda rocks from the beginning, personality wise. However something that Ryuji grapples with and learns to accept throughout the series is his relationship with his family, and that’s what I’d like to talk about instead.

One of the only times Ryuji looks back on something he did and reevaluates his decision is the arc where he urges Taiga to reconcile with her dad; later on, he realizes this was a mistake and Taiga’s dad really sucks, and the reason he was pushing her to reunite with him is because Ryuji would’ve loved the chance to know his own father.

From the moment he’s introduced, Ryuji is complaining about how he looks too much like his father, who he never knew, who was absolutely terrifying and intimidating. He does have a good relationship with his mother Yasuko, who is implied in the show to have been a teen mom (and in the light novels, is confirmed to have had him at age 14/15). However, their relationship becomes more and more strained as Ryuji grapples with the fact that he feels guilty about Yasuko having to give up everything else in her life to raise him.

This culminates in the finale of the whole show, where he lashes out at her about how she’s projecting her own failures onto him, desperately wanting him to go to college. To an extent, they were both right. If Ryuji really didn’t want to go to college, it isn’t right for his mother to be forcing him to so she can live through him vicariously. However, that was not the case; Yasuko just wanted Ryuji to have as many opportunities as possible, and he was stubbornly rejecting those opportunities because he has unresolved guilt. Fortunately, they have a heart to heart and make up in the last episode.

I really love how this familial drama was incorporated into the primarily rom-com vibe of Toradora; it makes both Taiga and Ryuji feel more well rounded and whole, since we get to experience their home lives as well as their lives at school. Not to mention, Ryuji’s cozy, welcoming family is part of what makes Taiga feel more at home around him, bolstering their relationship with each other as well.

I hope you enjoyed this in depth delve into some of my favorite characters in anime. Thanks for reading!

-threecheersforinking

Character Analysis: Taiga Aisaka from Toradora

**Spoilers ahead**

Toradora is one of my favorite anime ever; I post about it on this blog constantly (here’s the link to the WYSW) and I’ve been wanting to do character analysis posts for all the main characters for a while. So who better to start off with than the palm-top tiger herself?

For the first couple of years I was watching anime, I was not in any sort of online community. So you can imagine my shock when I finally started to enter fanbase spaces online and discovered that one of my favorite characters is widely hated for being whiny, bratty, and annoying. Well, I guess I wasn’t that shocked. Let’s get this out of the way: Taiga is annoying. She is, objectively, a spoiled brat. But she is also, objectively, much much more than that.

Most of what makes Taiga, Taiga is both explained and purposeful. All of her aggression comes from either overcompensation or abandonment issues. Maybe I am a little biased because when I first watched Toradora I related to Taiga quite a bit (don’t worry, I promise I don’t roundhouse kick my friends). I was always very small growing up and as a result was constantly underestimated and infantilized by my peers. Sometimes this treatment can make you feel the need to make up for it by being as loud and brash as possible.

Taiga also pushes people away as a defense mechanism because she feels like she’s not wanted or loved anywhere. Both of her parents have remarried and seemingly moved on without her, and she doesn’t feel like anyone truly gets her (until Ryuji, of course). Even though Minorin is her best friend, at multiple instances throughout the show it is implied that Taiga has withheld information about her life from Minori, and hadn’t invited her over in months.

Here are some telling quotes from Taiga as early as episode 9: “I can’t stand it when someone acts like an expert on what goes on inside my head”, “no one’s ever going to understand how I feel. I don’t even understand myself”. Like many teenagers still trying to figure themselves out, Taiga feels misunderstood. Does she express this angst and frustration in a healthy way? Nope! But she begins to mature towards the end of the series, and ultimately her decision to live with her mother for her senior year of high school was the first step in her own development and goal for true independence.

A lot of people don’t like the ending to Toradora or think it’s anticlimactic, but I think it’s a perfect way to show the beginning of Taiga’s maturity into adulthood. Her leaving was a result of acknowledging her codependence with Ryuji; she wants to be able to take care of herself enough so she can pull her own weight in their relationship whenever she returns.

You don’t have to like Taiga, but you do have to realize that her being annoying is intentional, and a vital part of her character. I feel like there’s still so much more to be said about her, but I’m going to be writing about the other 4 main characters and she’s certainly going to be mentioned again. Please let me know your own thoughts, if you have any.

Thanks for reading!

-threecheersforinking

WIL: Toradora- an analysis

*WIL = Why I Love

Toradora is one of my favorite anime of all time; I’ve written about it on this blog quite a few times (including in a WYSW post, which you should check out if you haven’t seen the show yet) but this time I wanted to actually write about why exactly I love it. This post is gonna be full of spoilers, so beware of that.

Something I think Toradora handles extremely well is the concept of ‘crushes’ and the difference between infatuation and actual love. The dynamic between Taiga/Ryuji and their respective crushes Kitamura and Minori versus Taiga and Ryuji’s dynamic with each other is vastly different. I won’t be talking about Ami this time, but I would like to in a separate post (I have a lot of feelings about her friendship with Kitamura and her rivalry with Taiga)

It is clear from the first episode that both Taiga and Ryuji put their crushes on a pedestal. In their minds, Minori and Kitamura are perfect and can do no wrong, which leads to them being excessively flustered around the crushes and unable to react properly. Meanwhile, when it comes to each other, Taiga and Ryuji are very comfortable and also have no problem pointing out each other’s flaws (although that part might come a little too easily to Taiga).

While Taiga and Ryuji are of course interested in Kitamura and Minori because they’re charming and attractive, I’d suggest that they also liked them because they represent characteristics that they lack and subsequently envy. Ryuji admires the fact that Minori is confident, cheerful, and well-liked. Because people judge Ryuji by his appearance, he is timid and withdrawn to make up for that. Taiga, on the other hand, desperately wants to be independent and competent, and adores the fact that Kitamura is trusted by his peers and incredibly responsible.

However, Ryuji and Taiga don’t really know their crushes as well as they think they do. In reality, Minori is not as confident or happy as she appears to be, and Kitamura is way less put-together than people think. As the series progresses, Taiga and Ryuji start to lose interest in their crushes the more they find out about them.

What I really love about this series is that it establishes that real romantic love is built off of friendship and respect, not admiration and idolization. When the squad is at the beach house, Taiga notes how difficult it is to talk to Kitamura versus how safe and calm she feels around Ryuji. Meanwhile, Ryuji is constantly thinking about Taiga and what would make her the most happy/comfortable. They started to fall for each other before they even knew it was happening.

This post feels a little ramble-y but man do I just love this show. I will literally talk about Toradora for hours so if you have anything else you’d want me to discuss definitely shoot me a message! Thanks for reading,

-threecheersforinking