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!

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Character Analysis: Minori Kushieda from Toradora

**spoilers ahead**

I’ve been making character analysis posts about each of the protagonists in Toradora, starting with Taiga, Ami, and Kitamura, and up next we have Minori!

Minori Kushieda is definitely one of the most complicated characters in the whole show. When we first meet her, she has a bubbly, positive, and creative personality, and we pretty much never see her sad. Of course as the series progresses and we learn more about her, we realize how much of her quirky, friendly self is actually a facade.

Something of note about Toradora is that Taiga and Minori’s love for each other is at the forefront of the entire show; maybe I just don’t know enough Romance stories but this is one of the first series I’ve seen where two best friends are in love with the same person and insist that the other one gets with them instead. (wait... maybe the Infernal Devices series? I hate to admit that I ever read those but unfortunately I do think it fits. Anyway, moving on...)

Taiga and Minori’s relationship is probably the most healthy one in the entire series, besides the friendship between Kitamura and Ami. Taiga, known for her short temper and snappy attitude, never once lashes out at Minori. They do have their fair share of complications, of course; as I mentioned in Taiga’s post, the two of them got a little distant after Taiga’s first attempt to reconnect with her father. But Taiga never stops having intense love and respect for her friend.

Minori also gets to deliver one of the best lines in the entire show: “the responsibility for my happiness lies with me and me only”. The entire show, she’s grappling with her own feelings towards Ryuji. Despite her eventual admission that she’s loved Ryuji the whole time, Minori eventually realizes that she doesn’t need Ryuji to make her happy. It’s a very sweet moment.

Minori is certainly one of the most likable characters in the show from the start, so I’m glad that she gets some really good development and depth beyond her bubbly exterior. I’ll be concluding this essay series with Ryuji next. Thanks for reading!

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Character Analysis: Yuusaku Kitamura from Toradora

**spoilers ahead**

(I’ve been making character analysis posts about all 5 Toradora protagonists; here’s Taiga’s and Ami’s)

To start off my post about Kitamura, I want to talk about one of my favorite episodes in the entire show, One Step Forward, where Taiga confronts Kano Sumire. While this might seem like a Taiga-centered scene, that’s almost completely wrong; Taiga does pretty much nothing of note/out of character in this episode. The entire focus is on Kano and her feelings (after she and Taiga beat each other up, of course), and Kitamura hearing her message to him at the end, which makes me cry every time.

Something I mentioned in my WIL Toradora post is that this show does a great job portraying the difference between actual love and infatuation. While it is obvious that Taiga’s crush on Kitamura is more her putting him on a pedestal than her actually knowing him, it’s also true that Kitamura’s prior crush on Taiga was a similar situation. When he talks to Ryuji about how he used to like Taiga, Kitamura says things like “I heard of this beautiful girl in another class” “I liked her attitude” “I really wanted to get a girlfriend”. None of which indicate he actually knew Taiga at all. It’s why he was easily able to ‘get over’ her after she rejected him; because he barely knew her in the first place.

But Kitamura actually got to spend time with and get to know Kano through seeing her every day after school, which is a much more realistic and believable way of falling in love with someone. And this is clearly his first real experience with these deeper feelings, based on how poorly he handled the idea of her moving to America.

This whole show features characters going through self-reflection and becoming truer versions of themselves as the story goes on, and Kitamura is no exception. As the class rep, school VP, and overall nice guy, Kitamura is constantly putting up a wall between him and his classmates in the form of fancy titles and responsibility. He finally shows his true colors in One Step Forward and the episodes leading up to it, and as a result he becomes more comfortable with himself and his own feelings. And funnily enough, this is about when Taiga starts to feel more comfortable around Kitamura because she starts to lose feelings for him.

Kitamura is a very underrated character, both within Toradora and in anime in general, so I hope this post makes you appreciate him a little bit more. Thanks for reading!

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Character Analysis: Ami Kawashima from Toradora

(Spoilers for Toradora!)

I recently made a post about Taiga in my series about the Toradora protagonists, but now it’s Ami’s turn!

I firmly believe that Ami Kawashima has some of the best character development in the entire show. Ami is pretty much insufferable when she is first introduced, but eventually, the audience begins to agree with Kitamura; she is best when she’s being herself.

Something Ami struggles with during the series is constantly being told that she’s ‘mature’ due to her appearance and her job and the way she behaves around adults. However, Ami is still just a teenager; she isn’t supposed to be ‘adult-like’ yet and doesn’t like the responsibilities that come with that implication. This is why she begins to have feelings towards Ryuji after he notes that she was acting childish. She believes that he sees her how she truly is, not the mature adult their other peers believe her to be.

One other reason why I think Ami is perceived as being mature is because she is the most emotionally intelligent character in the whole series. No, really. Throughout the whole show, Ami is always aware of who is crushing on who; notably Minori, whom Ami makes the most comments towards. However, Ami was also fully aware of Ryuji and Taiga’s love for each other for deeper reasons than everyone else in the class (who were only assuming they were a couple because they’re always hanging out). She also knew about Kitamura’s crush on the president, and her dismissive attitude towards him during his main arc reflected that knowledge.

Speaking of Kitamura, I do really love Kitamura and Ami’s friendship; while I have no problem with the three main female protagonists all having a crush on Ryuji (and who wouldn’t?) it is refreshing to see a close male/female relationship in this show that’s entirely platonic. Plus, Kitamura is the first person to love Ami for who she really is, not the facade she puts on.

Sure, she’s a little snarky and a bit of an asshole, but Ami is an essential part of what holds the main Toradora cast together. She pushes them all to become better versions of themselves, and learns more about herself and her own priorities in the process.

I just really love this show guys, thanks for reading!

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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!

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Anime Review: Maid-Sama!

**this review is Spoiler free!!**

Back when I first started watching anime, I was very into Shoujo rom coms. I watched From Me to You, Lovely Complex, Ouran High School Host Club, My Little Monster, and so on. As the years went by, I’ve started to prefer modern rom-coms such as Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun and Love is War, which have more substance and don’t necessarily follow those common shoujo tropes. And while I do think I prefer more substantial serious shows, sometimes you just crave that classic Shoujo fluff. And that’s exactly what Maid-sama can provide.

A quick summary of the plot: Misaki Ayuzawa is the class president of her high school, which used to be an all boys school up until very recently. There are still very few girls compared to boys at the school, and Misa makes it her mission to keep the girls protected and comfortable in such a male-dominated environment. However, because her family is very poor, she has a part time job to make ends meet. Misa works at a maid cafe, but she wants to keep it a secret, because she fears that her male classmates might not take her seriously as president if they know.

Now, I know I’m late to the party with this one. Kaichou wa Maid-sama! aired in 2010, which is honestly pretty late compared to some of the ones I mentioned earlier that aired in the early 2000s. However, I believe it perfectly captures the stereotypical situational comedy and dramatic romance of classic shoujo.

While I don’t love the main male love interest as much as some other people do (he’s a tad too possessive for my taste), there are some aspects of his interactions with Misa that I think are really important. Misa is immediately established as being extremely capable, hardworking, smart, and a natural leader. She is not a damsel in distress in any way. But what I like about Usui is that he recognizes that Misa can’t do everything all by herself, even if she thinks she can. It’s okay to ask for help!

Maid-Sama is also just hugely, genuinely funny. The cast of characters are all loveable and different, from the class delinquents who become loyal members of Misa-chan’s fanclub, to all of Misa’s interesting and mature coworkers. I would highly recommend this show if you’re looking for something lighthearted and romantic.

Thanks for reading!

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