From Seven Seas comes the first volume of the romantic comedy series Toradora!, which made its way stateside in anime form last year.
Toradora! tells the story of Ryuji Takasu, a normally laid back and kind high school student that has a bad reputation with his classmates due to the way his eyes look. He has eyes like his father, a yakuza, and looks like he is always staring down everyone which causes people to initially fear him while never taking the chance to get to know him.
On his first day at school things start off fairly well for Ryuji as one of his best friends, Yusaku Kitamura and the girl he has a crush on, Minori Kushieda are both in his class. Things take a turn for the worst though when he has his first encounter with the schools other feared student, Taiga Aisaka, known as the “Palm-top Tiger”. Though she doesn’t really hurt Ryuji she does strike fear into him.
Later that day Ryuji and Taiga have another confrontation as Ryuji goes to get his bag from class and Taiga refuses to let him take it. The reason is revealed later that night though when he finds an envelope that is addressed to his friend Yusaku that he believes contains a love letter. Taiga shows up later that night in order to take it back and beat the memory of the envelope out of Ryuji, but is so hungry that she eventually passes out. After making Taiga some fried rice and with his mom due home any minute Ryuji makes the mistake of agreeing to do whatever Taiga says, “Like a dog”.
The next day Ryuji and Taiga begin their plan to get Yusaku to notice Taiga and potentially Minori to notice Ryuji, after he makes Taiga breakfast and lunch of course.
Toradora!’s story offers plenty of comedy and keeps a lighthearted feel throughout volume one. While the characters are barely introduced in the first volume there is still enough story to show hints at future relationships as well some character development as Taiga and Ryuji’s real personalities are shown instead of how they act around their classmates.
The cover art has a nice look and features Taiga and Ryuji, though the character designs on the back, featuring Taiga and Minori looked more detailed than the front. At 192 pages this is a good sized manga as it isn’t too short but isn’t long either. There is quite a bit of text on each panel but it never really gets in the way of the image and it is all clear and easy to read. The artwork is also impressive and all of the characters have great detail and the backgrounds look well drawn.
At the end of the graphic novel fans of the series will also be treated to an extra side story, “A Day in the Life of Ya-Chan”, which gives readers a glimpse into the average day in the life of Ryuji’s mother.
For manga fans that are looking for a new romantic comedy series to get into Toradora! is definitely a series that you will want to pick up. Fans that enjoyed the anime series will also enjoy being able to visit this great series once again as well.
Score
4.5 out of 5
Toradora! Vol. 1
Written by: Yuyuko Takemiya
Art by: Zekkyo
Publisher: Seven Seas
Number of Pages: 192
Age Range: 13+
(This review is based on a purchased copy of Toradora! Vol. 1)
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