Any sane anime fan will likely know about the harem genre. For those who need a crash course, I will be happy to provide. The harem genre is based on an age-old formula believed to have been initially established by the Tenchi Muyo franchise. The premise behind each show in the genre varies, but the core is thus: male lead, usually a hapless loser, finds himself in a situation where a female lead has his attention, and said female lead may have feelings for him already or may develop them as time goes on. To complicate matters, the show throws in monkey wrenches in the form of rivals. These rivals invariably end up being female, attractive, and interested in the male lead. As with all anime genres, there are certain archetypes and staples that are to be expected.
Examples of this genre include:
Love Hina
Midori Days
Hand Maid May
Toradora!, by initial design and appearance, is no different from a few thousand others of this genre. But there are some differences.
The male lead, Ryuuji, is not a complete jerk, nor is he a loser. In fact, he's very much the male equivalent of a housewife. Dependable, reliable, responsible, and generally a nice human being. However, he looks like a delinquent (by virtue of his father's looks), and many of his fellow students treat him as such.
Another key difference I've spotted so far is that the show is, minus a few things like one of the girls being a model on sabbatical, rather more realistic than I'd expected. There's no reaction or emotion displayed that, in context, would not have been impossible to see in the real world. In fact, a lot of the character's interactions, motivations, and actions aren't that far-fetched, and would likely be observable in a real high school setting.
It isn't just what makes Toradora! different from others of its genre that catches my eye, though. Like many shows of this genre, I am not too fond of the female lead. In this case, the so-called "Palmtop Tiger." She is, actually, the one character in the show I honestly dislike. That she's the female lead should just make it harder for me to watch the show, if I bother with it at all.
However, that's not the case.
The other two females, you see, are much, much more likable. Lovable, even.
The first one, Kushieda Minori, is what one might describe as odd. She's energetic, tends to sing baseball songs to herself, and seems just a tiny bit out there. However, pretty early on, we get to see a facet of her that's very human. It seems that she is, like any human being, afraid of things, and perhaps even insecure about some stuff. She also seems to sing baseball songs and do all manner of odd part-time jobs to brush away that fear. Seeing as how I've not finished the show yet, I can only assume that is the case. Still, Minori is a likable, lively figure. The slightly nusty friend you hang out with and genuinely enjoy having around.
The other one, the one I consider the real gem of the show, is Kawashima Ami. Ami is a model on sabbatical, for reasons that I will not divulge. It's a fun event I won't want to spoil. Ami is...well, to go into detail about what Ami is like is to spoil half the fun of watching her in the show. Suffice it to say that, out of all the girls in Toradora! and most of the girls I've seen in this genre of anime, Ami is perhaps the most cunning and the most...human.
I'll write in more detail the more I watch this show.
For now, I must continue watching each episode twice. Once to watch it, and the second time to make pretty screencaps to add to my expanding collection of pictures. Because if I don't...
So yeah, gogo Mistress Ami.
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