The Tiger and the Dragon: ToraDora!

I just finished watching ToraDora! (c/o VinnieG, he mentioned it in a previous post about Tsundere characters) and... watching it end is like graduating from school. A bittersweet cocktail of joy and nostalgia

Head past the break for my thoughts (minor spoilers ahead!).


This anime is based on a light novel series. Light novels are the Japanese equivalent of Young Adult fiction series like Artemis Fowl, or The Princess Diaries. Lately, we've been having more anime based on them, like the ever-popular Suzumiya Haruhi series and Zero no Tsukaima (The Familiar of Zero).

The title of the series refers to the 2 main characters Aisaka Taiga and Takasu Ryuuji (I prefer using the Japanese convention; family name first, then given name).


Taiga = a homonym of Tiger for the Japanese, which translates to tora in native Nihonggo


Ryuuji = means "Son of Dragon", dragon (ryuu) being pronounced doragon in Japanized English.

Tora + Dora = ToraDora! (Yes, I know the title is freakin'' brilliant)

A majority of the series centers on both main characters chasing after their respective objects of affection. Taiga is in love with Ryuuji's friend Kitamura Yuusaku, and Ryuuji fancies Taiga's friend Kushieda Minori. Hence, the 2 join forces in a perfect example of mutualism to gain eternal happiness... or something to that effect.


It ticks off the usual anime clichés for shounen romance, the awkwardness, the love triangle, the slapstick comic relief, the childhood friend, not to mention the coup de grâce, the characters who work up the courage to confess their affection, and do everything in their power to avoid actually doing it.

Then ToraDora! does this wonderful twist of having a love confession by the 2nd episode. Highly unusual! A romance anime where one of the characters confronts their OOA (Object of Affection) head on? Ridiculous!

From then on, the series charges forward. Much like Slam Dunk does for Sakuragi's basketball skills, ToraDora! grows Taiga, Ryuuji and the relationship they share with their close-knit group of friends. The characters change so much by the end of the series, and yet they are still recognizably themselves. Almost everything that happens by the later episodes feels incredibly natural in light of who the characters are and how they behave. Nothing feels irrelevant, contrived or forced in this series.

I didn't quite know what to make of ToraDora! by the time episode 25 ended. It wasn't as deep as something like Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou (His and Her Circumstances) or Hachimitsu & Clover (Honey & Clover) in depicting relationships, and yet it hooked me as much as these two did. This piece on Anime Diet surprised me as it appears I'm not alone in this (and it mentions the same 2 anime that I compare it to). I expected another generic romance anime, and yet I got much more than I bargained for.

It's one of those shows that stays with you.

It's one of those shows that you can use to introduce anime to people.

It's one of those shows that turns you into otaku .

And the main character is a 1st class DFC tsundere.

Freakin' awesome.