Anime x Lit Crit: Toradora! 18

Primes and I are back with another pre-Christmas party episode! Primes: Let the Christmas-preparation hijinks begin! The overarching motif in this episode, I think, is the idea of roleplaying. Ami is the first one to bring it up with her accusation that Ryuji and Taiga are "playing house." She points out that Ryuji is trying …

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Anime x Lit Crit: Toradora! 16

Tears, bruises, and cringey confessions. This is the kind of anime episode that makes me feel like I missed out on something during high school! Primes: What, no kendo fights in your classroom? Seriously, though, I felt this episode succeeded in conveying the emotional anarchy that dominates the teen years: soaring giddiness, crashing dreams, feelings …

Anime x Lit Crit: Vampires & Valentines – Toradora! 15

(3 months later...) Oh hey, isn't this collab thing still going on? Without further comments or apologies on how long it's been, here is Toradora! 15, brought to you by Negative Primes and Moya. Finally, we have Kitamura-centric arc! That being said, this episode has done little to explain his crisis (why he bleached his hair or …

Anime x Lit Crit: Vampires & Valentines – Toradora! 14

I realized that I watched this episode long ago and even saved all the necessary screenshots, but forgot about it until now. At least we're just in time for Valentine's Day! Primes: Yay! I'm excited for us to be back in business! Is anyone doing anything special for Valentine's Day? I wanted to take my …

Anime x Lit Crit: Vampires & Valentines – Toradora! 13

We're officially past the halfway point for Toradora!, so yay! Also, it's December, and fellow aniblogger Jerem is introducing "Toradora December" on his blog in celebration of the anime series close to his heart. He encourages us all to watch Toradora! with him and use the hashtag #ToradoraDecember on Twitter. Primes: Brilliant idea! Check it out, y'all! So, …

Anime x Lit Crit – Vampires & Valentines: Toradora! 10

So I'm back! Thanks to my partner Primes and anyone who keeps up with this series for having so much patience. Primes: Welcome back! We're glad you survived your intense summer coursework!  Thank you! 🙂 The fact that I more-or-less predicted the course of this episode may have affected my enjoyment of it a bit, but …

Anime x Lit Crit: Vampires & Valentines – Toradora! 9

Ah, how I envy anime characters' summers. Those rich friends with seaside mansions.  Anyways, this episode has many phenomenal highlights, and I have plenty to say about it. Remember to check out Primes' Shiki review on his blog this week! Primes: Thanks, Moya! Of course, that's assuming I get to it while it's "First Impressions" time…!  Right, first …

Anime x Lit Crit: Vampires & Valentines – Toradora! 06

Hello! It's finally time for Toradora! again. Have you noticed that you can never predict when a new episode review comes out on this blog nowadays? Gyahaha...I fear I am becoming rather sporadic. Primes: *stares sheepishly at his own toes after not posting for an entire week*  What do you mean? You wrote four posts last week (I went and …

Anime x Lit Crit: Vampires & Valentines – Toradora! 04

Welcome to Episode 4 of Toradora. Check out our discussion of Episode 4 of Shiki on Primes' website when it's up. The student council president (I think that's what she is?) is introduced! With her distinct personality and how the whole school fawns over her, she seems like a pretty important character. I don't see her in …

Anime x Lit Crit: Vampires & Valentines – Toradora! 03

Welcome to installment 3 of my collaboration with Negative Primes! Read about girls beating up their weaknesses in Toradora! here (and violation of sacred boundaries in Shiki here and here). Ryuji postulates that Minori has family issues to take care of when he learns that she's juggling multiple part-time jobs at once, and Taiga responds by warning him to …