Anime x Lit Crit: Toradora! 19

Welcome to another episode discussion between me and Negative Primes. All that roleplaying talk from the previous episode have escalated into costume disguises. Definitely not the first time people have dressed up in Toradora!, but this episode's costumes did surprise me! "Christmas angel" Taiga with a flight attendant bun and daddy Ryuji in Mr. Aisaka's suit. …

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 …

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 …