Anime Review: Toradora

The “psycho eyes” that high school sophomore Ryuuji inherited from his dead gangster dad have terrified his classmates into believing he’s a violent juvenile delinquent – although in actuality he’s just a kind, mild-mannered, and somewhat lonely young fellow. When he finds out that his crush Minorin, the friendly yet airheaded captain of the girl’s softball team, will be in the same class as him, Ryuuji is overjoyed; that is, until he runs afoul of Minorin’s best friend – Aisaka Taiga (aka the “Palmtop Tiger”), whose small size and delicate, doll-like appearance belie her foul temper and capacity for ultra-violence. Barely surviving the encounter, Ryuuji finds a love letter in his bookbag. It’s addressed not to him but Kitamura, Ryuuji’s studious best friend - and it’s from none other than Taiga herself, who seems to have placed it in Ryuuji’s bag by accident.

Bemused by the situation, Ryuuji returns home, only to be awoken at swordpoint by a crazed Taiga, who’s determined to kill Ryuuji for finding out her secret crush. In order to dissuade the pint-sized psychopath from her intended act of murder, Ryuuji vows to help Taiga win Kitamura’s affections; and in thanks, Taiga half-heartedly vows to help Ryuji win Minorin’s love. Their alliance now sealed, Ryuuji and Taiga are soon secretly meeting up during school to plan their “twin-love attack”, but their frequent planning sessions are misconstrued by their classmates as lover’s trysts. Naturally, this rumor makes its way to both Kitamura and Minorin, who become increasingly reluctant to return Ryuuji and Taiga’s ham-fisted flirtations. The arrival of big-city girl Ami, Kitamura’s childhood friend, adds another stumbling block: Ami’s prissy attitude embarrasses Kitamura and infuriates Taiga – but it becomes slowly apparent that Taiga’s rage may less to do with Ami’s big-city airs and more to do with her teasing flirtation with a clearly uncomfortable Ryuuji.

Before long, Taiga has become increasingly reliant on Ryuuji to look after her welfare, a situation that Ryuuji originally views with annoyance, but does little to reverse; she is a truly a “poor little rich girl”, funded by wealthy parents that don’t particularly seem to care for her. Ryuuji, on the other hand, lives in somewhat depressed circumstances – i.e., a rundown apartment shared with his deformed pet canary and boozy bar hostess of a mother who immediately takes a shine to both Taiga’s brassy attitude and increasingly frequent appearances at dinnertime.

Circumstances seem to be drawing Ryuuji and Taiga closer and closer together…but can they allow themselves fall in love with one another?

***

Toradora has it’s origins as a series of light novels*, and it retains a level of literary complexity that one doesn’t often find in “high school hijinks/love comedy” manga and anime. This, of course, work greatly to its credit; yet – as fine as this series is – I have to admit that I often struggle to understand the interactions between Ryuuji and Taiga. Their mutual affection is certainly implied, but there seems to be so little proof; their behavior toward one another is either so combative or hesitant that’s unclear what their real feelings are. During the episodes, I catch myself wondering aloud “Is he really in love with her? Is she in love with him? I don’t get it.” Perhaps the very real Japanese/American cultural gulf is to blame for my confusion, or maybe it’s just my masculine lack of emotional acumen. Still, the fact that Toradora’s emotional nuances are difficult to figure out absolutely wins Toradora my favor; I wish more series would demand even a mild level of challenging interaction from their viewers/readers.

Longtime readers of otakupubliclibrary know that I enjoy/willingly suffer through many a “love comedy”, and it’s my humble opinion that Toradora is probably one of the best and most honest depiction of teen romance currently playing on otaku computer screens – it depicts the frailty of first love without being weepy or wimpy in slightest. Furthermore, this series wins my plaudits because of the fact it’s easy for readers/viewers to visualize both a happy and an unhappy ending to this series; as much as I can see Ryuuji and Taiga together in the end, part of me realizes (and at times, genuinely prefers the fact) that it’s more realistic to see Ryuuji and Taiga both ending up lonely and heartbroken at the series’ conclusion.

I’m aware that a lot of YA librarians wrestle with the problem of using manga as teen literature; Toradora would probably please the “teen issues/problems” crowd that seems to dominate the dialog over teen lit….were it actually being published in the USA. Currently, there are no plans by any North American/European company to release English-Language versions of the original novel, manga, anime, or “visual novel” that have been proved so popular in Japan…shameful, If you ask me.

That having been said, if you simply must flout international copyright law, one can find fan-subbed Toradora episodes available for downloads on several questionable websites; likewise, the clever otaku may find links to a fan-translated version of the light novels through Toradora’s Wikipedia entry. You didn’t hear it from me, kids….

*a uniquely Japanese term for teen-oriented novels with manga-style illustrations; basically, not too different from the stuff you’d see in the Young Adult section in your local Public Library, except with themes more common to anime and manga and/or to the lives of Japanese teens.

Anime Review: Moyashimon

As a Christmas present to my readers (all three of them), I’m reviewing and recommending my end-of-year favorite anime, Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture….





College freshman Tadayasu Sawaki has a secret: ever since he was a child, he has been able to see microbes (tiny microorganisms like bacteria, algae, protozoa, and fungi) without the use of a microscope. Furthermore, they appear to him not as weird single-cell organisms, but as cartoonish little creatures the size of a pencil eraser. When he arrives at a large agricultural university on the outskirts of Tokyo along with his buddy Kei, Sawaki’s unique abilities quickly amaze two of the university’s staff: kindly old microbiologist Dr. Istuki, a friend with Sawaki’s grandfather who’s been looking forward to meeting the exceptional young man for years, and the brash grad student Ms Hasagawa, who in her amazement forces the reluctant Sawaki to identify tray after tray of microbes for her. When Istuki and Hasagawa ask Sawaki to be their research assistant, Sawaki is soon dealing with a whole bunch of bacteria-related incidents and predicaments – from illegal sake-brewing to aphrodisiacs to (ugh) fermented seal carcasses.

It goes without saying that this is probably one of the oddest premises for a series I’ve come across in a long time; it was originally described to me as “college student can see microbes without a microscope, hijinks ensue”, and that matched my first impression of the series. But as I watched, I became impressed with Mayoshimon’s scope and its sheer cleverness; it’s less about adorable little microbes and much more about science, giving viewers both laughs and an easy-to-swallow lesson in basic biology. That’s not to say that Mayoshimon is something you’re gonna want to show in 8th Science class – there’s a few flashes of adult humor, and the genuine offbeat subject matter is hardly gonna attract Naruto or Kare Kano fans. Still, unlike other idiosyncratic series (ala Welcome to the NHK or Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei), there’s little dark humor to be found; Mayoshimon instead relies on relaxed humor, realistic interactions between characters, and a convivial slice-of-life feel to temper it’s outlandishness.

For those who can get around its unlikely premise, Mayoshimon is a real pleasure; Random House publishing imprint Del Ray agrees, because they’ll be releasing the manga for North American audiences in 2009.

Series Review: School Rumble - Jin Kobeyashi

Is it possible to have a crush on a manga series? An intense, manic-depressive (and probably short-lived) obsession that keeps you up at night?

If you can, than I’m definitely crushing - and crushing hard - on School Rumble, a multiple-season anime and on-going manga series (almost 6 years and still going strong). In a way, it’s ironic that I’m so infatuated with School Rumble, as the whole series is a comedy of crushes and the crazy situations and emotions they engender. Tsukamoto Tenma, a plain-jane but scatterbrained high school junior, has fallen head over-heals in love with a boy in her class – the unemotional and eccentric Kurasama Oji. Likewise, class delinquent (and wannabe manga artist) Harima Kenji is secretly in love with Tenma – and he has the same difficulty confessing to her as she does to Kurasuma. This weird love triangle is the heart of the plot, as Tenma and Harima get caught in increasingly odd schemes and entanglements in the desire to confess their love to their respective crushes. This situation is complicated by fact that Tenma’s friend Eri and Tenma’s younger sister Yakumo both find themselves increasingly attracted to Harima, while Kurasama’s and Tenma’s romantic connection grows stronger.

Despite the melodramatic set-up, the series plays the romantic attractions, entanglements and misunderstandings as straight farce and not as a soap opera – laughs are plenty and tears are so rare as to be non-existent (except in Harima’s slapstick bawling over Tenma). The over-the-top personalities of the characters and their comedic misunderstandings are a funny and tongue-in-cheek portrayal of the overwrought emotions typical of the teenage years. One-way love interests abound and there are times that readers may need a graph to help clear up the relationships between the characters – fortunately, the manga provides helpful charts; although the anime doesn’t go into as much detail as the series, viewers will be able to figure it all out without much help. The anime is surprisingly close to manga, although it omits some minor storylines and some of the jokes are lost without the help of the manga translators. Fortunately, the episodic and “sit-com-esque” nature of the both the anime and manga allow readers/viewers to pick up in the middle of the series without much difficulty.

If I have a complaint with the series, it’s the length – in order to extend the series, the creator has added a number of extra characters and sub-plots that draw the reader’s attention away from the main Tenma/Harima plot; at times, it resembles a western superhero comic (i.e. a sprawling cast of characters and no attempt to resolve the plot in sight).

Kobeyashi’s great sense of humor is definitely on display, but the hidden genius of the series is the way he’s been able to twist a standard comedy plot into something new with the eccentric personalities of Tenma and Harima. Tenma is depicted as being somewhat immature and less emotionally aware than the other characters, yet her general good nature gets her through many instances of complete obliviousness. Despite his “tough guy” exterior, Harima is an overly-sensitive and indecisive klutz, and his frequent mishaps put him at odds with a number of the female characters. The supporting cast is full of engaging and offbeat characters as well - the prissy rich-girl Eri, breast-obsessed horndog Imadori, and soft-spoken psychic Yakumo in particular.

The first season of the anime series (26 episodes) can be purchased from FUNamation. Del Ray publishes the English-language adaption of the manga, and currently has the first 8 volume of the series for sale – Vol. 9 will be released in April 2008.

Wannbefansubs.com has a vast and well-written wiki about the School Rumble series which can be accessed here.