Toradora Recap: The Tiger and the Dragon Make a Pact

This Toradora recap covers the romcom every other romcom gets measured against. Ryuuji looks like a delinquent and lives like a housewife; Taiga looks like a doll and fights like a wild animal. Each is in love with the other’s best friend, so they form an alliance.

The pact is simple: help each other win their crushes. The execution is a two year masterclass in self deception, because the person who cooks your meals, walks you home and absorbs your worst moods stops being a teammate long before either of them admits it.

The recap covers the alliance, the cultural festival, the ski trip, Minori’s guilt, Ami’s honesty and the runaway ending that the genre has been quoting ever since.

For the love triangle that plays the same notes in a darker key, read the Fuuka recap, or browse our anime recaps hub. Series details are on Wikipedia.