A new season means a new round of pudding fights to the death. This season we are putting two romantic comedies up against each other - Toradora vs Akane-iro ni Somura Saka. Lets hope we don’t get lazy or get fed up with one of these shows so we can continue this for the whole season. Which by the way is what happened last season with Itazura na Kiss vs Special A - we got tired of Special A. But hey at least we saw Code Geass R2 vs Macross Frontier to the end.
Round 1: Fight!
Story
When judging a series after only 2 episodes, what we look for in the story side of things is how well the overall plot has been setup and if the series has done enough to draw in and hook viewers. Let’s see which series has done enough in this dept.
Toradora
Some people may be falling out of love with the Tsundre girls, be we can’t get enough of them. Kira thinks that when done correctly (aka Haruhi) Tsundre girls make a show more interesting and hilarity can ensue. Asuna says that the Tsundre girls are more fun than ditzy bimbo’s. And so while we don’t have a Loli-complex we do like what we see out of Toradora so far. Taiga is a Tsundre girl on Steroids - and we love her.
We’ve been hooked in by the story so far - having not read the manga we find the setup really interesting. We think that it will be Taiga x Ryuji in the end, but the fact that they like other people to begin with and one completely can kick the others ass has us hooked. We are really looking forward to the rest of Toradora - it has the potential to become our 2nd favorite rom-com of the season behind of course CLANNAD S2.
More to come?
Akane-iro ni Somura Saka
Notice if you abbreviate the title Akane-iro ni Somura Saka it becomes ASS? Lets hope this series doesn’t turn into ass. But to be honest we have been less hooked by the setup and premise of Akane-iro. Reason? We’ve seen it before. For one the premise seems a little to similar to 90% of other harem anime. Most noticeable being the original Da Capo. Like Da Capo, Akane-iro is based off an adult dating sim pc game.
If this doesn’t scream generic harem anime, we don’t know what does
Now this doesn’t mean this will be complete garbage. We actually liked the original Da Capo - but we aren’t fans of the two sequels. And while we have seen this setup before - guy living with girl who calls him Onii-chan even though they probably aren’t blood related - it’s not like there hasn’t been interesting moments so far. Having the Junichi and Katagiri kiss in episode 1 was different - having her show up as the fiancé? Not so original there. But early prediction here - Junichi will end up with Minato.
Winner: Toradora!
Rom-Com Factor
Rom-com’s need both comedy and romance to work, but the two don’t need to be in equal doses.
Toradora
While Toradora has had a dash of romance so far, it has comedy by the truck loads. Taiga is so wacked out in a violent yet loli kinda way that even her normal mannerisms can be hilarious. But we actually think the real comedic star of this show will be Minori. Her incorrect assumptions have led to most of the shows laughs so far. And we love her overtop delivery. She’s not ditzy in our opinion, just way too energetic and overly dramtic - which beside the other straight characters really does work.
Minato = Hilarity
Akane-iro ni Somura Saka
Akane-iro on the other hand as done a decent job for setting up the romantic side of things. After two episodes you already get a sense of how much Junichi and Minato care for each other. And they also tried to push things a bit by having Junichi and Yuuhi lock lips in episode 1. Of the comedic side, Akane-iro is certainly trying to bring out the laughs - but its missing something. What it’s missing is a Sunohara or Hosaka type character. Someone who can be counted on to bring the laughs on a consistent basis. Toradora certainly has this type of character in Minori but Akane-iro doesn’t. The closest so far maybe the homeroom teacher. Without this type of character - Akane-iro will have to rely on good writing and situational comedy to bring the funny.
Get ready for some hot Brother x Sister anime action…..Urrggh - we just threw up a little in our mouths
Winner: Toradora!
Fun Factor
After two episodes of each series Toradora! has been a more fun watch for both Kira and Asuna. Mind you the victory is not by a wide margin, so Akane-iro can still make a comeback. It does have a lot of work to do though if it wants to be more than an average harem anime.
Winner: Toradora!
Winner of the Week: Toradora! EP 1 & 2
Tags: Akane-iro ni Somura Saka, Akane-iro ni Somura Saka EP 2, Toradora!, Toradora! EP 2
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