[Honey's Crush Wednesday] Top 5 Aisaka Taiga Highlights (Toradora!)

10:00 AM August 5, 2015

Anime Characters [Article Category]
Romance Anime, Psychological Anime [Genres]
ToradoraToradora [Anime Title]

taiga-aisaka-wallpaper-666x500 [Honey's Crush Wednesday] Top 5 Aisaka Taiga Highlights (Toradora!)

All Hail the Tsundere Palmtop Tiger!

Episodes : 25
Genre : Comedy, Romance, School, Slice of Life
Airing Date : October 2008 – March 2009
Producers : J.C.Staff

Aisaka Taiga Preview (No Spoilers)

Toradora! Is about an average, second year high school guy named Ryuji Takasu. Well he would be ordinary if it weren’t for the fact that his face makes everyone around him think that he a delinquent. He’s got a huge crush on a girl in his class Minori. Minori’s best friend, Taiga, has a massive crush on Yusaku who happens to be Ryuji’s best friend. Taiga is the most terrifying girl in her school mainly due to her personality not matching her size and her violent outbursts. Ryuji and Taiga enter a symbiotic relationship to help each other get closer to their love interests.

Aisaka Taiga Character Bio

Taiga is in the same class as Ryuji. Being quite short for her age and terribly ferocious and mean, she is nicknamed the palmtop tiger. She has an adorable complex about her body and is very clumsy. Taiga has extremely violent outbursts and if feared within her school because of them. She lives alone in a large mansion right next to the tiny apartment that Ryuji lives in. Taiga starts out with a massive crush on Yusaku and enters into a friendly relationship with Ryuji to help him get closer to her friend if he will help her get closer to Yusaku.

Aisaka Taiga Character Highlights

1. Her Napoleon Complex About Her Small Features.

If anything would give Taiga away as an individual, it’s her nickname. Hearing the nickname “palmtop tiger” throws her into a furious rage. Taiga is even shown a few times to actually be a tiny tiger resting in someone’s palm and growling. She does come in at 4 feet 11 inches which is fairly small and Taiga does lament that even though she is in high school, she doesn’t have much of a bust.

Taiga tends to have an angry face and a pretty rash disposition due to her nickname. Before Ryuji and Taiga even make the deal though, they have to meet. Well, they awkwardly do in the first episode when she walks into him. He outwardly mentioned that she is tiny, and she clocks him right there on the spot. Talk about packing a punch! Taiga also takes out another character’s stalker in a later episode after they make fun of her size calling her a mini-demon.

2. The ONLY Person Allowed to Touch Her is Minori

Taiga isn’t about to get cozy with anyone. True to her nature she will lash out at anyone who gets too close and rips Ryuji to shreds in episode 14 telling him that no one ever is allowed to touch her. No one will ever touch Taiga huh? Aww…

Just kidding. Minori appears out of nowhere saying “good morning.” Suddenly Taiga is flipping out and rushing towards her screaming “Minorin!” Taiga then declares her love for Minorin while poor Ryuji looks on like a fool. Toradora went from a romance to a yuri really fast eh?

3. Taiga is SO Adorably Clumsy/Shy.

At first, poor Taiga can’t even get a break when it comes to a simple love letter! The first episode opens up with her putting a love letter in someone’s locker. Whoops! It was the wrong locker and now Ryuji gets it! Later when she tries to take Ryuji’s bag mistaking it for hers, Taiga sneezes and loses her grip! Also when poor Ryuji is trying to set up Taiga with Yusaku in basketball class, she spaces out watching Yusaku and gets pummeled in the face with a ball.

Speaking of Yusaku and Taiga, the poor girl can never get her words out right and just ends up being adorably cute while mumbling incoherently! She also is motivated later to ride a bike after being seen with one by Yusaku. The problem? She can’t ride one and keeps falling down! However she will never let herself be exposed!

4. Taiga’s Own Personal Features and Habits

Maybe it’s her spicy personality, or her diminutive features. Whatever the reason may be she’s flat out adorable as an individual! The juxtaposition that she poses as this adorable looking girl with a fiery personality makes her awesome. Taiga has big, sweet eyes, and gorgeous long hair which should be noted, isn’t something that you see in Japan.

She does, throughout the series, have some very endearing moment whens she’s not calling Ryuji a dog or threatening to kill someone. I know, I know. Taiga is the pinnacle of tranquility. No spoilers or anything like that, but Taiga does let her guard down sometimes when the topic of conversation isn’t on her, or like in point 2, when she talks about how Minori is the only one to touch her. The other great thing she does is when she rolls her “r’s,” which is similar to how tough guys and yakuza speak, when she says “Ora!” which means “come on”

5. Aisaka Taiga Can Handle Her Own in a Fight! (As Long as She is Paying Attention)

Watch any episode where Taiga is pitted up against someone, or where she needs to kick some butt. Don’t worry. She will be there with most likely her fists if not more. Taiga lays some serious smack down even on Ryuji in episode one when he bumps into her and tells her that she’s tiny!
Then of course there is the whole part where she threatens to kill Ryuji with what looks like a shinai or a blade. A shinai is the blade used in Kendo. She clearly knows her way to win a fight and so it’s just a matter of time most cases.

There you have it! Our very first ever Honey’s Crush Wednesdays! If you don’t love our goddess on high Aisaka Taiga, then nothing can save you in life. Just kidding… but Taiga is a great gal all around. Sweet, when she wants to be, funny, adorably cute, a tsundere to boot, and she can handle her own in a fight. What’s not to like?

What do you think? What parts or aspects of Taiga do you love? Let me hear them in the comments below!

Editor/Translator

Author: Nagareboshi

American by birth; international by choice. I am trying to bring attention to one of my favorite causes; me. I translate by day and write by night. Aspiring polyglot. My dream would be to be the personal translator for Amuro Namie. Other than that, my hobbies include languages, weightlifting, sleeping, karaoke, GOOD coffee and music. When I’m not doing any of the above, I am most likely laughing hysterically at Willam Belli videos or EV farming. I ain’t gunna Rupologize for it neither. Waifu are Shirai Kuroko & Euaerin.

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