Toradora is another anime that deals with heavy themes regarding father figures. Both the main characters, Taiga and Ryugi, have estranged father figures and in the show they discuss how this has negatively impacted their lives. Ryuji, like so many, never knew his father and resents his absence because it leaves Ryuji to take care of his mother and house while studying full time. The only thing Ryuji’s father left him was his looks, which Ryuji blames as the reason for his social awkwardness.

Taiga on the other hand grew up with her father but her father divorced her mother and remarried, replacing Taiga with his new family, ever since then Taiga and him have had a rocky relationship at best. Taiga and Ryuji compare their differences over the course of the show and both reflect on how their interaction (or lack thereof) with their fathers has caused them to have difficulty connecting with people and making friends in the real world.

Both Taiga and Ryuji’s situations are all too common these days and I think that’s why this show has had such a big impact among the anime enthusiasts of America. Toradora never had an English dub, so you can only watch it in Japanese with subtitles but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most celebrated romantic-comedy anime out there, and I believe its popularity is due to its real-life themes (especially relating to fathers) that hit so close to home for the viewer.