Toradora 2

Toradora 2 by Yuyuko Takemiya and Zekkyo, 2011. 192 pages. Published by Seven Seas. Source: Publisher for review.

Ryuji Takasu thought that his ill-fated luck had turned around now that he was in Junior High and sitting next to the girl of his dreams, Minori Kushieda. Ryuji was wrong; for after he unwittingly crossed the most feared and fearsome girl in school, Taiga Aisaku, everything went off the deep end!
It’s taken time, but Ryuji and Taiga have slowly found some common ground and can at least tolerate each other. The problem is everyone in Ryuji’s class is now convinced that he and Taiga are dating—even Minori! To make matters even more embarassing, Minori has given Ryuji and Taiga her blessing. How’s Ryuji ever going to win Minori's heart now?!

First Sentence:

You too, Takasu-kun.

I'm sure that ya'll remember me babbling about how much I loved the first volume of Toradora 1 (see my review), so I was beyond ecstatic to be able to review the second volume here on the blog.

Story:
Okay, so volume 2 starts off with the biggest misunderstanding...Minori, Taiga's friend, and Takasu, Ryuji's friend, think that Ryuji and Taiga are a couple! Oh, I so knew that was going to happen but even so I burst out giggling becaused there reactions were absolutely hilarious. Good times.

While I really enjoyed the humor packed into Toradora 2, I felt that this volume didn't really cover any new ground. Sure we saw Taiga and Ryuji's relationship change from that of master and slave (I may have mentioned this in my review of volume one: Ryuji wound up being Taiga's personal slave for almost seeing something that would embarrass her to no end) to one of equal footed friendship. Yes, it was nice to see to see that evolution in their relationship, but I think this volume could have used a little more meat to the story.

My biggest hope is that the next volume of Toradora will have more sustenance to the story, and that the two main characters will continue to grow. So nothing earth-shattering happening in the second volume, but it is definitely worth reading simply because it will make you laugh out loud.
Character(s):
I really liked the character development that went on in volume 2 of Toradora.
Taiga, it was definitely nice to see a softer, more sensitive side for her. But I also enjoyed the fact that she retained a lot of the fierceness that made her such an interesting character to read about.

Ryuji, I think what I liked the most about him in this volume would have to be how he become just a little more of an assertive character. I still think he's a great character and love how he's become more of a friend/protector to Taiga...he's just too nice to sum up without going on and on.
Artwork:
The artwork hasn't really changed all that much from the first volume to the second, although it does seem like some of the secondary characters had a little more personality and individuality in their depictions in this volume.
While there are not any big changes in the artwork for Toradora 2, it was nice to see that it was consistent with the previous volume and that it did not take a nosedive in quality. So not much to report about the art, but I would just like to add that I absolutely love the panels when the characters seemed to be experiencing a doom spiral since they were just a lot of fun to look at.

Final Verdict: Toradora 2 just as delightfully funny as the first volume.

Toradora 2 earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.