Toradora!: Bentou no Gokui OVA

とらドラ! 弁当の極意
Toradora!: The Essential Parts of a Bentou
Toradora!: Bentou no Gokui OVA

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis: 

Toradora!: Bentou no Gokui OVAAt school during lunch, Yuusaku brings in a massive, elaborate bentou that was made by his grandmother, which he then shares with his friends. Ryuuji finds himself challenged by how good it is and so the following day, brings in a pork cutlet bentou. However, “Mio-chan” has made an onigiri lunch for Yuusaku, complete with remarkable fillings. Taiga is now hungry for onigiri and so when they go to the store, she wants to buy the stuff for making onigiri, though Ryuuji is caught up in his imaginary battle with Yuusaku’s grandmother.

Toradora!: Bentou no Gokui OVAThe following day, Ryuuji has Cup Ramen, complete with a hot water thermos, but he’s stunned when Yuusaku’s grandmother has a Cup Soup for him as well as a sandwich, something Taiga now fancies. That evening, Taiga stops by the family restaurant where Minori works to get a sandwich and extra fries. Meanwhile, Ryuuji frets over how to top “Mio-chan” and his solution is to sneak in a rice cooker into class in order to have a perfect lunch. Yuri-sensei smells the cooking rice and finds the device, confiscating it and making Ryuuji a laughing stock.

Toradora!: Bentou no Gokui OVALater, on the roof of the school, Ryuuji is depressed over his “loss” and Taiga has a bentou for him — onigiri. However, the onigiri are too salty, so when they go home, Ryuuji turns them into another dish to lessen the salt. It is then that he begins to understand the essential parts of a bentou — making the stuff the person eating the bentou likes AND is most conducive for the situation they are in (simple for needing to eat in a hurry, elaborate for sharing with everyone). Lesson learned, Ryuuji joins some of the others for an ohanami under the cherry trees when Taiga, Ami, and Minori come up, Taiga having made a bentou.

Thoughts/Review:

It is nice returning to the Toradora! anime realm, though this episode really had nothing in it of substance.

Toradora!: Bentou no Gokui OVA

All of the characters got some lines, which was a nice touch. Taiga and Ryuuji were at the center of things (understandable), but somehow, there was just something lacking. I guess it was the elements of Taiga and Ryuuji with their intendeds (since I think the episode takes place prior to Ryuuji and Taiga coming to terms with each other).

Toradora!: Bentou no Gokui OVA

Still, that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the episode. Even though it felt contrived at times, it still had moments that made me smile and even laugh a bit. Mostly, it was just good seeing the characters back and it made me want to rewatch the anime on DVD.

Toradora!: Bentou no Gokui OVA

There wasn’t quite enough Ami though. ^_~

Toradora!: Bentou no Gokui OVA

Anyway, as I said, while nothing of substance, it was still nice seeing the Toradora! crew. ^_^

Toradora!: Bentou no Gokui OVA
Toradora!: Bentou no Gokui OVA
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4 Responses to “Toradora!: Bentou no Gokui OVA”

  1. Ultimaniac says:

    I had so much fun watching this. I don’t even care about a lack of substance. Depth ends with the main series in my opinion. Anything after that is fan service. I thought Ryuuji’s competition with Mio-chan was hilarious. I almost died laughing at Ryuuji cooking rice in the classroom! XD

  2. AstroNerdBoy says:

    The rice cooker was the funniest moment to be sure. ^_^

  3. AcceleGamer says:

    I just wanted to point out in case you haven’t realized it yet, the beginning of the ova (when Taiga is preparing the bento) and the end when everyone is at the picnic happens after Taiga gets back at the end of the series. The clue that proves this is the Sakura blossoms which only appear in early April. Everything in between takes place in the middle of the series, most likely in between the culture festival and student council election arcs.

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