Toradora is still one of the most popular romantic comedy anime of the past few decades, though some fans don’t realize that it’s an adaptation. It’s originally one of three light novel series created by Yuyuko Takemiya, which also included Golden Time. That series also got an anime adaptation, but it didn’t lead to nearly the same success.
Golden Time and Toradora are actually somewhat similar in plot, and given their identical genres, it would be expected that the former would’ve been as big a hit as the latter. Sadly, this wasn’t the case, and this mainly stemmed from several differences. Here’s why the creator of Toradora didn’t see as much impact from one of her other franchises.
Toradora and Golden Time are Vaguely Similar Romantic Comedy Anime
The plot of Toradora involves a student named Ryuji — who’s mistakenly seen as an angry, thuggish young man — running afoul of Taiga Aisaka, the “Palmtop Tiger.” This diminutive menace is also his classmate, with the two discovering each other’s mutual crushes (their best friends from childhood). The situation sees them forming an alliance and begrudging friendship, with the two ironically falling in love with people they never expected to.
Golden Time follows Banri Tada, a law school student who doesn’t remember much of his past following an accident in high school. He’s now somewhat haunted by the literal spirit of his memories but soon befriends a young man named Mitsuo. Unfortunately, Mitsuo’s “friend” Koko Kaga hounds them both, hoping to get Mitsuo to marry her as he once promised. The result is the characters all growing far from where they started, as Banri and Koko both become closer.
Darker Themes and Bad Pacing Kept Golden Time from Replicating Toradora’s Success
Given how much their storylines mirror each other, not to mention being created by the same writer, it’s easy to assume that Golden Time and its anime are held in the same regard as that of Toradora. After all, both feature fairly neurotic young ladies as main characters, with their sometimes violent antics adding to the comedy. The two heroines even look similar, although Koko isn’t quite as small as Taiga. Unfortunately, a number of differences and issues kept that from happening. For one, Golden Time is a bit more serious than Toradora, dealing with more adult themes and concepts that somewhat take away from the otherwise comedic nature. When combined with the law school setting — as opposed to the high school premise of Toradora — it’s no surprise that younger audiences might not relate as much.
Likewise, Toradora simply told its story in a much better way, especially in the case of the anime. The pacing and character development is nearly perfect in that series, with the saddened realization of Taiga’s love for Ryuji being a particularly heartbreaking and great scene. Conversely, there’s a lot of padding and filler in Golden Time, as Banri’s character takes forever to grow. He’s constantly running away from the smallest emotional reaction, and this derails both his progression and that of the plot. This bad pacing makes Golden Time a much worse viewing experience than Toradora, which explains why comparatively few people still talk about it.
Even the similarities to Toradora feel almost forced, as if the series creator was attempting to do a darker, more mature take on the same characters without actually doing so. Perhaps the worst part of the equation is that Golden Time’s anime even lacks the greatness of Toradora’s theme song “Pre-Parade,” which itself is still very popular. Given these shortcomings, it’s no shocker that, despite their parallels, Golden Time ultimately failed to hold a candle to its predecessor.