"Talking to you feels like having a period."

That line above is from Toradora! (yes, with an explanation point), the first anime I've ever completed. And yup, I just completed it last week. Don't judge!

Like, seriously? Quite possibly my favorite line ever.

Now, a bit about myself. I like anime. I think anime is cool. Heck, if I had a chance, I'd love to be in an anime. But unfortunately, I've never taken the time to watch a full season of anything, with the exception of Legend of Korra, which I don't really consider to be an anime anyways.

Why, you ask? The problem with me is time. I just don't have time to watch anime. You give me an anime with a hundred episodes in it? No thanks. I could play a couple of great RPG's with that time, and I'd arguably enjoy myself better. That's part of the reason why I got into Korra so quickly. It was twelve episodes long, got straight to the point, and wouldn't stop until the end.

Ironically, my biggest knock against Korra was that it felt too rushed.

So yes, back to Toradora!. I was recommended it by a friend of mine (who goes by the name Ethelon around the internetz) who insisted that I begin to embrace my Asian heritage (which apparently, only constitutes watching anime and eating rice... hmm). Of course, as I explained earlier, I really did want to get into anime (or at least get started), so I decided to check it out. At 25 episodes, it wasn't too long, but lengthy enough for me to seriously put some time into watching it.

To summarize the anime (no spoilers, I promise!), Toradora! is about a dude named Ryuji and a girl named Taiga. Apparently, Ryuji has a crush on Taiga's best friend Minorin, and Taiga has a crush on Ryuji's best friend Kitamura. After finding out about each other's love interests, the two decide to help each other get their respective crushes. The best part of the anime comes with the characters; Taiga is violent and oftentimes enslaves Ryuji to do anything she pleases, while Ryuji is more straightforward and is apparently OCD about everything. It's funny, interesting, and weird all at the same time, and with the exception of a few parts in the middle, I actually quite enjoyed it.

Someone&#Array;s getting a bit physical over here...

So, after watching all 25 episodes of Toradora!, I thought I'd highlight a couple of things I learned about Japanese anime.

1) Japanese metaphors are confusing. Me coming from a Chinese background, I really shouldn't have been all that surprised. The Chinese language is full of willy-nilly analogies and metaphors with background stories that honestly don't make a lot of sense, and I guess the Japanese language is similar. Like, everything they say sounds deep and all, but honestly, it all sounds like poetry: those strings of words sure sound pretty, but they seriously make no sense whatsoever.

2) Sexiness is good. It always strikes me odd that Japanese people are so open to... boobs. And while Toradora! isn't exactly the most sexual of animes out there (by a LONG shot), it certainly has its share of boob touching and countless sexual innuendos. I guess it isn't really that weird though; my friends and I do make a lot of p*nis jokes when we hang out, and if my life was an anime, people would probably think I have a strange addiction to phallic objects...

3) People like to grunt. Like, a lot. I don't think I went through a minute of Toradora! without a grunt or a moan or a sigh or a cough. I mean like, it's an anime, and I can tell when someone is angry or sad or dying or whatever, but do we seriously need all of these weird noises coming from these people's mouths? It feels kinda weird, watching people grunt over and over and over again. Kinda makes me want to grunt with them, strangely...

So yeah, anime. I want to watch more, and I'm open to any suggestions. Maybe you can recommend me some?

Just maybe?

What was YOUR first anime?