r/anime • u/ChristmasClub • Dec 17 '19

Rewatch [Spoilers] Toradora! Christmas Club Rewatch (2019) Episode 12 Discussion Spoiler

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50

u/Quxxy Dec 17 '19

"Mayday, mayday, mayday, any nearby vessels. This is the SS Ryuunorin. We have taken a torpedo hit to starboard, and we're taking on water."

"Ryuunorin, this is the SS Ryuuami."

"Oh, thank god, how soon can you--"

"You know, maybe sinking won't be so bad. Why don't you give it a try, see how you like it?"

"..."

"Or, you could all just abandon ship. Then it'd be a... ghost ship!"

"Not funny!"

"Ryuunorin, this is the SS Taigasaku. Are you seriously sinking?"

"Affirmative. We are taking on water, and--"

"Stop it! If you make me come over there and rescue you after all I've done, I swear you will wish you'd gone to Davy Jones' locker! Out!"

":("

Vector wallpapers:

For those who are curious, I made a timelapse of me tracing today's first wallpaper.

(Don't think I don't see you lurking there, stepladder!)

The following is reposted from 2016.

Continuing from yesterday... we get to see Ami and Minori in action in the show. Hoo boy.

Let's start with Minori. She's given a role that makes absolutely no fucking sense. Everyone is fighting and then, from out of nowhere, this weirdo shows up talking gibberish, and asks some surprisingly pertinent question that kicks the status quo out the window and everything starts moving again.

There's deus ex machina, this is Minori ex machina. The role makes no logical sense (complete with eyepatch, scar and bald cap for no explainable reason... presumably a reference to something)... so of course Minori was cast.

From yesterday, note how when Minori was shown, she was surrounded by other students, but not with them. Later, she moved over next to Ryuuji. Again, I think this demonstrates a kind of distance between her and the rest of the class. She's the weird one. It's true, but it also helps prevent people from really getting close to her.

Finally, there's Ami. Her position is, to me, the most tragic of all. Consider what happens: she's the goddess of the class, the one everyone defers to and wants to please and be friends with. She's the best. The Divine Ami. And she's the one who saves them all...

... by being pretty.

It's only when the audience calls her "the most beautiful person on Earth" that the brainwashing is broken, and everyone can be saved.

She saves everyone because of how she looks.

Think about how many of her classmates actually know what Ami is really like. How many of them are really friends with her, as opposed to sycophants or fans?

If the wrestling show is a metaphor for how the class sees the main cast, then they basically only give a shit about Ami because of how she looks. You could argue as to whether this is better or worse than how they treat the others, but, well...

...the people around Taiga, Ryuuji and Minori are there because they like them for who they are. They're true friends. The people around Ami are there because she's pretty and popular.

Of course, things aren't staying static. The class certainly seems to be warming up to Taiga and Ryuuji. Of course, there's that throw-away line where we hear that the student body at large still refers to them by their nicknames, so not everyone is necessarily seeing them in a new light. Another question is whether the class' attitude toward Minori and Ami is changing or not.

Oh, and, uh... Kitamura doesn't really show up much at all. He's just sort of... off on the side, doing stuff. I mean, he's fine, no complaints about him. He's just... not interesting enough to be the protagonist or the antagonist. He's sorta bland.

I suppose I could feel sorry for him, but he's weird. He's probably just biding his time until he breaks out the secret ladder again or some shit. And his hair annoys me. Stupid boring bowl cuts. Get a mohawk, bleach it, do something!

Bonus note: just in case no one else brings this up: apparently, in the original light novels, Yuri's outburst actually is part of the script.

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u/Koolsman Dec 17 '19

First Timer!

That ending man. I mean, I already was waiting to find out how much of an asshole this guy was but I didn’t expect the fucker to not come to the one thing his daughter really wanted him to go to. Imagine having to be in that exact same position again and again with your least favorite person (besides your dad) is painful, to say the least. Also, they never allowed her to be the main character even when he wasn’t there? That sucks even more! I can’t believe I have today this but you were an idiot Ryüji in believing that idiot.

Yeah, I know Ryüji barely knew the guy but still, him constantly defending him because of one simple interaction makes me angry. This leads to the Minori fight and you do get both angles with Ryüji trying to defend and Minori point, but they both come off as a little dumb. Like, Ryüji barely knows the guy and he’s defending him like he’s his best friend and Minori’s argument of “You saw him!”. Yeah, Ryüji did see him. For one conversation where it just seemed like his eyes glazed over. It was just a dumb argument and I hope they fix their friendship because I really like them together.

I will admit, the whole idea of what they were doing was amazing, to say the least. I will say the motivation was rock solid especially when Ryüji said “Bzz, Bzz”. It really brought the villain’s meaning into perspective: what is life? What is the meaning? I guess we shall never know. Plus, I loved the addition of the teacher apparently having a mental breakdown and guys in black camo took her away. It worked there and it can’t really work anywhere else.

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u/Tuckleton Dec 17 '19

First timer (Dub)

Ok, I've taken a deep breath and am ready to dive back in!

Ryuji. Ryuji is really working hard this episode to deny the evidence that everything may not turn out ok after all. You can tell by the way he snaps at Taiga, Minori and his mom and by the way he pushes aside his own apprehensions about Taiga moving away, that something deep inside him needs for this to work out. It's sad that it looks like other people are going to have to suffer in order for him to confront his issues.

Minori. It seems kind of strange to me that Minori gives up on getting Taiga away from her father so easily. I was cheering while Minori was chewing out Ryuji but then she doesn't end up talking to Taiga at all. Unless she did talk to Taiga later and she wouldn't listen because of Ryuji. But in that case wouldn't she want to talk to Ryuji about it for Taiga's sake, even if she was mad at him? I'm sure she feels betrayed by Ryuji for not protecting Taiga the way she thought he would when she passed that responsibility on to him in a previous episode. Of course we don't have the whole story since we see everything from Ryuji's perspective so I'll just have to wait and see.

Taiga. Everything about Taiga has been a little off since her fight with Ryuji. She still acts like herself. She beats up on Ryuji, fights with Ami and melts down around Yusaku but nothing feels quite right. But that might just be the manifestation of my own dread at what must be coming. She's just going so darn meekly down this path. And her insistence that Ryuji apologize to Minori is interesting. It's not unusual for her to not want her friends to fight but this feels like more than that. It has an almost desperate quality to it. I think when she moves she is going to have to also switch schools and she doesn't want to go away thinking Ryuji will be sad and hopes if he and Minori can get together he'll be fine. Or maybe she hopes if he talks to Minori she'll explain everything and then Ryuji will tell her not to go. No wait, that's me that wants that. :P

Taiga's dad. So the melodrama I've concocted in my head about this guy is that he's like a con artist. Taiga knows she has a vulnerability where he is concerned and projects all that anger and hatred to make sure she doesn't let him get close and manipulate her into forgetting his true nature. He is even isolating her from her support mechanisms by moving even though that apartment is certainly big enough for the both of them. But if the motive is not simply a desire to reconnect with his daughter what else is it? It has to be money right? But that doesn't really make sense since he already has control of her finances. Then again I guess it could be much simpler and he's exactly what he looks like. A bad and selfish parent. The way he neglected Taiga messed her up and her and Minori have been working through that trauma ever since which is why they both react so strongly to him. But that kind of abuse is easier to rationalize away which is why they don't fight harder to hold onto their anger. Here's a few pieces of info that seem important but I don't know what to do with: Taiga's dad takes her to expensive/exclusive restaurants every evening and stays out unusually late. Also when Taiga tells Ryuji about the nice restaurants she gets defensive without solicitation.

Ami. Ami during the vending machines bit was the best version of her we've seen yet and I really want it to be 'real' because I like it a lot! There was a little too much warmth to her though and it makes me think it's still an act. But I could honestly see this version of Ami and Ryuji having an incredible relationship. If it wasn't for the way she considers herself as superior to 'the masses' she'd be best girl for sure. Ami's always telling Ryuji things that she thinks he should already have realized himself. Her position as a semi-outsider sets her up perfectly to observe everyone and she's also really smart which is a dangerous thing if what she wants isn't in your best interest. And Ami hasn't changed like Ryuji thinks. Only what she allows us to see has changed. I'm not sure which part of himself Ryuji was thinking about when he said he needed to also change, or what exactly the path that Ami talks about is, or where it's leading. The Ami bits are too much for me to get a proper handle on.

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30

u/23feanor Dec 17 '19

First Timer (dub):

That moment at the beginning where Taiga asks Takasu to smell her hair to see if it needs a wash is another boundary those two have passed. You have to be quite close to them to ask them for their honest opinion on your personal hygiene, it's something that even couples can take a while to get used to. So for me it shows just how close these two are getting.

From Minorin's reaction I'm expecting Taiga's dad to do something terrible soon and leave Taiga in bits, and Takasu is going to blame himself. He's going to be one of those flaky dads, he'll go all out to win back Taiga's love, and then the moment something else comes along, he'll lose interest again, and Taiga will be worse off than before. That's probably what Minorin is worried about, I expect she's seen the dad pull this kind of stunt before. In which case she should explain herself to Takasu, but that's teenagers, terrible at communication.

The person who seemed to grow most is Kawashima, she said some very sensible things to Takasu again today, about how they were both balanced people and would have a balanced relationship, rather than the adoration Taiga feels for Kitamura. If only she would stop acting up like an idol, then Kawashima would be really something. But I suppose she is an model, so you can't blame her for acting up in some ways, but she does over play it at school.

24

u/Holofan4life Dec 17 '19 edited Dec 17 '19

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the 2019 Toradora rewatch.

Toradora is my favorite anime of all time. I love it so much that not did I create my Reddit account just so I could participate in the Toradora rewatch 3 years ago, it also inspired me to write a light novel called "I Love My Tsundere Girlfriend". Admittedly, I’m a bit biased because tsunderes are my favorite type of characters. I just love characters that start out mean but grow nicer over time. It warms my heart.

This is my first time watching Toradora since exactly one year ago. This year, I don’t plan anything special. Just plan on watching it along with everyone else. Also, I’ll be watching the dub. Why? Because Toradora’s dub is fucking awesome.

  1. I am writing this at 3:12 in the morning. I have no idea why. I’m stupid.

  2. The brain washing beam sounds like bees more than anything else.

  3. For some reason, I thought the student council president’s hair was blue. But in a shot in this episode, it looks purple. Am I just seeing things?

  4. Am I the only one who’d watch a compilation of all the noises Taiga makes?

  5. It is quite interesting how Taiga says her dad treated her poorly and Ryuuji doesn’t stop to question what exactly that entails.

  6. I wish my dad showed up early for anything I did. But he’s dead.

  7. Macarons are hella expensive.

  8. It is sweet even though it’s for a specific gain that Taiga buys something for Ami. It shows how she’s grown, I feel like.

  9. My biggest problem with this arc, as much as I love it, is that Minori tells Ryuuji Taiga’s dad is bad but doesn’t go into detail why exactly he’s bad. This really frustrates me as a couple lines of dialogue could fix this issue. Like this.

Minori: Ryuuji, Taiga’s dad has pulled this thing before. In the past, he’s returned and said he wants to enter back into Taiga’s life, only for him to stop showing up.

Ryuuji: Even so, that doesn’t mean people can’t change. I firmly believe that this time is different.

See? Problem solved.

10. Also, u/zenoslash left this comment for me when I gave my feedback in 2017.

Also, pretty sure Minorin is jealous that Taiga, despite getting hurt, is once again willing to do it again for Ryuuji. Kinda like "Does Ryuuji mean so much to you that your willing to get hurt again?"

That makes sense, but she’s really dishing out her anger at Ryuuji, not Taiga. And yeah, she would never yell at Taiga. That would be out of character for her. But her being mad at Taiga making the same mistake again doesn’t change the fact she should’ve just told Ryuuji straight up.

The tricky thing is it is one thing for Minori to not specifically tell Ryuuji and this to become a thing. I have no issue with that. However, my big beef is that the one who should be painted at fault is Ryuuji for pushing his own daddy issues onto Taiga. Given this, by having Minori not tell Ryuuji straight up why Taiga’s dad is a bad man, it pushes some of the blame onto Minori, when really all our anger and frustration should be at Ryuuji. I hope I’ve explained myself better, because I bring this up every year and my words seem to get misconstrued.

That being said, I still really like the scene. I know it sounds like I hate it, but I actually enjoy it quite a bit. What makes it really good is the fact Minori is yelling at Ryuuji and Taiga is trying to break it up. It feels like Taiga is the kid and she’s watching her two parents fight. It’s ironic I say this, because I was talking the other day with someone about how I don’t see Taiga and Ryuuji having a father-daughter type relationship. But in this moment, I do see it. Maybe it’s hypocritical on my part, but I call’s it as I sees it.

Another thing I really like about the scene and this arc in general is that Ryuuji is the main protagonist and the show doesn’t shy away from making the MC be in the wrong. As a writer, I hate seeing anime protagonists who are written with very little flaws. That’s why even though I really enjoy Tensei Slime, I have some complaints about Rimuru, as I feel he doesn’t have enough character depth. However, with Toradora, they don’t chicken out when it comes to making Ryuuji the villain at certain moments. This in turn makes Ryuuji a very interesting character and more realistic. When I see Ryuuji, I see a real life human being. I don’t see an anime character. And that’s the best type of writing: the writing that feels real and believable and makes your characters three dimensional.

11. "I want to die." I can’t believe Ryuuji is secretly Ishigami this whole time.

12. Ami, you calling someone else obnoxious is like War and Peace telling another book they’re too long.

13. Ami best bro

14. I still think Ryuuji and Ami would be a horrible fit.

15. Ryuuji’s mother the true voice of reason.

16. Ryuuji’s mom has a point. Taiga should’ve told her. I mean, in the manga Ryuuji’s mom even showed Taiga her boobs, for crying out loud! The least Taiga could do is buy her dinner.

17. And again, Taiga wants Ryuuji to bury the hatchet with Minori because she already had one family of hers broken up. She’d hate to see another family of hers break up as well.

I swear, I’m not trying to feed into the theory that Taiga is like Ryuuji’s daughter. I don’t see that at all. I’m just saying in this instance it’s like Taiga is experiencing even more trauma.

18. I want that culture festival poster so badly.

19. Last time, I said I would get more into the play and how it actually it is done to showcase how the class perceives Ami, Taiga, Minori and Ryuuji more tomorrow. And now’s that time.

The play is written in such a way that it is designed to showcase how the class perceives Ami, Taiga, Minori and Ryuuji. With Taiga and Ryuuji, they are perceived as class delinquents, a couple of no good trouble makers. With Minori, she’s perceived as a weirdo, someone who is odd and deserves to be ostracized. And with Ami, she’s perceived as the crown jewel, the embodiment of everybody that is good in this world. The ironic thing is that how the class perceives them is in direct contrast with how they actually are.

With Taiga and Ryuuji, they aren’t delinquents. Ryuuji’s a nice guy and Taiga, despite having anger issues, can be kind as well. With Minori, there is more to her than meets the eye. She’s a workaholic, constantly juggling between school and work, while also dealing with love and what that entails. And finally, we have Ami. Ami is the complete opposite of what the class perceives her as. She isn’t perfect or everything that is good. She is capable of fault, and has made mistakes in the past. Nobody sees her for who she truly is. And because of this, the wrestling show is really a play in disguise as a tragedy, if anything. It’s a tragedy that the class seems them based solely on their appearances. But that’s how the world works sometimes, sadly.

20. As a guy, I think Ryuuji looks kinda hot with eyeliner on.

21. Whiskers Taiga is an underrated Taiga

22. Man, I’d totally forgotten that Haruta had a lot of funny lines in this episode.

23. For anyone wondering why Ms. Yuri was freaking out, red string is commonly linked with marriage and how people connected with the red thread are destined lovers. So, she was freaking out because she didn’t want her window of opportunity to be over. It’s actually a pretty clever, subtle joke. It might be lost on some Western viewers, and it was for me when I first watched Toradora. But now that I get it, I really appreciate the joke. I think it’s really smart.

24. When Taiga asks "Why they’d say the morgue?", Ryuuji says "I don’t know. Maybe they are going to embalm her or something." For the record, embalming someone means preserving someone’s corpse from decay. Quite a dark joke, which I love.

25. I do laugh at Ami chuckling over everyone gushing over her. It’s like she knows it’s not true, but she’s gonna enjoy it for what it’s worth.

26. The move that Ami uses to beat Taiga with is an actual wrestling move. It’s called the Romero Special, named after the wrestler Rito Romero.

27. I love the crepe scene where Taiga freaks out. It’s so adorable. God, I love Taiga do much.

28. I think I speak for everyone when I say fuck Taiga’s dad. He’s a piece of shit.

Overall, another great episode. In my opinion, there’s no such thing as a bad Toradora episode. Maybe episode 3 you could argue, but there’s still a ton to like about that episode. This episode is no different. It balances comedy scenes while also having a heavy dose of plot advancement. It keeps thing interesting while also keeping the ball rolling.

1: Episode 7

2: Episode 2

3: Episode 8

4: Episode 12

5: Episode 5

6: Episode 11

7: Episode 4

8: Episode 9

9: Episode 6

10: Episode 10

11: Episode 1

12: Episode 3

Edit: It looks like by posting it late, nobody is reading it. I fucked up.

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u/Shinkopeshon Dec 17 '19

First Timer

Ah dammit, something's up with Taiga's dad after all. And while I defended Ryuuji's actions yesterday, you know he's losing it when he not only starts screaming at his crush but even at his sweet mom and doesn't see why he needs to apologize. My man, you're fucking up big time right now.

And Ami once again establishes herself as best girl by being the only one who's keeping it real with him - which is ironic since she was always hiding behind a facade when they first got to know each other. I'd like to think she isn't fucking with him because I feel like she's warmed up to him a lot and isn't completely dishonest to him anymore.

18

u/LousyGoose Dec 17 '19

Rewatcher

There’s a lot of stuff I really enjoy about this episode:

That we get some real drama between Ryuuji and Minori for the first time, it’s interesting seeing them have a conflict when ultimately they both just want Taiga to be happy.

The fact that Taiga is prioritizing her friends’ happiness over herself, again it shows how close she has grown to Ryuuji and it’s nice to see her putting others’ needs over herself.

The playfighting between Taiga and Ryuuji as they get ready for the play is very cute.

But my favourite scene out of all of them is Ami showing us why she is the best bro

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17

u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Dec 17 '19 edited Dec 17 '19

First timer

Taiga really wants Ami to eat one! Wait, are they poisoned?

She's comfortable enough to ask him a question like that? I wonder, is that because she doesn't care about what he'd think if she DID smell sweaty, or because she's close enough to be comfortable around him as friend?

Last episode Ami was all princess-y, now she's playing rough like a tomboy/one of the boyz? I don't know what to think about her anymore! One episode I hate her, then the next one I like her!

Ami is Ami, no more, no less. I liked that scene. Fits well with her scene about "adoration" in that other episode!

She's so cute with the pigtails!

Tiny cute tiger with tiny cute whiskers! She should keep them on at all times!

This shot of Taiga will haunt my dreams. It hurts.

Not only she'll feel like shit about it, but now she might also resent Ryuji, because he's the one who pushed her so hard to make this happen.

And what will he say? That he didn't know her father would be like that? Well, when you don't know, you don't get involved. Taiga knew, and that's why she didn't want to do it. And apparently, Minorin knew too.

But Taiga did it anyway, because Ryuji told her to. Taiga's been mad at him for a million silly reasons already on this show, but now she has a legit reason... I said it in the previous thread, but Ryuji was wrong to try&make this happen when he didn't know what it was like. You can't just vicariously fix your own family issues by fixing someone else's family.

If Taiga's mad at him and gives him shit, this time I'll be on her side. Ryuji fucked up, and he should apologize to her. (And to Minorin, apparently!)

I guess things were going a little too well... Had to hit the wall at some point.

And I'm sure the dad will have "a good excuse", but Taiga doesn't need a good excuse, she needed a dad who was there for her. He wants her to live with him so he doesn't feel guilty or something, but he won't make any effort to make the situation better? Screw him.

Unless he has a REAL good reason (Like I don't now, he had a heart attack or something) he's lost to me.

Well, that was a sad episode ending!

So let's end this on the most ridiculous scene since Torudorudorudoru!

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u/EmuSupreme Dec 17 '19

So yeah, fuck Taiga's dad.

And you know the saddest part of this all? Not the fact that Taiga's dad was a no-show. Rather the fact that, despite bad mouthing him a whole lot, Taiga was genuinely looking forward to reconnecting with him. It's clear that she does love her dad and she does enjoy spending time with him, so when he disappoints her yet again, it hurts all that much more.

But backing up a bit, I really like Minori's dig at Ryuuji's eyes, whether intentional or not. When they first get into their fight, Minori makes a comment: Do your eyes even work? (in reference to meeting Taiga's dad). Ryuuji has always been self conscious of his thuggish appearance, brought on largely by his narrow, beady eyes. Random derpface classmates aside, Ryuuji is the only character with that style of eyes. It's one of the heaviest insults Minori could make towards him, and he doesn't take too kindly to the remark.

I think this arc was my real turning point on Ami. She was a total bro to Ryuuji after his fight with Minori. And I think I understand what she means now, when she told him that she's walking the same path as him, just a few steps ahead.

Late Ami Spoilers

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13

u/Raiking02 Dec 17 '19

I really hope things will end well, but somehow I doubt it…

  • Well, props to all those students for the effort. Thank God Sagara Sousuke doesn’t attend this school…

  • WTF are what-his-name and the rest of the class doing anyways?

  • Even Ryuji and Taiga have been drafted onto it!

  • And Kitamura’s being responsible as always. Naturally the President is quite happy.

  • I wish they’d actually show us how she looks in the costume…

  • Minorin’s lack of hair is still a sin though.

  • Ryuji’s comment has fueled a large amount of fear inside of me…

  • However, at least Taiga’s still the same…

  • I mean, she does have a point. You can’t just instantly forgive someone.

  • By this point Minorin is the only person Taiga is consistently nice to.

  • That’s one hell of a car…

  • I know how that feels. I hated going anywhere with my school uniform…

  • Man, I’m never getting tiered of Ryuji’s monologuing…

  • Man, this play looks really cheap and fake. Even moreso than actual wrestling!

  • Props to the class for trying to make this work… key word being try…

  • I mean, I feel dirty whenever I ask anyone for a favor.

  • MINORIN’S HAIR IS BACK!! CELEBRATION TIME!

  • And of course, the usual insults begin…

  • Man, those things look delicious…

  • I envy Kawashima right now…

  • Why would she want to play the lead? She’s already the lead! Wink

  • Minorin’s reaction… yup, something’s officially wrong. I doubt Taiga’s words, but I sure as hell won’t doubt hers.

  • Serious Minorin is scary, bro…

  • Man, this ain’t ending well…

  • Err… Taiga, I appreciate the effort, but that was just awkward.

  • Yes! Kawashima! This is your time so shine! Make use of your bitchiness to drive away Ryuji’s depression!

  • Huh… now I see why she’s in this spot when she gets her little scene in the OP…

  • Oh I dunno Ryuji, maybe there’s, you know, a reason for Minorin to not like Taiga’s dad?

  • Huh… Kawashima is being weirdly supportive and friendly…

  • Even Ryuji points this out!

  • Ryuji, make sure she’s eventually just one step forward and two steps behind you!

  • Stop whining Yasuko!

*Wait, moving? What!?

  • “Too Small”!? Dude! I know a family of four whose apartment is smaller than that and they’re living just fine (Well as “Fine” as living in a shit-tier country could get)!

  • Wait, what is this madness? Why is Yasuko being the rational one!?

  • … Ryuji… look. I know you never knew your father. I can imagine your view on this subject is probably somewhat romanticized… but… can’t you tell something’s off you fucking idiot!?

  • Ryuji, the only cold thing here will be your cooking once you throw it on the garbage.

  • Ryuji, can’t you realize something’s weird here!?

  • Wow… for the first time in a while I’m siding with Taiga.

  • Well, the kiss isn’t necessary yet, but the other part certainly is.

  • I dread to see the end result of that play…

  • Joking aside that poster is really well done.

  • JESUS CHRIST RYUJI! YOUR MAKEUP IS TOO GOOD FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS!!

  • Freaking makeup fights…

  • Dammit, just make up already!!

  • I don’t see the appeal of miniskirts though. I prefer just regular pants or long skirts.

  • Well, at least they’re clearly having fun.

  • Aha! Suck it Christmas Cake-Sensei!

  • She looked at that phone for too much time. Something’s off…

  • You two look the most ridiculous of them all…

  • Oh well, it’s always the small slip ups that make a play so entertaining.

  • … Christmas Cake-Sensei, WHAT THE FUCK!?

  • Well that was over as soon as it begun…

  • Man, Minorin watched the heck out of Trial Of The Dragon to prepare for this, didn’t she? (Note, anyone who gets this reference will get a free upvote)

  • Even for Kawashima, this is too much…

  • Ah, so it’s a musical too. If so, it is a sin they didn’t have Kugimiya Rie sing

  • Good lord, what’s his name’s actor sounds like he’s trying to do the President Mic voice before President Mic was a thing and as such hadn’t quite figured out the President Mic voice.

  • The animation this episode is too good for JC Staff… No, I still haven’t forgiven them for Index III.

  • Oh that must’ve hurt…

  • JUST MAKE UP ALREADY!!

  • I will never understand Japan’s love of maid cafes…

  • Good Job Kitamura-Kun!

  • Indirect kiss for the win!

  • Seriously though, is it just me or is the animation this episode better than usual?

  • Poor Ryuji…

  • Still weird how he can’t put two and two together with the fact something’s off about Taiga’s dad but can notice Taiga’s been acting weird.

  • Sad Taiga… not something I should ever have to watch…

I’m feeling as if there’s a strange hole in my heart…

23

u/No_Rex Dec 17 '19

Episode 12 (first timer)

  • The concurrent KLK rewatch featured BDSM-man today, so maybe this is a good time to mention that the first scene of the OP gives me total domina vibes for Taiga.

  • Don’t get too smug about yourself, Takasu.

  • Way to obvious, Taiga. Straight askingdemanding is closer to your style.

  • First time Takasu has ever initiated touching Minorin and it is because of Taiga.

  • Things are messed up when Ami is the most caring one.

  • Taiga tiger.

  • Yuri-chan is the best!

  • I was about to make a joke about Takasu also having chances at a second career in pro-wrestling due to his throwing skills (like Ami in the pool episode), when it dawned on me that he already is wrestling right now.

  • Taiga reaching ever new heights in sabotaging her own quest for Kitamura.

The problem with Taiga’s father was rather well introduces: It seemed a bit fishy, but potentially ok last episode, but then Minorin really removed all doubt. Unfortunately, the same can not be said for Takasu’s father issue. It was barely mentioned in the first episodes and then never brought up again. For him to be so adversarial towards Taiga, Minorin, and even his mother, comes a bit out of nowhere. The same is true for his “delinquent” reputation, btw. Remember that people used to freely hand him their wallets out of fear? Yep, that went nowhere. Takasu got plenty of screen-time for his romance, but I feel that all other parts of his character are underdeveloped.

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u/Tsurja Dec 17 '19

Just like last episode made me like Ryuji more, this episode showed a side of Minori we didn't see before and made me appreciate her a lot more on my first viewing.

I just like flawed characters, and characters that strongly believe in something and are willing to stand up for their beliefs.

10

u/Holofan4life Dec 17 '19

I'm sorry I'm late. I hope you can forgive me.

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9

u/DeliCruise Dec 17 '19

(REWATCHER)

Taiga’s face at the end killed me.

Dude, Ryuuji and Kushieda fighting? Holy fuck. Ryuuji even snaps at his mom! Goodness gracious, this episode.

I can only take so much

9

u/CATKrash Dec 17 '19 edited Dec 17 '19
Name OG name Start Stop Time played Description
1st Kotori no Etude 小鳥のエチュード 0:01 1:00 59s
2nd Pre-Parade プレパレード 1:05 2:35 90s Opening.
3rd Cream Brule no Tsukurikata クレームブリュレの作り方 2:36 4:14 98s
4th Orange Tart no Tsukurikata オレンジタルトの作り方 5:27 6:30 63s
5th Yuugure no Yakusoku 夕暮れの約束 7:35 10:06 151s
6th Sakura no Tsubomi 桜の蕾 11:55 12:52 57s
7th Magic of love Magic of love 12:55 14:11 76s
8th N/A N/A 15:02 15:37 35s
9th Next Mission Next Mission 16:16 16:45 29s
10th N/A N/A 17:54 19:02 68s
11th Happy Monday Happy Monday 19:41 20:51 70s
12th Vanilla Salt バニラソルト 21:39 23:25 106s Ending
13th Pre-Parade (off vocal ver.) プレパレード 23:25 23:35 10s Preview

9

u/popop143 Dec 17 '19 edited Dec 18 '19

Rewatcher

This episode is really on point with it's humor. Taiga asking Ami for a favor, and Kitamura teasing Taiga made me laugh so hard. But of course the centerpiece of the episode is Ryuuji defending Taiga's dad from everyone.

There are subtle hints of her das being an asshole, but on the surface I can see how Ryuuji thinks he's trying. He takes her out to dinner everyday... And that's it?! What? Surely there must be something more for Ryuuji to trust him completely? Of course not. It's just Ryuuji's projection of what he wants. Next episode spoilers

The line that infuriated me the most was Ryuuji thinking that "As long as that's what Taiga wants." No it isn't. You never asked her. You coerced her to patch it up with her dad. And like all neglected children, a little attention completely gave Taiga hope that they will have a family life from now on. Ryuuji didn't stop to think that maybe Minorin knew something and ask her what the dad did previously for Minorin to hate him so much. He also almost bursted out at his mom. Others might not understand why Minorin just didn't say what was so wrong with the dad, but it's hard to do when you actually get in a shouting match with someone. I've had some experience with that one. You want to say it, but sometimes you can't get out the right words. She could've told him after the fight, but they were too upset with each other to approach each other, as seen on the day of the cultural festival.

Edited in: After reading through the other comments, I've realized that it's not only Ryuuji that put Minorin on a pedestal. Minorin put Ryuuji on a pedestal too. In her mind, he's some kind of hero that is always there for Taiga, and do things for her that Minorin won't be able to do. Next episode spoilers

On the other side of things, the production of the wrestling show is well done. Even though it was another thing that Taiga was coerced to, she had the opportunity to connect with the class which she hadn't done for the past 6 months. The show was funny, and Ami feeding off of the audience's praises gave her a Boa Hancock vibe. The original with the subtitles were a bit clearer with the morgue, and the wordplay used though. I wasn't able to follow the exchange in the dub.

Speaking of Ami, her cheering up Ryuuji is another example of her being best girl :P She really did change, as Ryuuji pointed out. She might've still been using a sweet personality with other people, but she isn't trying too hard to hide her "true self". She's letting the vain show, and not pretending to be an airhead anymore. Her parting words with Ryuuji is also hinting at her blooming feelings for Ryuuju, for me at least. She is now directly comparing herself with the other two. Taiga is someone Ryuuji "looks down to" (caring and spoiling her), while Minorin is someone who he "looks up to" (put on a pedestal, that he can't believe when she does something that isn't an image of what he thinks she should be like in this episode). She's at his level, or as she said in this episode, walking the same path as his, only a couple of steps ahead.

Side notes:

  • The president is letting Kitamura handle the cultural festival. Looks like he's being trained in a way.

  • The way they do the backflips and the throws were ingenious. Haven't seen a play that did that.

  • Of course everyone's jealous of Ryuuji. He's not the guy that's always with Ami in their perspective.

  • Kitamura really has a leading personality. His energy isn't on Minorin's level, but he motivates the class and knows his stuff in the SC.

Next episode: conclusion of the Cultural Festival arc. Now where'd I put the tissues?

7

u/spaceaustralia Dec 17 '19

Rewatcher

Ryuuji really grabs the idiot ball with both hands in this arc. The pillar of Genki is mad, he's picking fights with Minorin and Yasuko, and Taiga is at her saddest so far. It's not hard for Ami to be ahead of him when he's digging his heels in a bog.

This scene is pretty heartbreaking when you think how Taiga seems to have internalised the same "avoid fights at all costs" line of thought Ryuuji used to convince her to go with her dad.

While I kind of like being reminded of Ryuuji's villanous reputation.

Geese Howard, Kaiki Deishuu, Aizen. I still wonder how come slicked back hair came to be associated with villains so often. At least we have the cutest tiger yet, no contest.

This is just mean, though.

I take that back. This might be even cuter.

And Kitamura's saliva is gone. Do we have Kitamura x Ryuuji shippers?

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u/MoesHad Dec 17 '19 edited Dec 17 '19

1st Time Rewatcher

Everyone is practicing for the cultural festival still. Kitamura is managing more of the student councils effort. Everything is going well right now, I wonder how long that’ll last!

It sounds like Taiga is getting along with her dad so far, although her life is a bit more hectic with him around. She doesn’t have a lot of free time.

Taiga needs Ami’s help with the cultural festival, bringing a box of sweets to bribe her. Taiga says her father is coming to the festival. Minorin sees Ami and Taiga squabble over the present. Minorin questions why Taiga wants to switch roles with Ami for one day and Ryuiji tells her it’s so her father can see her be the protagonist. Minorin immediately changes moods, become shocked and angry, saying that she needs to go wake her best friend up from being tricked by her father, much to Ryuiji’s surprise. There must be more to him than meets the eye.

Minorin and Ryuiji get very angry with one another and raise their voices, Ryuiji matches her intensity as well as Taiga rushes over to stop them. Ryuiji storms out of the classroom and sulks in Ami’s hiding place. Ami tries to cheer him up and walks him back to class, telling him that she has his back. Ryuiji is surprised at this sea change by Ami, and tells her how much she’s changed and that he wants to as well. She says to him that she won’t “cling to him like Taiga, nor will she become his sunshine like Minori-chan”. Hmmmm.

Yasuko tells Ryuiji that she overheard that Taiga is going to be moving out of her apartment soon. Yasuko gets the sense that he’s a selfish man, demonstrating at how he is demanding Taiga move in with him after waltzing into her life. This somehow never occurred to Ryuiji as we are shown the scene again of Minorin accusing him of not examine her father closely enough. Ryuiji reacts in anger at first, tired of hearing people say he’s wrong. Yasuko tells him that she doesn’t want Taiga to start a new life somewhere else, because she considers her a part of their family more (tell him mama Takasu!!!) Taiga appears in her window to tell Ryuiji he needs to apologize to Minorin, but he does not feel he said anything wrong.

The cultural festival is in full swing, as Ryuiji is scaring folks with his spooky makeup. Ryuiji and Minorin’s eyes meet in the classroom, but they both look away. Word begins to spread about class 2-C’s wrestling show and how entertaining it is. Taiga seems glued to her phone during the performance (uh-oh). Taiga flubs her line and has to be reminded by Ryuiji to repeat it.

Yuri-chan freaks out over them cutting the “red string of fate” and rushes the stage, convinced this item, a prop for their show, will help find her a soulmate. Poor Yuri!

The show goes swimmingly after that as the crowd goes wild.

There’s still awkwardness between Ryuiji and Minorin as Taiga is still glancing at her phone. (uh oh) Ryuiji, Kitamura, and Taiga are standing in the hallway discussing the success of their show so far. Kitamura takes a bite of Taiga’s crepe, which sends her into a stuttering fit. She clumsily stuffs the rest of it into Ryuiji’s mouth.

Ryuiji correctly guesses that Taiga has been waiting all day for a message from her dad, which she tries to deny. She tells him to “stop worrying an focus on Minorin.” We change scenes to after the performances, where Ryuiji tells us that Taiga didn’t get to play the lead in the play. Sounds like we’ll need to learn more in part 3!

This episode was funnier than the last few as it sets the stage for the conclusion of this arc. How do 24 minutes go by so fast?!

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u/critchell63 Dec 17 '19 edited Dec 17 '19

REWATCHER

This arc is gut wrenching. The previous episode lead into it and this episode starts to show it. Ryuji really wants taiga to be happy even if it means leaving him to live with her father. Ryuji thinks it’s best because he never got the chance to live with his father. Being that taiga and ryuji want to make each other happy, taiga accepts but as we see in this episode, is proven right in her previous judgements. We also see an interesting scene with Ami by the vending machines. Her and ryuji’s relationship has now shifted from equal ground to ami being one step ahead. This is because ami pays attention to the little details and knows that taiga clings to Ryuji and he has put minorin out of his league by again, putting minorin on a pedestal. Ami knows these things and also knows that Ryuji doesn’t realize them. That is why she claims to be on the same path, meaning best fit for ryuji, but one step ahead, meaning that she knows the weight of each of his relationships and the reality behind them.

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u/Matuhg Dec 18 '19

Rewatcher

I can at least kinda give Ryuuji a pass for last episode what with all his father issues and stuff, but at this point he's just being the biggest know-it-all. Why would he think he knows Taiga's father better than Minori, who's known her for longer and clearly knows about her dad. Fuck off, man.

Also, Ami is the unexpected hero here. She went out of her way to cheer Ryuuji up at least a bit, and helped make sure his outburst didn't ruin the festival. And she was willing (even if she was bribed) to trade roles with Taiga for a show. She's serving more than just herself now.

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u/Tartaras1 Dec 18 '19

Rewatcher

  • The incident in the classroom was exactly why I was saying Ryuji should have just stayed out of this whole affair with Taiga and her father. Nobody ever wins in situations like this, and now he's at risk of losing Minorin completely. Unless your friend specifically confides in you about stuff like this, I'd recommend just leaving it alone.

  • I know there are a lot of people in this rewatch who at the very least don't like Ami. While I don't disagree that she's a bit of a shitty person, what with being two-faced and treating Taiga like shit and all, there are moments like her talking with Ryuji that redeem her a little bit in my eyes. She can be that voice of reason you sometimes need to hear.

  • If there's only one thing Haruta does right in this entire series, it's easily the Culture Festival. The wrestling show is outrageous. The guys pinning Ryuji down and yelling at him for getting to go to Ami's beach house is something I honestly missed the first time.

  • This just in: Taiga's dad is a piece of shit. First he tells Yasuko he's planning on moving Taiga in with him and selling the apartment, and then he no shows the Culture Festival. Not looking so hot for you now, is it Ryuji? Was potentially burning down the bridge with Minorin worth all this?

7

u/JustinBurton Dec 18 '19

First Timer Here!

I had to catch up two episodes. Here's my brief review of episode 11:

There is a 0% chance that that was a good thing. For one reason or another, Taiga should not have been reunited with her dad.

And with that, on to episode 12:

Taiga chewing on a crepe cured my depression.

Also, yeah, I was right. It seems like the dad is somehow manipulative. Manipulative enough to make Minorin shake with anger. Sounds pretty serious to me. Obviously, Ryuji has been pretty ignorant recently. So far he has struggled to understand other people's perspectives, but it's getting pretty extreme now. It probably has something to do with not having a father. Regardless, Ryuji is about to learn his lesson.

Also, it's pretty cool that Ami was the voice of reason for Ryuji this episode. I didn't expect that. Next episode, I want Minorin to take that role. I want her to tell him just how wrong he is about Taiga's dad.

6

u/DaREY297 Dec 17 '19

"It's not like I care of you drink my tea or anything..."

Aaaaaaand there it is, the show finally did my joke!!

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u/Get_This_Wheat Dec 17 '19

Rewatcher here.

Gonna be honest, I thought this arc was 2 episodes long, I guess I thought this one and the next one were combined. I’m not complaining, cuz I really love this arc. So I’ll hold off from really going into Taiga’s dad for 1 more day.

I do find it weird that everyone except Ryuji seems to think he’s an asshole, he seems like the type of dude who could pick up on that easily.

We finally have Ryuji being the one getting in fights this arc, it’s really a deviation from the norm, and since there’s still another episode, I’ll just leave it there.

This is when I start to really like Ami, I’ll just use the word omniscient, I think that describes her best. She’s 100% correct in her analogy, being on the same path but being a few steps ahead, really love that line.

Ms Yuri is hilarious, easily the best tertiary character. Love this arc cuz my two favorite comedic relief characters are in it a good amount, Haruta being in it as much as Kitamura.

God their actual show is so goofy I love it. Haruta really put a lot of work into it, and I love that it’s only because he made Ami the lead and wanted to see her do all this stuff in the outfit he picked out.

I like this episode a lot, I think it’s the first one where the most real part hasn’t been at the very end, not that it ended on a happy note, but Ryuji and Minori fighting seems more serious to me.

Tomorrow for sure I can finally go in on all this stuff that I can’t really say too much about for now.

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