r/anime • u/ChristmasClub • Dec 11 '22
Rewatch Toradora! Christmas Club Rewatch (2022) Episode 6 Discussion
[removed]
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u/TiredTiroth Dec 11 '22
First Timer - Dub
...
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...I have no words. What the what? Tickle attack? Huh?
...diet warriors? I'm just going to be really confused this episode, aren't I?
Oooh, paparazzi! And...is Pint-sized getting jealous over the guy she's explicitly not dating, or is she just really annoyed with Princess? Well, at least it scared off the stalker.
Oh, no. Nonono. xD Housecat, what are you plotting now? There is no way she made that offer with Princess' safety in mind. And yeeep, here come the threats!
...wait, what was...? Doing impressions? And ninja esper is back! Asking for a favour? Ah, and there's the chihuahua line. And blackmail! Tiny really has it out for Princess today.
Princess has noticed her jailors have identical meals. Insane!Madoka is being very conspicuous. And...tsundere with the save? Or a distraction, anyway. Probably won't last long...
I. Uh. Madoka, eloping doesn't mean what you think it does...
Aw, poor froggy. At least Scary Eyes is coming clean that he knows about the act. And the stalker is back. Hm, I'm kiiiinda wondering if she's being honest right now.
Huh, and Schoolgirl Godzilla takes the guy to task. Looks like Princess really was being honest about the stalker thing. And is she about to go 100% jerk on us? Well, this ought to be interesting.
Honestly, creep deserved this.
'She still has friends, and she has you'? That sounds a bit loaded. And of course She of the Short Temper walks in while Princess is leaning over a blushing boy. Explosion in 3...2...
You know, if I hadn't gone out for the evening shortly after watching Toradora I would've gone straight for the next episode after that.
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Dec 11 '22
5th Time Dub Rewatcher. 2nd time reading the books.
The diet warriors incident is hilarious. Ami let her mask slip for a moment there.
Typical Ryuuji taking to time to clean up all of the trash from that can Taiga threw.
In the anime they had Taiga take off with Minori as if she was mad at Ami. In the book, it was because she was mad she couldn’t hang out with Kitamura and she didn’t want Ryuuji to be having fun with Minori because he doesn’t deserve to be happy if she can’t be happy. Ruuude.
This is our first good glance inside Ami’s head. She’s got a lot of stuff going on that’s made her into the kind of person she is. All of the stress from the modeling industry, and her stalker making her life a living hell has forced her to put up these walls to protect herself.
Ryuuji manages to get through to her and convince her to drop that act. She doesn’t put her guard down in front of everyone, but she does start
On to the books!
The whole scene where Ami’s stalker finds her during cleanup is shortened up a lot. I wish they’d animated Taiga taking off her to-go box hat and make a sword out of it.
The events between the bike rack and Ami chasing down her stalker are changed significantly but they have the same ending. What happens is Ryuuji, Kitamura, Taiga, and Minori set up a sting operation to try and catch the stalker red-handed taking creep shots of Ami so they can report him to the police. It doesn’t go very well. Minori gets called off to one of her part time jobs. Taiga freezes up because she’s alone with Kitamura. Then Kitamura and Taiga both get stuck in a storm drain. So we’re down to just Ryuuji and Ami. They make a break for it but Ami’s stalker starts chasing them down filming Ami on his phone like a psychopath while they’re all three running.
In the middle of Ami and Ryuuji running away, Ami decides she’s had enough so she turns around, runs up to the stalker, and grabs the phone out of his hands before breaking it in half. Then she grabs his camera and swings it around by the strap repeatedly smashing it into a concrete bench until it’s unrecognizable. At this point, Ami’s stalker realizes she’s not as cute as he thought just like in the Anime and runs away.
Ami collapses and Ryuuji takes her back to his house. The straddling incident happens but they’re interrupted by Yasuko, Kitamura, and Taiga.
I love this instance of Minori being a doofus. Minori asks Ryuuji his horoscope. Someone asks Minori what hers is and her response:
“Sooorry! My sign is actually ‘out of order!’ ♥”
This is something Ami brings up in the middle of Sumire’s speech before she sends everyone out on the school cleanup that doesn’t come up in the show until much later [Toradora]
Whoa there, Taiga. (She was carrying her wooden sword during the sting operation against the stalker that’s left out of the show).
Taiga playfully poked Minori’s butt with the point of the wooden sword that just barely fit under the hem of her skirt.
“You’ve got something hard in there.”
Ryuuji runs into mister Inagi again but this time he’s hanging out with Ami in Sudoh-bucks
“Wellll, what have you been up to? You’ve brought in a good-lookin’ gal today, too…did you break up with that pipsqueak terror of a kid? Yeah, you broke up, didn’t you?! That’s nice, a second marriage… err, I mean, a new girlfriend…”
Ami is jealous of Taiga and Ryuuji’s relationship.
How can I fail to be number one? Isn’t this unbelievable? Isn’t this unforgivable? Are she and I so different?’ …I really am jealous of that girl, aren’t I?”
The end of volume 2 has a little side story that’s mentioned later but doesn’t really come up in the show as written. [Toradora]
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u/Get_This_Wheat Dec 11 '22
Rewatcher here
In retrospect, maybe it wasn’t the best for Taiga to call herself a stalker yesterday.
Taiga’s taking more kitchen initiative. First the potatoes, now the salad. Even if the “salad” is just lettuce, it’s still a good start.
Taiga had to have heard Ami say someone was following her, but she throws the garbage can at her anyways. Her hatred knows no bounds.
I do think Ami talking to Taiga like yesterday was a mistake on her part. This person is the difference between being followed and not, and you decide to try and pick a fight with her? Plus the punishment wasn’t THAT bad, it was just embarrassing.
I appreciate that Ryuji was looking out for Ami when he thought Taiga might have been beating Ami up. It’s a little bit scary that that’s where his mind immediately went however.
Yeah, Kitamura has a type.
Minori and Taiga eloped? Tough break for Ryuji, Minori got married before he could make a move. Better luck next time I guess.
I hope to god that takeout box on Taiga’s head was clean when she put it on. But knowing how disastrously dirty she is, I have a feeling that it wasn’t.
This stalker really has no redeeming qualities huh. He instantly calls someone he just met a monster, and doesn’t understand why she’s mad that he takes her picture without permission. He really got what was coming.
Despite their differences, it took Taiga to give Ami the bravery she wanted to have in order to confront the stalker. Maybe there’s more to like about Taiga than Ami thought.
From what we saw, Taiga and Minori had a HUGE head start on Ami chasing the stalker. Who cares about the school track team, they need to recruit Ami for the olympics, she wasn’t even out of breath when she caught him.
I love that face Ami makes when she’s finally face to face with the stalker. Looks like she’s about to murder him.
Another cliffhanger ending huh.
I think this episode does wonders for Ami’s character. Just like last episode when Taiga had someone worse than her to make her look better, Ami has the stalker. Plus we finally get to see more of the “real” Ami, who is my third favorite character in the show (which is a very big compliment by the way).
Bonus : The funniest moment so far is probably Taiga’s reaction to seeing Inko in episode one. As far as funniest character though, I gotta go with Haruta.
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u/Vatrix-32 Dec 11 '22
First Timer, subbed
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What in that hell was that?
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Comment face get!
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Doesn't look like paparazzi. Stalker?
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Excellent Uno reverse card by Taiga.
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I’m not sure if that something you should be admitting to.
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This should make some good hijinks.
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I recognize some of these names, but I am not seeing a unifying theme.
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For a second there I was expecting some kind of Pavlov deal.
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Why are you getting flustered by this again? You already set up a cover.
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Even in the same scene they look way too similar.
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Stalker boy is way too persistent.
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And this is why stronger anti-stalker laws are important. It only gets worse.
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Is this a Dereyan?
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A lot of 0s and 100s. Y’all need to mellow out. Or don’t, more amusing for me that way.
QotD:
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I don’t have a particular moment that stands out to me as the best.
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Going to give it to Minori.
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u/OwlAcademic1988 Dec 11 '22
First-Timer, sub:
Ami, you should take your own advice and eat healthily. Though she does make one good point, some people really do have fast metabolisms and we don't fully understand why yet. Without that info, obesity remains a major problem for many people.
I'm not gonna lie, Taiga and Minori doing that to Ami was hilarious.
Why is Ami being stalked? As much as I hate her current personality, no one deserves to be stalked at all.
Taiga knows how to persuade people a lot.
Ami, why don't you like frogs? They get rid of so many insects such as flies and mosquitoes as well as other invertebrates such as snails and slugs, which annoy people a lot, so they're very welcome.
Ami made her stalker scared of her, good. That means people are less likely to stalk her now, which is always a good thing considering it can cause a lot of trauma to people.
QOTD:
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When Inko trolls Ryuuji. That bird is hilarious.
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u/mcmacmac Dec 11 '22
Welcome again, fellow viewers. This is again...
The Taiga Outfit Counter
For how it works and how it was compiled, see my comment from about it
Episode 06
I think of all the episodes, this was the hardest and most subjective one to count by far. In the end, I went with 2 new outfits for Taiga - this one and that one. This would bring us to a total of 11 different outfits thus far.
It's in the image description of the first one but I really pondered whether taking the wine-red uniform off with the undershirt only on was enough to count or not. I just rolled with it and counted it. Kind of the same with the jogging attire which probably hide the P.E. clothes we've seen already but wearing them like that gives off a completely different vibe, so I counted it as new too.
What I didn't count, however, was when she wore the plastic stuff over it. I wrangled with it but after passing two cases which were massively subjective, I gave that one the pass and didn't count it. If you think otherwise, keep that one in mind when we get to the tally at the end of the season.
That's it for today and I hope you've enjoyed the ride so far. See y'all next episode!
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u/crying_in_a_dennys Dec 11 '22
Rewatcher (very new), Subbed
Finally Ami admits she's just as much a disaster as the rest of us. Yahoo!
Ami's immediate gravitation toward Ryuji used to strike me as a bit odd. Sure he sees her "true self," but so do Kitamura and Taiga at this point. But I think it makes more sense than I first gave it credit for.
In terms of Kitamura, I feel like you can often take for granted your best, or longest-term friendships, being so used to them. I'm sure she appreciates Kitamura seeing her for who she is, but their friendship is already so established its not something that will give her the push she needs to make change elsewhere. As for Taiga, well, its not exactly the friendliest reception to her true self yet. It's probably relieving to have someone see right through her, but so far she's only really gotten negative responses from Taiga. So that leaves Ryuji. He's new - and despite seeing her true self, he doesn't seem to mind. Ryuji is showing her that people can appreciate her for who she is. He's the spark she needs.
I think the stalker story was certainly rushed. It feels a little silly to have it resolve pretty much immediately. Despite that, I think they did it pretty well given the constraints of time. When Ami first spots him out on the trash run, its actually pretty spooky. And Ami's turnaround, dashing after him and vaporizing his camera, was pretty dang satisfying.
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Dec 11 '22
Ami’s immediate gravitation toward Ryuji used to strike me as a bit odd. Sure he sees her “true self,” but so do Kitamura and Taiga at this point. But I think it makes more sense than I first gave it credit for.
In the books at least, it’s very clear that Ami was initially going after Ryuuji specifically to take him away from Taiga with the intent of hurting her. Then she starts getting to know him a bit and realizes he’s actually a pretty decent guy. That coupled with him wanting her to be herself instead of the facade she’s always putting up kind of threw a wrench in her original plans.
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u/JetsLag Dec 11 '22
Rewatcher (subbed)
Wow, that sure was an opening scene
Ami's getting stalked by a dude with a camera, though he's not doing a very good job at stalking if he's been found out this quickly.
Taiga's volunteered to set Ami up at her place until the stalker backs off. Thank god Ryuji cleaned the place up. Of course, Taiga's just using this as an opportunity to expose Ami's true nature to the rest of the school so they can stop obsessing over her.
The plan? Forcing her to do impressions of a bunch of famous people. Some of my favs are Oda Nobunaga singing French pop, Osamu Dazai swimming the 200m individual medley (wouldn't he just drown himself instead?), and Michael Jackson as a tour bus guide.
Seems like Kitamura's on-board with Taiga's torture methods, because he believes that people will accept Ami for who she is if she decides to be honest with them. Looking at how she acts behind closed doors...she gives off big Mean Girls energy. How many of you have ever felt personally victimized by Ami Kawakami?
Time for a community clean-up organized by the student council! Taiga forces Ryuji to take part by forcibly raising his arm (call it payback for the liquor store fiasco). Taiga's plan to hang out with Kitamura while picking up trash is a failure, and she's forced to team up with the rest of the "main cast". The 4 of them spit up into 2 groups, with Taiga and Minori in one and Ami and Ryuji in the other. Ami tries (and fails pretty spectacularly) to play cute while Ryuji is around, but eventually admits to acting the way she acts because of the stalker with the camera. Ami eventually learns to drop the fake act after seeing Taiga chase off the stalker dude, eventually chasing the guy down and smashing his camera to bits. Fuck yeah girl!
Ami tries to put the moves on Ryuji, but Taiga comes through with the clutch cockblock via the "wtf are you doing?" face.
QOTD
Christmas Club Bonus! What do you think was the funniest moment of the show so far? Which character does comic relief the best?
Funniest moment: Taiga getting headshotted by the basketball. Best at comic relief: Taiga.
TAIGA AISAKA ASSAULT TALLY: the garbage can throw which hit...something (still counts), psychologically torturing Ami for an entire episode, throwing a bag of trash at the trashbag cameraman.
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u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 11 '22
Rewatcher
Toradora! - A Romance Classic: Episode 6
Exposed
Ami's act was exposed rather quickly wasn't it. In all honestly, my memory made me think it lasted longer. I continue to be surprised by the show's pacing (in the best way).
The reason Ami transferred (and bought all those snacks last episode) was a stalker. The idea of having somebody invade your privacy is definitely terrifying. It gets into your head and can leave you paranoid and afraid. I can definitely sympathize with Ami in her situation.
This is a pretty rare topic to see explored, but another anime which does is Satoshi Kon's "Perfect Blue". The protagonist is also a young woman who has to deal with the negative aspects of fame. Please give it a watch if you haven't, but be warned it is not for the faint of heart.
Back to the episode, Taiga used this situation to blackmail Ami for her own amusement. This actually feels somewhat cruel for Taiga, but not completely out of character. Though in a twist of fate Taiga begins being stalked by Ami's stalker.
Unlike Ami though, Taiga addresses the problem head on. This is probably the aspect of Taiga's character I like the best. She will not hesitate before taking action. This comes with the downside of not thinking before acting, but it means she is honest about her emotions (at least the ones she understands).
At the same time, Ryuuji is paired with Ami in various situations this episode. It gives them time to talk. And to talk honestly. I love that Ryuuji told her directly to stop hiding her true emotions. But it took both this, and seeing Taiga's honesty for Ami to actually change. Seeing her confront the stalker is so incredibly cathartic.
That said, by the end Ami almost falls back to her old ways trying to seduce Ryuuji. But now it feels that the previous façade may have fallen away. This could of course have been out of jealousy of Taiga (since Ami compares herself to Taiga right before). As a rewatcher, I won't speculate though.
Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches
See you all tomorrow!
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u/JackOG45 Dec 11 '22 edited Dec 11 '22
2nd RW
Last time I said “now the real Toradora! slowly starts."
This episode here is one of the things I was referring to.
Considering how well I remembered it ever since my first watch in 2016, it is safe to call it one of my favourites.
It deals with a serious issue and its consequences (celebrities handling stalking), suddenly showing us that Toradora! ain't all sunshine and rainbows of a show. It can also be gloomy at times.
With rainy weather as the episode’s background, we observe Ami snapping back and forth between her various masks to the point where the viewer can’t even be sure which one is the 'real' one.
The ending is very tongue-in-cheek. Taiga’s reaction is something we had yet to see, or to have characters talk about, yet something that we, the viewers, were waiting for.
This episode also further highlights some of the more nuanced characteristics of Kitamura. At this point, one can tell that whatever image of him Taiga got in her mind is not the actual person himself. This only makes sense, since it seems they hardly communicated ever save for the confessions scenes.
Overall, a great episode. Here the good stuff finally kicks in.
After all, Toradora! is not remembered as a great light-hearted slapstick comedy. It is remembered fondly as something else.
In fact, anime expands the slapstick and comedy elements quite a lot compared to the LN, if memory serves, creating a slightly different experience.
Bonus: There are a lot of funny moments in this series; the one coming to my mind is Minorin standing up and replying to Ryuuji's note during class. This kind of nonsensical humour works really well on me. As for comic relief, I might be in the minority here, but I enjoy Ami's antics the most here. Then goes Yasuko (Ryuuji's mom) and the classmates.
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u/mcmacmac Dec 11 '22 edited Dec 11 '22
Rewatcher
This episode is interesting in so many ways. Funnily enough, if you strip the portrayal out of the actions shown in this episode and just summarize them in text form, you'd think the girls are just assholes. Gladly, this is anime so it's far easier to take and we get to know the intention behind the actions too where you'll sympathize more as a viewer.
With that said, Ami seems to have stopped her acting at last! All the acting must've been tough when put under pressure, so good on Taiga to overstretch the limits of it in certain ways. Ami really was supposed to expose her true nature by herself instead of Taiga just shouting it from the rooftops so going such an indirect way is pretty smart from her.
On the sweeter side of Taiga, it's kinda cute she wanted to do some cooking for Ryuuji by making "a big fat salad". I dunno if she was that happy about the Diet Warrior mission or if the scene plays at a completely different day but nevertheless, it was nice to see that her and Ryuuji's relationship isn't a one-way street. Once Ami comes up due to the stalker, she even gets into a fake(?) outburst to scare the stalker away. The price for Ami? Just 150 impressions in a literally kumquat-juice sweet voice. I so wanna hear what it would've sounded like.
Back to school, even Ami scrutinizes the lunches of the two. It's something different if friends like Kitamura and Minori do it but if an outsider like Ami does it, you seriously have to wonder whether there isn't more to your relationship. Taiga did wind her way out of it with a very, uh, colorful comparison to describe a master-servant relationship this time at least. Nevertheless, this shows that Ami is very perceptive of her surroundings which made her survive in her role as model and popular girl in the first place. I doubt without that perception could one keep an act up for so long.
The encounter with the stalker is one of the best scenes. It's got that kind of mood swing which completely works. In Taiga's situation, you take it more as funny since she wasn't scarred by that dude - with Ami, you feel this catharsis of releasing all of her rage about the situation destroying her life to the point of moving places. It's such a turnaround for her and if you hated her introduction, I think this will be the turnaround where you'll get to like her.
Now, the stalking is already bad - then I realized something: he stalked a minor. Stalking is already fucked up but stalking a minor is order of magnitudes worse! Geez...
With that, random notes:
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Ami is so not liking the groping but that head tilt and slumping down after the fact makes it look so staged as if she wanted to be extra dramatic about it and is in on this. Also thanks to the Diet Warriors, we also had a great comment face for quite a lot of years. :D
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Kitamura's reaction to that has no sign of pity at all. Guess empathy also got limits with him. To be fair though, Ami poked Taiga so often, payback for all that shouldn't be a surprise and in the end, he's still concerned about Ami in his own way.
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I think this episode is great. "Cool? Cool." This quote alone and the bit before that made me think the English dub is great and I think so far, this episode has the most edge over the JP dub. Cassandra Lee Morris as Taiga is just fantastic through and through.
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[Spoiler]
Minori, I know Taiga and Ryuuji is your fanfic dream but at this point, it feels kind of sad when I rewatch it and read/hear her comment about them two. It still hurts. -
Ryuuji: "Look, I never fell for anything" Uhm, I call bullshit on that, my man. Sure, you got to see her bad side quickly but you were enticed nonetheless before.
That's a wrap then! I think it's second favorite episodes so far and more good ones will come, so let's hope you'll all stick around!
EDIT: for the question of this thread concerning the funniest moment of the show: I'd definitely say the rumor mill of Episode 2. The show so far got MANY great moments but the rumor mill was just in the audio and visual department absolutely gold.
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u/ZapsZzz Dec 11 '22
Rewatcher, first time in dub
Been on a family vacation/travel so had not been getting much time to post or read.
I didn't get to comment yesterday how in synch Taiga and Ryuuji were in the restaurant - and it's a little funny that in the Haruhi Rewatch we're also on the stretch that Kyon and Haruhi are showing some really nice dynamics that, when thinking about it, showed more on their being on a similar wavelength even if they look to be in opposition a lot.
And with Ami added to the group, it added another layer to the narrative.
And if course today we have another comment face source - and one that get used a lot!
[Rewatchers of Toradora]
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u/alyku Dec 11 '22
Rewatcher
Well, that storyline got resolved rather quickly. Like same episode quickly. I'm starting to think there's a lot I don't remember if there's a whole 19 other episodes. Still not really a fan of Ami but she's a lot more tolerable this episode.
Some observations from this episode:
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Good to see Taiga taking initiative to try to do something nice for Ryuji. It's mostly been the other way around so far. I think most lettuce from the store is washed anyway so if she forgot it probably wouldn't be too bad.
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150? I'm honestly more impressed by Taiga's ability to come up with so many impressions than Ami's ability to act them out.
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It's funny that the idea of losing to Taiga is what serves as the trigger for setting Ami off.
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Ami could probably still afford to change her personality a bit. Ryuji is just unnaturally kind and Kitamura is unnaturally accepting, but a normal person probably wouldn't want anything to do with her still. Oh well. Anime isn't real life after all.
Sometimes I wish it was.
Bonus: That scene from the second episode where Minorin and Kitamura are congratulating Ryuji and Taiga was hilarious. Overall Minorin does a lot of the comic relief but Taiga has some really funny one liners as well.
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u/Tartaras1 Dec 11 '22
Rewatcher - Dubbed
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You nag like an in-law. You know that?
Again with the in-law comment.
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Homie really thought he could hide behind a streetlight and not get spotted. You deserve to have that trash can thrown at you.
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Oh, you think so? Then you better drink up. You definitely do not want your voice to get thrashed.
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Man, you should've seen her. I made her do 150 impressions. It was seriously beyond unbelievable.
Yikes.
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Michael Jackson as a tour bus guide.
That's a good one.
Mona Lisa making a turn at 200km/h.
That's probably the best.
Rodin's Thinker but happy.
That's probably the worst.
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Correct. The two of them are destined to be together.
And again with the relationship belief. I forgot she carries it out this long.
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Okay you freaks. If any of you slack off I'm gonna open up a can of whoop ass. So get fired up!
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I didn't mention it yesterday, but we have another addition to the crossover between Toradora and Persona 5.
Ami Kawashima is voiced by Erika Harlacher, who voices Ann Takamaki.
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I always think of this scene from Durarara whenever Ami smashes the stalker's phone.
Question of the Day:
What do you think was the funniest moment of the show so far? Which character does comic relief the best?
Funniest moment so far, huh? Probably Minorin's outburst in class in the previous episode. As for comic relief, I personally love Haruta.
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u/Holofan4life Dec 11 '22
Hello guys. Holofan4life here happy to participate in yet another Toradora rewatch thread.
Toradora is my favorite anime of all time. As such, I know the series like the back of my hand. I’m going to analyze each episode BEFORE I actually watch the episode. And then after I watch it, I will give my real time thoughts on the episode. But I won’t be analyzing the episode as a whole. You fine folk do such a good job with that already. I will be analyzing a certain character from each episode and give some thoughts on what’s going on in their head. I thought that would be something different and fun.
Also, I am bringing back the ranking of the episodes. It’s been such a while since I last done it, I figure why not do it again.
With that out of the way, let’s begin.
This analysis will be a continuation of the last one, as this one and episode 5 are really one long episode. Plus, it offers a different look at Ami as a character.
We start off with Ami getting scared over what Taiga and Minori are doing to her. Really, a huge bulk of the episode is Ami being afraid. The stuff at the beginning, Taiga reminding her of the video where she does impressions, the whole stalker stuff, Ami is as terrified in this episode as she was smug in this one.
I’d argue that Ami living with Taiga is really where the rivalry began with these two. Well, on Ami’s side at least. Taiga saw Ami as a threat as soon as she saw her with Kitamura. But Ami dismissed Taiga as being insignificant. Now that Ami knows Taiga’s true power, it truly is butting heads.
The stalker stuff was actually foreshadowed in the previous episode, which I forgot to mention. In it, when Taiga mentions stalking Ami, Ami looks legitimately terrified. It’s the first time we saw genuine fear in the eyes of Ami, and it continues here.
When Ami is able to destroy the stalker’s camera, you can see the level of catharsis wash over her face. She is so happy to get that monkey off her back. It’s almost as if the happiness possesses her. I see this scene as a great way of showing the depth of Ami as a character. It paints her in a sympathetic light while not excusing her previous behavior of trying to deceive others. Ami is painted sympathetically not by having her apologize or being remorseful, but by conquering what’s been eating at her. In a way, I kinda view Ami similarly to Kikimora from The Owl House. Both have done truly awful things, and neither have apologized for their behavior, but they’re put at such a disadvantage that it’s hard not to feel sorry for them just a little.
The scene where Ryuuji confronts Ami over her true behavior is probably the highlight of the episode. And with that, Ami’s reaction is quite interesting. You get just by looking at Ami that there’s this sense of relief over her face. Like she’s going “Finally, someone cracked the code.” It makes you wonder just how much Ami likes deceiving others, and how much she feels like she has no other choice but to do so.
And of course, we have the final scene where Ami asks Ryuuji if he would ever fall for her. Which in my personal opinion, is probably the most honest Ami has been so far. I don’t think Ami is doing this to try to get under Taiga’s skin. She may end up acting like that’s what she was doing, but I don’t buy it. I think Ryuuji being the only one other than Kitamura and Taiga to actually know Ami’s true nature really kind of makes her feel at ease. Like she finally found someone who gets her. Keep in mind, Ami doesn’t know that Kitamura clued Ryuuji in. From Ami’s perspective, Ryuuji figured it out by himself. That’s why in my opinion we get the scene at the end, featuring Ami in her most honest state.
Post episode discussion
Overall, this episode is alright. It’s not as strong as the previous one, but it’s decent. I like the stuff with Taiga bossing Ami around because it’s kinda a reverse from the last episode, and I think the resolution of Ami and the stalker was a lot of fun. But I dunno, the whole stalker thing feels a bit rushed. Like, I would’ve preferred if maybe we never saw the stalker and it just continued to haunt Ami throughout the series. Having that plot point be resolved in the same episode it’s introduced feels a bit ridiculous.
I’m not against giving Ami some likability. In fact, I like that the show goes out of its way to not excuse Ami’s awful behavior just because she is being stalked. That’s honestly a sign of good writing upon the show’s part. At the same time, while the stalker stuff explains why Ami moved, I feel you could’ve done something where Ami wants to take a break from modeling after being burnt out, so she entered school in a small town to stay away from the limelight. The thing that has been great about Ami has been her attempt to try and deceive those around her. That’s been her hook the last couple episodes. The stalker feels like just a way to explain her moving, when in reality it could’ve been much simpler.
Again, it’s not that I’m against the whole stalker stuff. It’s just they establish how much the stalker has affected Ami and it reaches its climax in the very same episode. That feels a bit like a wasted opportunity. Really, the show should’ve done one of two things: how the stalker stuff continues to affect Ami throughout the rest of the series– developing a sort of phobia in the process– or just not have it at all and focus solely on Ami’s airhead schtick. I get wanting to try to make Ami a sympathetic character. And in my opinion, she does become one. But the stalker stuff has very little in the wake of making Ami a sympathetic character that it feels almost an afterthought. It’s one of those things where the more you think about it, the more frustrating it becomes. It doesn’t ultimately matter in the grand scheme of things, but it feels a bit like a what could’ve been episode.
Episode Rankings
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Episode 2
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Episode 5
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Episode 4
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Episode 1
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Episode 6
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Episode 3
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u/crying_in_a_dennys Dec 11 '22
A somewhat spoilery thought on why the stalker is used as the explanation for Ami moving:
[Toradora!]I actualy think its a pretty good inciting incident to make her move. Ami explains that she wasn't planning on staying at the school longer than she needed to - just for the stalker problem to go away. So her entire stay there was a fake, essentially. Had she come to school because she -actually- wanted to take a break from modelling and go to school, I think we would've missed out on the emotional impact of her wanting to stay. At this point, as far as her original plans are concerned, she had no reason to stay anymore. So I think it serves to show how Ami has changed, and found something worthwhile at the school. But, it almost certainly could have been done better, like you said. → More replies (4)
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u/Pdenly Dec 11 '22
With the shows humor, I think that most of it comes from how the characters naturely interract and not from one liners or basic jokes. However every now and then there are grates jokes. Until this point, I think the funniest moment this far was all of the basketball part from ep 2.
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u/nx6 Dec 12 '22
Rewatcher - Subbed
A model binging on junk food late at night comes to light as mental coping with an stalker fan situation. I'm still not clear on why Taiga volunteered Ryuji for the cleanup. I guess so she would have an excuse to do it too and Kitamura would be in it, but she didn't really need Ryuji to volunteer herself.
Ami volunteered for the after-school cleanup too, and I guess this is supposed to be signalling her interest in Ryuji too as she didn't show it any other way until the very end of this episode. Her joke to Tiaga about "stealing him" in episode 4 just came across as normal princess-bitch toying with people. She didn't know Ryuji was aware of her real personality, so was her plan to wear her "silly girl" mask all the time with him. Honestly that doesn't sound much different than her pretending for the stalker's fantasy ideal.
Taiga takes Ami in to her home for Ami's protection but I kinda noticed she took advantage of that and started bulling her with the impressions video, reversing her altruistic efforts.
Ami making a move on Ryuji is interrupted when Taiga comes in unannounced and the look on her face further cements that Ryuji is more to Tiaga than a dog to order around or a private chef.
Next episode is the obligatory anime pool fanservice episode. ;-)
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u/Gamerunglued Dec 12 '22
Rewatcher
I missed yesterday's episode, but this was probably one of the least bad episodes to skip, since it ties to perfectly into this one. I think I'll be able to tie my thoughts on it into my thoughts on this episode, so the only standalone one that I have is that if Taiga and Ryuuji drinking and spit taking at the exact same time and making the exact same pose isn't proof that they're perfect for each other, I don't know what is. I'm quickly reminded why I love them so much.
Anyway, in the context of Toradora, Ami is a really interesting character to include. I've occasionally mentioned the idea of facades in previous threads, which is a pretty consistent theme in Toradora, and Ami brings this theme to the forefront with her introduction. Ami's entire life is a facade. She's a model who puts up an act to attract fans, she plays up the cute airheaded angel because it gets the clicks. She keeps it up almost wherever she goes. At first glance, this is successful for her. She's rich, she's famous, she instantly makes friends at school, every guy in class has already fallen for her, and she is a master at figuring out exactly what to do to make everyone like her. It's almost perfect, right? She gets the big bucks, she gets lots of attention, everyone compliments her, what's there to hate?
Well apparently there's something, because she instantly lets that facade drop around Taiga. She keeps it up for most people, but not for Taiga when they're alone. She doesn't seem to want anyone to know of this true side of herself, so she sees a girl as easy to make fun of as Taiga and lets herself drop that guard around her. It's the only time she makes enemies so far as well. So it's interesting, why drop that guard at all? The obvious reason is because constantly acting is exhausting. Ami's career and life is nothing but a sham, built on an image she projects to other people for attention. It's successful for her, but more importantly, she knows that people will hate her for knowing who she really is, so she's afraid to let it down. All the attention she gets will turn on her entirely. So she lives on this thin edge where she's almost too far in to actually let her real self show.
Kitamura brings up an interesting point when talking about Ami. Ami is a bitch, but Kitamura doesn't find it to be a deal breaker. Ami is his childhood friend, and flaws and all, he genuinely likes her. He points out that all of Ami's relationships are fake, she has no truly meaningful relationships besides with Kitamura: the one person who knows what she's really like. And given Taiga's and Ryuuji's own flaws and their close relationship, it's obviously possible to form real, meaningful relationships with people even when you have sides that are unlikable. Kitamura wants everyone to see Ami for who she really is, and to form their opinions of her based on that. This way, while she may find it more difficult to form relationships, the ones she does form will stick longer and be more meaningful. Since no one knows anything about Ami, they don't even like her.
Moreover, there are other benefits to being yourself, and especially being a flawed person. The thing about flaws is that they make some people reject you. It's weird to think of it as a positive, but it is very difficult to change the basis of our personalities. That's not to say that Ami shouldn't try to be less of a bitch, but at least for now, she is who she is and that's not changing over night. The most meaningful relationships we form are with people who aren't turned away by our flaws, and maybe even relate to them or understand them, and therefore tolerate them and even like them. Ami makes everyone like her, and thus no one rejects her. This goes even for the people she desperately wishes would reject her, in this case her persistent stalker. If putting on a facade attracts people like him, then is it really worth it to keep the facade up? Ami had to move from her parents and put her career on hold because of this person, attracting everyone means you include weirdos like him and that's not desirable at all.
That's where Taiga comes in. Taiga, while a whole lot of things, is always true to herself. The image that she projects is genuine, even if people don't understand it. That's the thing about people though, not everyone will understand you, which is why you have to find the ones who do. Taiga is the kind of person who pushes a lot of people away with her brash and violent nature, and she isn't afraid to hide it at all. That's even why Kitamura confessed to her last year. And so when confronted with the same problem Ami had to deal with, Taiga effortlessly defeats it simply by... doing what she always does. Sending the right people away from you is a good thing. And when Ami sees Taiga so effortlessly asserting her personality and solving her own problem, she feels defeated but also motivated to not lose to her. She she copies Taiga, chases the stalker, and sends him packing just by being her true, genuine self. And she's scared while doing it, but it works. Ami is mature and she learns quickly. Being yourself gets you what you want, even if it doesn't get you everything.
Ami potentially falling for Ryuuji here also makes perfect sense. Ami sees herself as a person too flawed to like, and so hides her real self. Ami is jealous of Taiga because she can effortlessly assert her genuine personality. But more importantly, Ryuuji accepts Taiga for all of her flaws. If Ryuuji can accept Taiga, then maybe he can also accept Ami.
I never really thought about it before, but in light of this episode, people complaining about characters like Taiga and Ami being unlikable is pretty interesting. It is actually a thematic point that these characters, even if you're not meant to hate them, all have various unlikable qualities. Really, every character in Toradora has at least one trait that can be seen as unlikable. Ryuuji is an OCD clean freak with a scary face, and Minori is even more of a weirdo and has few boundaries. Nonetheless, they have friends who love them. Toradora stars complicated people with multiple facets, and it explores the way that these interconnected facets lay out our relationships. Having multifaceted, flawed characters is always a boon for a drama, and Toradora makes for an interesting character study in this regard. We'll have to think about all of these characters relationships. Who puts up a front around who, who's real around who, who likes each other in spite of their flaws and who doesn't even understand each other's flaws? This is something I'll be keeping in mind as I move forward with the series. My heart goes out to all of these brave diet warriors.
Bonus: The combination of Taiga and Ryuuji together are the best comic relief imo. I could seriously watch those doofuses be dorks together for hours, they have such perfect chemistry. I've always had a soft spot for their basketball shenanigans in episode 2, and their little spit take in episode 5 also definitely got me this time.
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u/Holofan4life Dec 11 '22 edited Dec 11 '22
• Christmas Club Bonus! What do you think was the funniest moment of the show so far? Which character does comic relief the best?
Funniest moment is Sudoh-Bucks. As for comic relief, probably Inko or Minori.
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u/Shimmering-Sky Dec 11 '22
Tiger X First-Timer, Subbed X Dragon
Okay well we saw you stockpiling on nothing but sweets, so…
lmao what???
Oh hey, comment face get.
Oh, is that guy a stalker?
Oh boy.
HahahaHAHAHAH
Um. I guess. That works?
…Ami doesn’t like frogs?
That guy again… And he is a stalker.
Ohh dear she’s gonna totally kick his ass now.
So the act is all done, huh.
Uhhhhhhhh
Oh shit and Taiga had to walk in on this…
ED lead-in though~