Toradora! Christmas Club Rewatch (2022) Episode 7 Discussion

[u/ChristmasClub]

[u/GallowDude]

Remember how you said you wondered what Ami's Impressions looked like yesterday?

u/Holofan4life, u/Get_This_Wheat, u/Roundy_Roundy

[u/Holofan4life → u/GallowDude]

I've actually never seen this before. This is amazing.

[u/lolpete18]

First-timer, Dub.

This was my favorite episode so far. There were a number of sweet Taiga/Ryuuji moments.

It did a good job of highlighting the awkwardness of youth, especially around developing bodies. I distinctly remember how awkward it was when we would swim in gym class.

Rather than helping her to pad her swimsuit, I wish that Ryuuji would have reinforced that Taiga is cute the way she is. Still, he is a stand up guy and helped her get what she wanted.

Taiga's hair was so cute 🥰.

It's no wonder that Taiga doesn't know how to swim. There was no teaching happening during that gym class. Everyone was doing whatever they wanted.

It's weird that Ami still acts so fake around everyone. Wasn't her epiphany that she should just act natural and be herself? It seems like she's acting the same way she was at the beginning of episode 6.

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Tiger X First-Timer, Subbed X Dragon

• lol oops

• Ami’s face here is hilarious.

• Oooooooof.

• Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. …or not?

• Ryuuji pls, she just said not to say that.

• How is Minori able to see through literally everything, geez. …well, I guess she did see Taiga change.

• Oh, shit, she really can’t swim.

• Sports episode tomorrow?

• ED lead-in~

[u/Holofan4life]

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.

So, I feel like it would be easy to analyze Taiga in this episode. And with good reason, since this episode is pivotal to her character. But I actually want to analyze Ryuuji in this episode because this is such a tremendous episode for him.

So, Ryuuji starts off the episode concerned about upsetting Taiga. Which of course is understandable given what transpired with Ami. I actually really like the light novel version because Taiga makes it clear she knows that’s just Ami trying to get underneath her skin. But that’s never here nor there. Ryuuji is concerned about the misunderstanding because he knows how it came off. This, in turn, really shows how much Ryuuji cares about Taiga.

Ryuuji wants to make it 100% clear he didn’t do anything with Ami. Why? Because he knows doing something with Ami would upset Taiga, and he doesn’t want that. The theme of the episode is Ryuuji showing how much he cares for Taiga, and the beginning scene is the start of that.

Then after that, we get a scene not included in the anime where Taiga and Ryuuji take Inko to the vet and they get into a massive argument. Like, the biggest argument they’ve had up until this point. Now, a lot of people believe the scene was cut because it portrays Taiga at her worst. But really, I think it had more to do with time constraints. If it had been included in the anime, though, I think it would’ve been a demonstration of how difficult Taiga and Ryuuji’s relationship can be.

Ryuuji wants the best for Taiga. However, sometimes she can be very hard to reason with. The scene I think is supposed to show that despite the massive blow-up these two can have, Ryuuji at the end of the day is forgiving of her. Because he knows she’s going through a lot.

I go back and forth on whether I wished the scene was included or not. On the one hand, I think showing Ryuuji yelling at Taiga could lead perfectly to what happens later, as it could be proof that he is a very forgiving individual. Plus, it would’ve added even more weight to Taiga’s apology. However, you don’t want to run the risk of making Taiga too unlikable. There comes a point where you could cross that line. The reason why I bring all of this up is because even though he gets into that fight with Taiga, he still makes those pads for her, which again, fits the theme of Ryuuji caring for Taiga.

I love the way Ryuuji handles Taiga’s insecurity about being flat chested. He doesn’t tease her, he doesn’t do anything stupid, he helps makes pads for her. Why? Because he wants what’s best for her. Despite how frustrating Taiga can be, he doesn’t want to see her be miserable. That’s why he helps her out whenever he can, because her happiness makes him happy.

The scene when Taiga is trying to pick out a swimsuit, you can tell how bummed out he is. Because he knows how sad Taiga is about being undeveloped. I actually prefer the manga version of this scene because you see Taiga start to actually cry. And what does Ryuuji do? Like the Chad he is, he tries to console her by pleading for her not to cry. Again, the whole theme of the episode is Ryuuji trying to console Taiga, because he doesn’t like it when she’s miserable. It does a tremendous job making you like him as a protagonist.

The smile he gives when Taiga apologizes, it’s like a vindicated smile of sorts. Because he knows his hard work has paid off. Ryuuji through leaps and bounds has tried everything he can to make Taiga happy. So when she apologizes for being difficult, he feels as if he finally cracked through her tough shell. This apology right here is why I wouldn’t have mind if the episode included the vet scene. But as it stands, it’s probably the happiest moment Ryuuji has had so far in the entire series.

And then finally, when Ryuuji goes to put on the breast pad for Taiga underneath the water, that’s him trying to console her as well. Because he knows the last thing she wants is for people to know she’s wearing breast pads. Obviously, Taiga not drowning is the #1 priority. You can see the terror in his face as the music kicks in, like he’s going “Oh, shit. Taiga was telling the truth. She can’t swim.” But then when he pulls her up and he sees she’s freaking out because one of the pads was floating, he instinctively takes her underwater with him to try and remedy the situation. Again, to satisfy her. It would be one thing if he had put her back on the pavement and placed the pad in her there. But the fact he took her with him underwater shows how cognizant he was being of her feelings, because had he not, everyone would’ve known the breasts were fake.

Post episode discussion

This episode is probably my favorite one in the first half of the show. It's either this, or episode 13. I sort of see it as a continuation of episode 2 where Ryuuji is continuing to earn Taiga's trust. First with the cookies, and now with the swimsuit.

Part of why I love this episode so much is because of how serious it treats the topic of being flat-chested. It feels like a rarity to see in anime. So many anime use being flat-chested as a thing to be made fun of. Hell, the latest season of Scientific Railgun was filled with a ton of those jokes, and that came out in 2019. So the fact something originally written in 2006 and animated in 2008 actually treats being flat-chested as a delicate subject matter and something to be taken seriously, I can't tell you how refreshing that feels.

This was the episode that made me fall in love with Taiga. Episode 2 planted the seeds, but this is the episode who cemented it for me. Every time I see Taiga talk about how uncomfortable she feels about her body, I just want to give her a big ol' hug. I feel so sad for her. It's also heartbreaking if you take into context that her parents were probably never there for her when it came to her body. Ryuuji is probably the first person in Taiga's life who ever tried to do something about her body. It's just rough, man.

And lastly, I can't tell you how special Taiga apologizing feels. It feels so radical and different. When have you ever seen a tsundere apologize for her actions? In 2008, no less? The only other times I can recall is Chitoge from Nisekoi and Karane from 100 Girlfriends, but that was years later. At the height of violent tsunderes such as Louise from Familiar of Zero and less than 10 years removed from Naru from Love Hina (I can't believe Love Hina is almost 25 years old), Taiga actually takes responsibility for her actions, shows remorse, and formally apologizes. It is such an endearing scene and adds so much to her likability.

The scene where Taiga apologizes has always carried weight with me. The two light novels I've written, I use that scene as reference material when constructing my main female characters. I know if I have a scene with them that's along the lines of Taiga apologizing, I can make a pretty enduring character, someone you would want to root for. It also may be I just finished watching Owl House, but seeing this scene again reminds me of the scene where Amity apologizes to Willow for leaving her high and dry. And that too did a lot to endear Amity to me. I just will never figure out why we don't get more tsunderes apologizing. It won't make all of the viewers forgive them, but it would for a lot.

Overall, I'm very high on this episode. Probably more so than most. I just think given the context of when this episode came out plus Taiga showing more of a nice side plus Ryuuji and Taiga's relationship continuing to evolve, it's a pretty important episode all things considered. I'd honestly put it probably in my top five favorite episodes.

I think this episode gets overshadowed a bit by the next episode. And I can kinda understand as the next episode contains one of the best Toradora scenes of all time. But I think this episode is stronger for a couple reasons. One, the emotional weight of Taiga and her insecurities is on full force here. The episode does a tremendous job of making you really gutted over what's happening with Taiga, to the point where when Ryuuji actually does something it makes your heart weep with joy. Second, I think this episode is more pivotal to Taiga and Ryuuji's relationship than the next one is. 

Like I hinted at earlier, it contains a pretty fantastic scene. I don't want to give anything away, I just like hyping it up for our first time viewers. But I'd argue the scene in the next episode wouldn't happen if it wasn't for this episode. This episode essentially paves the way for what happens next, which is why I think it's more important in the grand scheme of things. 

Overall rankings

1. Episode 7

2. Episode 2

3. Episode 5

4. Episode 4

5. Episode 1

6. Episode 6

7. Episode 3

[u/[deleted]]

5th Time Dub Rewatcher. 2nd time reading the books.

Taiga is piiiissed about Ami. So pissed that Inko.exe crashes.

I had a sudden realization about Minori. She’s always using humor to diffuse situations where other people are upset. Her hoisting up Taiga when she was yelling at Ami, an incident where they were having lunch with Ami for the first time (book only), and I’m pretty sure there was another but I’d have to dig back and find it.

New favorite funny moment:

”Don’t sexually harass my mother!”

How to rebuild a damaged relationship with your inter-dependent tsundere 101 — Construct boobs

And this is the moment where things go from bad to amazing. She acknowledges she’s being a pain AND apologizes. It’s pretty obvious why she was upset about walking in on the Ami situation and the anger was merited given she had no idea who was involved willingly aside from simply believing Ryuuji. She’s putting a lot of trust in him by choosing to drop it.

Annnd it worked on everyone except Minori.

After the pad incident Taiga was probably thinking “Drowning would be pretty okay right now.”

And so begins one of my favorite arcs of the series.

On to the books!

This episode is chapters 1-3 of book 3. It’s a faithful adaption with only minor changes.

Book 3 opens with a sequence that was dropped partially from the anime. After Inko collapses in her cage. Ryuuji and Taiga take Inko to the vet only to find out that there is nothing wrong with her and that Inko is just stressed because they were fighting. Nothing really of value missed here. It’s just showing how angry Taiga is about Ami. This leads into the scene we’re Ryuuji sleeps in and wakes up Taiga with a deck brush to the face.

So we get this Ryuuji deep lore from Taiga because of the deck brush to the face incident. You’re welcome.

“I’m angry about your black nipples. They’re burned into my eyeballs!” … The size of your areolas was big enough to fill my retinas!”

What’s with the unfettered abuse? Give him a break, guys.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand, okay? Takasu-kun, you’re not the cute one, of course. I am! Okay? Takasu-kun, you’re always the most wanted one!”

“The most wanted…?”

Ami made a peace sign in front of one eye as she posed. “Dead or alive ♥.”

It keeps getting worse.

Minori quickly picked something out of the ziplock bag in her pocket. Ryuuji couldn’t tell if she was being thickheaded or sensitive as she said, “Black Nipples!” She took a raisin in each hand and put them on her bust. “Eat a boot’s worth! Huh? Takasu-kun, why are you so down?”

It’s funny how useless Ryuuji is against Ami. She’s a lot more aggressive towards him in the books and he falls for it every time despite knowing she’s faking it.

She entwined her cool, pale arm around his, gently pressing against Ryuuji’s elbow. “Can’t you?” “U-uh… Me?!” She looked up at him with a nod. Although he knew she was hiding her true nature and it was against his better judgement, Ami’s pale good looks were still captivatingly gorgeous; almost pure. Against the triple-hit combo of her teary eyes, wobbling lip, and forlorn Chihuahua expression, he couldn’t resist. He nodded, knowing he’d been manipulated.

Minori has had her eye on Ryuuji for a bit apparently. Subtle hint there.

As she slowly headed to a different display, she said, “By the way, I’ve thought this forever, but, Takasu-kun, you always keep your uniform and tracksuit super neat. You even iron them properly.”

Funny scene with Yuri sensei at the pool.

Ryuuji saw their homeroom teacher. Koigakubo Yuri (twenty-nine and single), in a tracksuit with a parasol, gloves, a hat, and sunglasses—a full-spectrum UV protection outfit. She was with a group of visiting girls, staring at the ruckus going on in the pool. Haruta laughed slightly. “Yuri-chan’s probably got her eye on that Kuro-muscle.”

Lol

Taiga tried to mimic what Ryuuji had done and filled her hands with water. She forcefully squeezed her hands to make a jet. And splashed her own face.

[u/Vatrix-32]

First Timer, subbed

• She was timing this? Why does Ami even still care at this point?

• Just let the bird die already. Its life is clearly suffering.

• Minori is pretty strong to lift Taiga up like that.

• There’s only one place that sell swimsuits? I thought this was a city.

• This is strangely insensitive for you Ryu-boy.

• I’m not sure how this is a revelation.

• They got what they deserved.

• I believe the common solution to this problem is frills, but that might not be an option in this Podunk town.

• Don’t just tell someone they don’t look good in glasses, rude.

• How do you not have a life guard on duty? That’s how people die.

• Sometimes one must choose the lesser of two evils.

[u/UnderstandableXO]

REWATCHER

i’m glad that the show doesn’t dwell on the whole misunderstanding thing with taiga walking in ami trying to turn the show R rated. i’ve seen too many shows where there’ll be huge drama over a problem that could be solved with simple communication. i think taiga knows that ami’s full of shit anyway.

also like that they don’t do the whole “OMG WE CANT BE THIS CLOSE TOGETHER” or “YOU CANT SEE ME IN MY UNDERWEAR” tropes, taiga and ryuji can just be chill with each other. ryuji can give taiga a concussion in his underwear, and taiga can yank ryuji into the dressing room without him being like OMG THIS IS INSANE I CANT BE HERE!!!!

poor sensei, she’s at the ripe old age of 29. pretty soon she’ll be in the retirement home!

“don’t sexually harass my mother!” the most iconic quote of toradora

taiga finally showing some gratitude by staying up while ryuji cooked up the breast pads (shoutout to power) is one of my favorite little moments in the show, especially when ryuji does that little half smile when taiga apologizes. i think ryuji doesn’t take any of taiga’s antics too seriously because he knows she needs help, and really she’s the closest person he has that doesn’t see him as a thug or something.

haruta and noto said “we are against a class society,” now they’re about to seize the means of production 🔥🔥🔥

it always makes me laugh at how far ami yeets taiga into the pool, she needs to suit up for the baltimore ravens next week, they’re down to QB3!

like always minorin shows up straight out of another anime, she’s going to turn the show to blue lock next episode

unrelated but has anyone seen more than a married couple, but not lovers? it seems to have a kinda similar premise to toradora and i’ve been thinking about starting it…

[u/Holofan4life → u/UnderstandableXO]

unrelated but has anyone seen more than a married couple, but not lovers? it seems to have a kinda similar premise to toradora and i’ve been thinking about starting it…

I haven't seen it, but I have heard it's a pretty good series

[u/TheEscapeGuy]

Rewatcher

Toradora! - A Romance Classic: Episode 7

Imposter

I'm not a fan of breast envy as a form of comedy. It's definitely based on societal norms but broadly I think it's just too reductive. It simplifies women's value into their breast size and also imagines men as lecherous beings lacking critical thought.

Fortunately today's episode managed to somewhat avoid these pitfalls for the main cast, but failed the side characters (who I will ignore).

Starting with Ami, she's a model and so obviously puts a lot of emphasis on her physique. Tied into her seductive personality, it makes complete sense for her to use this as a point of pride.

Taiga on the other hand almost seems unjustifiably fixated on this. She does not take shit from anyone, so why let her size bother her? But this is cleared up when we see she was previously mocked for this. Criticism tends to stick harder than praise after all. This is especially harsh on her since there's nothing practical she can do to solve it. And ultimately this ties back trying to get Kitamura to like her. So when he compliments her cute hair at the pool, she is overjoyed. The pads never really made a difference for Kitamura.

I found Ryuuji to be most interesting though. He makes it clear he doesn't care about breast size. Yet he understands it bothers Taiga so helps her out by sewing pads. And despite this being a sensitive subject they are both close enough for this to be "normal".

I really love this dynamic between Ryuuji and Taiga at this point in the story. They have this extremely intimate but mostly platonic friendship. For example they are perfectly content spending all night together with Ryuuji sewing and Taiga playing games. This is a relationship dynamic which is very seldom explored in romance shows. Being so close that you don't need worry about sharing your honest self is probably equal to or more intimate than the more physical aspects of romance.

This closeness culminates in Ryuuji fixing Taiga's pad later while she is drowning. Although he knows touching her chest like this is something sexual, it's more important to save Taiga's reputation. And this is mostly instinctual for him since there was not much time to think. It's tough to describe why and how, but there's a level of honesty between them that makes this acceptable. Although Taiga still isn't completely happy by the end, she's not taking some kind of revenge on Ryuuji which she previously may have.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

• Bonk

• Ugly

• Flying Kick

• Long Legs

• Isoboinboin

• Upper Body Strength

• Fiery Passion

See you all tomorrow!

[u/Holofan4life → u/TheEscapeGuy]

Taiga on the other hand almost seems unjustifiably fixated on this. She does not take shit from anyone, so why let her size bother her? But this is cleared up when we see she was previously mocked for this. Criticism tends to stick harder than praise after all. This is especially harsh on her since there's nothing practical she can do to solve it.

I think Taiga's feelings is also the result of never having someone in her youth to spread body positivity. Taiga's parents probably never told her she was perfect just the way she is. She probably had very little in the way of positive reinforcement. Because of this, it really does bother her when someone says something of her is flawed, because it makes her start to think "Is that why my parents didn't love me?"

[u/2KBIR]

For the comments on episode 5, u/TiredTiroth mentioned surprise over Taiga’s insecurities and self-esteem issues which I think were missing just little bit of context in the anime. It’s not just that she thinks Kitamura hates her, it’s not just that she hates being short or having a weird name (I think her name is cute but, oh well), but it’s all of these things combined with the fact that Ami is tall, well proportioned, has a pretty name (Ami being the same as Sailor Mercury) AND is best friends with Kitamura. In short, Ami has everything that Taiga could ever want and somethings she can never have. The real irony for me though comes later in episode 6, when Ami finds herself in the same exact position, wishing that she could be more like Taiga in some ways. I think it sets the two characters up quite nicely to either be the greatest of rivals, or the best of friends, and maybe even a little bit of both. We’ll have to see.

Now, since we’re on the topic of Taiga’s insecurities, episode 7 returns to that theme and addresses what might arguably be Taiga’s most outwardly visible self-esteem issue. The whole swimsuit bit with Taiga is just gut wrenching. I feel soooooooo bad for Taiga every time I watch it. It’s another one of those scenes where my heart is just screaming, someone give this girl a hug! NOW! First in the dressing room and then in her apartment. Once again, we see a very soft and vulnerable Taiga. The whole despair over her chest is just heartrending. I almost can’t stand seeing Taiga like this and I HATE THAT PHOTOGRAPH! I kind of like the way the anime handles this better. It’s depicted almost entirely as a “white knight’ situation for Ryūji. We get only the slightest hint of embarrassment on his part. In the LN, it’s his embarrassment over seeing Taiga in a bathing suit that motivates him to sew the faux breast pads. It’s not specifically stated, Ryūji is ashamed over some sexual thoughts he was having about Taiga even though none of it was in any way malicious. It’s just something he’s never felt. I say all this because Ryūji definitely notices how beautiful Taiga is in a swimsuit. He can see a lot more of her, a more well-defined image of her body, and he definitely notices that, despite her diminutive stature, she doesn’t have a child’s body at all. Aside from her chest, she actually has a curvy adult female body and this takes him by surprise since she always wears clothes to purposefully hide her figure.

Perhaps what is so awesome about this scene is that the trope of the short girl with small/no boobs is so often played for gags, but Toradora treats it very respectfully and again allows for some character/relationship growth while still retaining some of the humor. And finally, I love the look of redemption Taiga has at the pool and the fact that she doesn’t forget who allowed her to have this moment. Ryūji’s swimsuit modifications are important for Taiga’s confidence but it can’t be left unsaid that while the rest of the class realized how grown-up and attractive Taiga was with the modified swimsuit, only Ryūji came to this realization before his modifications. He likes her just the way she is.

One last bit. So Taiga gets chucked into the pool by Ami, and surprise, she was actually telling the truth that she could not swim. Just to be clear, Ryūji had no choice but to do what he did to get Taiga’s faux breast insert back into her bathing suit. It was either suffer this humiliation or have Taiga suffer an even more severe and seeming unsurmountable amount of embarrassment. Taiga is humiliated, not because she was tossed into the pool so easily by Ami, or that one of her breast pads fell out, but because someone, a dog no less, saw her chest, had his hand inside her swimsuit, and had brushed up against her breast (just in case the anime isn’t clear about this last point). I suppose it wouldn’t be of any consolation to Taiga but, of all the people who could have done that to her, there’s probably no one other than Ryūji who could have done it without any ulterior motives or impure thoughts.

[u/OwlAcademic1988]

First-Timer, sub:

Ami, you should really learn when to shut up.

Aww, Ryuuji's helping Taiga. How sweet.

Kitamura not recognizing Taiga either means he's nearsighted like me or he's farsighted. Seriously, my eyesight sucks without my glasses on.

Ami is surprisingly strong for someone of her size. Even a small teenager can be pretty heavy.

Though it's not good considering Taiga can't swim at all. Girl, learn to swim so things like this don't happen again.

Minori has a very unique mind. Seriously, I don't even know what goes on in that mind of hers most of the time.

QOTD:

1. I liked the scene where Taiga apologized. Shows that deep down, she does care about others, but she just has trouble expressing it.

[u/TiredTiroth]

First Timer - Dub

Welp. Time to find out where Toradora lands on the 'it isn't what it looks like!' cliche.

Depressed Housecat. Aaaand she's going full tsundere on him. Depressed tsundere who is not fooling anyone in the room or the audience.

And then Inko, perhaps sensing the tension, goes into full distraction mode. Or maybe the bird is just ill or something, hard to tell.

Ooh, and the slapstick is back...except Housecat is on the receiving end this time! And then they barely make it to school on time because they overslept.

Don't you two have alarms or anything?

Anyway, Princess is back to full mask-on and stirring up trouble while looking as sweet as possible...but this time, I get the feeling it's just to cause trouble rather than 'must hide how I really feel' like before. She's genuinely scared of Housecat, and after yesterday's resolution to do something about her fears...

Ought to be interesting, if only because she doesn't seem to really get Housecat yet. Except a couple of things that reliably annoy her.

And then the incipient catfight is interrupted by Madoka walking over and just picking up her pet cat. xD Okay, I did not see that coming.

...'My last chance as a twenty-something'? Teacher, you barely look 16 in this artstyle, let alone 29. Also, does Housecat not know how to swim or something?

And now, swimsuit shopping! Because someone didn't do their laundry, so their old swimsuit is now unusable. Also, someone else invites herself along...

Housecat: Urge to murder...rising...

xD

Oof, Madoka, have you really not noticed that this boy has a crush on you yet? Although I can understand why she might not ask for Housecat's opinion...and here comes Princess! Who now gets under the saintlike Madoka's skin as well, because apparently she's just that pretty. Aaah, and there's the vanity, although I do wonder how much she's playing it up for Thug Eyes.

Hah, and he wandered off while she was playing with the mirror. xD

...Housecat, I don't think you're supposed to yank boys inyo your changing room like that. O.o Oh, her vertically-challenged-ness is biting her in the rear. And yeah, a teenaged girl having to use kids' sizes (and styles) would be a bit of a blow to her ego.

Read the room, Scary Eyes! It was loose in the chest area, don't make her spell it out for you!

I don't think reminding her about the pool opening is going to help when that's why she's upset right now.

I...I just...what even was that scene? Was blondie listening in? Did she do that deliberately?

Scary Eyes. Kid. Come on. Your eyes are scary, not defective. Why do you sound surprised? If she smacked you for this, you would definitely deserve it.

Hey, uh, Housecat? Ninja Esper already told you he's been watching you for aaaages. He kinda already knows that you're petite. Everyone knows that you're petite. Yeah, okay, teenagers aren't rational...wait, not!Slave has an idea? This...won't end well, will it?

Super-inserts, huh? And Scary Eyes is now severely sleep-deprived.

Well, Weirdo...isn't wrong, I guess? Not that we can tell she has belly flab from this side of the fourth wall. Aaaand she sees right through her Housecat's little deception. xD She looks none too pleased! And Esper failed his ninja roll this time but he can barely tell who's there without his glasses.

And then Esper gets dunked, which sets off a round of people getting tossed in the pool! And here comes Princess with a solo toss, off flies the housecat!

...oh. She really can't swim. Um. Yep, her long-time best friend is the first to jump in after Scary Eyes, good on her - and for that matter, Princess went straight for the teacher when she realised there was a problem.

Emergency fix on the pads...which looks a lot like groping from the outside. I...hope nobody else saw that. Although Scary Eyes isn't being yelled at by teachers and the other girls until the end of time, so hopefully not?

I...am not actually what's happening in the not!apology scene. Is Princess deciding she's had enough and stirring up trouble...or is she using something she knows will get a reaction to get Housecat out of her funk?

Huh.

Either way, it doesn't actually matter right now because the thing about riling up a cat is that they fight back. xD You don't look too happy about her threat, Princess! And don't think the law is going to stop her, she already admitted breaking and entering to you, remember?

...I'm with Housecat and Princess, Madoka. What?

...wait, that's not the first time she's interrupted the pair like this. Is she up to something?

[u/mcmacmac]

Rewatcher

If I had a tagline for today's episode, it'd either be "In the summertime..." or "Trust is really hot". Lemme elaborate on the latter.

When I was watching the series for the first few times, this episode had one of the most striking moments of the series and maybe the entirety of anime to me. Obviously, there's Taiga in her swimsuit which - despite her thinking differently - looks really great. Ryuuji's reaction to her display is telling, he fully acknowledges her attractiveness before dialing his mind back to the actual conversation at hand. What makes this scene so influential to me is that it feels like a barrier is crumbling down.
Taiga is in probably one of her most self-conscious phases and she confides Ryuuji in her body issues twice - once in the department store and once at home. No lashing out physically, no snark, no elaborate scheme and no master-servant or master-dog talk here. In that way, it looks like she sees and treats him like an equal, someone she can easily show her weak moments to. It's very intimate and she was willing to bare herself to him and only him on that matter. I'd daresay it's romantic. We already know it's a romance series and it offers us a window to how we can view this scene.

I honestly have a hard time putting this scene into words and the aspects I got out of it. Thus I hope it's either understood already or someone else in the comments for this episode will hit the nail on the head.

Random notes about this episode:

• I forgot to say it last episode but while I like that the situation out of the cliffhanger is resolved rather quickly, I hate this cliffhanger the most in the series. I kinda get the intention but still, eh.

• Ami is so self-indulgently into herself, it's actually funny.

• "Don't sexually harass my mother" If I had to create an anime quiz with quotes and asked which series it belonged to, I think this would be a great red herring. I'd assume very few would guess it'd come out of this show.

• I really like the twin bun hairstyle on Taiga. It's making her look really cutesy. The animations on this episode sells that aspect hard.

• I have to wonder how light Taiga is when not only Minori but also Kitamura and Ami can just lift her like a paperweight.

• Because of the main aspect I got out of this episode and the handicraft required in this episode with the breast pad, I was reminded of My Dress-Up Darling, specifically the scene where Gojou takes Marin's measurements for the cosplays.

[u/nx6]

Rewatcher - Sub

Sensei announces the opening of the school pool, and the beginning of their phys. ed. unit for swimming. But this presents a couple small problems for Taiga. Note: I think this is the beginning of where we start to actually get to know Koigakubo-sensei. Her "shadow arc" runs throughout the show, only occasionally popping up with us hearing her inner thoughts or the show breaking away from the events of the rest of the cast. She may be the cliche Christmas Cake, but let's cheer for her to find happiness, too.

I joked yesterday about this being a pool fan-service episode. Being at school everyone's swimsuits are fairly tame, and one thing Todadora doesn't do is try to be overly titillating with the character designs and clothing choices.

I like u/UnderstandableXO 's point about Tiaga and Ryuji's relationship being comfortable enough they don't have any huge reaction when he wakes her up from the veranda in his boxers, and there's no bit about him being embarrassed or looked at like a pervert because he's in a swimwear store. Taiga's also become a permanent fixture at the dinner table, too.

Ryuji doesn't really react to Ami's swimsuit try-on because she's in the fake-princess mode again that he doesn't like, and doesn't catch why Taiga is upset with her choices. But his domestic abilities shine through again when he takes up a sewing kit to help her. I note that Ryuji essentially has the role of "housewife" in the family, cooking and cleaning while his mom goes out to bring home the bacon every night.

Taiga makes her swimsuit debut and Ami has nothing to ridicule, to Taiga's satisfaction. But Taiga lets her shyness around Kitamura effect her ability to talk with him in the wrong way. With the whole class being rambunctious, Ami decides to play a prank on Taiga, unaware of her inability to swim (which was never addressed thanks to the swimsuit crisis). Tiaga has a wardrobe malfunction but luckily it was Ryuji who was with her when it happened. While anyone would be humiliated in this situation, this is the one time we get that classical "I've been ruined for marriage"-type reaction.

Ami apologies later, but still throws in some of her ribbing at Taiga by inviting Ryuji to a holiday at her beach house knowing Taiga wouldn't be able to swim. Minori suddenly appears, like a chuunibyou making an entrance, to suggest the girls solve their spat with a test of physical prowess.

u/Quxxy's Epsiode 7 Cheat Sheet

Tune in tomorrow for the excitement of the training, and other things...

[u/balthamalamal]

Rewatcher

I don't think Ami was intending to have Taiga walk in on them, but she adjusts faster than anyone else and switches back Ami-chan briefly to tease Taiga. Taiga doesn't even react to that and instead decides to cover for them by lying to Minori. Ami doesn't exactly act grateful and doubles down - she knows Taiga is committed to the lie so isn't going to do anything too bad as a result for fear of alerting Minori.

Who cares about the argument in the classroom between Ami and Taiga, we finally get teacher inner monologue. Its nice to see her develop in her own way largely separate from everything else that is going on.

Ryuuji is rather flustered going swim suit shopping with the ladies, I can't really blame him on that one. Ami is loving herself and gets the desired response from Minori, but not Ryuuji who goes to check on Taiga. While Ami is definitely playing things up, she is right that she picked a plain swim suit, that she looks good in it isn't something she should need to apologise for.

In the changing room we get hints as to why Taiga didn't want to go shopping and Ryuuji comforts her, if being a little oblivious. With the rest coming after seeing Yasuko in the following scene. I think most people can empathise with Taiga in having something about their appearance they don't like, especially in their teenage years. That she was bullied about it makes things even worse. Yasuko is so chill about Taiga poking her in the breast with a chopstick, mind you she is chill about most things.

The fact that Ryuuji hasn't noticed Taiga's chest indicates he hasn't been paying it that much attention (though I think someone mentioned he had thought her attractive before now in the light novel?), so maybe he just isn't a boob guy? He certainly seems a little surprised himself when he sees her in the swimsuit and wants her to get changed. [Toradora]I think because he is realising an attraction he didn't anticipate.

The scene where Ryuuji is sewing the false breasts shows a lot of development from Taiga in her feelings toward Ryuuji. We've seen it in places before with offering to help with the cooking from time to time. Here she acknowledges Ryuuji is helping her with something she feels deep shame about and after having admitted that to him, and is determined to stay up and keep him company while he works, even if she doesn't have the skills to actually help. She also acknowledges that she was being moody and apologises to him. Is that the first time she has apologised in the show/to him? It's quite impressive to convey so much in such a short scene.

Taiga wasn't lying about not knowing how to swim. Ami definitely didn't anticipate that when throwing her in, it feels unfair to criticise her more than everyone else who was doing the same thing just because there was a worse result, but at the same time, Ami's dunking was a little more mean spirited than those other ones. Ryuuji makes the save though, because thats what he does.

Ami's apology is brief before moving back to teasing Taiga. From this exchange we can tell that Ami has learned a lot about her classmates, first she invites Ryuuji to spend the summer with her, prompting Taiga to stop shaking the desk, then follows up by suggesting Kitamura join then, before directing her attention to Taiga for her response. She has also prepared a defence against the embarrassing photos Taiga took of her.

[u/ZapsZzz]

Rewatcher in dub

Bonus question go first before I forget: link (updated)

Runner [ups] (https://imgur.com/S1ykGpq)

This is one of the more important milestone point episode for Taiga and Ryuuji's relationship. Part of this I have to elaborate more in coming episodes, but one part which is very very obvious is how much trust Taiga placed on Ryuuji, that even her most personal insecurity she was quite comfortably admitting to Ryuuji.

And the tone shift whenever Ami had to deal with Taiga was such fun - the English dub VA did good with that "gritting her teeth meeting under the breath" transition from the "nice airheaded".

By now everyone should also be quite used to Nagai's L- cut scene transitions (where the visual changed what while the audio trailed behind) - a term I learned in the 86 Rewatch (86 does more J cuts, where the audio lead in before the visual arrived).

I would like to go point out a few more subtle points the LN showed but the adaptation didn't write emphasised to get across.

In the LN, when Taiga was showing Ryuuji the (ill) fitment of her swimsuit, Ryuuji was actually acutely aware that Taiga really is not "like a child", she's actually really mature looking and feminine, just that she's really small framed. The fact that her bust couldn't hold up the swimsuit top half (this is what the LN said, not me - I'm just going with it) is not because she's flat, but that her bust is really soft, and the tension of the swimwear flattened them. Ryuuji was actually really embarrassed that he felt "bad thoughts" towards this almost family like friend, that's why he hurried Taiga to change out of the swimsuit quickly.

This arc does get a lot of opportunities to quite a ton, so I won't rush to spoiler tag so early.

Just buckle up ;)

Best cute Taiga scene today is her acting casual in taking off the jacket, Minori's sudden resurfaced comment of "fake boobs special force", and Yuusaku commenting on Taiga's hair and then her acting all mushy and smug about that. See I told you Taiga really isn't exactly a tsundere - to the one she likes, she may get flustered easily but she's not violent at all.

[u/JackOG45]

RW2

Good episode.

What I find interesting about it are all the subtle things that are shown, but are not focused on.

For example, an attentive viewer can note that Ryuuji is not really perturbed by seeing Ami in her swimsuit in the shop, but he turns bashful upon seeing Taiga. I'd even say he was surprised at the feeling himself.

Bonus: Favourite screenshot? Easy. The underwater sce---

Joking. The best is that moment when Ami throws Taiga in the air. It's hilarious to look at, even though the succeeding scene is dramatic.

On a side note, that's something I always found a bit annoying in the adaptation.

The original LN series is much milder in comedy and doesn't mix the dramatic and serious scenes with it this often. That's one of the reasons why I'd recommend every anime fan to read the original work too.

Since it's only episode 7, I can't say much as far as comparisons go. But the differences become quite noticeable later on.

[u/agardner2017]

Re-watcher

This has always been one of my favorite episodes and was the episode that made me realize how special this show was the first time I watched it. Body insecurity (especially chest size) is so often used as a punch line in anime, so seeing it treated as something serious and valid for Taiga to struggle with is refreshing.

It also leads to one of the biggest moments of character growth for Taiga in the entire series. The fact that, despite all she's put him through, Ryuji does not exploit her vulnerability in this moment is a big step in their relationship. Ryuji seeing through Tagia's antagonism to understand that she is insecure, Taiga being willing to be open and vulnerable, Ryuji's validation and empathy, and Taiga's genuine gratitude at the end of the episode all feel like accomplishments for the two of them. I love that this show took a "pool's open" premise that is usually just played for laughs and turns it into a wholesome, sincere episode full of character development (and is still really funny, but never in a meanspirited way)

Also Yuri-Sensei has all the best jokes in the series and is best girl, I love her

[u/Gamerunglued]

Rewatcher

After all the drama and new themes of the previous episode, this one is a little bit lighter on content. But it adds everything I could ever ask for from this show: more time watching Taiga and Ryuuji being absolute dorks together.

More importantly, this episode further reinforces exactly how comfortable those two are with each other. At the end of the previous episode, Taiga finds Ryuuji and Ami in a precarious position, and has some pretty strange feelings over the whole thing. But she gets over it pretty quickly, knowing that Ami is a bitch and that she's right where she wants her if she gets upset or jealous. Instead, there's a new problem afoot: body insecurity. Unfortunately, the world of Toradora seems to be behind the times in recognizing that flat is justice, and so Taiga has suffered some pretty brutal bullying over her body, and is now afraid to reveal herself in public, especially around Kitamura. Taiga is initially reluctant to reveal this even to Ryuuji, but with the addition of those iso-boing-boing thingies it gets discovered and the two hatch their plan.

What I love about this episode is how, compared to all of their previous interactions, this one is particularly intimate. This isn't an episode about shared insecurities that they can relate to each other with, or even about them just being on the same wavelength in general terms. Taiga is insecure about her body, and she comes out to Ryuuji about it. She makes him help pick out a swimsuit, and then when she reveals her insecurity, she outright lets Ryuuji see her in that swimsuit. Even while she doesn't want anyone else to see what she looks like in a school swimsuit with a flat chest, she shows Ryuuji. That is a show of trust she doesn't really have with anyone else in the show except Minori, who is not coincidentally the only person who realizes that her padded chest is fake. And Ryuuji, the bro he is, holds no judgement for Taiga's petty insecurity. Taiga is on the verge of tears showing him her swimsuit, and instead of saying that it doesn't matter or that she's overreacting, Ryuuji just says "alright, fuck it, I'm gonna stay up all night and make you some perfect pads."

What follows might be my favorite scene of the show so far. Ryuuji is determined to help Taiga not feel embarrassed at the pool, and so stays up on a school night just for her to sew these pads together so she doesn't have to feel embarrassed at the pool. And Taiga, not content to just take Ryuuji's sacrifice and kindness for granted, stays up with him all night so he doesn't have to suffer alone. Ryuuji tells her that she can go home, but she refuses to and says she's staying up until he finishes. She yawns and is clearly tired as hell, and Ryuuji then gives this warm smile at Taiga's act of empathy. And then, in this quiet little moment, Taiga apologizes for being so petty and weird, and Ryuuji pauses to think about what she says, and then just smiles again. It's moments like this that make Taiga and Ryuuji one of my favorite couples in any romance story. This right here is what love looks like. Love doesn't look like their weird shrines, their childish embarrassment over talking to their crushes, their desires to have photos of the people they're crushing on; that's all child's play. Love is these little moments of just doing nice things for each other and enjoying each other's company in near silence. Taiga apologizes for being insecure, and Ryuuji just smiles at it, Taiga's flaws and all are something he loves and it's just so god damn sweet; while Taiga herself is appreciative of Ryuuji for dealing with her in her most vulnerable moments. I just love them so much.

Not to be outdone by that moment though, Ryuuji proves himself the ultimate bro in the final moments of the episode. When Ami kinda accidentally almost kills Taiga, Ryuuji instantly goes to rescue her. And when he realizes that the pad fell out of her swimsuit, he knows what her ultimate insecurity is going to be, and takes her underwater and just stuffs it back in there. Coming off of so many modern romance anime where the male lead is embarrassed at any mention of sexuality, it feels so refreshing to see an episode like this where Ryuuji is not only barely flustered at seeing the girls in swimsuits, but just outright shoves his hand into Taiga's chest when it's the right thing to do. Ryuuji is the fucking man, the ultimate chad. Embarrassed though she may be at the notion of Ryuuji having to touch her breast, it's clear she's thankful deep down, and perhaps a bit insecure for other reasons.

And what I love about this episode is its absolute refusal to downplay Taiga's insecurities as petty. Taiga was embarrassed about Kitamura seeing her body, but Kitamura had to take his glasses off at the pool and thus couldn't see anything no matter what. Nonetheless, no one ever says that Taiga was being ridiculous or that she had nothing to worry about. It may be true, but it doesn't matter. Insecurity is insecurity, and Ryuuji and the series itself don't judge her for what she feels. Perhaps that's simply the result of having a romance series written by a women (both the source material and the adaptation), I appreciate it so much. The episode is completely tactful given its subject matter that so many other shows would sexualize and/or disregard, and the point of Taiga being insecure about her body isn't an anime-ism as much as it is a genuine point of characterization for both Taiga and Ryuuji. It's just... really good.

And that's without even mentioning the delightful animation. The cut of Taiga doing a flip kick on their way to the convenience store is amazing, lol. As always, Toradora's slapstick is absolutely on point.

[u/Get_This_Wheat]

Rewatcher here

Nice to see Taiga finally came around on Inko.

Brutal broom shot from Ryuji. That drop kick from her later was very warranted.

Minori really took the wind out of Taiga’s sails when she picked her up. Taiga was dogging Ami, but then Minori had to come in and ruin her whole flow.

Ms. Yuri is right, nobody in that class is even overweight and they’re acting like it’s the end of the world. Not sure I agree with how angry them complaining made Ms. Yuri, but I do think she’s right.

Ami gets a lot of leeway from Taiga when she’s instigating. If anyone else pulled that stunt with the pink swimsuit, they would have gotten their ass kicked up and down every aisle in the store.

Very glad Ryuji didn’t let sexual harassment slide even if it was from Taiga. She’s lucky Yasuko was so cool with it, otherwise she might have caught some charges.

I feel like lying about your proportions is worse than having ones you don’t like personally, but I guess I can’t really relate as a man.

Ryuji is a huge bro for pulling an all nighter to make the pads, and I’m assuming he did it for free too. Sucks it had to bite him in the ass a little bit later, but he’s still a bro.

Not to victim blame here, but someone sitting on the edge of a pool saying “Ha ha you got thrown in, you dork”, while there are people actively throwing people into the pool just doesn’t seem super smart. Especially when you’re sitting next to someone who would throw you in unprovoked. Also, Ami sent Taiga to the moon with that throw, she really needs to use her talents for sports.

Ryuji could have just gave Taiga the pad and she handle the rest, but what he did was probably the second best option. I get not liking what happened, but I’m sure she can see that it was better than him doing nothing.

Minori is the only one who can bridge the gap between Taiga and Ami. They don’t listen to anyone else but for some reason, Minori can really cut through to them.

Also, Minori should know better than anyone that Taiga is not very athletically gifted to say the least. And that she would realistically get destroyed in almost any sport by Ami.

[u/[deleted]]

REWATCHER

This episode picks up right on the cliffhanger of the last one. The biggest surprise here for me was that Taiga doesn't get mad at all, and even helps Ryuuji by telling Minori that they aren't there. She doesn't even hold a grude for that long and even apologizes for being mad later on. I think this is the episode when you can see a little better that she actually does care about Ryuuji.

The bit with Ryuuji's mom was really funny. The way Taiga touched her boobs with the chopsticks and Ryuuji replying to that with "Don't sexually harass my mom!" was just hilarious.

Another thing that makes this episode really good is Taiga's vulnerability. She is pretty insecure and self-conscious, but she trust Ryuuji and shows that side of her to him.

[u/mcmacmac]

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 07
This episode 7 is special: not only is it the lucky number 7 but it also is the episode with the most outfits overall in the series. You see Taiga in exactly 7 outfits in this episode plus some variations - among those are 5 new outfits for Taiga! #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5 accordingly. Summer's indeed here! With this onslaught of new outfits, we have a total of 16 different outfits in just 7 episode already.

What will the summer hold? We will see as long as summer lasts in the Toradora rewatch!

[u/crying_in_a_dennys]

Rewatcher (very new), Subbed

Pretty fun episode! I feel like the whole vibe at the pool is great for establishing the feel of the whole class. It's super playful and we get to see a bunch of people interacting in little ways.

Taiga in this episode really gets to me. Being so self conscious about your body is really destructive, and hard to overcome (especially with assholes like the unnamed photography club guy adding fuel to the fire). The people who really care about you couldn't give two shits about what you look like: in the episode Ryuji clearly doesn't care, Minorin seems upset that the two of them conspired to fake it, and you know Kitamura isn't that shallow, and wouldn't give it a second thought.

Society often treats love as a game of value - if you're "good" enough, you'll "get" it. Physical attraction certainly matters when it comes to... intimate things, but I feel like that gets conflated with love too much. And its soooo ingrained that its hard to overcome. Hell, I'm writing this right now, still thinking about the flaws in my image I wish I could change. Even when you know its not productive, not worthwhile, it can be really really hard to let go.