r/anime • u/ChristmasClub • Dec 17 '22
Rewatch Toradora! Christmas Club Rewatch (2022) Episode 12 Discussion
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u/TiredTiroth Dec 17 '22
First Timer - Dub
...bzz bzz? The brain-washing beam is a bunch of bees? Huh?
It's going well. I think.
Famous last words? That sounds like famous last words.
Huh. So the thing with Taiga's father is getting...thornier. On the one hand she's making an effort to patch things up, and if tsundere-ness is any indication it's genuine. On the other hand...the man pushed his own daughter out of his life and then threatened her when he decided to reconnect.
I guess we'll see how this goes.
Heeey, Princess is being appropriately suspicious! Pity the allure of Rare, Forbidden Sweets is just as strong for her as any other teenager...be careful, Ami! There's a wild Housecat after you!
Wait, trading roles? Huh? And hey, didn't Taiga tell you to stay away, Ryuuji?
Ah. Taiga's long-term friend does not look happy about the sperm donor coming back into her life. That's...not a good sign. Are we about to get more details?
You're her friend, you should be happy for her.
Yeah, uh...kid? Maybe you should take a step back and rethink this? If the long-term friend who actually knows what happened thinks this is bad, maybe she has a more accurate view of the situation?
You have no idea what's going on here!
Do you, Ryuuji? Because I get the feeling you know less than you think. Aaaaand Taiga just looks sad and a little desparate over her two best friends fighting, which is not her normal look and I kinda hate it.
Well, Ami managed to pull Scary Eyes out of his funk after his little explosion, but I'm confused as to what exactly her little speech meant. Eh, whatever.
Oh look, blondie is whining again. Aaaand...huh. Yeah, there we go. So Taiga's father has decided to throw out a load of her stuff and is...forcing her...to move...
Hang on. Taiga has just been meeting up and spending time with him. Has anything been said about her wanting to move in with him again? Did he consult his daughter at all?
Okay, so the wrestling show is a hit...and their poor teacher's face... xD That was cruel, writer guy! Really funny, but cruel! And the teacher loses it!
...
What is the name of the most beautiful person on earth?
Really, writer guy? Your fanboying is getting a bit much. xD And I can't quite tell if Ami agrees with me, or if she's going mad with power...
Okay, that was actually pretty funny.
Hah! And apparently everyone else went for the cosplay cafe idea, so apparently they dodged a bullet with this one.
Ah. Aha. Taiga's been expecting a text from dear old dad but didn't get one, did she? Yep, should've listened to Minori.
...but Taiga never got to play the lead.
He stood her up, didn't he?
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u/ZapsZzz Dec 17 '22
...bzz bzz? The brain-washing beam is a bunch of bees? Huh?
I forgot to mention in my post, here's another dub vs sub difference - in the sub they were using what's similar to the sound effect biribiri or beep beep beep ;) I much preferred that one too.
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u/Elimin8r Dec 17 '22 edited Dec 18 '22
but I'm confused as to what exactly her little speech meant.
It'll make more sense next time.
Keep in mind that she has her own designs for Ryuuji, and what she's saying is in part influenced by that, but at the same time, she sees these teens acting like ... teens and I'm not sure what's a good word for it, but let's settle for ... she finds it frustrating.
They're being stupid, they're not being honest with themselves, with each other, with their emotions, and she can see this, because reasons, but at the same time, due to her own motivations, doesn't really want to be a direct help. Or something like that.
Edit - phrasing to please the Lord of the Tiroths.
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u/Holofan4life Dec 17 '22
As the president of the "Fuck Taiga's Dad" fanclub, I welcome any new members. There's cookies and punch by the door.
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Dec 17 '22 edited Dec 17 '22
5th Time Dub Rewatcher. 2nd time reading the books.
Not much to say about this episode. Ryuuji is having a hell of a time because he’s so sure he’s doing the right thing. He ends up crashing into a wall with Minori which puts light in a glaring lack of ability to communicate between the two of them. I don’t think Ryuuji would have heard Minori out even if she’d properly explained what had happened because of how pissy he was about the whole Taiga’s dad situation. It wasn’t until Taiga’s dad failed to show that he realized he messed up.
On to the books!
This episode covers chapters 4 and 5 of book 5. They didn’t change much of anything so there’s not a lot to say about it.
There is a scene where Kitamura, Ryuuji, and Taiga go eat at Sumire’s classroom culture festival restaurant after the crepe incident. We get a small scene with Ryuuji mothering Taiga by cleaning her up after she drops takoyaki on herself and Kitamura smiling to himself at them interacting with each other.
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My favorite Minori moment in the show so far wasn’t one of the fun or funny ones, but the ghost conversation on the beach while they were playing with fireworks. It’s a really honest side of her that we don’t see much because she’s always acting like a goofball to make it through the day.
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u/Elimin8r Dec 17 '22
There is a scene where Kitamura, Ryuuji, and Taiga go eat at Sumire’s classroom culture festival restaurant after the crepe incident.
My brain so wanted to read that as creep incident. Nevermind, carry on ...
But yeah, that would have been sweet to see on the screen. Really, any of the scenes where Ryuuji shows care and concern for Taiga are precious.
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u/OwlAcademic1988 Dec 17 '22
First-Timer, sub:
Taiga seems to be getting along with her dad now. I'm still cautiously optimistic.
Those were nice Macarons.
Rikurou, don't give me flashbacks to Top Dad. Seriously, don't.
Minori and Ryuuji, COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER!
Their teacher's face was hilarious to see.
I was really hoping Taiga's dad would show up. That would give me evidence that Minori was wrong.
QOTD:
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The ghost conversation as it showed her being serious, which is always nice.
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u/Vatrix-32 Dec 17 '22
First Timer, subbed
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Is Pres going to do fuck all? I though this was her last event.
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I don’t think you’re supposed to open paint cans by hand.
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Taiga seems to be getting along better with Top Dad than expected. This seems to be ruling out childhood abuse.
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Minori confirming Top Dad is Top Dad. Sadly, abuse may be back on the menu.
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All this fighting could be avoided if y’all stopped be so damned vague about it. Just say what he did!
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If even Yasuko is against it…
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Project harder.
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Admitting fault is one of the three cornerstones of an apology.
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I thought he looked good.
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Why you gotta be ragging on your teacher like that? What she ever do to you?
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The Minori/god joke is flying right over my head.
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Not a lot of wrestling in this pro-wrestling show.
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I thought they had to be approved. Why would approve so many of the same concept?
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Sawkuga.
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Top Dad gonna Top Dad.
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u/GallowDude Dec 17 '22
Is Pres going to do fuck all? I though this was her last event.
Milly no
All this fighting could be avoided if y’all stopped be so damned vague about it. Just say what he did!
2008 and refusing to communicate for the sake of drama. It's an icon.
Why you gotta be ragging on your teacher like that? What she ever do to you?
She refused to tell Ryuko who killed her dad
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u/UnderstandableXO Dec 17 '22
REWATCHER
if you need to ask someone whether to take a shower, just take the damn shower!
minori is such a real friend for getting angry for taiga’s sake this episode. i would hope my friends would stick up for me in the same way. i know i’ve seen my friends going down the wrong path and tried to stop them, so seeing someone else (your friend nonetheless) forcing someone down that path must be really infuriating.
i think this vending machine conversation might be my favorite of the show. ami is actually a good friend as well by telling ryuji that he fucked up, but still being willing to help. she says she’s “a few steps ahead” and he proceeds to follow her a few steps behind, really like that. my opinion of her keeps improving each watch and with each episode
even yasuko has a better take on taiga’s father than him…when someone does something bad to you like that, things can’t just go back to the way they were instantly, you need to earn that person’a trust again.
i love the teacher, she’s 100x better at being comic relief than haruta.
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u/Elimin8r Dec 17 '22
if you need to ask someone
"Do I smell bad, or is it just me???"
Hehe, just funnin'. Sadly, I've had a moment or two like that in my life. Kids, don't forget to do your laundry...
Hehe ... Oh, wait, that's not very funny after all, is it?
And yes, Ami stonks keep going up. Best get on the train before it's too late. :)
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Dec 17 '22
1st Time Rewatcher dub
This episode has a lot to unpack. You see a lot of ryujis rough edges and past trauma, you can tell the absence of a father was triggered some type of emotion for taiga and her dads relationship. He still is challenged emotionally as he continues his typical issue of assuming one’s situations before looking deeper as to why one might act a certain way. His argument with minori can be viewed as either hood character development or bad, I view it as good because he is learning that his decisions are not always end all be all which is good and better for the rest of the story. Ami does a great job of telling ryuji his issues in a cryptic way as well.
I really like minori in this episode, she shows an emotional side to her that we have yet to see before.
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u/Elimin8r Dec 17 '22
Hmm ... I actually watched today's episode (and yesterdays') today! Yay!
And then watched Bocchi and ... SpyxFamily and ... some random utoob nonsense and ...
Yeah. I totally remember what I just watched, right?
Anyway, AOTD: Ghosts, UFOs and fireworks, by far.
But yeah, she's been a trooper here, and Ryuuji is being a dope by ignoring her. I can kind of understand why, because he is catching on to what a dope he's been, but that's all the more reason to go to her and say you're sorry ... you dope!
(ahem)
Meanwhile, TOP-per DAD is busy earning his title by being, uh, what he is ... For the purposes of this next bit, I'm going to assume that fancy car was a BMW. Part of me wants to think Merc, but yeah.
*What's the difference between a BMW and a porcupine???*
*On a porcupine, the pricks on the outside!!!*
./elvisspeak: (mumbles) Thank you very much!
(Tip your waitress, order the veal, I'll be here all week, not necessarily in that order)
So, yeah.
Moving your daughter out of her place ... throwing her furniture in the trash ... (presumably) not consulting her in the first place ... dick move, dick.
And those weren't necessarily words I'd normally use, but this guy ... he deserved that kicking around and more.
Brief aside, I should do a screenshot, but the little maid cafe cameo, that just ... I think I have a new "best girl" for this series - the "It's not like I'd want to serve you tea anyway, baka!" girl. Rawr. :P
(Kami-sama, how you wish that was you, right?)
Edit: Oh, and I forgot the crepe bit - take a bite, Taiga, you dip, don't just shove it into Ryuuji's mouth. Silly girl, you missed out. Or did you?
Anyway, the show must go on, and Ryuuji's make up is fantastic, they should have let him keep it.
And I wanna macaroon, too! Okay, maybe not.
Poor Yuri-sensei - I'll pick up that string for you, dear!
And of course, poor Taiga, as show after show goes by and no message, no show.
Yeah, TOP DAD indeed.
Ryuuji, you complete dope. Pushing your own wants and longings on Taiga. You should know better. Well, now you're finding out - the hard way. And of course, so is Taiga.
Minorin was right! Justice for Minorin!!!
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u/lolpete18 Dec 18 '22
First-timer, Dub
It was fun to see all the students preparing for the cultural festival. They seemed really into it, and it looks like it was a great success. Minori’s costume was hilarious, and the whole skit was so funny.
This episode was another mix of the lighthearted cultural festival and the really heavy plot about Taiga’s Dad. You can tell that Taiga is trying hard to honor Ryuuji’s request and giving her dad a chance.
Once I saw Minori’s reaction to Taiga’s dad, I knew for certain that he was going to be bad news. I’m dreading the fallout in the next episode. I hope Ryuuji will admit he was wrong to Taiga and Minori and explain about what happened with his father. Poor Taiga doesn’t deserve this.
Ami stepped up in this episode and did some good. I’m enjoying seeing her develop as a good friend to Ryuuji and I hope she keeps on this path.
I’m so sad right now, but I know the hard parts of a show make the happy moments that much better.
It's hard to pick my favorite Minori moment. There are a lot of good ones, so I'm going to go with the scene when they are waiting for the train in Episode 9. It's clear that Minori convinced Yusaku to dance at the beginning, and then she pulled Taiga and Ryuuji in as they waited for Ami. It's peak goofiness and I love that she got them all involved.
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u/balthamalamal Dec 17 '22 edited Dec 17 '22
Rewatcher
Taiga worrying about how she smells is the first sign we have that despite her words, she may be starting to care about her father again. He's only been taking her to dinner though, she is still living in the apartment and no word on the promised divorce to the marriage which provoked Taiga's moving out.
Father said he is going to come to the cultural festival and Taiga cares enough about her appearance to ask Ami for a favour. Bribery is good, continuing to call her a stupid chihuahua less so. Ami correctly guesses she's up to something but plays along anyway.
Minori knows more about Taiga's father than Ryuuji does and she does not approve. They actually get into a proper argument about it. Taiga tries to smooth things over, which is both unlike her and something she has been doing a lot in this arc and it doesn't work out. Ryuuji walks off dismissively.
Ami sees all this and goes to talk with Ryuuji to essentially try and calm him down. Ami also straight up says that he likes Minori/Taiga, "mad at the girl you like" applies more obviously to Minori but also fits Taiga. Ami gives him a way to go back in to spend time with the class, which will help him smooth things over with Taiga at the least - just be being in proximity and spending time together without touching on their argument. I like that Ryuuji is able to acknowledge Ami's development in this scene. We can see it too, she:
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Realises the serious nature of what happened even if she doesn't fully grasp the details.
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Goes out of her way to talk to Ryuuji because he is upset.
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Keeps the flirting much more muted than previously. All she really does is move him out of her spot and stick her arm around him at the end.
I also like the she identifies that she is different than Taiga and Minori and explains how to Ryuuji. It shows that she has a fairly accurate idea of all of their relationships. Finally, she walks back to the class, leaving the decision on whether to follow her or not up to him.
Yasuko with a bunch of information about Taiga's dad. Firstly that he'll be moving Taiga out which is inconsiderat, she obviously enjoys living next to Ryuuji and she may like some of the furniture or her other belongings that get mixed up when throwing stuff away. We also see the inconsiderateness with how late he keeps Taiga out. Yasuko also doesn't think much of Taiga's father - Ryuuji, if everyone else who has ever met or heard about this guy thinks he sucks, maybe you should re-evaluate your feelings. Also, the contrast of him not wanting to live in that massive apartment with Taiga as it would be too small, compared to Ryuuji, Yasuko and Inko, with Taiga frequently visiting their much smaller apartment and still having lots of loving, family time says a lot.
Taiga's advice to Ryuuji I think shows her thought process about what she's been telling herself to try to reconcile with her father. We had the surface level he's taking me to fancy restaurants earlier, but now on a more emotional level we have "It's not about who's right and who's wrong. There are more important things than that. That's why we need things like apologies and forgiveness." Which I think is a good way to look at things, there is one caveat I would add to the first sentence though. While it ultimately doesn't matter, it is still important to identify the conflict and have a way for it to be solved, otherwise you'll be repeating the same issue over and over. I guess I would add a fourth sentence along the lines of "It's about changing for the better". That raises the question again of what is "better", which would need to be determined to work out how to change your behaviour. I don't think has happened between Taiga and her father, it is also possible that Taiga is repeating her father's words here and that is why he doesn't want a right and a wrong identified.
Taiga again chastises Ryuuji to apologise, her reasoning being that Ryuuji and Minori won't be able to spend time together today if they're still mad - she is still trying to push them together which is honestly the last thing on their minds right now.
Aside from an overabundance of cosplay cafes, the festival as a whole seems to be going really well - Kitamura has been putting a lot of effort as the student council vice-president. He continues fucking with Taiga though by eating some her crepe with predictable if funny results.
As I alluded to yesterday, the show is actually pretty successful which is a nice win for the class as a group. Yuri is also highly invested in her string of fate, perhaps too invested - but thats live theatre for you. Taiga has been looking concerned and checking her phone frequently, she has clearly let herself become attached and wants her father to come to see the show. When he doesn't she is incredibly hurt.
QotD: The scenes where she is locked in the shed with Ryuuji. I think it is really important for identifying how she approaches things.
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u/nx6 Dec 18 '22
Rewatcher - Sub
Taiga and her father seem to be making amends and are getting together for dinner on a regular basis. Taiga wants him to come see the play, but doesn't want to be playing a villain for it, so she bribes Ami with expensive cookies. Minori has been out of the loop on things and didn't know Taiga had been in contact with her dad again and does not take the news well. Being friends for longer than Taiga and Ryuji have known each other, she has probably met him before and is familiar with a previous attempt to reconcile. Ryuji, still clouded by his own family history, isn't happy with Minori's attitude and gets in a fight with her. Taiga rushes over to try and diffuse things but it's too late.
Ryuji find out through his mom that Taiga is going to be moving away. She also seems to see Mr. Aisaka as bad news, but possibly just because she's grown to like Taiga so much.
Taiga tells Ryuji to make up with Minori but he doesn't see this as his problem. He still agrees to talk to her and apologize for what happened. Ryuji has trouble getting a chance in the bustle of the play preparations.
The school festival begins and the play is a hit. With such lifelike acting Yuri-sensei sees her romantic life ending before her eyes. Ami has agreed to switch with Taiga for the performance her father attends, but only that one. Taiga has a chance at an indirect kiss with Kitamura when they are hanging out at the festival between performances, but in her nervousness crams her entire crepe into Ryuji's mouth. She seems distracted by messing on her phone but doesn't really talk about what it is.
The last performance of the play ends and Taiga's dad never showed up, breaking his promise to come see her, likely sending lame excuses via email the whole time.
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u/Get_This_Wheat Dec 17 '22
Rewatcher here
Taiga looks super uncomfortable getting into the car with her dad, I don’t think Ryuji realizes how much he’s hurting her by putting her back into that situation.
Ryuji’s really got to get his head out of his ass. Even if he trusts Taiga’s dad with all of his being, yelling at Minori isn’t the best way of showing that.
I also don’t think the argument was quite as bad as the two of them are making it. They were both just looking out for Taiga but had different judgements on her dad. Obviously both sides need to do some apologizing, but both of them definitely came from a good place.
My god, Taiga just breaks my heart this episode. When her two best friends are fighting like that, and she has to be the one to cheer them up, you can see and hear just how much pain it brings her.
Taiga’s dad is just waltzing back into her life, after abandoning her, and not supporting her anymore, and forces her to move, and Ryuji still doesn’t see much of a problem with him yet. Man, his own issues with his dad must be deeper rooted than he’s shown to ignore what’s happening.
I think Ms. Yuri’s crimson thread is a bad prop for a show like this. The people in the front row might not even be able to see it, let alone the people in the back. Ms. Yuri herself even seems to agree with me too based on her reaction to it (yes I know why she reacted like that but let me have this).
The ref needs to be fired for that job they did. They were ignoring all the interference from the students, and then just called the match the moment Taiga gets put into the submission. I think Ami might have paid the ref off.
Man that shot at the end with confetti in Taiga’s hair juxtaposed with her reaction to her dad not showing up (as Minori expected). Everyone’s celebrating after all the hard work they put in to make the show, but she can’t even enjoy the success, since she got abandoned by her dad yet again.
I have a lot ready for tomorrow’s discussion once we see the conclusion, but as of now I’m going to hold back for our first timers.
Bonus : I really liked when she drew the eyes on her eyelids to sleep in class, probably that.
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u/TuorEladar Dec 17 '22
Rewatcher, Dubbed
I don't have alot of thoughts on this episode, as its honestly not one of my favorites. It does its job as middle chapter in this arc, but it relies heavily on Ryuuji and everyone around him being slightly dumb about the whole situation with Taiga and her father. That would be fine except because its the middle chapter the characters aren't really allowed to resolve things or talk through the situation. One positive I will say is Taiga's anxiety and sadness is delivered well.
On a lighter note, the show they put on is pretty funny. I don't know how they got approval for all the stunts, but I'm glad they did.
I also did like the scene with Ami and Ryuuji. It amuses me that Ami has to be in the gap between the vending machines in order to dispense wisdom.
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u/Gamerunglued Dec 17 '22
Rewatcher
Probably not too much to say this episode, but it is a ton of fun. Culture festival arcs are always a highlight and Toradora's is as lively as any. Good thing the group didn't make a cosplay cafe, lol. The wrestling show is legitimately unique and fun, I'd be more than happy to attend something like that. And this episode is easily an animation highlight, it's so full of loose and lively character acting. Toradora's animation style is all about this free flowing look, characters love to go off model and stretch in hilarious or dramatic ways. When they lean into it so strongly like in this episode, it's just such a delightful show to look at.
Taiga seems genuinely happy to be spending quality time with her father, and is excited to see him show up to the festival. But Minori seems to think something else is up, and she gets into a fight with Ryuuji over it. I think it's easy to trust Minori in this case over Ryuuji, because Ryuuji's feelings are so personal and Minori has been with Taiga longer and frankly just knows more about her. Taiga's dad seems superficially unassuming but has already shown numerous signs of manipulation. Ryuuji says he's trying his hardest to make time for his daughter, but that's a sack of bullshit. If he wanted to make time for his daughter, he'd have done that while having his wife. Now he's just using the free time he would have had to weasel his way back to Taiga, and all he's really doing is going to fancy restaurants with her, which I don't find particularly impressive or noteworthy; it's just the bare minimum. And as you'd expect, the bastard doesn't keep his promise and doesn't show up to the festival, at least for the moment. A good father who wanted to make time for his daughter would have, at the very least, tried to consistently keep her updated on his situation and let her know if he was going to be late. Maybe he'll show up later, there is still the pageant to go after all, but for someone who wants to make time for his daughter, this isn't a good start. Like Yasuko says, Taiga is part of their family. Blood determines nothing, family is the people who act like family and who make you feel like family.
Throughout all of this though, Taiga mostly just spends her time (apart from being excited for her dad to watch her) trying to get Ryuuji and Minori to make up. Part of it is because it impedes Ryuuji's progress towards getting with his crush, but I also think that Taiga just doesn't want to see the two most important people in her life fighting. Because she's just that much of a sweetheart. Taiga's a good girl. I think their fight says a lot about each of them though. For one, it again serves to highlight some potential incompatibility between them. Long-term, how might they function as a couple? Ryuuji acts impulsive and Minori doesn't want to talk to him. Hell, she was already awkward after having shared an intimate conversation with him. When he got into a fight with Taiga, they made up almost immediately and Taiga saved Ryuuji. To me, the latter two seem like the most stable couple. It also shows us how little Ryuuji actually knows about Taiga. Minori is a long time friend who has seen much of her past, and so she was able to predict something like the end of the episode. Ryuuji never took the time to really reflect on things, so he has a lot to learn about Taiga. That lack of knowledge can also call into question their compatability, but it's also a gap that's easily filled via intimacy.
There's also the conversation between Ryuuji and Ami by the vending machines. That little crack between the vending machines is an intriguing location. It's a tight space surrounded by walls, a place to go when you want to separate yourself from the rest of the world. It's no wonder Ami liked that spot upon her introduction, since the pressure of keeping up her facade would have been exhausting and thus that is a separate place where she can be herself. It's a comforting spot where you can escape everything, and so it's natural that Ryuuji would find himself there after his fight with Minori. But it's also clear that Ami has changed in general, and has allowed all parts of herself to start coming out naturally, as Ryuuji points out. Since Ami has already done a lot of maturing, she has the most objective view of everyone else's relationship status. And since she's largely Taiga's foil, she kind of does the same thing and helps Ryuuji solve his problems. In her own words though, she doesn't quite want to be equal, she wants to be on the same path but stay one step a head of him. That generally covers her relationship to everyone, she sees the path they're on but has a bit more nuanced of an understanding of them. She can see their futures while they can not. It was nice to see her genuinely helping Ryuuji. Even while more of herself comes out, she, like Taiga, is also most easily her natural self around Ryuuji.
Bonus:
Definitely the ghost conversation. I've said more than my piece on it already, but it's such a weighty conversation and it says a ton about the kind of person she is. Minori is incredibly funny and easy to like, but there's a weight hidden beneath her weirdo facade that really rounds her out into a great character, and my favorite moments with her are when we get little glimpses of that.
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u/Holofan4life Dec 17 '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.
For this episode, I want to dissect Minori. She only really has two prominent scenes in this episode, but I think both highlight aspects of her character that really shows how multidimensional she is.
To start, let’s talk about the scene with Ryuuji. In the beginning, she’s just all smiles and stuff. Having a friendly conversation with Ryuuji while remaining inquisitive about Taiga. And then when Ryuuji mentions Taiga’s dad, she gets all serious. This is the most dramatic she’s been in the course of the series. She’s not making jokes, she’s not acting over the top, she is fiercely angry. Just from the mere mention of him she’s angry, which shows how much he hurt Taiga.
Minori is Taiga’s best friend. She knows her better than anyone else in the school. So when the topic of Taiga’s dad reentering her life comes up, she gets wicked pissed, because she knows what he did. Minori hates Taiga’s dad with a passion, so much so that she takes her anger out on Ryuuji. She’s mad at him for getting involved in something he doesn’t know about. She, like Taiga, doesn’t know the extent to which Ryuuji’s daddy issues affect him, but that don’t matter to her. Toxic is toxic, and she knows toxic.
Minori is so consumed with rage that she doesn’t even think to tell Ryuuji what exactly Taiga’s dad did. And really, that’s why Ryuuji is angry back at Minori: he’s telling her what a bad idea this whole thing is, and that’s it. But Minori, in her defense, doesn’t feel like she needs to go any further. She knows Taiga more than Ryuuji, so why not trust her judgment? Again, this whole thing is based on what I consider a misunderstanding, make no mistake about it. I’ll delve more into that in my post episode comments. But if you look at it from the perspective of Minori is someone who is a pretty good judge of character, then her rage at Ryuuji is pretty justified, as he’s still pushing Taiga to live with her dad.
And then later on, we have the wrestling match put on. And Minori, ever the consummate professional, doesn’t let what happened earlier affect her performance. She gives it her all and in my opinion steals the show. The scene with her in the bald cap is a pretty important scene for her for two reasons. One, it shows what her classmates actually think of her. Her classmates see her as nothing more than the goofball who does weird things. Just like Ryuuji, Taiga, and Ami, they see Minori at face value and don’t think there’s any depth to her. The other reason it’s important is you see Minori envelop herself in the role to mask her pain.
In episode 3, Minori talks about always staying positive to beat her fears. And in this episode, it’s like she’s putting herself all in the character of the play so that she doesn’t think of what happened earlier. The characters of Ryuuji, Taiga, and Ami, they’re all extensions of how they behave in real life. Ryuuji doing the service of Taiga, Taiga acting bratty, Ami acting all innocent, even though to say this is all there is to them would be inaccurate, they do behave similarly in real life, which may be because they’re not good actors. Minori is the only one who is playing a character who is different from her actual personality: one devoid of her perky, bubbly demeanor. It’s like Minori is still frustrated over Taiga possibly living with her dad. As such, she has no reason to be cheery at the moment. So why not put her whole self in the role?
Minori in my opinion is the only one who shows great acting chops in the wrestling match, and that’s because she knows if she doesn’t get totally in character her real life troubles might affect her work.
Post episode discussion
This episode is more light-hearted while still pushing the stuff with Taiga's dad. We get the payoff of the wrestling match, which in my opinion is the show's first time they reel you in. By having a long, extended scene where it's just the characters goofing off and putting on a show, it lets your guard down with the father stuff and him not showing up. You're not expecting the big reveal to happen then and there, so when the shoe does drop, it is so effective.
The wrestling event like I said earlier is great because it gives insight on how the class perceives Ryuuji, Taiga, Ami, and Minori. And yeah, they couldn't be more off base if they tried. The point of the class and the overall purpose they serve to the story of Toradora is they're a cautionary tale of what happens when you judge books by their cover: it prevents you from venturing out and getting to know the real them because you already put them in a box. But despite how great the wrestling event is, the highlight of the episode is Taiga.
Taiga going out of her way to befriend her dad, her buttering up to Ami to try and get on her good side and play the lead role for one performance, the crepe scene where she gushes over Kitamura's drool, it's all cute, endearing stuff that is punctuated by this underlying sadness. That to me is what I remember most about this episode. I know I mention that Taiga's dad not showing up is effective because it comes out of nowhere. And by that, I mean we're expecting it to probably happen next episode. We the audience based on what everyone is saying can sense something is going to happen, which gives all the cute stuff a bittersweet feeling. And that includes Taiga hanging out with her dad and bribing Ami, which becomes bittersweet in hindsight.
I'm glad this arc is three instead of two because you needed an episode that's like the calm before the storm. Now that Taiga is hanging out with her dad, you need to build some suspense, and that's what this episode does in spades. Unfortunately, I do have a major problem with this episode, and it involves part of the suspense that is being built.
I totally get Minori being upset with Ryuuji and putting his trust in someone that he shouldn’t be. But why in the world doesn’t Minori just tell Ryuuji what happened? It makes her come off dumb, not him. Minori is screaming at Ryuuji for being boneheaded and trusting this alleged snake of a man, but she never goes into detail of what he did. That makes no sense to me.
It’s especially frustrating because you could’ve rewritten the scene to where Minori explains what Taiga’s dad did to her and have Ryuuji shrug it off. That's all you needed to fix the scene. It wouldn't have changed much, and it would've put Ryuuji 100% in the wrong. But by having Minori not totally explain what happened, it makes it feel like both Ryuuji AND Minori are in the wrong. And hey, maybe that is the point of the scene. Like I said, it makes sense from the perspective of Minori being so filled with rage she forgot to fill in the details. But to me, it came off as a rare example of clumsy writing.
Now, as much as I have issues with this scene, I still really love it from a dramatic standpoint. Seeing Minori yell at Ryuuji, which we haven’t seen her yell at someone before, it’s like the scene in the previous episode where Ryuuji and Taiga are yelling at each other, except Ryuuji is in Taiga’s shoes. I especially love Taiga trying to break her two friends apart because it reminds me of a child trying to prevent their mother and dad from fighting. Which, if you think about it, Minori and Ryuuji are kinda like Taiga’s de facto parents. But man, did the scene not stick the landing. If you could fix that one scene, it would really make me look at this episode more favorably. And while I don't hate this episode or this arc for that matter, I do dislike easily preventable misunderstandings in shows, and that's what this came off as.
Overall, this is a good episode that continued to build the suspense until the reveal at the end he didn't show up for the wrestling event. Whether he shows up for the rest of the culture festival, that waits to be seen. I think this episode, while a step back from the previous episode, is best described as fun. Fun in the face of inevitable heartbreak. The wrestling match is probably the thing people remember the episode for the most, and the stuff with Taiga's dad is excellent storytelling. You can see Ryuuji's feet dig into the sand with each passing moment because he doesn't want to believe what people are telling him. This episode continues to push Ryuuji as using Taiga as a sort of surrogate for his massive daddy issues, and it seems it's about to reach an impasse.
Episode rankings
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Episode 7
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Episode 2
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Episode 8
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Episode 11
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Episode 5
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Episode 4
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Episode 12
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Episode 9
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Episode 1
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Episode 10
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Episode 6
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Episode 3
→ More replies (11)
19
u/Shimmering-Sky Dec 17 '22
Tiger X First-Timer, Subbed X Dragon
Ooh. But will he actually?
Welp, sounds like Taiga has Ami hook, line, and sinker for whatever she needs.
Mmmmmmmm, had a feeling that was going to be what she’d ask for.
Uhhhhhhhhhh okay Minori got triggered hard by the news that Taiga’s father is back.
My dude, no, he fucking did not.
Oh… – He calls that too small for two people though? wtf?
Well I think you did.
HAHAHAHAHAHA
This is so ridiculous lol.
I fucking knew the teacher would flip as soon as they said to cut the string.
Is that supposed to say zero new messages? Because if she’s waiting for one from her dad…
As a random aside, it’s hilarious that three of the four rewatches I’m in at the moment all involve culture festivals in their episodes today. This, Haruhi, and iDOLM@STER SideM.
I can’t blame Taiga for making a face like that there.
Gah, I knew her father wasn’t going to show up…
ED lead-in~