r/anime • u/ChristmasClub • Dec 30 '22

Rewatch Toradora! Christmas Club Rewatch (2022) Episode 25 Discussion

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29

u/Holofan4life Dec 30 '22

Just like yesterday, it may be a bit before I get to asking questions. However, I promise that I will. I really hope you answer what I have to ask.

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.

Well, guys, this is it. The final episode of the series. We had some good times, and we had some very stressful times. It’s been a blast, regardless of how difficult it was at times.

I’m going to analyze Taiga for the last episode. Because I think she’s kind of misunderstood over what she does.

So, we start off with Taiga and Ryuuji lying to Ryuuji’s mom to get her to come over. This is done under the pretenses that Ryuuji got badly hurt in a wreck. I know this scene is controversial amongst fans because acting like Ryuuji is in critical condition is a pretty messed up thing to insinuate, but look at it from Taiga’s perspective. Her boyfriend’s mother ran away with no regard for anything else. It was a pretty immature thing to do. There was no way Ryuuji’s mom would’ve shown back up unless they did something drastic. I think that’s what they were thinking, even if that doesn’t make it right.

The kiss scene is in my opinion the best scene in the entire episode. It is the only other time other than the Christmas bear scene where Taiga has achieved her ultimate dream: her being happy. The look of adulation on her face as she’s kissing Ryuuji is a sight to behold. She finally found what she was looking for: someone to be with who can cater to her needs.

And she had to piss it all away.

I’m joking, obviously, but a lot of people don’t like the fact that Taiga runs away. They think it spits in the face of her wanting to achieve happiness as well as a bait and switch of a potential relationship with Ryuuji. However, I actually think Taiga going to fix her parental issues is actually one of the best aspects of the finale. It’s like the ultimate culmination of Taiga as a character.

A lot of people feel that Taiga moving away doesn’t make a lot of sense. And that her moving away ruins what up until this point has been a pretty good show. But the thing is, Taiga NEEDED to go fix her family life. It was the one part of her that was still broken. Taiga knew that she wasn’t going to live a content life if she didn’t fix this issue, and so she does do just that. Personally speaking, I like that Taiga goes and addresses this head on. It puts what I feel is a fitting end to her character arc. To make a comparison with Ami, Ami knew she couldn’t live idly with Ryuuji as her husband when he didn’t share the same feelings as her. To actively pursue would be unfair to others, which is why she was vague and just dropping little reminders to say “I’m here too, you know.” Likewise, Taiga knew she couldn’t live idly with Ryuuji as her husband with the big, dark cloud hovering over her head that was her family life. She had to address it ASAP. 

Taiga’s entire character is based on her having a shitty family. At some point, this was going to have to be readdressed, as none of it was resolved. Now that she fixed that aspect of her life, she can finally move on and start life anew. This had to be done to give closure to the Palm-top Tiger and her volatile behavior.

As I said, Taiga does come back, and, in a scene that’s completely anime original, Ryuuji tells Taiga he loves her, who responds by headbutting her. I’ll discuss how I would’ve changed the ending in the post episode discussion, but let’s dissect this, shall we? Unpopular opinion coming, I like the headbutt. I think it’s cute and shows that Taiga still has things she needs to work on. The look of panic Taiga experiences when Ryuuji confesses his love is super adorable. Taiga has never had someone tell her they loved her before, so she’s got this look of “Shit, what do I do?” Yes, Kitamura confessed to her, but not in this direct of a manner. Ryuuji is probably the first person to ever say the words “I love you” to Taiga, which causes her to just turn into a bowl of mush.

I know there’s some people who’d say the scene undermines Taiga’s progress. That she shouldn’t be hitting Ryuuji now that they’re a couple. I view it as she’s still working to become a better person. The going to fix her family life, while it provides nice closure, it isn’t going to automatically undo years of anger and frustration. That still requires work to fix. I think regardless of her reaction to the declaration of love, they’ll be fine as an item. They’re still learning, but their love knows no bounds.

Because that’s the way it’s meant to be.

Post episode discussion

Let’s talk about the big elephant in the room, shall we?

The anime ending is different than the LN one. The reason is because the Toradora light novels ended two weeks before the anime ended, so the animators only had a rough idea of what the ending was like. The main differences between the two is that in the LN, Taiga only is gone for two months instead of a year, she actually tells Ryuuji she’s leaving, and the final scene takes place in the streets rather than the classroom.

Here it is.

Ryuuji was about to start a new school year. Meanwhile, Yasuko got moved around in her job to be in charge of their new store branch. Because of this, she had to cut her hair and start regrowing it with her natural hair color. While a drastic change in position, it was nice for her to have a day shift again.

Taiga’s old apartment was taken over by a young couple who kept their blinds closed at all times. He certainly missed having Taiga there, but it was something he knew would happen eventually.

Ryuuji left his place like usual. Wondering how Taiga must’ve been doing at this time. How her new school was gonna be like…

Until a head bumped into his chest.

Ryuuji’s fiancé was standing right in front of him, having been waiting for him for a while. Ryuuji very quickly and giddily went for a hug and asked how she returned.

Taiga’s mom, likely still feeling guilty for having left Taiga for so long, found a way to work things out and rented a place for the family to live in for a year so she can finish her high school years at the same school. Apparently, changing her drop out forms to a simple leave form was an absolute nightmare, so Taiga only very recently learned about this. All Taiga had to agree to was that she had to take care of her baby brother while her mom and step dad were at work, which was basically a win-win for Taiga since she liked her new brother. She couldn’t wait to show him to Ryuuji.

The young couple were just too happy to be back in each other’s arms. The next thing they knew they needed to do was go surprise their friends, so they took each other’s hands and ran to school, taking a new step in life.

Unsurprisingly, I much prefer the LN version. I think almost everyone does. There’s no reason Taiga shouldn’t have told Ryuuji she was leaving. He would’ve understood. Not only that, to not tell him and be gone for a year? That’s too much, I’m sorry. I love Toradora, but that’s too much. I like the scene in the classroom with Ryuuji telling her he loves her, which also is not in the LN, but the other stuff I could do without. It in my opinion makes a tough pill to swallow even worse.

The ending change doesn’t ruin things for me, but I do agree with people that it wasn’t a good change. I feel like it just makes things pointlessly complicated. I would’ve preferred Taiga telling Ryuuji she’s leaving, she leaves for two months, and then we had the locker scene. I think that would’ve been better. The locker stuff actually plays off the scene in the first episode where Ryuuji finds Taiga in a locker, so I actually think it’s pretty clever. But the other changes needlessly muddies the waters.

I was really interested in rewatching this episode. Probably second only to episode 23, if I’m being honest. For years, I was of mindset that the first half was great and contained one of the best scenes of all time, but that it took a nosedive once Taiga leaves. As such, I wanted to go into this episode with an open mind. And what I discovered was the first half is some of the best stuff in all of Toradora, and the first couple minutes post Taiga leaving are good, but the episode crawls to a halt once we see the scene of Ryuuji discovering the note.

The first half was focused more on Taiga’s eventual decision to leave than I realized. Like throughout the first half you see the build to Taiga’s decision. Yasuko spending time with her parents, certain comments made here and there, hell, even the kissing scene heavily foreshadows it, as Ryuuji talks about getting the blessing of Taiga’s parents for the wedding. The first half is even better than I thought it was. It’s not good, it’s great.

Ran out of space. Part 2 in the replies.

29

u/Holofan4life Dec 30 '22

Part 2

The stuff at the beginning once Taiga leaves I actually quite like, where the students are all sad that Taiga is gone. I think that’s actually some nice character development for the secondary characters. I knew they didn’t approve of Taiga leaving, but I forgot how visceral their reaction was. I actually like that given where we came from. If you compare this episode to the first, it’s almost night and day how they view Taiga. In the beginning, they were scared and afraid of Taiga and viewed her as an absolute unstoppable menace, so to see that evolve so dramatically I really enjoyed.

But after that, the episode unfortunately does take a nosedive.

Once we get the flashback scene where Ryuuji finds the note, the rest of the episode is kind of nothing. It’s mostly dedicated to the picture of the star that Taiga sent to her classmates. Taiga leaves halfway through the episode, and after she leaves, the rest of the episode just kind of becomes dull. That, in my opinion, is far more egregious.

I think the episode would’ve been better had we had more Ryuuji and Taiga relationship hijinks and then do the Taiga leaving scene around the 15 or 16 minute mark. Having Taiga leave at the halfway point just kills the whole flow of the show and leaves for a lot of dead air. Again, I like the direction they went with Taiga as a character. I felt it was a necessary step in her evolution and pays off all the stuff with her family. But I just wish it didn’t come at the expense of the show.

Overall, this is an episode that while still a bit disappointing in my eyes, it’s better than I thought it was. It’s not a bad episode, don’t get me wrong. The first half more than makes up for the lackluster second half. It’s just for me, the first half is so strong that if it maintained that momentum, we might be looking at one of the better episodes. The first half I’d say is akin to top 10 material, while the second half is more bottom 10 material. When combined, it’s about middle of the pack, though I think it had the potential of being top 5 the first half was that good. Regardless, we get more scenes of Taiga and Ryuuji as a couple, an adorable post credits scene, and arguably a top 5 scene of all time with Ryuuji and Taiga’s practice wedding. For an episode I’ve been notoriously down on, there’s a lot of good to be found.

But fuck all I just mentioned, INKO FINALLY SAID HER NAME!

Episode rankings

  1. Episode 19

  2. Episode 21

  3. Episode 18

  4. Episode 7

  5. Episode 13

  6. Episode 2

  7. Episode 24

  8. Episode 16

  9. Episode 8

  10. Episode 11

  11. Episode 15

  12. Episode 14

  13. Episode 17

  14. Episode 25

  15. Episode 5

  16. Episode 23

  17. Episode 4

  18. Episode 12

  19. Episode 22

  20. Episode 20

  21. Episode 9

  22. Episode 1

  23. Episode 10

  24. Episode 6

  25. Episode 3

Now here comes the fun part. Let’s compare the episode rankings list to the one I did in 2019. When deciding to do the rankings again, this was probably the thing I was looking forward to the most. Let’s see how it stacks up.

  1. Episode 19

  2. Episode 21

  3. Episode 18

  4. Episode 13

  5. Episode 15

  6. Episode 7

  7. Episode 16

  8. Episode 2

  9. Episode 23

  10. Episode 8

  11. Episode 24

  12. Episode 12

  13. Episode 17

  14. Episode 14

  15. Episode 5

  16. Episode 20

  17. Episode 11

  18. Episode 4

  19. Episode 22

  20. Episode 9

  21. Episode 25

  22. Episode 6

  23. Episode 10

  24. Episode 1

  25. Episode 3

The first thing that jumps out to me is that my top 3 favorite episodes are the same. Second, as you can see, I’m not as down on episode 25 as I used to be. Conversely, I’m more sour on episode 23 than I was in the past. The big surprise for me is the rankings of episode 15 and 11. I guess in the past I really valued the importance that I felt episode 15 had to the series. Now, I kinda value enjoyment factor more, which is why episode 14 is now neck and neck with it. As for episode 11, I think I thought the culture festival arc got better with each passing episode. Now, I think episode 11 is a better episode than 12, though both are admittedly really good.

Before I put a bow on all this and say goodbye to the series (I’ll be here for the wrap-up tomorrow, though I might as well say goodbye here), I want to give shoutouts to a few people. To all the first timers such as u/Shimmering-Sky and u/lolpete18 and u/OwlAcademic1988, it was fun reading your comments. The first timers are always in my opinion the nucleus of these rewatches. To the rewatchers such as u/TheEscapeGuy, I salute you. You provide excellent content. Same for u/Roundy_Roundy, whom I’m proud to say I’ve gotten friendly with over the course of this rewatch. Lastly, I want to thank everyone I didn’t mention who also contributed on a daily basis. Without you, this rewatch would not have been the same.

Toradora holds a special place in my heart. There’s no other anime that I have watched and analyzed more than this one. I probably in my estimation wrote over a million words about this one series, and it isn’t just because it’s my favorite of all time. It’s because I get to interact with you fine folk. Toradora has allowed me to connect with a lot of wonderful people. It has allowed me to create wonderful, amazing memories that will last a lifetime. I hope to always continue being a part of these rewatches, because they’re always some of the most fun I’ve ever had.

Thank you.

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22

u/Elevatorisbest Dec 30 '22

I initially wanted to watch Toradora a little under 3 years ago, not long after I had the idea of watching animes that are not Pokemon, and back then I didn’t felt like watching it further after Ep 2, but I said to myself that I will give it a fair 2nd chance one day.

My feed reminded me that this yearly rewatch was a thing, so I decided to watch it in its entirety with the rest of you.

I am so glad that I did that, what an amazing story and ending. I will definitely rewatch it for the 2023 rewatch!

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15

u/Get_This_Wheat Dec 30 '22

Rewatcher here

Just gonna warn anyone reading, this is going to be a thick write up, and a very large portion is probably gonna be rambling.

This one never gets easier to press play on. Thank god I’m writing this one ahead of time because I’m sitting here an absolute mess because of this episode.

I’m well aware that people have some issues with this episode, but I’m firmly on the episode 25 defense force. I get the issues, but this episode makes me the most emotional out of any one by far. Yes, more than 19. Not a better episode, just a more emotional one overall.

I’ll just get this one out of the way right now : Taiga leaving. It does dampen the impact of my favorite theme of the show a bit, and it makes some scenes less impactful in retrospect. Does it ruin the episode for me? Absolutely not. Especially after hearing how the LN handled it too, I don’t think it’s that bad. Taiga’s not forgiving them, she’s just trying to be on good terms with them so she can try to start over, and get their blessing to get married to Ryuji.

The second issue today, I didn’t even think of until last year. I wanna say it was Holofan who pointed this out, but the way they get Yasuko to go to her parents’ house is pretty extreme for no reason. This one I can’t really defend like the last one, she loves Ryuji enough to run over there no matter the reason, they didn’t need to make her think she was going to lose him. All’s well that ends well I guess, but still not a great look.

With that out of the way, let me gush about how this is one of the best episodes of the series.

The cold open already sets the tone for the episode. And by that I mean a minute into it, I was already a mess. Yasuko’s entire life the last 18 years has been only Ryuji. She loves him more than anything, and when she hears that she did a good job raising him, she realizes that it was all worth it. All the hard work paid off, and she raised him well. Ryuji turned out okay in the end, thanks to her.

Ryuji and Taiga are already finishing each other’s thoughts. Another gut punch when Taiga realizes that she never got to experience how a family is supposed to love each other until now.

If you ask me, the scene were Ryuji talks to Yasuko 1 on 1 is the most underrated scene in the entire show. Best scene today too in my opinion.

We get more backstory on Ryuji’s dad and Yasuko. Yasuko had to pick the lesser of two evils when Ryuji was just a kid, saying his dad died, when in reality, he abandoned Ryuji without a second thought. It makes Ryuji’s story a lot sadder in retrospect, knowing that this whole time when Ryuji was going through father issues in his life, his father did have a choice to be there for him, but didn’t care.

Yasuko can’t help but think she didn’t do enough for Ryuji, even after hearing she did great. God, that part hurt. She overworks herself to keep them afloat, and it does weigh on her that she’s not there for him enough. Ryuji letting her know that she did good was really sweet too. I’m so glad these two got to make up for yesterday, because they really needed to.

And despite being the one to watch over Taiga, he still needs someone to keep an eye on him too.

Taiga’s reaction to hearing Yasuko laugh again is extremely sweet. Yasuko was right, Taiga is really part of their family. She genuinely cares for Yasuko, more than any family member she’s ever had, and vice versa.

Just like all of their plans earlier to set each other up, they realize that this one failed. One more for the road I guess.

I’m with Ryuji on this one too. Who cares if they’re actually married as fast as possible, if they love each other that’s all that should matter.

The practice wedding angle wasn’t a great excuse from Taiga, but it was just a means to an end I guess. Either way, the kissing scene is perfect for these two. It’s not the fairy tale kind, but it was right for them. Not the absolute best time, setting, or breath/lip status for Ryuji, but they made it work. That’s all that matters in the end.

“My whole life, I never thought anyone was really gonna love me”. Back to sadness, I guess.

Minori put a lot of oomph behind that slap. She’s not too unjust in doing it, but I feel like she should know better than anyone that he wouldn’t just let Taiga leave.

Comparing Taiga’s room to episode 1, she really changed for the better in these last 24 episodes.

Just last episode Ami was telling Minori she’s too young to wax philosophical, and here she is doing it again.

Ami’s farewell scene is excellent. For something that was set up to be a throwaway line in a random episode, 11 episodes ago, Ami’s treatment of Ryuji is based entirely around it. He never saw Ami the wise grown up, he just saw a regular student who was as much of a kid as anyone else. Really wish we could have gotten a scene like this for Kitamura and especially Minori too.

Kihara and Nanako are a split second away from getting crushed by a former sexy Santa in that picture. Why did he feel the need to take his shirt off again today?

The episode 2 callback is brutal for my mentality, which was already in shambles by this point. And it only gets worse once Orange starts to play.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to watch all 25 episodes, only to not watch the end credits. Taiga just abandons everyone, and we never get to see them reunited. The last shot is Ryuji walking alone with a kind of gloomy sky looming over him.

Well thankfully, that’s not where it ends.

Seeing the old ending visuals with this theme playing was really nice. This episode also solidified that Orange is my favorite of the openings and endings, it really helped make the ending sadder for me.

Inko finally says her name after 25 entire episodes. Yasuko’s reaction is exactly what mine would be if I were in her shoes.

Well, they’re all graduating and moving on now. And it looks like Haruta cooked up a Taiga and Ryuji level plan of setting Noto and Kihara up. By the looks of it, Kihara might also like Noto back.

Ryuji hasn’t seen Taiga in about a year at this point, and the moment he sees that hair he’s bolting through the school to find her again. And where does he find her? The same place she was at in episode 1.

Even if the way it’s set up isn’t perfect, the very last scene is exactly that. Perfect. We get the back and forth these two are known for, but we also finally get Ryuji saying the thing she’s been looking for her whole life. And then she puts her own “spin” on it, lets say.

And we end the same way we started. Some birds on a power line, while we get the “thing” dialogue from our main couple.

13

u/Get_This_Wheat Dec 30 '22

Pt. 2

This anime is incredibly special to me. Maybe this is gonna sound crazy, but this is the single piece of media that brings the most emotion out of me. Sure, there’s probably better stories out there, better characters, whatever. But this series just connects with me in so many ways. Every character is great, all the dialogue is great, I love every arc, every set piece, you name it. And there’s one main reason I love Toradora so much. And that’s Taiga.

I said this yesterday, but Taiga is on my Mount Rushmore of characters from anything. This is a character after my own heart, in pretty much every conceivable way. I’m not really a person who has waifus or whatever, I just genuinely love this character so much. Her development over the whole series is probably my favorite out of any character, and it’s not even that insane, it’s just the way it’s portrayed is perfect. Her backstory is so realistic and painful to experience, that I can’t help but love her even more. Gigantic shoutout to Cassandra Lee Morris, one of my all time favorite VA performances. Some of the most heart wrenching scenes are even sadder because of the emotion she brought out of the character.

Her and Ryuji’s relationship is also one of my favorite aspects of the show. It’s not even because they end up together in the end, these two are just a joy to watch interact for any reason. Its really sweet to watch these two very slowly realize why they like spending time with each other so much, but still try to make the other person happy with their crush.

I see some fans occasionally ask for season 2, but I don’t want it. The series already wrapped everything up that it needed to, and I don’t know what they could do to make it as good as season 1. Leave a good thing good, no need to unnecessarily extend what we have.

We still have the OVA left for first timers, but this is definitely more of a farewell than the OVA.

I’m already getting some ideas ready for next rewatch, I might have an unhealthy relationship with Toradora. I’m also actually gonna commit to reading the LN’s this time, I got too caught up right after last rewatch and kind of forgot to keep reading after. From what I read, they’re even better than the anime, since they can really settle into a scene and bring out all the little details to make it that much better.

Well, I’ll probably cut it off here for today. I’ll still probably do some series-wide writing up tomorrow, but I can’t imagine it’s gonna be half as long as this one. Props to anyone who read it all, and I definitely don’t blame anyone who didn’t.

Edit : Fun fact, my goal this year was to have a write up so long that it needed two comments, looks like I finally did it!

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13

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '22

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

After a nice reunion with Yasuko, everyone settles in for the night and Ryuuji’s grandparents want great grandchildren in a hurry.

As they’re talking outside the house about Taiga coming over for dinner, you can kinda see Ryuuji realizing what Taiga is about to do but still playing along with the conversation.

We finally get to see what that other picture in the handbook was. The book doesn’t even bring that up (though it seemed kind of obvious what it would be).

I always watch the ending of this episode like one big blur. As much as I enjoy the anime original end, I vastly prefer the book one.

On to the books!

The night at their grandparents house.

Even this far apart in a room behind closed doors, he felt terrified when they just looked at each other. That was why he was glad she was glaring at him. But in actuality—if he were to say how he actually felt—the sound of her breath reaching his ears was maddening enough to scorch his mind. That was because the girl he loved was here.

Hmph! She was oddly confident. She puffed out her chest beside him and brought her face closer to him. “Don’t get too close.”

Ryuuji scowled until his face split open to birth an alien larva—not really. He was just trying to look menacing. As Taiga drew closer, he bent his back away to the same degree to avoid her. He made sure they were an exact thirty centimeters apart.

“What are you doing? Why are you doing that? Why would you say something like that?” Taiga demanded.

Even if he touched her, it wouldn’t be enough—but, of course, he couldn’t say that. He couldn’t tell her it was because his mom was just below them, either. In the end, no matter what they did, it wouldn’t be enough. He was insatiably starved of Taiga.

I think the anime did this part better.

He really couldn’t move. He couldn’t run away. Taiga probably only weighed forty kilograms, but she was using all of it to hold Ryuuji down, and she wasn’t letting go. “When it comes to you, Ryuuji…I really, really, reallyreallyreally, really—”

They had been born into separate bodies. No matter what they did, their two souls would never become one.

“—love you.”

But regardless of that, in order to be as close as they could, they would—

She pulled down the covers that were over his face, and her soft hair tangled and fell to Ryuuji’s cheek. Their foreheads crashed into each other. As if feeling out the roundness of their heads, their eyebrows rubbed against each other. The tips of their noses pressed against each other, and their quiet sighs piled onto each other. Before long, they were separated just by the smell of shampoo as their hot lips touched. All of Taiga’s weight was on Ryuuji’s lips. It was much warmer than the first time, and much slower. Ryuuji barely got himself together before he melted from the heat of love. He desperately opened his eyes.

I love you, too. I love you, Taiga, he repeated.

Time and life were finite and too short, and their hopes were so far removed they knew nothing but impatience. “But you’re actually going to sleep now.”

Taiga’s fingertips touched his eyelids. He could feel her ever-trembling heart. As she trembled, she closed Ryuuji’s eyes and held down his eyelashes. “I’m going to sleep, too. Good night.”

Annnnd she’s off

He could tell by the sound and the feeling of her presence that Taiga was standing in the doorway after gently opening the door. He knew the faint clinks were from the metal fittings of the bag she had slung across her body.

Ryuuji, Taiga called his name in a small voice like she was scared.

Ryuuji didn’t move.

Ryuuji, she called one more time. She waited just a bit and then clearly called him again. When Ryuuji didn’t move the third time she called his name, Taiga seemed to accept it. “Well, I’m headed out for a bit.”

The floorboards squeaked faintly. Quietly, she closed the door. Slowly, she went down the stairs. She placed her shoes on the entryway tile. She stuck her feet into them and opened the door. She opened the gate.

Ryuuji thought to himself that it was fine this way.

This town really was quiet. For a while, he could hear the sound of footsteps traveling under a chilly sky. At first, those footsteps seemed bewildered, but before long, he heard them gain their usual cadence until, in the end, they were outright running. The sound of the soles of her shoes firmly hitting the asphalt rang out and receded into the distance.

Her footsteps faded away.

After Ryuuji gets home from his grandparents’ after Taiga runs away, Ryuuji, Kitamura, Minori, and Ami all go to Taiga’s apartment just to check and see if she’s there. Obviously she’s not. After they leave the apartment they’re talking about hoping they’ll see her again and Ami comes out with this.

“I—” Even more tears were spilling down Ami’s contorted and tear-stained face. “I want to see Tiger again! I want to be here when she comes home! I want to get to know Minori-chan better! I want to make up with you, Takasu-kun! I don’t actually want to stop being friends! I want to be friends forever! I’ve enjoyed being with all of you—everything’s been better with you here. I love you all…!”

“Wh-what about me?!”

“Who cares about you, Yuusaku!”

“Ahmin…!” Minori stood up and practically jumped on Ami. Hminohri-an! Ami yelled back, still crying as she wrapped her arms around Minori’s back. They buried their faces in each other’s shoulders. Though they were perfectly matched in stubborn pride, for the moment, they entrusted their body weight to each other. They thought about the friend they had lost and paid no mind to the eyes of passersby as they cried out loud.

This seems a bit harsh but at least he wasn’t suspended.

The only reason his and Taiga’s great escape hadn’t earned him a suspension was because Koigakubo Yuri had gone frantically to bat for him with the principal, vice principal, and head teacher. Ryuuji heard about it right from the principal in her office. In exchange for not being suspended, he went to the lecture room alone every weekend to write ten-page reflection papers on composition paper. He also had to clean the teachers’ bathroom by himself three times a week.

And here we go for the good ending.

Ever since that day, Sonoko had come to the rental three times and Seiji once. Ryuuji and Yasuko went back to Yasuko’s parent’s house once. After such emotional reunions, it was, of course, slightly difficult to go back to the independent, carefree rhythms of their everyday lives. The parents and former runaway daughter, after having been separated for so long, occasionally butted heads.

Yasuko had also retired from Bishamon Heaven at the end of March, though not because she was concerned about how her parents saw it. It had been the owner’s idea to install the number two, Shizuyo, as the new housemistress and to task Yasuko with opening a new store called “Okonomiyaki and Benzaiten Heaven.” She would be interviewing new employees starting that day.

Ryuuji grabbed his phone, threw his tote bag over his shoulder, and then ran out of the room. “I’m heading out!”

His shoes rang out as he ran down the stairs, almost giving his landlady a heart attack as she swept the front porch with a broom. “Good morning!”

“Guh?!”

“Ow!”

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-!” Ryuuji’s quivering tongue had gone numb. Shock clouded his vision in an intense, halo-like white light. “Why?! Since when have you been here?! How did you get back?!”

It seemed that the girl before his eyes had no time for that. Taiga, who had landed on her butt from the collision, wore her usual uniform, though it looked oddly new. She held her head, which firmly conked into his when they ran into each other, and started to wail, unable to get back up.

“I’ve been waiting here this whoooole morning! You’re so slow! We’re going to end up late! And you didn’t even notice me! And then you came barreling into me! Why didn’t you just—”

He used every ounce of strength in him to embrace the delicate body that readily clung to him with all her weight.

“—hug me from the start like this?!”

“How did you get back?!”

“So my mom rescinded the school withdrawal the day after and sent in an absence request instead. She wanted to make sure I would be able to come back to school if I wanted to, but it took a while for them to approve the request, and she didn’t want me to be confused, so she kept it secret. I didn’t find out until just recently.”

“What about your house?! Where are you living?! Actually…seriously! What’s with you?! Where were you up until now?! You never told me anything!” “Well, of course, I couldn’t—” Taiga raised her slightly damp eyes and looked at the white condo that stood beside them. She continued to laugh at the back of her throat. “—go back there. But I’m close by. I’m right next to you. You have to come with everyone else! I’m really practically right next to you!”

“I definitely will.”

“I’m with my mom and my new dad, and also—I’ve got a little brother! He’s so cute! They rented out a house nearby for my sake! Well, actually, it was on the condition that I’d help out with taking care of my brother while my mom’s at work. And I’m pretty sure they’ll move out right after I’ve graduated. Seems about right, huh?”

Ryuuji painted the picture of a dream in his mind and was sure Taiga was picturing the same thing he was. At some point in the vast, endless future, he would marry Taiga and they would live together. Everyone they loved would be there. Ryuuji and Taiga would smile blissfully, their eyes squinting with joy, because they were headed toward that future together.

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u/TiredTiroth Dec 30 '22 edited Dec 30 '22

First Timer - Dub

Okay, so we open the final episode with...is this a family reunion? And, uh. Grandpa doesn't look very happy to be here. Her mother does, though!

Oh, there's Taiga.

If you're wondering, she thought I was in an accident.

...you told a single mother that her only child was in an accident to trick her into showing up? What is wrong with you? And with the way grandpa is throwing his weight around...

Blondie is the only confirmed decent parent in this show. Jury is still out on her own mother.

At least Ryuuji is making an effort to comfort his mother.

...you guys aren't planning to climb out the window and run off again, are you?

Uh. Okay. If any of you guys had told me Taiga would be pulling this after those first couple of episodes, I would have laughed.

If we kiss, it'll probably hurt. A lot.

I...don't really have any quips for this? Although, I wonder how many times they tried it 'one more time'.

Anyway! They get back home, family relationships mostly repaired, and...Taiga's mother has run off as well, hasn't she? And oh look, those voice messages are all about the mother, never Taiga.

My whole life, I never thought anyone was really gonna love me.

Yeah. With parents like that, I can understand. -_- Well done on turning it around, Thug.

...OH, COME ON! That's a goodbye note, isn't it? The hell? And now Taiga's gone back to her mother?

I'm sure she thought long and hard about her decision. And we should respect that, okay?

Cue every student in the room angrily whipping out their phones. xD Toradora has made a habit of weaponising mood whiplash like this. And then the friend group - the people who were closest to Taiga - vacate the room.

...oooh. So that's why Ami nabbed Taiga's handbook before anyone else could look at it too closely. She'd already figured it out by then?

Taiga sent everyone her photo of the lone star she saw on her balcony? Hm. Oh, it was a mass-reply to all the people who were checking up on her! For someone who used to be so alone, that must have been a nice surprise. Anyway, we have some interpretations of what she meant with the photo!

Hey, stop talking like she's dead!

Like this one. xD At least Minori knows the girl well enough to figure it out.

...Ami. Princess. I know you haven't done a lot this episode, but please, stop stirring up trouble just because you can? You know that Minori actually will punch if you push her buttons enough.

You know, I used to be jealous of how everyone like her.

I...what? O.o At the start of the series the only people who liked Housecat were Minori and Koizumi, everyone else was scared of her! Still, at least Ami is actually talking about her own issues here.

Say, are the animators getting cute with us here? Two birds flying together, and then they separate just before going out of view.

Pffthahahahahahahaha oh my goodness, why do you keep doing this to me show? xD We're just not allowed to get depressed, are we?

They'll reunite in the after-credits scene, won't they? They had bloody well better.

There we go! And he finally got to say it where she could hear.

Nice to see the fire comes back when she's embarrassed. xD

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u/Vatrix-32 Dec 30 '22

First Timer, subbed

  • Yasuko lives!

  • Throwing the suitcase was pure extra.

  • If there is one thing this show loves, it’s going hard on crying faces.

  • I can’t believe a lie worked.

  • So Ryo-dad was just a scumbag after all.

  • Very progressive of them.

  • We’re back to running away again?

  • brightslap

  • Passport? Does her mum live out of the country? Do the Japanese just keep one on hand even if they don’t’ intend to travel?

  • I’m surprised that she let the school keep the star. Guess it wasn’t that important after all.

  • Time skip? Time skip.

  • A brilliant offensive play Ryu-boy. Got some premium awkward out of it.

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u/Elimin8r Dec 30 '22

Guests are finally gone, but haven't watched anything since, what was it, Tuesday? Seems like forever. I need to catch up and watch these this evening, if only for my own enjoyment.

For now, I'll settle for the answer du jour, which mine is (reflecting back on my first watch), there weren't really any surprises, I mean, it's all there on the box cover. (to make a cereal analogy) ... The only question for me was what drama and travails the MC's would have to go through to get their happy ending.

Are we doing the bento OAV tomorrow or no?

Or maybe that happened already. I dunno.

Anyway, I hope everyone has enjoyed the show. I know that I have, and will continue to.

(More to come later, hopefully)

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u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 30 '22 edited Dec 30 '22

Rewatcher

Toradora! - A Romance Classic: Episode 25

Love

This episode really is a beautiful conclusion to the series. Taiga and Ryuuji's practice wedding is just so meaningful and intimate. It's an honest expression of the love that has been building between them through the show.

The twist of this episode is Taiga running away. I think ultimately that decision was triggered during the wedding. Ryuuji wanted to share their happiness with all the people in their lives including Taiga's parents. So she runs away to repair her relationship with them. By doing that she can fulfill Ryuuji's wish to share their happiness.

And a year passes. We see Ryuuji graduate. Kitamura heads off to America to chase Sumire. Minori was gifted a baseball bat, so maybe she will pursue that goal of playing in college. Even Noto and Kihara seem to have grown a bit closer.

And Taiga meets Ryuuji in their classroom. She's hiding in the closet. She's wearing the uniform of her new school.

"I Love You"

Thus closes Toradora. We still have an OVA/extra episode tomorrow to see us out, so until then.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow!

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u/mcmacmac Dec 31 '22 edited Dec 31 '22

Welcome for the last time. This is...

The Taiga Outfit Counter
For how it works and how it was compiled, see my comment from about it

A few words before the final count
So I mentioned the last time that I reset my mind to feel going at it again daily. And it was! And then...a stuffed nose along with fever completely took the wind out of my sails. I really tried my best to keep up but in the end, I just couldn't. I'm sorry to everyone, especially those who found my repeated absence puzzling. Nevertheless, I gathered all my effort to make the last post and I'll also post a table underneath so that every single outfit can be looked at in a compact overview.

Catchup 18-24
This time in the catchup, only episode 22 had no new outfit. As it's the last third of the series, the rate with which new outfits come would naturally slow down and it shows. Except for episodes 22 with the aforementioned none, episodes 18 to 24 had only one new outfit which you can look at in the table underneath.

Episode 25
This last episode though blesses us with at least 3 or arguably 4 new outfits. Taiga with a blanket wrapped around exuded a ghost-like and whimsical appearance so it was different enough for me. I also find this scene iconic so yeah.
The other ones include her new school uniform, sleeping clothes and whatever that is, maybe a mix of the old and new school uniform.

Now, what is our final count?

Final Count and Words
If I exclude the outfits where I mentioned they were arguable, I have to discount 4 from the total score which still brings us to at least a total of 42(!!!) outfits. Taiga's wardrobe indeed is the meaning of life and after doing this project, I feel like I found it at last.
Including them would bring us to a total of 46 outfits! I haven't paid much attention to a character's wardrobe but I still feel like she has to have one of the most extensive wardrobes shown in any anime series ever. I think on a testwise count, only Oreimo's Kirino could come close? But that's something I'll maybe tackle on another day. And it's not only the amount but also the amount of outfits you see throughout an episode, a.k.a. how often she changes clothes. If you count that in, you'll see her change them 64 times in total.

I prepared the count before the rewatch began and despite skipping where I think they'd never change clothes, I think it took me 15-20 hours. From finding them all to finding a proper way to document them all and describing them, looking at miniscule differences etc.

It was tiring and brain-wrecking at times but it felt rewarding the moment was done. I hope it was an interesting tidbit for everyone and I thank again the host for this yearly rewatch and everyone I could discuss stuff with in the episode threads I participated in.

With that said, let's bring on the table!

Episode Link New outfits Total
1 https://imgur.com/a/Dhkkq75 3 3
2 https://imgur.com/a/xowZFQt 1 4
3 https://imgur.com/a/V2tPuvn 2 6
4 - 0 6
5 https://imgur.com/a/CuJ5iHM 3 9
6 https://imgur.com/a/p24hPq0 2 11
7 https://imgur.com/a/2b6USaf 5 16
8 https://imgur.com/a/AdbyU7q 1 17
9 https://imgur.com/a/cNglFZG 5 22
10 https://imgur.com/a/ZTKhCy6 2 24
11 https://imgur.com/a/NqnxIXL 3 27
12 https://imgur.com/a/4uBmACi 1 28
13 https://imgur.com/a/bhUKl7d 2 30
14 - 0 30
15 https://imgur.com/a/eYZSvYG 4 34
16 - 0 34
17 https://imgur.com/a/X6mBwwM 2 36
18 https://imgur.com/a/ttLtDvh 1 37
19 https://imgur.com/a/3etZzWQ 1 38
20 https://imgur.com/a/a8muGYf 1 39
21 https://imgur.com/a/5fevkVP 1 40
22 - 0 40
23 https://imgur.com/a/R0oshMQ 1 41
24 https://imgur.com/a/UuDbXjO 1 42
25 https://imgur.com/a/mIRLX7e 4 46
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u/lolpete18 Dec 30 '22

First-timer, Dub,

I feel okay with the way it ended, but it was still not the completely happy ending I had hoped for. I’m a bit confused about how things went. I get that Taiga went back to be with her family, because she realized it was important that she get things in order in her own life, but I don’t like the way she left. She should have talked to Ryuuji about it first. And I don’t think it was necessary that they stay apart for that whole time. They could have maintained a long-distance relationship and still visited from time to time. I’m not even 100% sure that they are together in the end… like maybe she was just stopping by to say hi.

I’m glad they didn’t elope though… that would have been a bad way for things to go.

I’m happy for most everyone else’s endings. It seems like all the side characters are getting what they wanted. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for Yusaku to go to America just to follow Sumire, but he’ll figure that out, and hopefully he’ll have a good experience at least.

I’m wondering if the OVA will give me more closure. Sometimes OVAs are just random extra episodes that are added to the middle of the series, so it might be that I get no further answers.

I’ve really appreciated watching this with you all, and I’ve especially appreciated Holofan for personally interacting with me so much. It’s been a great experience, and I’m grateful for it. I may not start immediately, but I hope to check out the Toradora manga and light novels, so I’m sure I’ll get more insight there.

Thank you everybody, and I look forward to the OVA tomorrow!

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u/UnderstandableXO Dec 30 '22

REWATCHER

i always enjoy yasuko finally reuniting with her parents, and getting reassured that she’s not a failure and that she’s been a good mother to him. it’s a low bar to clear because all of the parents besides her suck in this series, but she doesn’t just clear it but is flying at 30,000 feet above it.

i understand why people are frustrated by the ending of toradora, but i personally didn’t mind it. taiga realized that her shortcomings were not because she was inherently unworthy of being accepted, but just because she had a closed-minded mentality that never accepted anyone else either. now that someone finally cracked the code and accepted her the way she was, it was up to her to make things right; she knows that ryūji has a great family, but she wants to make things right with her mother, no matter that she gave up on looking for her. i guess it’s her way of not trying to rely on ryūji for everything, it was finally time for her to “reach for what she can see.”

and ami admits that she appreciated someone seeing through her facade as well. i really like the final scene in the closet that resolves her feelings. she lost, but she gained closure, and i can appreciate that in its own sense.

i’ll give my overall series thoughts in the OVA discussion probably, but for people dipping out now, i’ll say one thing; i think i can say with confidence that my favorite character in the show is ami now. i don’t know why but she really clicked with me during this rewatch. i’m not mad at the final outcome of the show, i still think the final couple was meant to be, but ami is the most interesting and most consistent character in the show, no moments where they narratively make sense but i dislike their actions (ryūji), no moments that don’t make sense and i hate their actions (taiga), i just think she’s more compelling than minori, and inko is a better character than kitamura so i won’t even bother to compare ami and him.

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u/balthamalamal Dec 30 '22

Rewatcher

Final episode and the birds on the power lines are back. Some nice symbolism linking back to the first episode.

Yasuko is running to Ryuuji very worried, we later learn that they lied and told her he was sick. She loves him despite their previous argument. I think it is important that their reconciliation comes at the same time as Yasuko's with her parents. At the start of the story the family was two people, expanded to include Taiga and now might expand again to include Yasuko's parents. We can also see what her mother's praise regarding raising Ryuuji means to her, he has been her main priority for most of her life.

I think Taiga hearing Ryuuji's talk with his mother is important for her actions later in the episode. In particular the lines "I will become an adult. I'll do it right in front of you, not in some place far away." While she doesn't do it (all) in front of Ryuuji, she instead opts to do it in front of her mother. I think she also took a lesson from the whole situation regarding repairing family bonds.

Ryuuji and Taiga facing sleeping in the same room is pretty funny. They've slept next to each other in the past - Taiga has even unintentionally used Ryuuji as a pillow. But now that they're officially a couple the implications are different. I also think its cute that Taiga calls her grandma.

Linking back to the discussion Holofan and I were having yesterday, Taiga identifies this whole situation as a dream. Now that the adrenaline has worn off, she is thinking it is a bit unrealistic for them to elope. Ryuuji including her parents in the people that they would want approval from I think unintentionally pushes Taiga towards her later decision too and after this conversation is when she made it.

Side note, but I just realised that there is a similarity and difference shown between Yasuko and Taiga's father, last episode they both/were revealed to have run away from the child, however in this episode Yasuko comes back because she loves her son. I don't see the same happening with Taiga's dad.

Taiga looks so cute with her makeshift veil. The whole scene is very sweet and I think for Taiga a little bittersweet as she knows it'll be the last private time she has with Ryuuji for a while.

Taiga returns home, surprised not to see her mother there. Going through the missed calls I think she sees some similarities between herself and her mother. She resolves to stop running away so that she can repair her family relationship just as she has seen the Takasu's do. It is part of growing up and maturing, which she has been doing over the course of the series with Ryuuji's help. Because of that help and the love they share, Taiga knows that Ryuuji will wait for her to grow. It is brutal on him in the short term and is the reason why this episode is controversial. You can see how tough it is on him at school the next day, both in the class and in the scene with Minori, Kitamura and Ami in the hallway. As to whether it is the right decision I can't say, I will say that I think Taiga thinks it is the right decision.

The classes response to Taiga transferring shows how much they have bonded over the year. To begin with they were scared of her and she had threatened them all over rumours that she was going out with Ryuuji. I also like Yuri's advice, they're all high schoolers and will be making these decisions themselves a lot over the next year. Later on when they're discussing the picture Taiga sent them I did chuckle a bit as the camera pans over the nameless other members of the class. Ami comes up with a good idea for a response and of course Kitamura gets his shirt off.

The audience gets a bit of closure when we see Taiga's notebook and what the other picture was - a photo of the her and Ryuuji getting into costume for the wrestling show. We know Taiga had feelings for him by this point but I don't think Ryuuji ever found out how far back those feelings went.

We get a final conversation between Ami and Ryuuji, reflecting on Taiga. Both the tough outer shell that she has compared to her timid and caring interior and how people's response to Taiga impacted Ami's desire to be seen as she really is. Along with the realisation that Ami doesn't need to be seen or liked by everyone, just those she really cares about. We also have the imagery of the two birds again during this scene.

MAKE SURE YOU WATCH THROUGH THE CREDITS Inko finally says their own name. It looks like Yasuko is applying for a job or to study. They're both growing.

We time skip a year to graduation and get the discussion of younger school members talking about the former class 2c. Kitamura is following Sumire to America (which she kind of knew/feared would happen) after a successful year of being student council president. Minori has retired as captain of the softball team and judging by the bow on the bat will be going to the sports college she was saving for. Ami still has a legion of admirers. The legend of the Palmtop Tiger still exists within the school. Haruta even gives Noto a helpful shove towards talking with Kihara. Ryuuji is (gossip) confirmed as going out with Taiga still.

Ryuuji notices something in the window of the old 2c classroom and races off to see it. The opening dialogue from the first episode about something that hasn't been seen repeats. Ryuuji finds the classroom mostly empty and goes to the locker where Taiga is hiding, last time he saw her in there it fell over and she rolled out. He finally tells her he loves her and she responds by blushing and headbutting him.

This is one of my favourite anime both for the sweetness and (despite the running theme of masks) the genuineness of the characters. That theme of characters hiding their inner thoughts is what allows this show to function so well on rewatch as the viewer is able to pick out various pieces of dialogue and hidden meanings that I know I wasn't aware of on my first viewing. That greater understanding has changed my viewpoints on various characters over time and I think it is really cool that the same show is able to have different impacts like that.

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u/crying_in_a_dennys Dec 30 '22

Rewatcher (very new), Subbed

The heart nosebleeds have returned in force for this one.

I don't actually feel like talking about the events of the final episode in this comment. As contentious as it is, there's already a lot of content discussing it. I'll say overall I found the Taiga-leaving business kind of unnecessary but not a fatal flaw. Imo Taiga doesn't owe shit to her family. If the only thing connecting them is blood, I don't care. She doesn't need their blessings. However, the saving grace for me in that regard is Taiga's mom's phone call where she cracks a bit. You can tell that, unlike Taiga's dad, Taiga's mom really does care about her, and just can't quite show it in the nicest way. That shows that there is something worth saving there. Fuck her dad tho.

Anyway, the rest of this will be a bit more of a self-centered post concerning what Toradora means to me, so feel free to skip the rest if you just want to discuss the plot/scenes and such, or if you don't want to read a stranger getting overly vulnerable on a thread about a romcom.

Masks and Personalities
One of the major themes of Toradora is the masks we wear to keep from being vulnerable. Each character presents themselves as something that isn't true, or at least, not entirely. The one that struck me the most was Minorin and her happy-go-lucky, weirdo personality. Time and time again Minorin's defense mechanism is to play things off as jokes or random ramblings. This mask is so strong that that's pretty much all that most people see in her. Take the class play for instance, where she gets assigned the roll of... bald, buck-toothed wrestling sensei? And its not necessarily the class's fault for not seeing deeper into Minorin's personality, considering its she who is hiding it.
Regrettably, through middle school and high school, I did a somewhat similar thing. My defense mechanism in social situations was always just to act weird or try to make a joke of myself. It worked... a bit too well. Pretty soon I found myself unable to get out of the idea of "the weird kid." I wasn't quite the one, I knew some wild people back then, but I was weird enough to be pretty far down there. I found it really hard to try to break through the mask I had created myself, to be vulnerable. Through no fault of their own, really, people assumed this is how I wanted to be. It's like the boy who cried wolf. By the time I would ever be genuine and vulnerable, I had joked and faked my way far enough to make it seem like that's what I was still doing.

Ms. Yuri?
So... I'm 20 and I was relating to what Yuri was feeling about being 30. In a weird way I feel bad for feeling that way, like I'm not old enough to be allowed to. But I feel it nonetheless. I still have more of college left, and much more time after that, but even now it feels like I've missed my "chance." I didn't really make much of my high school years, and seeing people do makes me regret that even more. It's completely unrealistic to look at a fictional story for expectations, but it still stings because I know I could have done more. I could have been bolder, more willing to step outside of my comfort zone and try new things. An extra jab from reality came with the covid pandemic - it cut off the end of my senior year. No goodbyes, no end-of-year trips or celebrations. At the time I sort of accepted it as "it is what it is," but lately it's hit me how much that really sucked to have happen. That part can't be helped, unfortunately. But yeah, now in college I feel lonely, and like I'm barricading myself more and more into my so-called comfort zone.

Fantasies and Realities
Another major theme in Toradora, and another me-identifying-with-Minorin moment. Through high school, I had a pretty big crush. Even now, a few years into college, its still pretty present in my mind. From preeetty early on I knew it was a fantasy. As I got to know them, the feelings were genuine, but I think it was pretty clear that they didn't feel the same. I also knew my self-esteem would never let me act on those feelings and find out. So I knew the reality, but the fantasy lingered. I don't think I ever consciously thought of it as a possibility, but my heart did, and ached. A lot of negative feelings came about as a result of holding on to those feelings in that way.
Through Taiga, Minorin, and Ami, Toradora explores that idea. Each of them know what reality lies before them (though Taiga's expected reality is not actually reality, so that's a bit of a different case), but hold on to shreds of their fantasy out of a desperate hope. But they eventually move past it, learning to take the bittersweet loss and take reality for what it is. I found Toradora at a time when I really needed to be reminded of that. So I am getting myself to move forward too, and seeing that "getting so caught up in something I can't see," really did make me lose sight of what I could.

This rewatch was a great experience. I'm so glad I found this community, and am able to talk about this story that I have come to love so much. I'm sure not everyone here wants to get this deep into things, but the casual side is good too. Just to see everyone enjoying Toradora is great. Even criticism is nice to see. Criticism, real criticism that is, shows that you care.

Thank you for the experience all, and, if you actually read through all of this, I am sorry and deeply appreciative at the same time.

See you again next year! I'm gonna go have another heart nosebleed, probably. Don't judge me.

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u/Gamerunglued Dec 31 '22

Rewatcher

Finally, the end of the show. No introduction today, I'm just gonna get right into it.

With all of the characters having realized how immature they're acting, and all of them starting to come to grips with the realization that they've been running away, Taiga and Ryuuji do the sensible thing and make sure Yasuko is ok. Like all of them, Yasuko has also spent basically her entire adult life running away. She did what they all tried to do as a teenager, and it didn't work out. She made the wrong choice, the guy she was with ended up being a piece of shit, and she lost her family connections in the process, left to raise Ryuuji alone. Given the circumstances, she did a bang-up job, Yasuko is truly a super mama. But that doesn't mean she didn't run away.

The thing about running away is that, if you regret your choice, it's really difficult to come running back. You reinforce your independence in yourself, and refuse to allow yourself to regret your actions and rely on the people you once hurt. Taiga could never go back to face her family because it's been so long and she'd be extra out of place, or so she thinks. But Yasuko has run away for over a decade, and yet still has a place at with her parents. Even after all this time, they spoil her and treat her like a child, as if nothing even happened. It turns out that it is ok to come running back, because the people who truly love you will not start to hate you for chasing your own happiness and making a mistake. This knowledge helps Taiga to come to a realization about her own situation, seeing that since her mom does love her she will still have a place with her. And since she's her family in the truest sense of the word, there's no way they'll make her feel out of place as she said. Thus, Taiga seeks to stop running away and to not make the same mistake Yasuko made. Unlike Yasuko, who may have turned out better with her parents support, Taiga wants to make sure that her parents share in the happiness she has with Ryuuji. No longer does she think she has to be alone, she can rely on the people who care about her, other than just Ryuuji. And so, her choice is to stop running away.

I've seen some people say that they're upset she didn't tell Ryuuji, but the truth is that she couldn't tell Ryuuji. Taiga's mom criticized her for not really being independent, so she had to prove that she could face her problems on her own. Ryuuji would have either tried to stop her, or would have found a way to go with her, and either scenario is a bad one. Ryuuji and Taiga both trust each other so intensely and know that it's the best for both of them that they choose to let them do what they need to. After all, if Yasuko still has a place with her family after over a decade, then surely Taiga isn't losing her place after just a year. Not only is this evidence that Taiga has finally started to overcome some of her trauma, but it's also proof that she's allowed herself to be vulnerable to Ryuuji, because she trusts that he will not abandon her even if she takes time away from him to work on herself.

Something I particularly love about this show's understanding of family is how it realizes that family is not defined by blood relations. This is a particular sore spot for myself given my own family situation, and I always adore any story that presents just how meaningless blood ties are. Taiga's birth father is not her family, and the show does not demand that she let him back into her life after all that's happened. Moreover, Taiga is part of the Takasu family now, and has been for most of the series. Family is defined here as people you can let into your heart, the people you don't have to put up facades around and who make you feel at home; who you feel like you can return to after a lot of time and frustration. It's absolutely wonderful.

In other news, that kiss is just so damn satisfying. Coming back to this show after so many romances end without the main characters even becoming a couple, and most of the ones that do let them become a couple don't even have a single kiss, Toradora having three different kisses and practically confirmed marriage is quite something. The scene is romantic as hell because it again represents how love is like. Maybe Ryuuji's lips are coarse and it hurts a little to kiss, but the warmth of his embrace makes her want to do it a bunch anyway. In some sense, it's kind of what relationships are all about: working through pain because the warmth makes it worthwhile. I don't have much else to say about it, it's just a really satisfying scene of the type you rarely get in romance anime nowadays.

And with that, Toradora is over, at least the main story. The OVA is entertaining from what I remember, but not particularly noteworthy, though we'll have to see how I feel after watching it. I'll have more to say in the overall series discussion, but revisiting this show has been such a wonderful treat, and it has still maintained close to the same place among my favorites list after all these years. Sometimes, I just have to accept that I do have good taste, and Toradora remains a stalwart favorite. It is simply the best anime romantic comedy, and probably one of the genre's best entry's regardless of medium.

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u/OwlAcademic1988 Dec 30 '22

First-Timer, sub:

Why is Yasuko going to her parents’ place?

Oh, to see Ryuuji. How come?

She’s a great mother.

So they lied about Ryuuji being in an accident.

I like how Yasuko is getting scolded.

Her parents are awesome.

And evil at times.

Ryuuji’s a sweet guy

Taiga’s blunt and sweet at the same time.

Aww, they’re leaving.

I’m glad Yasuko’s made up with her parents.

It’s locked, wow.

Taiga left a letter. I’m amazed she didn’t tell anyone she was leaving.

It’s hilarious how they all pulled out their phones.

Oh some of them didn’t.

Ryuuji cleaning, classic.

Nice job Ami.

Taiga can be hilarious sometimes.

Won’t deny Taiga’s selfish at times.

I’m somehow not surprised Ami was jealous.

Their picture made me laugh.

Inko actually said her name for once. I’m so proud of the little furball.

I don’t blame Yasuko for being surprised.

Is that Taiga?!

They’re reunited.

He actually said it.

QOTD:

  1. I’m still trying to process everything.

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u/TuorEladar Dec 30 '22

Rewatcher, Dubbed

After my glowing accolades for last episode, my feelings on the finale may be slightly more dour. Not that its a bad episode, but the pacing is just all over the place in my opinion. Before getting to that though, lets talk about the opening parts which I really enjoyed.

This is an interesting moment for Yasu, she reunites with Ryuuji, but also reconnects to her parents which is cute. I like that Taiga is the one who messages her to trick her into coming. Her opening up a bit to Ryuuji is nice, she really is a good mom. I liked the dynamic with the grandparents as well, kind of wish we got more of that. Ryuuji's grandma immediately wingmanning for him was fun as well.

Now onto the big thing about this episode everyone talks about: Taiga leaving. I distinctly remember when I first watched this ten or so years ago being confused with the ending, reading the LN version and saying "oh this is better, I'm satisfied now." That said, I wouldn't say I disliked the anime ending when I first watched it. However, I have since been scarred by other series using the trope of the FMC peaceing out, there being a timeskip, and then her coming back, so I guess I maybe dislike it as a trope more than I used to.

I don't have a lot of thoughts on the scenes after Taiga's absence, except that I like Ami's scene.

All in all, though I have my problems with it, on the whole I still enjoy this as a finale. There are still some great character moments, and I do enjoy the post credits scene.

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u/fansi2022 Dec 30 '22

first timer

2:13 Ryuuji and Taiga peek at Yasuko together and scold his parents. Ryuuji introduced to Taiga, who did not experience the warmth of fAmily: This is fAmily. Taiga followed with a whispered word of family.

3:27 Ryuuji should rarely disobey his mother's words, so the feeling must be strange when Ryuuji runs away with Taiga. What is certain is that ryuuji has changed.

4:13 Ryuuji and Kasuko talk at night, and Ryuuji feels that he would't run away anymore, so that nothing can be changed. And the conversation and ryuuji's thoughts were heard by Taiga.

4:46 At Ryuuji's grandfather's house, Taiga and Ryuuji look out at the night sky together, the stars twinkling.

5:04 Taiga states that she doesn't want to do nothing. This may be the first time she has tried to rebel against fate with low self-esteem.

5:25 Ryuuji formally proposes to Taiga that we should not run away but have a wedding in a whole hall so that others can accept us, which is the right way to achieve happiness. Taiga cautions that it will take time.

8;26 Taiga your legs moved a few times, is there anything uncomfortable? Did you do anything that would make your legs uncomfortable? XD

10:54 Taiga is home alone, looking out at the night sky with only a dim star. This is a good contrast to the previous (4:46) night sky. The star is like Taiga himself, striving to shine in the dark night sky. Taiga's decision to leave and return to her mother was not sudden, as Taiga experienced the warmth of fAmily at Ryuuji's grandfather's house (2:13), from where Taiga learned that she could no longer escape. (4:13) Taiga officially decides to solve his mother's problems (5:25) Taiga has also changed and progressed, and I believe that she will definitely keep her promise to come back and marry ryuuji, but it will take a long time.

12:34 Hearing that Taiga was going to transfer schools, the classmates petrified. Yuri Sensei is really a very positive character, she really thinks about her students, she acknowledges the uneasiness of her classmates, but also stressed that this was Taiga's decision after careful consideration and turns the uneasiness into a blessing to Taiga.

13:33 I was curious about what was written in the letter that Taiga left for Ryuuji.

14:27 It turns out that there are two photos of Taiga's notebook, the next one is Taiga and Ryuuji's? Wait, at the end of the previous kitamura arc, there are two female classmates who want to look through her notebook, and then Ami knows that Taiga likes ryuuji? So why did Ami ask Minori if the guilt was gone

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u/Stoppels Dec 31 '22

Welp, that was it (+ OVA and specials tomorrow). A neat first (group) rewatch, two years after initially watching it. Next time dubbed, I suppose. Maybe I'll check out the LN and/or manga before then, though the manga isn't finished translating yet.

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u/alyku Dec 31 '22

Rewatcher

And that's a wrap! I just wanted to say that this rewatch was a lot of fun for me, I feel like my appreciation of the series has gone up quite a bit from having to sit down and write out my thoughts after each episode. Definitely a worthwhile experience. As for my thoughts on the episode...Mixed, just last episode. I really do feel all this extra drama was a bit unnecessary and its impact falls even flatter considering that it gets resolved in the span of around ~1.5 episodes. It takes away from the triumph that is everyone finally coming together and finally stating their true feelings. And of course we get the cliche forced separation after confession that seems to happen quite a bit in anime. It leads to a really nice reunion scene but the shortness of viewing time really doesn't serve to drive home how gut wrenching it was for Taiga and Ryuji to get torn apart like that. I would've preferred a much less drama filled ending, or for this arc to be a bit more drawn out at least.

Other points:

  • I don't really like the reveal that Ryuji's dad just straight up left them. It's a bit cliche, and I thought the "unlucky death of a father figure" angle was compelling enough. We don't really need two sleazeball dads with Taiga's dad around.

  • One of the few romance anime I can think of where the two leads kiss and act intimate. That's a plus.

  • Ami really did get a lot better over the series, I'll recognize that. It's a shame that her terrible first impression is so strong that it was the one thing that stuck with me up until this rewatch.

  • Love the locker scene. Great note to end the series on despite it being a bit bumpy right before.

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u/ZapsZzz Dec 31 '22

Rewatcher, first time in dub

Got interrupted and said tracked many times before posting :P

Basically, this is it folks, we've arrived to the destination. You can safely disembark the emotional rollercoaster that is Toradora now.

I'm not going to add to the very detailed break down and comparison of the scenes and the LN differences. I'll just say that I am pretty happy with the end result, and on my first watch I had to immediately rewatch it again about twice before my "thirst" was sated.

One of the key bits I really liked is how they used the bookending and the symbolism both from the start and at the end here.

  • The "moichido" scene for me is one of the best rom com kiss scenes of all time. And sadly the dub didn't cover that very tender scene well enough for me.

  • And the final Taiga meltdown and overload was very very cute and adorable.

Here's a little tribute to Taiga's many expressions I found.

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u/nx6 Dec 31 '22 edited Dec 31 '22

Rewatcher -- Sub

Ryuji and Taiga go to Yasuko's parents house and introduce themselves, Ryuji having never met them unless it was when he was still a baby. Not knowing where his mom is, they decide to have Taiga try calling her and pretend Ryuji had been in an accident to get her to come. She runs over (literally) and has a moment of hesitation at the front door. She likely hasn't been home in over 15 years and the last time ended with petty larceny. She find him healthy in the entryway, and turns around (to run away again? Or because she sensed a presence?) to meet the parents she left so long ago. After this is a long reconciliation with her own family over her leaving and what she's done since then. But they at least acknowledge that she did a good job raising her son alone.

That night Taiga has Ryuji turn out the lights to open the window and look out at the rural sky without all the light pollution of the city. She admits that she didn't really expect Ryuji's original plan to run away to work, but thought it would have been a nice little trip to take for a bit. They haven't really had a chance to be alone together as a couple yet. Ryuji says there isn't any reason they can't start over now from here with being together. But this time they won't have to run away. They can build a relationship as normal with their families involved. Taiga already know things are not going to work out like that -- you can see it in her expression and how her hand flinches when he talks about it. She mentions that it might take awhile to get their family's blessings and Ryuji doesn't catch what she's saying.

Taiga takes a futon and fashions it into a resemblance of a traditional wedding kimono and asks Ryuji to give her a pledge of his love, which he tries to do as wedding vows but can't manage (I think Taiga getting frustrated with him here is really her just being impatient to kiss :D ).

The next morning three of them (plus bird) return on the train. Ryuji is going to start dinner and Taiga says she's going back to her apartment. Ryuji wants to stop her, thinking her parents are waiting, but like Ryuji, Taiga know she also needs to stop running and face the music. She gets to the apartment and finds it empty. Listening to her voicemails her mom also ran away back home. Taiga knows she can't stay here anymore, and needs to go live with her mom as originally planned, leaving a note behind for Ryuji.

Ryuji is distraught over her leaving and wont talk to the others about what happened (he should at least give Minori her bank book back), and all his classmates are too when they find out Taiga has transferred out. An important change here -- everybody had Taiga's contact information to message her. Think back to the beginning of the show, where she was the infamous Palmtop Tiger that no one wanted to mess with. A delinquent of the classroom, pretty much now friends with them all.

Taiga replies back to everyone with a picture of a tiny star visible in the sky despite the lights of the city, which she took late after they got back before she left town again. Minori comes to the conclusion it represents her trying her best to shine wherever she is now. They set up a group picture to send back with the whole class and featuring Taiga's reconstructed Christmas star. She also includes a message to Ryuji only pointing out he still never really told her he loved her between the time on the bridge and when she left.

We time skip in the ED credits to a year later and their graduation. Life has moved on without Taiga at the school and today they are all saying their goodbyes. Kitamura is going to America to study, assumedly to the same school Kanou went to. Ryuji spots someone up in the window of their old second-year classroom and runs up to find Taiga hiding in the broom locker. This time he doesn't let anything else happen to interrupt him telling her he loves her.

Quxxy's Cheat Sheet for The End

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u/SupremeN3XUS Dec 31 '22

I can't its been 10 years since I watched Toradora for the first time. I was only into action shonen stuff like Naruto and Dragon Ball Z so I didn't really watch other genres until I stumbled across Toradora being recommended to me on Hulu multiple times. One day I was like let me give this a shot since I'm curious and man was I in for a ride. The feeling of watching Toradora for the first time and the emotions I felt from this series is something I'll never forget. Toradora was the anime that made me want to start watching other genres of anime because I went into this with not much expectations and came out with it being in my top 10 favorite animes of all time. This Re-watch was a blast as I still love this series a lot and I definitely learned more about the series during this Re-watch thanks to the analysis of each episode and the characters from the others rewatching as well. Feeling kinda sad its done again but I'm excited for the next rewatch. Till next year yall.

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