Thursday
Mar262009
Toradora FINAL - I Want to Kill Something or Giggle Like A School Girl, Not Sure Which Yet
Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 10:24PM
I'm going to just ramble about my current state of mind after watching the last 4 episodes of Toradora! back to back, something no sane person should do. So note:
IF THE FOLLOWING IS A SPOILER FOR YOU, TURN BACK NOW!
A word of warning - first person to call this ending a "cop-out" gets their toes chewed off by geckos. There will be happy endings in this world, and I will gobble them up and sqwee from here to the end of time. But this ending played on my last emotional string so well I am near ready to rip out their spleens for what they did in the last episode. But enough of my colorful epitaphs.
Episodes 22 to 25 are a big blur to me, so if I get something out of place don't sue me. We start off with Taiga being absent from school after a little too harrowing school ski trip. This actually was a new way to handle the "accidental confession" scenario - it gave Ryuuji time to actually think about what to say. And yet, he came to the same stupid conclusion.
We knew he was dumb, but this dumb?
I'm going to skip a lot of delightful side story to skip right to the juicy stuff. The next episode is Valentines day. Yea, this will go well.
and then her head spun a full 360 degrees...
Note to self - when trying to save face for your friend that accidentally confessed that they love you, tell everyone. Ryuuji gets nailed when Taiga thanks Kitamura for saving her, making Minori realize Ryuuji's been keepin some secrets. And we are officially off to the races!
What happens next is equal parts awesome and confusing as hell. It comes down to this (I think) - Taiga has been hiding her feeling for Ryuuji so Minori could be happy with him, while Minori has rejected Ryuuji so that he could be with Taiga. So how would you feel if you had basically sacrificed your happiness for the sake of someone else, and that other person does everything in their power to avoid being happy? I think you would end up looking like Minori above.
The awesomeness comes in the fact that Ami and Kitamura are in on this, forcing Ryuuji and Taiga to make the hard call and just go for it. Lots of awesome (did I mention this series was awesome?) exposition later, and Taiga tries to kill Ryuuji.
Wait, what?
OK, it's really comic relief as Ryuuji and Taiga become an official couple with no ifs ands or butts. And decide to run away.
OK, back up a second.
Here is where I start to get confused, and probably would understand better if I watched this again. They decide they don't want to deal with life's expectations, and agree to run away together. But not before totally alienating their parents and freaking out their friends. I guess this is a youthful rebellion against growing up, trying to avoid the responsibility of adulthood, or it's a cheap plot point to keep these two together.
Either way, by the last episode they end up at Ryuuji's grandparent's house, who Ryuuji has in fact, never met. At that point, there plan falls apart as they trick Ryuuji's mother into coming to see them, leading to a sweet family reunion with lots of crying, and everyone is happy to be together again. They even end up sharing a room, and one thing leads to another and, well...
Bow-chika-bowbow
...NOTHING HAPPENS I'M SURE. What is it about anime and teenage sex? I'm not stuck in the 50s or anything, but can't we stick to teenagers just experimenting with heavy petting? There is NO indication anything more than kissing is going on, but I'm sure people will extrapolate and I will have to bring righteous Internet troll justice upon thee. It also says something about recent trends in anime that I was grateful she didn't end up pregnant later in the show.
Finally, what the fuck man? Not WTF, but What the Holy Fuck?
Did I mention what the fuck?
Yep, after all that, Taiga decides to return to her family and transfer schools. The remaining of the episode is very cool, but I spent the whole time trying not to flip to the end to make sure she comes back, cause I can't take a depressing ending to this one. Luckily, I get my wish, plus some back story. For example, from the following, where some underclassmen are commenting on the graduating seniors and remember the Palmtop Tiger...
How much is that tiger in the window....
I would like to say from this that Taiga and Ryuuji have at least kept in touch, though that isn't clear, espcially considering Ryuuji flipping out when he catches Taiga's silhouette in a window. Leading to the sweet, sugary ending I crave.
BOOYA!
So in the end, I get EXACTLY what I want. I love sappy, happy endings where everyone gets out alive (this is anime - this is not always certain) and with the right people. On the other hand, I can't forgive the shear emotional torture they put me through to get there. But in truth, it's the roller coaster ride that really makes these series' compelling no matter how hard that first drop sucks.
So what from the summer season is going to be able to match this series? So far, I'm not getting my hopes up, though the show about a nakes guy with a cell phone and a million bucks looks cool (I wish I was kidding...)
IF THE FOLLOWING IS A SPOILER FOR YOU, TURN BACK NOW!
A word of warning - first person to call this ending a "cop-out" gets their toes chewed off by geckos. There will be happy endings in this world, and I will gobble them up and sqwee from here to the end of time. But this ending played on my last emotional string so well I am near ready to rip out their spleens for what they did in the last episode. But enough of my colorful epitaphs.
Episodes 22 to 25 are a big blur to me, so if I get something out of place don't sue me. We start off with Taiga being absent from school after a little too harrowing school ski trip. This actually was a new way to handle the "accidental confession" scenario - it gave Ryuuji time to actually think about what to say. And yet, he came to the same stupid conclusion.
We knew he was dumb, but this dumb?
I'm going to skip a lot of delightful side story to skip right to the juicy stuff. The next episode is Valentines day. Yea, this will go well.
and then her head spun a full 360 degrees...
Note to self - when trying to save face for your friend that accidentally confessed that they love you, tell everyone. Ryuuji gets nailed when Taiga thanks Kitamura for saving her, making Minori realize Ryuuji's been keepin some secrets. And we are officially off to the races!
What happens next is equal parts awesome and confusing as hell. It comes down to this (I think) - Taiga has been hiding her feeling for Ryuuji so Minori could be happy with him, while Minori has rejected Ryuuji so that he could be with Taiga. So how would you feel if you had basically sacrificed your happiness for the sake of someone else, and that other person does everything in their power to avoid being happy? I think you would end up looking like Minori above.
The awesomeness comes in the fact that Ami and Kitamura are in on this, forcing Ryuuji and Taiga to make the hard call and just go for it. Lots of awesome (did I mention this series was awesome?) exposition later, and Taiga tries to kill Ryuuji.
Wait, what?
OK, it's really comic relief as Ryuuji and Taiga become an official couple with no ifs ands or butts. And decide to run away.
OK, back up a second.
Here is where I start to get confused, and probably would understand better if I watched this again. They decide they don't want to deal with life's expectations, and agree to run away together. But not before totally alienating their parents and freaking out their friends. I guess this is a youthful rebellion against growing up, trying to avoid the responsibility of adulthood, or it's a cheap plot point to keep these two together.
Either way, by the last episode they end up at Ryuuji's grandparent's house, who Ryuuji has in fact, never met. At that point, there plan falls apart as they trick Ryuuji's mother into coming to see them, leading to a sweet family reunion with lots of crying, and everyone is happy to be together again. They even end up sharing a room, and one thing leads to another and, well...
Bow-chika-bowbow
...NOTHING HAPPENS I'M SURE. What is it about anime and teenage sex? I'm not stuck in the 50s or anything, but can't we stick to teenagers just experimenting with heavy petting? There is NO indication anything more than kissing is going on, but I'm sure people will extrapolate and I will have to bring righteous Internet troll justice upon thee. It also says something about recent trends in anime that I was grateful she didn't end up pregnant later in the show.
Finally, what the fuck man? Not WTF, but What the Holy Fuck?
Did I mention what the fuck?
Yep, after all that, Taiga decides to return to her family and transfer schools. The remaining of the episode is very cool, but I spent the whole time trying not to flip to the end to make sure she comes back, cause I can't take a depressing ending to this one. Luckily, I get my wish, plus some back story. For example, from the following, where some underclassmen are commenting on the graduating seniors and remember the Palmtop Tiger...
How much is that tiger in the window....
I would like to say from this that Taiga and Ryuuji have at least kept in touch, though that isn't clear, espcially considering Ryuuji flipping out when he catches Taiga's silhouette in a window. Leading to the sweet, sugary ending I crave.
BOOYA!
So in the end, I get EXACTLY what I want. I love sappy, happy endings where everyone gets out alive (this is anime - this is not always certain) and with the right people. On the other hand, I can't forgive the shear emotional torture they put me through to get there. But in truth, it's the roller coaster ride that really makes these series' compelling no matter how hard that first drop sucks.
So what from the summer season is going to be able to match this series? So far, I'm not getting my hopes up, though the show about a nakes guy with a cell phone and a million bucks looks cool (I wish I was kidding...)
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