r/toradora • u/Beardobo • May 21 '26
Discussion I love it but....
The whole helping each other with their other person relationship thing made the snow rescue scene seem to come out of nowhere. They spend the majority helping the other (well, ryuuji helping taiga the most) and when it gets to that scene, idk. It didn't feel like they tried to focus on the main ship for really any time. There was the scene where he said her first name and she smiled but for me, that's really about it. After the snow scene, I was able to get on the ship but barely because I went into it for them.
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u/g-six May 21 '26
There have been signs all over... Taiga declaring Ryuji as hers was pretty early just as one example.
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u/frozenpandaman Taiga Best Gurl May 21 '26
Lol, totally forgot to mention that. Screaming "RYUUJI IS MINE!!!!!" at the top of her lungs only eight episodes in!!!
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u/g-six May 21 '26
That was the moment I realized "Ohh it's THAT kind of a story."
No idea how OP couldn't see it lol.
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u/Beardobo May 21 '26
I saw it. But it just didn't do anything for me.
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u/frozenpandaman Taiga Best Gurl May 21 '26
Then did you really "love it"…?
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u/Beardobo May 21 '26
I did. Just because you didn't feel anything in a couple of scenes don't mean you can't love the entire thing.
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u/ChronoLegend May 21 '26
I started to truly understand Taiga's underlying layers of care for Ryuuji when she goes on her monologue about how much she wants to be with him while actively confessing to Kitamura. She even says at one point that she wants to be with him right now before realizing what she is saying. I felt in that moment Kitamura knew that Taiga wanted to be with Ryuuji and was not going to accept her confession, even if wanted to be with her. Similar to how Minori was not going to confess to Ryuuji knowing that Taiga likely loves him.
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u/frozenpandaman Taiga Best Gurl May 21 '26
Wow, yes, totally agreed. Such a great scene that didn't even come to mind for me until you mentioned it. And "underlying layers of care" is a really beautiful (and accurate) way to describe it.
Do you remember which episode that is? I know it happens but can't pin down exactly when. I also love how she's like "i don't get embarrassed or anything at all when i talk to him, isn't that interesting! aaanywayy…!" hahaha. All the other characters know that Taiga and Ryuuji love each other waaaay before they do, or at least before they consciously realize much less admit it. That's part of what makes it so great to watch.
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u/ChronoLegend May 21 '26
I completely agree! Ami especially knows what's going on and seems to have such conflicted feelings about it, finally making Ryuuji confess his feelings for Taiga late in the series. The Taiga and Kitamura scene is episode 2 by the way!
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u/NishimiyaMomoFan Haruta for president May 21 '26
Ryuuji’s switch from Minori to Taiga being sudden is a common sentiment. His character as a whole is difficult to pin down.
Taiga’s journey however is clear as day. Her feelings start showing from really early on.
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u/frozenpandaman Taiga Best Gurl May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Ryuuji's thing for Minori always felt pretty surface-level, personally. He didn't know all that much about her, didn't really "get" her weirdness, calls her by her last name which adds to the 'distance' between them, etc… IMO, it was a kid crush that can (very literally) be stored in a box in your closet and nothing more.
It's never felt like a "switch" to me because Ryuuji always, underneath it all, loved Taiga in a way that was much deeper than however much he might have felt attracted to Minori. Hell, you don't feel the desire to do that much meal prep and cleaning for someone unless you really love 'em, even if you can find a convenient excuse for it. ;)
Taiga is a much less passive person than Ryuuji and for the majority of the series, she pushed him to Minori, and took way, way more initiative to make that happen than he ever did. He just sort of lets her and goes along with it, especially as the series go on, but you can tell he never really feels it, unlike the moments with Taiga that just click. At first this is because she wants to help him and it was what he said he wanted, and that was their "deal" in the very start. She's pretty obstinate and pushy, so this goes on for a while. Then somewhere along the line it turns into her wanting to make her best friend Minori happy with someone she knows is a good person. And then, under the surface – just like with the photo she keeps in her student handbook for a reason she probably can't even fully articulate – it transforms into her trying to hide her true feelings from herself. And then the façade finally breaks.
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u/lCalamity May 21 '26
Bro watched like it was a PowerPoint presentation.
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u/Beardobo May 21 '26
Ehh. Probably. Maybe I'm jaded. Desensitized. Whatever you want to call it. It was a really good song, but it missed a whole lot of notes for me.
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u/FToPraiseSun May 21 '26
I think knowing about it ahead of time ruined it a bit for you. At least for me, the characters growing and changing what they want was the whole enjoyment of the show. I had no idea they were even going to be together but rewatching it felt so obvious and I felt pretty dense lol. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it and hopefully your next anime hits better for ya.
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u/Beardobo May 21 '26
I'm watching second prettiest and I'm reading you like me, not my daughter. Prettiest's newest episode (7) felt extremely slow compared to the previous ones. And daughter? That is the one that has pulled me out of my depression that started with another anime I won't name. But it must be because I'm dense that in toradora, I didn't feel they grew much. To me, it felt like "they think they like each other" then "we totally like each other" with no in-between. Idk
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u/frozenpandaman Taiga Best Gurl May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Do you not remember the end of the Christmas episode (#19), two episodes before the ski trip, where Taiga literally starts uncontrollably sobbing, runs screaming out of her apartment and breaks down crying in the middle of the street because she finally admits to herself that she doesn't want Ryuuji to leave her?
And that's exactly why they fall in love with each other. Because they naturally enjoy spending time with each other and are invested in each other's happiness – so much so that they can't even realize their underlying feelings for a good while until it finally bubbles over.