This episode was quite an intense emotional rollercoaster. I would lie if I said I didn't smile when I saw Taiga all happy with "Santa Claus", and that I didn't feel very sad at the end.
But. Feelings aside, I can't help but still be bothered by the way Taiga and Ryuuji are written.
First, Taiga. I think I figured what really annoys me about her (aside from her violence that fortunately seems to be gone). It is that the drama is always forced, and the show tries to make it look like her life is way tougher than it really is. Okay, her parents neglected her and that's awful. But why does the show tell me that she's always been all alone until Ryuuji came ? That's not true. That's not true, because Minori exists. Minori, who is just as much of a caring friend as Taiga is. And for Minori to exist for Taiga as a friend, that obviously means they befriended each other. So they can't even tell me that Taiga rejected everyone. If that was the case, Minori wouldn't be there right now.
Plus, I'm starting to get tired of Taiga being portrayed as a poor girl who keeps sacrificing herself. I don't forget what she did before. I can't forget that she's been a bully. Even with a tragic backstory, a bully is a bully. I just want for the show to aknowledge that, to aknowledge that her lack of social skills isn't the real issue here. The issue is that she hurt others because she was hurting. That's not okay, and what happened with Kano is enough to prove it.
And furthermore, this self-sacrificing nature is exaggerated and doesn't make much sense if you really think about it.
Because on one hand, she's portrayed as someone who acts mean and violent on the outside in an attempt to protect herself, even if it means rejecting everyone.
On the other hand, she's portrayed as an incredibly caring person who lets every opportunity slip away from her because she spends too much time trying to make others happy (and no, Christmas has nothing to do with it, she's always been portrayed that way).
She actually can be both, but absolutely not to such a degree. As good-natured as she is, it's not possible for her to have developed such a caring personality if nothing in her life ever made her develop that. If the show wants me to believe that her life is horrible and she's always been alone, it cannot tell me that her self-sacrificing behaviour makes sense. It really doesn't.
And anyway, as I said it is too exaggerated and is even badly explored. For exemple, remember that race Ryuuji and Minori ran just to show Taiga she wasn't alone ? Remember how they both literally fought against the other guys just to be with her ? And remember how, when seeing them do that, Taiga started a monologue about how she was alone but that was okay ? And remember how she didn't even dance with Ryuuji and instead just isolated herself until Kitamura came ? Welp, I'm salty over that.
And now about Ryuuji. I'm having such conflicted feelings about him. I like him, what he did for Taiga was adorable, but he can be a real jerk at times. He actually promised Minori he'd wait for her, and then he just decided not to wait for her, then has been forced by Taiga to go, and then decided not to go because he forgot his present. Okay, he was worried about Taiga, but he completely forgot about Minori and that's not okay. That's why his hero complex is particularly annoying, he makes it look like he can be there for everyone but the facts show he cannot, and he is even ready to abandon someone without even realizing it. If he can't keep his promise, he shouldn't have made it to start with.
And to make it even worse, when Minori finds him in the street (which incidentally showed her he didn't wait for her) and tells him in her own awkward way that she is afraid of building a relationship, his only reaction is to depress over the fact that he's been rejected ? If this guy is apparently the one you can always rely on, why can't he notice right-away how much Minori is suffering and how the issue isn't about him but about her ?!
When it comes to Minori though, I'm caring more and more about her. I still wonder what has really made her become so depressed and I wait for it to be explained, but I really do feel bad for her. She's clearly not okay, and she is unable to express it correctly. And not only that, but now she also knows that Taiga is deeply hurting because of her.
Please stop tormenting my silly girl.
In the end Minori and Ami really are my favorite characters, simply because they're the two that feel the most real in their behaviour. I'm just looking forward to some explanation regarding Minori and more development for Ami. |