| people are disappointed of the obvious ending? |
| yes. |
Schlockendale said: [ Sorry if your received multiple notifications, I kept trying to post and the website said it was down ]I still get why it was a disappointment for some and I don't want to take away from that, but remember when Ryuji told Yasuko (who had run away herself) that running away did no good and that he decided that he wanted his mother and family to watch him grow up instead... because as he told Taiga, happiness is best shared with family? Taiga leaving him and everyone behind was her making that choice for herself as well, and deciding to grow up and share happiness with the mother who still wanted to half-ass try and be something of a parent, even if it meant Taiga had to be with a step-family she was not close to. Did she do it in a heartless way by not telling anyone, including the man she knew she wanted to marry and the one who always had her back and saved her butt? Probably. But her moving on was what she decided was growing up and best for herself at that time. "If that's the way you want to do things, I accept it", as Minorin said. Again, I'm not saying Taiga's way of going about it was particularly great... but she was so used to running away from fears and we see her gradually conquer them throughout the show and I think the fear of going back to that part of her family (... unlike her real dad) who wasn't so perfect themselves but still wanted to reach out and be concerned for her future was her final fear to conquer, and she did. She knew Ryuji would trust her decision in the end even if it meant he got hurt. Yeah, I guess there's also the issue of "How the hell did Ryuji even fall for someone like Taiga in the first place?", and I must agree that she's an insufferable, abusive little sh*t for the better half of the show at first (she grows to an extent in the last several episodes and we saw some tender moments with her), but I look at it like a Shinji / Asuka thing almost... kindred spirits despite clashing personalities, and with Taiga (like Asuka with Shinji and Misato) having basically lived in a way with Ryuji for so long... him cooking her meals and caring for her... she kind of became like his little wife anyhow and that probably had a big psychological influence on him. She saw that she was still a hurt little girl emotionally and wanted to nurture her since he's that nurturing type, anyway. Sorry for the semi-long post, I just see the ending let people down again and again, and believe me, I had my own issues with it (couldn't help but be disappointed by Minorin getting rejected, after Ryuji wanting her for so long), but it makes more sense than one might realize. 7/10 anime for me. Thoughts? Thank you for your take on the anime and ending. Please be patient and read my perspective of this anime. I watched this show multiple times now and I have only grown to love it more and more. Remember, the anime started off with Taiga & Ryuji liking other people, and the only reason they talked to each other was to help the other win their crush’s heart, since they each were the friends of their crushes. At the beginning, they were not friends or close, they were complete strangers, they annoyed each other a lot, and they only spent time together to plan how they would gain the love their crushes, so their early relationship makes sense and explains why their two very different characters clashed all the time, even while working together on their plan. Over the course of the show though, they spend more time together, they experience different situations together, they open up to each other about their thoughts and feelings, they start changing, they become closer, they start trusting each other, they act more comfortable around each other, they start developing feelings for one another, which slips out at times [ Taiga saving Ryuji in the pool and yelling “Ryuji is mine!” / Ryuji leaving the school party dressing up as the Christmas bear to be with Taiga ], all while they were still planning on helping each other win the hearts of their crushes. Everyone else around them, specifically their friend group, can see what is going on and how they are acting around each other. Taiga & Ryuji don’t even realize it themselves. It is not until Ryuji saves Taiga on the snow mountain and he hears Taiga say in her unconscious state “I can’t stop loving Ryuji”, that he finally realizes it, but he decides to hide it because he thinks she still wants to be with her crush. But it finally comes to the place where their friends can’t ignore this any longer, and it is only when they are both cornered and the truth is finally said out loud, by their friends who realize that they love each other, that both Taiga & Ryuji realize it is the truth and that they need to address it. Where as Ryuji finally accepts the truth that he loves Taiga and wants to be with her, Taiga herself can’t face the truth of her feelings at that time though, running away because she thinks her friend Minori should be with Ryuji instead of her, thinking that is better for them, plus Taiga still thinks she can remain alone so that they can be happy together, but Minori explains that she is going to make her own decisions and that Taiga shouldn’t force herself to do this when she has finally found what she has been looking for all along. Skipping ahead … Ryuji explains that it would be better for him and Taiga to do things the right and proper way, meaning to not just run away and elope, but to pursue having both their families accepting their relationship/marriage and be happy for them. This is where Taiga realizes what she has to do and she builds up the courage to go back to her mom and step family to work on fixing their relationship, even though she knew it meant that her current situation would have to change. Taiga also knew that if she talked to or saw Ryuji and the others first, she would lose her motivation and wouldn’t want to go, so she makes up her mind to leave with talking and writes a letter to Ryuji, who understands what she is doing and why she made that decision, even though he doesn’t like that she didn’t talk to him about it first, but he chooses to trust her decision instead and wait patiently. So at the end, when they see each other again, Ryuji knows that she has been working hard to make what he hoped for come true, having their two families accepting of their relationship, approving of their marriage, and happy for them to be together, which makes him love Taiga even more. Resulting in quite the perfect final scene after the credits, finishing where it all began, in the class room with her in a locker, and Ryuji first joking about her height, then saying “You know what, I love you”, instead of him being mad at her for leaving, and Taiga blushing nervously at hearing this confession, then head butting Ryuji and reminding him that they were supposed to say it together. |
ejleonMay 19, 2023 5:31 PM
Note: I don’t lazily watch 3-5 episodes, biasedly compare to other anime, or unfairly judge by surface level similarities. With every anime I start, I watch the entire series and judge each based on what they present, to give an honest and fair rating.  |
| I don't get what the disappointment was... For me honestly I wanted 1 extra episode of wholesomeness rather than their meeting on graduation day. |
| First of all, I think you shouldn't compare Ryuji/Taiga with Shinji/Asuka. Ryuji and Taiga are just average teens who happens to spend a lot of their time together and naturally fall in love because, by trying to help each other without trying to impress, they show their true colors and end up having the most genuine relationships in the cast. Shinji and Asuka, on the other hand, are just clinically depressed teens who share an unhealty type of relationship. They don't care about each other, they just do it while there's no one else around because they fear loneliness. One is a normal relationship, the other is a toxic one. Anyway I agree with the rest of your post. I honestly am one of the few people who thinks the end of Toradora is ok. Sure, I would have loved to see at least 1 or 2 episodes of them as a couple, but it is what it is, and the first time I watched the show I enjoyed the ending too. It's also true that the latest episodes were a bit rushed, but after 20 episodes they had to wrap it up for timing and budget issues. |
| Location: Turin, Italy |
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