As I remembered this show being incredible, and as it’s on my list of things to buy at Otakon, I figured I’d give Toradora! another watch to fill in what holes exist in my memory. And because things like random rewatches basically mean free blog content, I decided to take some notes as I watched.

Said notes ended up longer than expected, so I’ll have to split them into three parts. I invite you to take advantage of the lag time between posts to rewatch Toradora! yourself!

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So maybe I exaggerated; I do have a few comments to make about the end of Toradora! I mean, it felt strange not doing so anyway; it seems obligatory (as Cuchlann observes as well).

Eons ago, I wrote the following:

…if [Taiga and Ryuuji] decide to try romance, will they listen to Ami for once and realize that, once they’ve started, there is no going back?

And, what do you know, they even touched upon that.

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And I didn’t really care, as I was amused at seeing her feathers ruffled for once. But then I remembered that ghosts are an extended metaphor for love in Toradora! — alright, to be fair, I didn’t remember so much as Minorin reminded me seconds later, but still.

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I ended up in a discussion the other day with my brother (this one) about Toradora!, involving in particular its most recent episode and those to come. We agree that Ami was our favorite character in 21 — for my part, because she says all the things I’d say if I suddenly found myself transported into Toradora! (I believe in bitchery for great justice; it’s a real sacrifice) — and that the big reveal at the end felt too contrived. We’re also worried that the show will absolutely butcher its handling of its One True Pairing. I have faith in Toradora!, but doubt lingers; the creators have set up for themselves a tricky situation which, while easy to botch in my estimation, will hit me hard if it succeeds, and in a very good way.

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