ToraDora! #13 — Palmtop Angel

December 24th, 2008

I’m just glad the school festival’s over.

Impressions:

I’m going to be a bit brief because I’m somewhat nauseous from being trapped in a car with my father fishtailing all over the place for about an hour… and then coming home to the delightful scent of baked beans about 3 hours overbaked. This is why my family is best kept on the other side of the country.

Aaaaaaaaaaanyway, absolutely sublime episode, helped mostly there by outstanding use of music. I take issue with some of the writing being a bit clunky and overdramatic at points. Taiga’s father bailing on her came out of pretty much nowhere, and I’m not really sure what the lesson was there. "Don’t trust people?" Ryuuji went off into a personal guilt trip over not being a cynical bastard, so apparently that was what we were supposed to think. The end of the race to crown Taiga also had me smiling and rolling my eyes at the same time. I’m amazed that someone would actually write something that cheesy, but it just goes to show that with proper direction, scoring, and strong characters, the overall writing becomes sort of meaningless compared to the moment.

Overall, a pretty strong way to end the show before the holiday break. I wish they had used a lot less flashback stuff, but much of the rest of it, especially the ending, was strong enough for me to be very happy with how they handled this episode. I am curious as to why all the other competitors in the beauty pagent were dressed up as maids though. The waitress does not count.

ToraDora will be taking a week off for the holidays next week and returning on the 7th. Seeya then.

Preview:

Back to school.

Posted in ToraDora | 8 Comments »

8 Shouts From the Peanut Gallery

  • Totali says:
    December 24, 2008 at 8:53 pm

    because they showed in the last episode that everyone else was doing maid cafes stoopid. omg u r stooopid!111

  • sage says:
    December 24, 2008 at 8:55 pm

    Superb.

  • deezee says:
    December 24, 2008 at 10:31 pm

    Here’s to hoping for possibly a AmiXRyuugi or MidorinXRyuugi ending, but from what I’ve heard its going to be a fc lovefest, heres to hoping!

  • FF says:
    December 24, 2008 at 10:55 pm

    The lesson learned is to open your eyes and not assume anything by appearances. As far as I can tell that’s the main theme of the entire series. Ryuuji is the most obvious personification of this, but the same goes for Ami, Minori and subsequently Taiga and Kitamura.

    Too bad we lost parts of the monologues at the end of vol 5, one of the rare times we get any insight into what Taiga is thinking. Just after the race,

    “I’ll be fine,” she repeated over and over again, with just a hint of pride.
    “You don’t need to worry about me so much. Didn’t you see? I was able to stand up by myself. So…I can live on, even alone.”

    And then a second part just after she accepts Kitamura’s invitation to dance.

    “Even alone, I will be fine.
    But even so, you called out to me, and reached out for me. I’m truly, truly grateful to you.”
    These secret words from her heart were not shown to Kitamura or anyone else. Taiga merely started to dance round and round, her dress swaying gracefully.

    Never underestimate the emotional depths of Taiga, or any of the characters in this series.

  • Aizen says:
    December 24, 2008 at 11:00 pm

    She looks so evil and cute as an Angel :P

    And crap, no Toradora next week ;(

  • Haesslich says:
    December 25, 2008 at 1:23 am

    … that dress doesn’t fit Taiga at ALL, although it worked at the end, towards the point where the dance occurred. However, on the other hand, Ami’s dominatrix dress fit PERFECTLY with her personality and cute/evil appearance. :D

  • Gravekeeper says:
    December 26, 2008 at 9:55 am

    “Taiga’s father bailing on her came out of pretty much nowhere, and I’m not really sure what the lesson was there. “Don’t trust people?” Ryuuji went off into a personal guilt trip over not being a cynical bastard, so apparently that was what we were supposed to think.”

    From what I can see, Ryuuji’s guilt trip was because he realized that Taiga, despite her initial aversion, started spending time with her father just to appease Ryuuji. He hadn’t stopped to think that maybe Taiga’s father hate was because she had been burned before, and he was so blissfully entrapped in his “Taiga is with her father, now all’s right in her world” mentality that he didn’t see how her father was just trying to buy her love back, and that Taiga was merely going through the motions, again, just to feed Ryuuji’s misplaced bliss.

    Also, I approve of lesbian Minorin, and I agree that well-made cheese tastes great.

  • anitations - notes on Toradora 13 says:
    December 27, 2008 at 4:11 pm

    […] Aroduc: [A]bsolutely sublime episode, helped mostly there by outstanding use of music. I take issue with some of the writing being a bit clunky and overdramatic at points. …[Despite CHEESE, it] just goes to show that with proper direction, scoring, and strong characters, the overall writing becomes sort of meaningless compared to the moment. […]