I think, for as amazing as the episode is, my real problem with the ending (aside from not being the far superior and less heartwrenching LN ending) is that there's little to no sense of true "closure". I mean, you can't deny that Ryuji and Taiga are still together at the end, obviously. But I wish they had just given us a scene, or even just a static end card, with them holding hands and running out to greet the rest of their friends. In fact I've seen a picture like that before, so well done that you'd swear it was from the anime. I'd post it but I can't find it again.
Also, what happened in that year plus (oh god it hurts just saying it) that Ryuji and Taiga were separated? Specifically, did they even keep in touch with each other? I find it hard to believe that they didn't talk on the phone or text or visit one another in that time period. But yet...Ryuji's reaction to seeing Taiga at graduation would suggest that it was the first time they'd seen one another since she left. Especially since Ryuji still hadn't told her that he loved her. So they went over a year with no interaction whatsoever? That's...god that's harsh. ;_;
This is why I prefer the LN ending so much. Taiga is only gone for three months, then comes back along with her mother and the rest of the family to live next to Ryuji again, and they finish their last year of school together. One could argue that this ending is a bit anticlimactic and lacks the emotional punch that the anime ending has, and you'd probably be right, to a degree. But I still wish they'd gone with it. I mean...don't get me wrong, the anime ending is fantastic too, but...I don't know. Maybe the anime ending IS better. Maybe I haven't been able to think objectively about it until now since I'd almost been putting myself in Ryuji's shoes and imagining how it'd feel to be separated from the one you love for such a long time instead of thinking objectively about which ending works better in terms of quality. Who knows...
This is why I love Toradora though. No other anime has ever gotten me more invested in its characters and world than Toradora. I couldn't write this much about any other anime I've ever seen, even the one show I like more than Toradora (Nichijou). It's just wonderful, and even after watching it a second time, I'll still miss Ryuji, Taiga, Minori, Ami, Kitamura, and hell, even the minor characters like Haruta and Noto.
But hey, the PSP game is at 91% translated last time I checked, so I'll be able to go back to (a slightly different version of) that world soon enough.
