Toradora 16 -rewatch-
One of my favourite climaxes in all of anime, despite the relatively lackluster arc to get here.
Taiga and Ryuuji's ridiculous reaction plan to try and stir Kitamura into action launches with Yuri-sensei's blessings, but nearly a week passes with no response. Then Ryuuji gets a call laying out perhaps why Kitamura is acting this way - lashing out because the President is moving abroad. He runs off to knock some sense into Kitamura only to find that Kitamura Snr has already done it for him.
Ryuuji explicitly calls out Kitamura lashing out at everything back to Ryuuji and Taiga beating up the lampost as a representation of their loss of control over the world. As Taiga comes to search for Ryuuji, Kitamura withdraws into the darkness.
Brief hope spot as Kitamura turns up to contest the elections, but Yuri-sensei says he hasn't turned in his form yet with half an hour to go. Ryuuji rushes to confront him, but Kitamura says he's given up instead - he still doesn't want to face the pain.
He briefly recounts that the Pres picked him up after Taiga rejected him in first year, and made his life a blast. But again...
The President hits him in the back with the application form to instill him with confidence, and he runs to turn it in. Conflict resolved. Right?
Nope. Kitamura decides to go 200% all in by confessing in front of the entire school.
To no avail.
She leaves him standing, grieving, on the stage. Ryuuji tries to drag an answer out of the Pres, but she gives another non-answer and walks away. Ryuuji tries to follow, but Taiga finds him and entrusts Kitamura back into his care.
She's the red bright colours in the dark cools and blues that dominate the rest of the scene here.
Taiga's inner monologue reveals her thankfulness to Kitamura, her re-evaluation of his actions after the cultural festival, and the decision she's made - to show her support the best way she knows how.
So we come to perhaps Toradora's most sakuga scene. It's so incredibly vicious, especially for the show's first (and only) actual combat scene. It needs to be. It needs to be a powerful encapsulation and expression of Taiga's feelings, powerful enough to provoke the always-cool-headed President into action.
The president confesses that she rejected Kitamura for his own good, despite her own feelings. Her facade of control finally breaks, both characters a shaky, ugly, snot-filled mess. The piano music is so good during this scene, by the way, as Kitamura runs in and ratchets up the emotions by another level...
The next scene is in an incredibly harsh red with heavy shadows, probably to emphasise the fallout and the pain of the last scene.
Ami takes the handbook without looking underneath.
Kamo leaves and Taiga has to write an apology letter which shows up in the post-credits, which Kamo accepts, laughing.
---
One of the arc's major weaknesses is that one of the main actors in it, Kamo/Pres, is basically a non-character up to this point and indeed remains frustratingly enigmatic throughout the arc. That the climax still works even when by rights a viewer shouldn't have too much investment in the character is a testament to the power of the scene itself, the combination of the sudden jump in impact and melodrama. The power of the direction of the scene, of thethe music, sound effects and visuals and voice acting all working together, elevates what could easily be considered petty and makes it seem the world to the characters and, by extension, to the viewers.
The climax is all about Kamo's mask cracking. Taiga's hits are brutal but it's her words that land the most impact; they could be about basically every character in the series, but it's Minori who takes the blows really. Despite her non-contribution to the mechanics of the scene, you can see she fears the raw emotion of the scene, the pain and realness that you expose when you have to confront your issues directly. Who was the adult in this situation, Kamo by doing 'what was best', and where did it lead her?
Next time on Toradora: Christmas!
One of my favourite climaxes in all of anime, despite the relatively lackluster arc to get here.
Taiga and Ryuuji's ridiculous reaction plan to try and stir Kitamura into action launches with Yuri-sensei's blessings, but nearly a week passes with no response. Then Ryuuji gets a call laying out perhaps why Kitamura is acting this way - lashing out because the President is moving abroad. He runs off to knock some sense into Kitamura only to find that Kitamura Snr has already done it for him.
The first time Kitamura is completely open with anyone.
Ryuuji explicitly calls out Kitamura lashing out at everything back to Ryuuji and Taiga beating up the lampost as a representation of their loss of control over the world. As Taiga comes to search for Ryuuji, Kitamura withdraws into the darkness.
Well, Ryuuji does the same thing towards Taiga in like twenty seconds to avoid confirming anything about the StuCoPres and Kitamura, but it's interesting nonetheless.
Brief hope spot as Kitamura turns up to contest the elections, but Yuri-sensei says he hasn't turned in his form yet with half an hour to go. Ryuuji rushes to confront him, but Kitamura says he's given up instead - he still doesn't want to face the pain.
Can't even meet Ryuuji's eyes
He briefly recounts that the Pres picked him up after Taiga rejected him in first year, and made his life a blast. But again...
I mean you probably couldn't make a more obvious metaphor here
The President hits him in the back with the application form to instill him with confidence, and he runs to turn it in. Conflict resolved. Right?
Nope. Kitamura decides to go 200% all in by confessing in front of the entire school.
Pretty genuine shock, I think.
To no avail.
At this stage she gives no real hint of what she's thinking, but reflection shows she's trying not to hurt him and utterly failing.
She leaves him standing, grieving, on the stage. Ryuuji tries to drag an answer out of the Pres, but she gives another non-answer and walks away. Ryuuji tries to follow, but Taiga finds him and entrusts Kitamura back into his care.
In the same way that Minori passed Taiga to Ryuuji in the last arc, actually.
She's the red bright colours in the dark cools and blues that dominate the rest of the scene here.
A voyeuristic scene, showing Taiga's sacrifice here for the betterment of her friends. She turns to watch him go, though her thoughts are on Kitamura. Framed by darkness, casting shadows.
Taiga's inner monologue reveals her thankfulness to Kitamura, her re-evaluation of his actions after the cultural festival, and the decision she's made - to show her support the best way she knows how.
This shit about to get real
So we come to perhaps Toradora's most sakuga scene. It's so incredibly vicious, especially for the show's first (and only) actual combat scene. It needs to be. It needs to be a powerful encapsulation and expression of Taiga's feelings, powerful enough to provoke the always-cool-headed President into action.
Could there be anything more adolescent and true?
The president confesses that she rejected Kitamura for his own good, despite her own feelings. Her facade of control finally breaks, both characters a shaky, ugly, snot-filled mess. The piano music is so good during this scene, by the way, as Kitamura runs in and ratchets up the emotions by another level...
The next scene is in an incredibly harsh red with heavy shadows, probably to emphasise the fallout and the pain of the last scene.
They find Taiga's picture of her and Kitamura, but before they can look at the other picture...
Ami takes the handbook without looking underneath.
Ami's friends in the foreground lose focus, but Ami retains it for the impact of the next line...
Ami's precise meaning will be explored another time... but it's clear she's mad at someone about it. Minori? Herself?
Kamo leaves and Taiga has to write an apology letter which shows up in the post-credits, which Kamo accepts, laughing.
That about sums it up.
---
One of the arc's major weaknesses is that one of the main actors in it, Kamo/Pres, is basically a non-character up to this point and indeed remains frustratingly enigmatic throughout the arc. That the climax still works even when by rights a viewer shouldn't have too much investment in the character is a testament to the power of the scene itself, the combination of the sudden jump in impact and melodrama. The power of the direction of the scene, of thethe music, sound effects and visuals and voice acting all working together, elevates what could easily be considered petty and makes it seem the world to the characters and, by extension, to the viewers.
The climax is all about Kamo's mask cracking. Taiga's hits are brutal but it's her words that land the most impact; they could be about basically every character in the series, but it's Minori who takes the blows really. Despite her non-contribution to the mechanics of the scene, you can see she fears the raw emotion of the scene, the pain and realness that you expose when you have to confront your issues directly. Who was the adult in this situation, Kamo by doing 'what was best', and where did it lead her?
Next time on Toradora: Christmas!
