Summary:

Yasuko rushes to her parents’ house under the impression that Ryuuji was involved in an accident that put his life in danger, but she finds him perfectly healthy and waiting for her. Realizing that she’s been tricked into coming, Yasuko starts to cry when her mother comments on how well she raised Ryuuji. She gets lectured by her father afterward, and as they watch secretly, Ryuuji and Taiga notice how Yasuko is like a little girl, but she seems happy to be back with her family. That night, Ryuuji talks to his mother about how he heard that she never married his father, and so she tells him about his father running away with some other woman while she was still pregnant with him. Everyone told her to get an abortion, but she wanted to keep him. Yasuko feels bad about how she wasn’t able to hold onto Ryuuji after all and ruined a lot of things, but Ryuuji reminds her of how her own mother had complimented her on raising him to be so big. This leads to Yasuko revealing that she noticed how big his back was when he was running away from her, and she had been scared because he hadn’t seemed like the Ryuuji that she knew. In light of this, Ryuuji tells his mother that running away won’t lead to anything, and he’s decided to grow up into an adult in front of her where she can see him. This causes Yasuko to cry even more.

Later that night, as Ryuuji and Taiga – who are going to be sleeping in the same room – look out the window at the star-filled night sky, Taiga admits that she had been worried about eloping and marriage. Ryuuji feels that they only have to start from here, and he thinks that it’d be best if everyone could give their blessing, including Taiga’s family. Taiga knows that this will probably take time, but Ryuuji doesn’t mind if it means that everyone will be happy instead of just them two. For the time being though, Taiga uses the bedsheets as a veil, and after Ryuuji has trouble figuring out what to say, Taiga reminds him of how he had once said that they were the tiger and dragon that have stood together for a long time, so they’ll be beside each other even if they don’t have vows. When Ryuuji then gets closer to her, Taiga comments on how a kiss would be painful, so he gives her a quick kiss. She complains, but she also notes that it was very hot, and since she’s cold, she asks him to do it again. Taiga barely is able to get this out before Ryuuji kisses her again, and since she keeps whispering him for more kisses, he keeps kissing her.

Yasuko, Ryuuji, and Taiga head home the next day, and Taiga decides to go over to her own apartment first. She expects her mother to be there, but there’s actually no one around. Checking her voice mail, Taiga finds numerous messages from her mother that get increasingly exasperated until finally her mother angrily declares that she’s going home and that Taiga can do what she wants. Laughing at how childish her mother was, Taiga ultimately decides to write a letter to Ryuuji and leaves her apartment after taking a picture of the night sky. In the letter, she talks about how she had once felt that she wouldn’t be loved by anyone and how he had loved her as she was. Because of that, she’s decided not to run away anymore and to change. Ryuuji recounts that Taiga never showed up for dinner that night, and his teacher informs the class sometime later that Taiga has quit their school and gone to her mother’s place. She uses this as an example to tell the class that they’ll encounter various crossroads from now on, and they’ll have to choose a path. Minori catches up with Ryuuji afterward and slaps him since she doesn’t understand what’s going on, so he tells her that he didn’t want Taiga to go himself. He’s frustrated that she decided things on her own, but because she believes in him, he feels that he has to accept all this for now.

Going through Taiga’s apartment later, Ryuuji finds a bag that has a lot of things, including Taiga’s passport and student handbook. Inside the handbook, behind that picture of her and Yuusaku during the festival, is a picture of her with him. Ryuuji’s cell phone then vibrates with a new mail from Taiga, and she reminds him that he technically never said that he loved her. She then sends him another mail with which she attaches a certain image. Taiga sends this image to everyone in their class, and it’s what everyone is talking about the next day because they can’t figure out what it is. Minori knows that it’s a picture of the night sky with a single star, and she thinks that it’s Taiga trying to tell them that she’ll do her best. Minori explains that the star is in the dark sky somewhere, and if that star shines more brightly, then they’ll be able to see it. In that same way, if they can each shine brightly, then no matter how far away they are, they’ll be able to see each other doing their best. The class likes this, and on Ami’s suggestion, they decide to reply to Taiga with a picture of the Christmas tree star. While looking for it, Ami tells Ryuuji that she had been envious of how it seemed like Taiga was able to be herself and still be loved. She knows that this wasn’t really the case and that Taiga had actually not wanted to show her true face, and she realizes that she was the same way. Ami admits that she hated the part of herself that pretended to be an adult, but when she saw Taiga, she realized that if there is even one person who understands you, then things will be okay, even if it’s not love.

Ultimately, it’s Minori who finds the crystal star, and everyone in the class gets in on a photo around Ryuuji holding it. As the seasons pass without Taiga, Ryuuji thinks about how he’s the dragon and she’s the tiger that stand together. Even if she’s not there now, Ryuuji is firm in his feelings that he’ll be beside her no matter the distance or time. It soon becomes graduation time, and everyone is ready to move on, including Yuusaku who is set to go to America to study. On the day of the ceremony, Ryuuji notices someone who resembles Taiga by the window of their old classroom, so he runs all the way up. Both he and Taiga know that there’s something in this world that no one has seen, something that’s gentle and sweet. Everyone would want it if they could see it, and for that reason, it’s not easily obtainable. However, in time someone will find it, and the person who should obtain it will find it. Ryuuji arrives at the classroom to find no one there, but he knows enough to check the locker in the corner, and indeed, Taiga is inside. Since he hadn’t before, he finally confesses that he loves her, and this gets her flustered enough to knock her head into his chin.

Epilogue

Even though I’m pretty sure it diverged in several key places with what happened at the end of the novels, this was a pretty good ending. They covered everything they needed to, including a very sweet kiss scene and even some stuff about Ryuuji’s father and about Yasuko deciding against an abortion (the second time in as many months that this topic has come up in an anime). They also included the handbook photo from the post-festival arc that I had long since forgotten about, and while it was obvious that the photo was of Ryuuji, it was good to finally get confirmation of that.

All of that made for what I thought was a very satisfying finale with a decent amount of closure for the characters. I liked that they stuck with the themes of not running away and having to choose your own path for framing Taiga and Ryuuji’s relationship. And since they had put in the kiss earlier in the episode, having Ryuuji finally confess at the end was a nice touch, as was the little speech that Taiga and Ryuuji had together. The one character that I thought got shortchanged in the ending was Ami because it seemed like they glossed over her problems in favor of just making it seem like she’d do alright with things as is. In the end though, I didn’t mind too much because it’s been clear for a while now that they weren’t planning on focusing on her much more.

Final Thoughts:
Thinking about it now, Toradora ended exactly how I expected it to end from the get-go, yet it turned out to be a really good and very entertaining series because of the journey to get there. In fact, what I said several times in talking about episodes past is that I was impressed that the characters and relationships here actually moved forward and evolved. That doesn’t sound like such a novel concept, but given how many romance/drama/comedy series don’t advance much at all, Toradora was quite refreshing to watch. It was much more mature than I was originally expecting, and I enjoyed how they worked several themes, particularly Minori’s idea of seeing and not seeing, into the very fabric of this series, including this ending. A lot of the credit for all that goes to author Takemiya Yuyuko, but J.C.Staff did a nice job with the overall production quality as well, and I would probably recommend this series to anyone.

181 Comments

  1. Oh my God! NOT-OVER-DRAMATISED KISS IN AN ANIME? (In fact, not-over-dramatised kiss in any form on entertaining media?).

    What were they thinking? They actually realized how to make a good, realistic ending. 😀 I though that was something impossible for no-life, no-relationship, no-IQ people like animu directors. 😀

    Kudos for this. 110/10.

  2. “Wait… I thought they were in 2nd year? So Taiga was gone for a whole year? Did it mention where she went?”

    Stayed with her Mom.

    The anime ending is pretty much how the last novel ends If I remember spoilers correctly, JC staff did work with the author so I assume they knew how it ended, generally speaking.

    Man0warr
  3. There’s the existing spinoff novel and the author has ruminated on the idea of other spinoffs. The novels provided a lot more meat to work with on the surrounding characters as well.

    Yay for series that actually have a beginning and an ending though. The trend toward no-ending/no-change in recent years has been grating.

    vexx
  4. expected ending,feel sad because of that I used to like the TsunderexMain ending but after Toradora it just isn’t that appealing anymore, at least in this kind of anime(Still gonna watch HnG though).

    the show would be a 10/10 if it hadn’t such a predictable ending, you know like instead of taiga Ami or heck even Minorin now that would be unexpected, oh well show ended good watch but nothing more, on to HnG and Biri Biri

    reaper_unique
  5. Am I the only one that thought that the ending sounds lame? “We are running away to elope….. Nevermind!” And on top of that, Taiga moves away with her mother? Her mother never seemed to care for her before but that sure changed once she got a boyfriend.

    draksig
  6. Ryuuji is thinking at the end of the novel he wants to spend rest of his life together/marry Taiga but he doesn’t say it, so they prob do end up getting married just not in the scope of the novels :p

    Man0warr
  7. Well it was clear to me from the beginning, that those two would end up together. The HOW though was pretty well done. An, especialy in the later parts, more serious love story and definitely one of the better romance shows I’ve watched recently.

    Thanks for blogging this and until next time~

    P.S.: After the success of the series I’m pretty sure there’ll be at least some extra episode/s on DVD or even an OVA or movie.

  8. “Then, 2 months later, the first day of his 3rd-year at school, he bumps into Taiga. Turns out that Taiga’s able to stay in town on the condition that she looks after her baby brother (but this is for 1 year only). Some more awwwwwww moments and Taiga and Ryuuji walk to school, holding each other’s hands while they’re both dreaming up a happy future where they’re living together.”

    Man0warr
  9. i was always wondering one thing while watching the few eps that i saw,…..what is ryuji’s moms OCCUPATION????? some sort of Hooker??? long live incest in anime!!!! DOwn with originality!!!

    BROOKLYN otaku
  10. His mom works at a hostess club.

    the end was graduation, their graduation or are they just now moving into 3rd year.

    I may like this better when the subs come out, but I just think it is an anticlimactic ending. the climax was in episode 24 when they ran away together.

    draksig
  11. wooow this Minorin sure need to take anger management class, glad Takasu didn’t take her or he’ll be killed in no time… nice end btw, definitely one of my fav series for this season~

    shion
  12. Ah, everyone knew this end was coming. They managed to stay similar to how the novel ended at least without the novel actually being finished at the time. I like how even the author doesn’t say anything about their future after highschool leaving it kind of open. Maybe he’s aware of the fact that most highschool relationships don’t survive.

    EliteF22
  13. Toradora, tiger dragon, yeah, I don’t really get how some expected the main couple to be any other than the tiger with the dragon.

    But, since episode twenty-something I became more interested in MayaNoto. Is there something more in the novels about them? I’d love to see him trying to get on good terms with her.~

    Ritsuka
  14. Taiga leaving at the end to create more drama to tie up was a bit evil on the part of the author, but it ends well anyway. And now we bid farewell to an anime with an actual story, instead of something stuck in neutral for 52 episodes to placate the harem fantasies of a bunch of pillow rapists. It’s bittersweet, knowing that the next meal on the plate will probably cater more to those that think the story would have been improved by Ryuuji running away with a previously unknown janitor at the end, just so it wouldn’t be “predictable.”

    mb
  15. Wwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!
    The first half of the episode was awesome for me, but why Taiga disappear for the second half??? And only appear in the 20 final seconds.
    An OVA would be great for explain what happen with Taiga in the time that she stay with her mom.

    Ginko
  16. *SOB* *SOB* T_T It’s over =(
    At least they still <3 each other =)
    Great ending =)
    Now I’ve got a problem on my hands I don’t know any other good anime’s that can top this one =(

    I’m going to watch all the EPs again and this will be the last time I will ever watch it =(

    Drizz
  17. Well that was as anticlimactic as you can get. After all the build up in the series we get this. Its rather disappointing if you ask me. I’d rather they follow the novel ending instead of this. Aw well its done and over with. Now on to something else, i just hope they don’t make another season…but then again why would they?

    BTW – -Minori needs a hug

    Azar
  18. The last scene with Inko-chan made all 25 episodes worth it.

    In all seriousness, good ending. I thought it was pretty well done and surpassed my expectations (though those were pretty low…). I especially like how they brought back most of the opening Taiga/Ryuuji monologues from episode 1.

    Bulletcatcher
  19. How about this:
    (They had some ‘quality time’ after the futon scene.)
    Taiga left the school for a year…
    During Ryuuji’s graduation, she is back (with a baby).
    (She instructs the baby to call him “papa”!!! Arhhh)

    () -> The brackets are the additional scenes.
    How is this for an ending?

    tylon
  20. It is realistic. One of the better endings that don’t leave me pulling my hair out. It had closure. And the graduation scene means that Taiga had been away for a year trying to grow up and getting along with her mother since her father will never change.

    As for the kiss scene, I believe that since it is their first time kissing it would be awkward. I know mine ws since I was born knowing how to suck lips. So I thought it is cute and real

    overall, I give this 200/100 for being real and addressing how teens deal with their emotions and changing their minds. Those of you who want a wedding at the ending, it is implied that ryuuji and taiga will hitch but they also know they are too young so that was why there was a separation part and reunion part at the end, it shows that they really love each enough to trust each other to reunite. Wow, I love this series.

    Shippers keep wailing in your despair, I like reading your echo-less whines.

    paj
  21. Please! Give me another show that can replace my loved Toradora… I don’t know why shippers expected any other couple than Taiga and Ryuuji (Or Toradora!) C’mon, everybody knew how it was going to end. Sure I loved the way they took their time though. I want some spin offs!

    Rick Masters
  22. Man i cant wait till its subbed than ill hopfully be at rest when it comes to this show. Omg it was sooooo…… good that it would have definatly been accepted to have been longer. oh and does anyone know if there is any good anime shows coming out during summer (america time) becasue it gets kinda boring up here in gigharbor washington.

    Screaming out!

    ScremingEvils
  23. Hmm: From the About This Site page:
    “If there’s a post with a つづく at the end, that means I haven’t finished writing it yet. Usually I put up the screencaps well in advance of the summary and impressions. Unless I note otherwise, the full write-up will be done within a few hours after I first post screenshots.”

  24. Zer0zUNLTD: If you can’t read the novel, why should you care? (no offense meant) And if you can, just reread the last chapters.

    That said, I don’t know, since I don’t read the novels. But the anime itself was great from the getgo!

    SpacyRicochet
  25. An enjoyable anime about the beautiful and adorable Yasuko-chan. I also liked the supporting characters.

    Oh, Ya-chan! *sigh*

    But seriously, I thought Taiga just running off at the end was really odd. It seemed pointlessly hurtful to Ryuji. The ending didn’t live up to the series as a whole, IMO, but it was okay.

    I’ll definitely be joining many posting here in missing this series. Thanks to guys with the coal. Ahem.

    Max
  26. Yasuko’s scene was so sad!!! Well, not in the bad way, but the very good kind of sad! Seeing her break down after trying her best for all these years… that really tugs on ya heartstrings. And yep, she did raise Ryuji up, and a fine job at it too.

    While ToraDora didn’t have the super climatic ending that I thought it might have, it was still very pleasant. I just wish the novels were translated and published, so I can read them on my 2×1-hour ride to/from work every morning and evening.

    Now that I’ve got home, watched this episode, and commented on this blog, I’ve just blown my dinner time. Hope April will bring some good quality animes with it, now that Toradora has ended.

    Nalface
  27. Although it has been given earlier that the anime would focus more on relationships/romance, I can’t help myself but to think that the few last episodes of this anime gave a feeling of something like a “Family” theme, which is similar to Clannad.

    Still, Toradora! was a wonderful story, both novel and anime adaptation.

    Kabayongtao
  28. @Nalface

    I believe that Baka-tsuki, a group of translators, is currently translating Toradora! novel in english. Although they haven’t completely finished translating the whole novel, you can manage to read their work up to Volume 7.

    You can try searching the group in google.

    Kabayongtao
  29. Well I’m not really into highschool romantic/drama/comedies, unless they are filled with jokes and they are comedies most of the time, you know I simply find all those high school problems rather hilarious, like all teenagers do is think about their love interests and that their world would fall apart without them… Still I found toradora to be quite entertaining.

    What puts me off a bit, but only a bit, is the ending. I won’t be original here and say I’d be waaaaay happier with the novel ending. I mean making your daughter transfer in her senior year is just stupid, and I found it forced just to induce some more drama (i cringed during the scene when everyone in the classroom raged after hearing that Taiga trasfered and started text messaging her).

    Zenzen
  30. Frankly I thought the ending was bull-sh*t! Why did Taiga leave Ryuuji for her folks?
    You’d think that she would stay with her new boyfriend/fiance, wouldn’t you? Maybe if I watch it again I’ll change my mind but Taiga’s actions piss me off!

    Whiner
  31. @Whiner

    From what I have watched, I believe that Ryuuji had proposed to get everyone’s blessing including Taiga’s parents.

    With that, Taiga left them and in her mind, she thinks that she was running from lots of things for a long time, hence she needs to change in order to move forward.

    Kabayongtao
  32. Pretty good show. The romance betweeen taiga and ryuuji was probably the best way to go along with the story. If I was giving this show a award it would be silver because Clannad was a way better romance show and was more deep and emotional on every level. But I would reconnend this show to any one who likes the romance comedy genre. And I think they could of came up with a better ending also.

    deeewekoms
  33. Man, I thought the ending was slightly weak for the buildup in truth. I never read any novels or manga on the series, but the idea that the only people who really got any real sort of resolution on their storylines introduced were Taiga and Ryuji at the very last 10 seconds of the anime after the credits wasn’t all that cool to me.

    GodBeastX
  34. This ending confirmed what i was thinking all this while. Ruyi has a lolicon complex. How els can anyone explain why he did not chose for Ami/chan or heck even Minori would have been bether. Both of them have a body 2 die for. But no our boy Ruyi prefers his girls flat like can ironing board and chose for Taiga (Who by the way kicks his ass every episode at least ones).

    But that being said: I loved this show and even if the ending wasn’t what i was hoping for (I already mentally prepard myself from the beginning that he proberly would end with Taiga).

    And for the people hoping for a sequel. I don’t think it will hapen. I mean nobody want’s to see Ruyi at the hospital getting treatend for all the physical abuse Taiga wil give him in their maried life.

    oOSerginhOo
  35. I say that now that they ended high school, they were able to do things right, and they’ll find the way to stay together at the very end. As for the series, again, i think that what they wanted to show, is that Taiga and Ryuuji were able to end things in the right way, unlike their parents (y’know, the “share your happiness with everyone” thing, well they did it)

    Xanathos
  36. A good ending suprise I was on the fence with ami and minori for a bit. I am glad there was end for the love triangle Now I am down to gundam 00 hope it ends good. BSG ended well also(typing here avoiding all those fans).

    animejohndoe
  37. @Zer0zUNLTD:
    In the novel:Show Spoiler ▼

    Zenzen
  38. An excellent conclusion. I’m glad that they ended up taking a more mature path after all – and that they ended up together in spite of/because of it. A very wise, solid ending.

    DMetroneis
  39. Yeah, with all these comments of negativity, I was thinking I’d be let down. Good thing i wasn’t. I hate the feeling of an anime ending because it leaves this void feeling in my chest! The anime was good and I loved it! The other people who whined can do what they please.

    filphil
  40. I hope for an anime sequel that follows Minori as she follows her base/softball dreams and meets her future lesbian lover.

    Also, can Minori remain close friends with Taiga and Ryuuji when everyoen knows that Ryuuji and Minori had feelings for each other. If he is ever going to cheat on Taiga, It would be with Minori. And before you say she woudl never sleep with her best friends husband/ boyfriend, I know several women who did just that.

    draksig
  41. Yeesh,

    That really felt quite hollow and lifeless compared to the rest of the series, well particularly the front half before it got all crazy emo. Just dont feel the romantic connection between ryu and taiga, makes me shudder to think of it.

    ah well.. can’t win em all

    Maz
  42. @ draksig

    Minorin is not one of those type of people. Both Ryuuji and Minorin are people who are loyal to those around them and the chance of things like that happening is really low for those types.

    Funny though, when people’s pairings become a reality, they make fun of the other shippers and when the reverse happens, the results is the same. Oh well, whatever. Overall, nice series then.

    Silver
  43. What I enjoyed more about this series is the character interactions between all of them. Personally, I don’t like Taiga. I also don’t exactly see any romantic interests between Ryuuji and Ami. I see more of Ryuuji and Minorin. However, the interactions between all the characters are wonderful and that’s what I enjoyed most.

    Silver
  44. @Eclipse: absolutely agreed. I hate when an excellent show ends with a great ending, because then it’s over and you can’t even say “Well, pfah, the ending sucked”. It’s just over.

    Chaos
  45. o_o…. wtf is wrong with people… THIS SHOW IS and HAS BEEN amazing from beginning to end… sure sure my Ami X Takasu wish didn’t come true, but honestly ending it this way is just as good…

    although y’know I don’t think the whole ToraDora thing was suppose to mean exactly that these 2 were gonna get together even with that whole concept of the dragon being equal to the tiger … cause that can be interpreted in a different way besides just romance o_o…

    but meh its how you view it… anywho I love this show :3 hope we get to see an “After Story” hahaha o_o (oh shi- Taiga has a small body can she support a child? hell can she even handle Ryuuji’s size…)… (not that part)…

    hahaha… oh shi…

    Putang
  46. It was a great ending i really like the way that Taiga and Ryuuji relationship evolved throught the series it was brillient and sweet and the kiss was such a cute scene , loved the ending and the confession and Taiga looked really cute in those uniformes as well, i kinda wish there was another seson to the seires to see which way each charecter goes but that’s how a good seires should end with a good feeling and a wish for more ^_^

    bobibon
  47. AUGH. It ended !!Toradora always gave me that “Saturday Morning Cartoon” feeling 🙁
    One of the most decent animes out there right now! It takes awhile for these types to come around.
    Even Soul Eaters ending!what the fooly!Sigh looks like ill have to take up that Gundam 00 now *shivers. mecha…

    Ryuuji i will let you go since your committed but your still a loli chaser!
    im still rooting for Minorin she’ll come out of the dark and take out Taiga. 😀

    Also it cant end theres not enough Kitamaru(God)!

    Kuro-rin
  48. I don’t get the ending at all.

    It seems to me that Taiga had her mother surrender to the fact that she and Ryuuji were going to be married or least living together until after High School and then she up and runs off to live with her mother who isn’t even there until the two last episodes, Deux Machina any one?

    Frankly I was disappointed in the whole bit, it was too contrived and formulaic, as if the writers up and quit and a new set were brought in to finish the story.

    If Taiga really Loved Ryuuji why then did she run away from him< why did she go to someone that only shows up at the end of the series, and more importantly why didn’t she follow her heart?

    Her “real” family was as dysfunctional as it get with a father that buys his way through girlfriends and a mother who quite honestly appears to be just as immature and self centered as he is. The family she should have clung to was Ryuuji and Yasuko, who throughout the show were her defacto “father” and mother.

    Running away from the only source of real love in her life was worse than stupid, it was totally wrong for the basic premise of a happy ending with all the loose ends tied together.

    Toradora season II

    Taiga and Ryuuji get married and are expecting a child, when Ryuuji gets seduced by a psychotic Minorin who ties him up at the beach house, Minorin tells Taiga she must get an abortion or Ryuuji will suffer a fate worse than death at the hands of Yuusaku who has discovered he really likes Ryuuji a lot more than any of the girls.

    Inko-chan bursts in song singing the theme song from Macross Frontier as Ryuuji’s Dad appears off the coast with a fleet of Mecha to save the day as Taiga prematurely goes into labor.

    Season II ends with the crying of a newborn as Ryuuji kneels by Taiga….

    Masiro
  49. @Masiro
    Well try seeing it from the message that episode 24 was sending. Their relationship was being unnaturally warped because of the complexes they have to their parents and it was necessary for each of them to prove that they weren’t in love because they had no one else to turn to.

    Their relationship has been mixed with awful defects and emotional complexes since episode 1 and they cleared the defects in their relationship in each arc. But the last and biggest one was removing the influence of family problems in how they saw each other. Ryuuji resolved his issue with Yasuko, now Taiga had to do the same with her mother so she could stand equal.

    I think the separation was necessary. Could it have been done better? I don’t know.

    Ed
  50. I loved this anime. I honestly think its one of my favorites ever and the ending was splendid. Enjoying a show as much as I did, I didn’t think they could have ended it where I would have been satisfied, but I was.

    The problems present in the anime seemed deeper and more true to life than other animes. The characters all grew and were developed well. Voice acting was good. Animation varied from good to great. I like happy endings so this was a plus for me also. Adorable ending. Even the openings and endings were pretty good. Good story!

    handsomehwang
  51. Well i think this anime was average , it managed to keep me entertained. But it wasn’t anything special , so far this winter season has been so so. I hope we get better shows on spring.

    Light
  52. @Masiro

    Have you watched and understood the show? Taiga went back to her mom to clear up all their problems. If she just went with Ryuuji and Yasuko it would be just running away from those problems. She decided that in order to be an adult she has to those things by herself. Also, Ryuuji mentioned something that they need the blessing of Taiga’s parents for their marriage.

    Keio
  53. This was a satisfying ending. At first, when it all came to a Ryuuji/Taiga ending, I thought it was skeptical. I really thought there was going to be a twist to it, even though Toradora is literally a huge hint of them being together, they might of gone away with it with a twist in the end.

    Still, the ending was great, and the kissing scene was strong and it did leave me with some emotions of “Yeah, cool. :D”

    Great,great,greeeat.

    10/10 (because the mid-credits of their reunion was awesome)

    Good.Job
  54. one of the best anime series in all times
    I enjoyed ops and endings, specially endings which I usually skip almost always when watching an anime.

    Damn I hate when an anime comes to an end
    i’ll watch it again like 5 times or so
    need to watch x.x

    Greegga
  55. I had just watched the whole season in one sitting. I literally did a marathon on this anime and i can say its one of the best anime i have seen. And still i expect some OVA in the near future. Please JC Staff.. lolz… anyways i recommend this to all anime viewers whos suckers at romance-comedy genre.. Well this anime indeed will leave a big shoe to fill for the upcoming anime in spring.. Yet dispite this i think i will just have to do a rewatch in this series..
    T~T

    [PW]Sync
  56. Absolutely loved the 1st OP. Great show, though I wish they had given the ending 2 eps (Maybe condense the 3 part festival into 2). It seemed like too much time passed for just a single episode. Would have been nice to see Taiga with her Mother, perhaps making up. Would love to see an epilogue for it.

    Camarilla
  57. Sinceramente no se decir si el final fue bueno, o muy bueno. Creo que muchos pensamos desde el principio que esos dos terminarían juntos, aunque he de confesar que varias veces tuve mis dudas. La sensación que me dejo al final fue como un poco de vainilla con un toque de sal. Se agradece mucho este tipo de historias, y ojalá el anime siga teniendo el desarrollo que se merece este arte.

    Huitzi
  58. It was getting a little difficult to watch because everyone just had some secret to hide or another. Love triangles and secrets just kill me. The ending was more of a relief than anything x(

    I do appreciate one of the themes they used–where parents are no different than high school kids, and can’t always face their responsibilities.

  59. LA novela le da como 300 patadas al anime!! La novela es muuuucho mejor!! no digo que el anime sea malo, es uno de mis favoritos pero, la novela es demasiado buena!!

    The anime is good but, the Novel is waaaaayyyy better!!!

    Maverick
  60. The last 2 episodes were kind of rushed and underdeveloped imho. Taiga could have told Ryuuji her plans to move back in with her parents instead of dissing him for a year. Considering how Taiga wanted to be more responsible and not run away from life, she kind of did a rash and irresponsible thing by letting everyone hang out to dry.

    Despite this, Toradora! is pretty good.

    PaperEater
  61. I really don’t see how people can call Minori’s character selfish.

    She has loved Ryuuji throughout the series but knew that her best friend liked him too so she hid her feelings under a happy facade and this all started to break down near the end after a year of keeping it up.

    She then accepted her own feelings and confessed that she has always loved him but still pushed him to Taiga so they could be happy even if it meant that she could not be.

    This is the main reason that I felt sorry for Minori, It just doesn’t seem right that she is left with nothing because she wanted Taiga to be happy and thus she has to be the one who is depressed.

    I like how everyone hates her for being a selfish emo bitch when really I think anyone would start to breakdown if they could see that their only chance of being with the person they love would mean destroying their best friends happiness.

    The part of her character development that really touched me was when you made the final push and forced Ryuuji to leave her and find Taiga by encouraging him with the fist on lips scene and then she shyly placed the fist upon her own lips and blushed.

    To me this was where she made her decision final and cast away her feelings and thoughts in order to make Taiga happy.

    I was hoping for a RyuujiXMinori ending but I knew from the start that wasn’t going to happen, the title is a dead giveaway but I was hoping for some surprise ending.

    The message that life isn’t always a smooth ride though certainly shone through.

    Anon
  62. I was an avid follower of this series but I dropped it halfway coz I already reached the latest episode and I never liked the idea of watching episodes 1 by 1… such a cliff hanger.

    At last I was able to finish it! Good ending, I liked TaigaXRyuuji but I would also prefer a RyuujiXAmi arc… Anyways I read some ARTICLES over the internet that there would be a possible season 2 for Toradora! sounds exciting

    kyon
  63. oh Jesus… it’s quite a long time ago since I saw such a pseudo-realistic
    romance Anime. However it’s hardly appreciable that the ending was that much predictable.
    Even though there are many unanswered questions. IMO the final approaches at least a bit to
    real life – there is no ideal world!(to be honest I wasn’t satisfied with the end either – life is bad enough, so at least an anime should be unrealistic!! 😉 )

    PlayboyJoe
  64. @Basscleft
    Yep, the trolls are still going even now…

    I just finished the series over a period of 2 days, and I have to say that this the closest understable romantic comedy that I’ve seen when comparing it to say other series like Daimaou or Baka to Test.

    Commander C.
  65. looking at the first episode i knew just by looking at tiger that ryuuji would end up with her, like all romance characters with female leads that are small in every female aspect just like Zero no Tsukaima, I almost thought that when they paired up to help each other get the ones they loved that this show would be different but i was wrong, this concluding my take romance comdey’s with school life.

    abdinho
  66. i know this is years late and really childish..but,..GO TO HELL YOU TAIGA! ! I HATE YOU TO THE CORE! MINORIN’S PERSONALITY IS WAY INTERESTING THAN YOURS! EVEN AMI DESERVES BETTER THAN YOU! oh wait, maybe ryujixtaiga is better..XDD AmiMinorin FTW XDD

    keiOnDaisuki
  67. Man am I late! I only just finished this show. Oh well, I loved this anime, it truly was refreshing and a nice break from what I usually watch. I feel SO bad for Minori but in the end Ryuji ending up with Taiga was just as good, for me at least. Besides if Minori ain’t with Ryuji then that means I CAN TAKE HER! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

    Smell The Coffee!

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