Summary:

In the aftermath of the culture festival, a rumor has been spreading through the school that touching Taiga brings happiness, and that causes everyone to want to touch her. At the same time, another rumor starts about Yuusaku stealing Taiga from Ryuuji because of their dance together on the night of the festival. This actually makes Taiga happy, but she still gets flustered while talking with Yuusaku. She almost chokes during lunch as a result, and she makes Ryuuji go buy her some juice. Ryuuji finds Ami on the phone by the vending machines, but she soon ends the call and won’t tell him who she was talking to. Not happy with how he’s not that interested and how he’s buying a drink for Taiga, Ami intentionally presses the wrong button on the machine before Ryuuji can make the selection Taiga wanted. After lunch, Taiga and Ryuuji head to the hallway where the photos from the festival have been put up for viewing so that students can order copies. Taiga’s choices includes the one of her and Yuusaku dancing whereas Ryuuji’s choices includes the one of him and Minori crossing the finish line together. When Minori realizes this, she blushes a little and considers buying the same photo. She continues thinking about this into the afternoon, but Ami recounts her own experiences with having her photo taken as a model and makes Minori realize that it’s only a photo.

After class, Ryuuji and Taiga end up going home separately because Taiga gets sidetracked angrily chasing a boy who was after the rumored happiness. Ryuuji heads to the supermarket first to buy some groceries and runs into Ami there. The two talk about touching Taiga for happiness, and Ryuuji wonders how Taiga herself would become happy if the rumor was true, but Ami feels that Taiga is happy enough. Outside the store, Ryuuji hands Ami some extra pork that he bought and suggests that she eat it because she didn’t look so good today. He knows that she’s been eating only sweets and calls her a child, contrasting everyone else who sees her as an adult. Meanwhile, on her way home, Taiga notices Yuusaku sitting by the river alone. He’s not his usual self and even reaches out to touch her because of the rumor. Taiga guesses that the student council president bullied him, but Yuusaku denies it even though Sumire had indeed talked to him about something serious earlier. Not thinking it through, Taiga blurts out an offer to let Yuusaku touch her, however Yuusaku claims that he’s fine and thanks her. At home, Taiga finds Ryuuji cooking a big dinner, and he inadvertently mentions not wanting to lose to the restaurants she went to with her father, but Taiga doesn’t care. Dinner is with Ryuuji’s mother, and when she hears about the rumor about Taiga, she strokes Taiga’s head and claims immediately after that she’s happy. She explains that she’s happiest when doing this and eating a delicious meal with family, and Taiga is surprised to hear Yasuko call her part of the family.

Over at Ami’s apartment, she finishes a conversation over the phone with her mother in which she decides to stay put for a while longer. At the same time though, she wonders what she wishes for, just like Minori and Yuusaku are thinking about how they can’t see the shape of their own wishes very well.

Preview

After the three-part festival arc, this felt like a transition episode that ends with a bit of uncertainty as the main characters question what they want. The whole touching-Taiga-brings-happiness thing was amusing (especially when she blurted out to Yuusaku that he could touch her), but what I liked about the episode is how Ryuuji appears to move forward a little with both Ami and Minori and how Ami gets some more development as well. Perhaps the most interesting thing though is Yuusaku and his relationship with the student council president – Sumire had something to say to him that we don’t hear and afterwards we see him looking distant and maybe a bit depressed – because it hasn’t been shown as much as the other relationships. Short of completely rejecting him, I can’t imagine what she said to him that would make him as spaced-out as he was, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough since it appears next week is focused at least partially on them.

Oh and for those of you wondering, the new OP silky heart and ED Orange didn’t premiere this week, but commercials for the songs did (see links). I imagine those will premiere pretty soon, like next week.

43 Comments

  1. I’m looking forward to hear the complete OP and ED but I’m thinking that I liked the past OP better.. or I just haven’t seen much of the new one. ^^ This episodes seems rather boring yet interesting? I dunno XD.

    kitari (kp-chan)
  2. kitari, let’s just say that normal slice-of-life (which this series is pretty much about, sort of) can be pretty boring. But there’s “good boring” and “bad boring”, and this episode certainly falls into the “good boring” category for me. 🙂

    Kinny Riddle
  3. @ Broth3R again
    I think Minori personality is more of a mask, whats she’s hidding inside who knows
    As for who ends up with whom it seems kinda cliche to say the 2 main characters.

    Persona0
  4. @Link Soul

    You for Ryuuji x Taiga. o.O Are you crazy? They look like brother and sister nothing more. Though I’m almost %100 that Ryuuji will end up with Taiga. <——- If this happens, I will give BIG MINUS for Toradora! I so far love Toradora! But if this happens I will be very dissapointed.

    TadloS
  5. For any of you that read the novel, you know that they’re going to have to change the mess leading up to Ruuji X Taiga a bit or its just going to be an incomprehensible riot. I just with they would let us see what went on between the Pres & Yuusaku before he goes all emo. Hell, isn’t this anime suppose to be 3rd person omniscient anyway. Leaving us in the dark about that so long (like they did in the novel) is just sad.

    Megas
  6. @TadloS

    What are you talking about! Ryuji X Taiga is the best combination! Why would you be disappointed? For them to get together is gonna need some major plot twisting and drama and i will enjoy EVERY SINGLE BIT OF IT!

    COME ON RYUJI X TAIGA!

    Link_Soul
  7. this was one of the better episodes yet after the slightly boring taiga/father arc nice to see things actually developing.

    ima feel sad that vanilla salt won’t be the ed anymore though 🙁

    flixt
  8. Lolz i thought at first this was gonna be a very very boring ep,but it was actually good. Haha that Yuusaku bastard goes emo all of a sudden, probably got dumped, cant think of anything else maybe he found out that the president is a guy or the president has the hots for Ryuuji hahahahaha. How about the president being pregnant and he is the father? There goes my imagination for you…

    Stephen007
  9. Is it me or was Ryuuji’s head really badly drawn this week? No matter from what angle i looked at it, it just felt oddly shaped. His eyes were a little weird too. Anyway, it was still a good episode.

    loklin
  10. @Megas: It’s drama. It’s supposed to be a mess.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    The problem is that asking JC Staff to change anything major is just going to make it that much worse…

    The way I see it, right now, the show could go three ways.

    a) Novel ending.

    b) TaigaxAmi, which they have a lot of setup for, especially after this episode.

    or c) Having the two main characters end up with the person they ACTUALLY LIKE.

    Gah.

    Kaisos
  11. This ep somehow brings back the main theme of the story, as brought out in the intro:

    There is something in this world which no one has ever seen.

    It is soft and sweet.

    If it is spotted, I’m sure everyone will want to have it,

    Which is why no one has ever seen it.

    For this world has hidden it quite well, so that it is difficult to obtain.

    But, there will come a day when it is discovered by somebody,

    And only those who should obtain it will be able to find it.

    That is all.

    koja
  12. Oh I was thinking that all the palm looking had to do with the idea of being able to read your palm for marriage. Someone mentioned the teacher as having an unmarried palm reading or something I think. I was thinking the palm reading is was Ami was thinking about, but I wasn’t sure.

    Shoopy

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