OP Sequence

OP: 「silky heart」 by 堀江由衣 (Horie Yui)
Watch the OP! Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Streaming ▼

Summary:

With Christmas approaching, Taiga has started acting like a good girl because she thinks Santa Claus is watching. She claims to love Christmas, and she even offers to help Ryuuji again with Minori. What they don’t quite realize yet is that ever since Minori found out that Taiga had Yuusaku’s picture in her student handbook, she hasn’t been herself, and it’s affecting her softball playing and her attitude towards Ryuuji. It comes to a head with the upcoming Christmas Eve party, and Taiga insists that Ryuuji invite Minori to it and then confess his feelings to her. When Taiga tries to get Minori to join her in helping prepare for the party though, Minori declines and cites her commitment to the softball team. Ami volunteers in her place, but that still doesn’t change Minori’s mind.

Later that day, Ryuuji and Taiga head to the family restaurant to study for their final exams, and Ryuuji brings with him the notes he won during the festival, but he feels bad because Minori technically won with him. They find out at the restaurant that Minori took the day off from her waitress job, and that leads Taiga to suggest that Minori might be avoiding Ryuuji. Taiga isn’t sure of how to help, and she observes that Ryuuji and Minori’s relationship is different from before. Their discussion is interrupted by the arrival Noto, Haruta, Yuusaku, and Maya, and Noto intentionally pairs Taiga up with Yuusaku whenever possible. Despite knowing that Taiga likes Yuusaku, Ryuuji is still bothered by this. Maya, who also likes Yuusaku, concludes that Ryuuji is against Taiga being with Yuusaku because he has feelings for Taiga, and she vows to support him.

ED Sequence

ED: 「オレンジ」 (Orange) by 釘宮理恵, 堀江由衣, 喜多村英梨 (Kugimiya Rie, Horie Yui, Kitamura Eri)
Watch the ED!: Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Streaming ▼

Well, after seeing the silky heart commercial so many times, the actual song was better than I thought it’d be, though it still didn’t suit my tastes all that much (again, I’m not a huge fan of seiyuu songs in general). Maybe it’ll grow on me like Vanilla Salt did. The ED, on the other hand, was pretty average all around, and nothing about either the song or the animation of Ryuuji making an orange pie were anything special.

Preview

We’re at the beginning of a new arc, so this was more or less a set-up episode. The Christmas party at first didn’t sound like anything special, but with the way things are going, I’m sure some fireworks will erupt. For one, this confusion with Maya liking Yuusaku and thinking that Ryuuji likes Taiga is probably going to blow up in someone’s face. It’ll be even more interesting if Ryuuji really does have some feelings for Taiga (I’m still not 100% convinced that he doesn’t). Also, it occurred to me that setting up Taiga with Yuusaku after the whole Sumire thing might be a bad idea since he’s technically still on the rebound. It might be just too soon.

In any case, after what happened at the end of last episode, I thought the focus would shift more to Ami and Minori this arc, and although Minori was the focus for some of it so far, Ami didn’t play as big a role. I think we’re due for another RyuujiXAmi moment – that is, unless Ami is being slowly eliminated from contention – and somewhere down the line, she’ll probably be the one who’ll confront Minori about avoiding Ryuuji. Taiga meanwhile smiled so much this episode that it felt unnatural – being a good girl just doesn’t suit her (nor does it suit many of the characters that Kugimiya Rie voices). Regardless, it sounds like Taiga really believes in Santa Claus, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we eventually find out that it’s a sign of misplaced hope in her parents or something.

56 Comments

  1. Damn i thought we were done with this kitamura business, 17 episodes of ryuji being his covert wingman is enough. Should just call it Tora/kitamura at this point. We get the point, hes popular.. Im tired of watching people try to set this guy up with every girl in the series and him just be a gaybot about it.

  2. Ugh, Taiga smiles so much that she gets sick of her own self…Sorry to say this but if this keeps pace with the novel, Taiga smiling like a nut will become the norm until Show Spoiler ▼

    Can’t he just quietly leave the darn stage already.

    I just can’t say anything too constructive about Ami right now. She’s going down that dark path to hell. I just hope she & Minori don’t get into it too much. However, Show Spoiler ▼

    Megas
  3. I think someone mentioned that the entirety of the seventh novel was dedicated to Taiga trying to be a good girl and grow up from the selfish, irritable, violent brat that she formerly was, so that she could become a reliable person even on her own.

    With regards to that, as you pointed out, Taiga was smiling so much that it was unnatural, but Ryuuji also pointed out that her abrupt change in character was ‘kimochi warui’ or disgusting on an occasion, so I believe that’s the way we’re supposed to feel with regards to the abrupt change in character. It also didn’t come out of nowhere (even if the change did seem sudden) since the last arc was sort of a set up for Taiga to grow up.

    On that note, major changes in a person’s character comes with a major life changing moment, and for Taiga, I guess last arc was that kind of moment. I haven’t read the novels up to there yet, so this is what I’m deducing from what I’ve seen, so you’ll have to forgive me if I seem like a retard who’s talking out of his ass.

    Also, Taiga’s toradorable this ep. Her dramatic shift in character came with effort, and they show that, which is what made her actions this week adorable so to speak.

    Rawr
  4. hmm slowly and slowly Ryuuji is becoming my new favorite male character :3, I personally like his on the sideness… some people can probably even relate better to that…

    anywho the new OP grew on me 😀 can’t wait for the subs… and ya o_o… ED is a wee bit disappointing… I prefer Vanilla salt…

    Putang
  5. I wish they would just end this sad joke already. There were several references made in the prior episodes that Maya liked Yuu. Now that she sees that Taiga is officially recognized as liking him her gloves have finally came off. That’s definitely how it should be, not this “the happiness of my friend is my happiness” BS. But its still a sad joke. Nevertheless it going to be very amusing to see how long can Taiga keep up this “good girl” act: Show Spoiler ▼

    Megas
  6. …. aye T_T I’m still rooting for Ami x Ryuuji, and wow after seeing the subs… oh god… =_= everyone’s soo…….. bleh….. especially a certain someone who is way more talkative/”smiley”… reminds me of Kare Kano a bit hahaha…

    but ya… Ryuuji and Ami… it’s kinda annoying how distant they seem… but ya o_o… I want a twist…

    also anyone also think the OP is somewhat… foreshadowish :S

    Putang
  7. That was a pretty disappointing new OP & ED, i liked the old ones better. And i feel like now it’s confirming more than ever that we’re going to see a RyuujixTaiga ending, which almost makes me gag lol

    jho
  8. It was obvious from the start that the show is gonna end with Taiga X Ryuuji. The frickin’ title is ToraDora = Tiger + Dragon = Taiga + Ryuuji.
    Those who are expecting a different ending are delusionary fools.

    Son Gohan
  9. Taiga is missing something. Minori is not avoiding Ryuuji, like she thinks she is. Minori is avoiding Taiga, thus she has to avoid Ryuuji by default since they are so close. When she thought Taiga likes Ryuuji, she supported them getting together and was happy about it. How that she knows that Taiga likes Yuu, she avoids Taiga, Ryuuji and Yuu like the plague. She doesn’t want to come between Yuu and Taiga and can’t talk to Ryuuji out of fear of spilling the beans. probably also doesn’t really want to see them together acting friendly becasue she may betray her feelings. Minori likes Yuu.

    Doesn’t anyone really like Ryuuji?

    draksig
  10. I hate to dissapoint you drak but im afraid minori does in fact like ryuji and avoids them because of her inability to understand her own feelings or deal with them. But fortunately for her ami is there to play Covert cupid in wich she ruins everyone’s relationship an thus ryuji gets to be taiga’s silver medal yada yada yada. as for kitamura i was hoping for Sumire would like ryuji an he would find out an fuckin jump off a bridge.

  11. This show is definitely turning out to be the dark hose of the season. Awesome!

    Definitely Ryuuji x Ami ftw! A little Taiga x Kitamura wouldnt hurt. I had to check out the manga although it doesn’t seem as far along.

    Joseph
  12. All I know is that he better not end up with taiga! That like ending up with your friend that’s like your sister(weird). If anything they should just keep that brother and sister(family) bond that they already have. Ryuuji has to end up with Ami or Minori and Taiga has to end up with Yuu. I would prefer Minori since that the girl he has had eyes for, but I like Ami character too, so I wouldn’t mind her either. I don’t know if I’m alone on this, but I can’t stand Maya character, she strikes me as annoying. I hope things do blow up, in Maya face, lol.

    Craig
  13. @Craig: I totally agree with you, I don´t want Ryuuji to end up with Taiga either. And yeah, I like Ami better than Minori to end up with Ryuuji. Minori kind of annoys me sometimes.
    @Pachi: Se tiene que sentir bien poder gritar en otro idioma en medio de todo este ingles jajaja..

    Aime
  14. Do I even have to explain this…

    Kaisos, its a sad joke because:

    1: Taiga is trying to act better but her feelings are so mixed up that its blatantly obvious to anyone that have half a brain.

    2: Most of the crew involved don’t even have half a brain.

    3: Taiga is “still” infatuated with Yuu.

    4: Yuu doesn’t like Taiga anymore although his was infatuation as well.

    5: Maya likes Yuu, but Yuu doesn’t know and/or care.

    6: Maya appeals to Ryuuji who doesn’t know who the hell he likes anymore (you can say that he’s still leaning toward Minori).

    7: Minori “likes” Ryuuji but she’s so damn confused because of Ami that she doesn’t even know what to think about any of her friends.

    8: Ami has a sweet bitchmode…

    & the merry-go-round goes on & on…

    Megas
  15. Obviously a lot of people here aren’t married, and if so not for a long time. The relationship between Ryuuji and Taiga are, from my perspective, more like a married couple than anything else. That kind of bond is like that between best friends and family in a lot of ways. But there is also that intimacy that they seem to already have to a certain degree, ie. hanging out at the Ami’s beach house, and staying so close to each other despite all the room. Minorin is having all this conflict over her feelings for Ryuuji because of her relationship to Taiga and because she considers this to be a big distraction from her long-term goals Show Spoiler ▼

    Meanwhile Taiga and Ryuuji know each is important to the other, but with a real “threat” of them growing apart, they both realize just how important they really are to each other.

    Jacksmom
  16. I still don’t know why in hell people still think Minorin likes Yuu, seriously it’s beyond me.

    Anyway this ‘Taiga getting all steamed up by Yuu’ is starting to get old and moldy, we’re already at the Christmas party and with not much episodes left … her feelings were already a bit too easilly changed in the novel, with this pace it will feel even more fast changing in the anime.

    My “hopes” for the anime adaptation are going down a bit and i feel the ending might feel quite a bit rushed.

    Daniel
  17. @Amy: Snap.

    Still, in my experience, a lot of the viewerbase really doesn’t “get” why the characters are making the decisions they do make, and then go everywhere and bitch about the show’s continued “lack” of Ami. Missing the point entirely.

    See, Taiga’s really confused about her feelings right now, but this will only become really clear in a few episodes.

    There’s a big difference between a crush and love.

    @Kabayongtao: The only parts skipped from the novels are ones that really don’t matter and have no impact on the story at large.

    And that second season announcement is for the Winter ’09 season. You know, now.

    Kaisos
  18. @Kaisos

    I see, no wonder there is a new OP and ED.

    Now about the novels, although I agree to what you have said earlier that some parts may not be essential and does not have an impact on the long run, but still I can tell that some of those parts are quite interesting.

    Take this for an example, I believe that this is note worthy. Show Spoiler ▼

    Kabayongtao
  19. Real fast…that song minori is singing, and the line after, are those just minori messing up the ending song/a famous line of Princess Mononoke/Mononoke Hime? The song sounds too similar…and the line is similar too! Is this on purpose, or am I just crazy? >.>

    Tenck

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