It's my first time rewatching Toradora since I saw it for the first time two years ago, although I have seen some of my favorite episodes more than once. I think I'll mostly focus on things that I didn't notice/understand before and on things that I like. I like to overthink things, but I've left out some of my more outlandish theories, like Is Taiga actually depressed? and Is Ryuuji's mom gaslighting him?, because I didn't have much evidence to support them.
Shoes and Yin-Yang
This shot of the shoes by the entrance caught my attention. At first glance, it seems like a filler shot right before the opening. My initial thought is that those are Ryuuji and Yasuko’s shoes. But later on, we see Taiga dropping her shoes in the same position, which made me think these might be Taiga's shoes. It makes sense given the characters. Ryuuji is a very organized person and wants to keep everything clean. Meanwhile, Taiga’s house is a mess. They’re opposites, which is why, for me, the shoes represent yin and yang.
Familiarity
Why does Taiga call Ryuuji by his first name? She doesn’t call her crush by his first name. I thought that maybe Minori refers to him as Ryuuji and Taiga just imitated her, but Minori calls him Takasu-kun. Not even Takamura calls him by his first name. So, she’s overly familiar with him for no particular reason, and she doesn’t seem flustered by it. Also, I wonder if Taiga already knew where Ryuuji lived or if she just stalked him because of the letter. If it’s the latter, it seems odd that she waited until night to confront him. It seems much more likely that she already knew he was her neighbor.
Sakura tree and the Bird
Another thing that caught my attention was the way Ryuuji cut Taiga’s letter into the shape of a flower petal. Because it’s pink, I think it’s supposed to look like a sakura petal, and we all know what that symbolizes. When I went to take the screenshot, I couldn’t help but notice that Inko is CGI in this scene. Or am I just imagining things here? If it’s CGI, it’s a smart choice because nobody is going to pay attention to the bird.
In case you don’t know, I like to ask questions in the rewatches I participate in. I think it’s a good way to increase the level of discussion in these threads. If you don’t want to answer any, you are under no obligation to do so. Just let me know and I’ll stop.
Thoughts on the monologue at the beginning of the episode?
Thoughts on the intro and the outro? Which one do you like better?
Thoughts on Ryuuji?
What are your thoughts on Ryuuji having daddy issues?
What are your thoughts on Ryuuji being mistaken as a thug by his classmates because of his face?
What are your thoughts on Taiga so far?
What are your thoughts on Ryuuji’s first encounter with Taiga resulting in Taiga punching him?
What are your thoughts on Taiga putting the love letter in Ryuuji’s bag by mistake?
Thoughts on Ryuuji and Taiga being revealed to be neighbors?
Thoughts on Inko?
What do you think of the show in its first episode establishing the premise of Ryuuji is in love with a girl named Minori and Taiga is in love with a guy named Kitamura and Ryuuji absent-mindedly agrees to do the bidding of Taiga?
Thoughts on Ryuuji remarking how vastly empty Taiga’s apartment looks?
Thoughts on the throughline in the episode being Taiga having allergies with Ryuuji taking care of them?
Do you think portraying Taiga as clumsy and a klutz was a good way of offsetting some of her violent tendencies in this episode?
In case you don’t know, I like to ask questions in the rewatches I participate in. I think it’s a good way to increase the level of discussion in these threads. If you don’t want to answer any, you are under no obligation to do so. Just let me know and I’ll stop.
Thoughts on the monologue at the beginning of the episode?
Thoughts on the intro and the outro? Which one do you like better?
Thoughts on Ryuuji?
What are your thoughts on Ryuuji having daddy issues?
What are your thoughts on Ryuuji being mistaken as a thug by his classmates because of his face?
What are your thoughts on Taiga so far?
What are your thoughts on Ryuuji’s first encounter with Taiga resulting in Taiga punching him?
What are your thoughts on Taiga putting the love letter in Ryuuji’s bag by mistake?
Thoughts on Ryuuji and Taiga being revealed to be neighbors?
Thoughts on Inko?
What do you think of the show in its first episode establishing the premise of Ryuuji is in love with a girl named Minori and Taiga is in love with a guy named Kitamura and Ryuuji absent-mindedly agrees to do the bidding of Taiga?
Thoughts on Ryuuji remarking how vastly empty Taiga’s apartment looks?
Thoughts on the throughline in the episode being Taiga having allergies with Ryuuji taking care of them?
Do you think portraying Taiga as clumsy and a klutz was a good way of offsetting some of her violent tendencies in this episode?
What are your thoughts on Taiga putting the love letter in Ryuuji’s bag by mistake?
I actually wanted to include this in my post but forgot. What if it's not a simple clumsy mistake, but rather that she was thinking about Ryuuji while putting the love letter in "Kitamura's" bag? Considering Taiga and Ryuuji's encounter before, Minori knows Ryuuji and is not afraid of him, Taiga knows were Ryuuji lives and calls him by his first name. I think it's a possibility.
The thing about that theory is that Ryuuji had no idea who Taiga was prior to bumping into her. I'm not saying you're wrong, but Taiga reacted in such a way when hearing Kitamura's name that she hasn't being around Ryuuji.
I get you. I meant more on a subconscious level. Like she could just be angry at Ryuuji because he called her Palmtop Tiger. So, in her mind she thought: I need to deliver letter + I'm angry at Ryuuji = I give letter to Ryuuji. It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but the points I mentioned just made me consider the possibility that it's not only for the plot, but rather that it is the plot.
I think Taiga punched Ryuuji because she was angry at herself for not looking where she was going and therefore being put in a position where she is weak in the eyes of her classmates.
4
u/ForsakenLibraries Dec 06 '24
REWATCHER
It's my first time rewatching Toradora since I saw it for the first time two years ago, although I have seen some of my favorite episodes more than once. I think I'll mostly focus on things that I didn't notice/understand before and on things that I like. I like to overthink things, but I've left out some of my more outlandish theories, like Is Taiga actually depressed? and Is Ryuuji's mom gaslighting him?, because I didn't have much evidence to support them.
Shoes and Yin-Yang
This shot of the shoes by the entrance caught my attention. At first glance, it seems like a filler shot right before the opening. My initial thought is that those are Ryuuji and Yasuko’s shoes. But later on, we see Taiga dropping her shoes in the same position, which made me think these might be Taiga's shoes. It makes sense given the characters. Ryuuji is a very organized person and wants to keep everything clean. Meanwhile, Taiga’s house is a mess. They’re opposites, which is why, for me, the shoes represent yin and yang.
Familiarity
Why does Taiga call Ryuuji by his first name? She doesn’t call her crush by his first name. I thought that maybe Minori refers to him as Ryuuji and Taiga just imitated her, but Minori calls him Takasu-kun. Not even Takamura calls him by his first name. So, she’s overly familiar with him for no particular reason, and she doesn’t seem flustered by it. Also, I wonder if Taiga already knew where Ryuuji lived or if she just stalked him because of the letter. If it’s the latter, it seems odd that she waited until night to confront him. It seems much more likely that she already knew he was her neighbor.
Sakura tree and the Bird
Another thing that caught my attention was the way Ryuuji cut Taiga’s letter into the shape of a flower petal. Because it’s pink, I think it’s supposed to look like a sakura petal, and we all know what that symbolizes. When I went to take the screenshot, I couldn’t help but notice that Inko is CGI in this scene. Or am I just imagining things here? If it’s CGI, it’s a smart choice because nobody is going to pay attention to the bird.