Toradora! 12
とらドラ！Episode 12

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Preparations for the cultural festival are well underway. Coming home one afternoon with Ryuuji, Taiga finds her father there early to take her to some random, fancy restaurant so that she doesn’t have time to even change. Because Taiga’s father has decided to see her performance, Taiga wants to play the hero for the specific performance that he comes to instead of the villain. That means bribing Ami, and to do this, Taiga has a box of macarons (French pastries) and is not happy about this. Ami is naturally suspicious of a gift from Taiga but is amazed because even her modeling friends can’t get these. Once Taiga convinces Ami to eat a macaron, Taiga springs her trap, saying that now Ami has to listen to her proposal.

Ryuuji is watching this from the doorway and is happy that Taiga and her father are getting along. When Minori comes in and sees Taiga wanting to play a “good guy,” Ryuuji mentions that Taiga’s father is coming. This causes an immediate change with Minori, who is not happy with this news to the surprise of Ryuuji. Minori attempts to leave to warn Taiga not to fall for her worthless father’s words, which angers Ryuuji, who then stops Minori. Minori says she will not stand and watch Taiga get hurt again. Ryuuji gets really angry, defending Taiga’s decision and Taiga’s father. Minori gets angry with Ryuuji for not examining Taiga’s father more closely. Their angry retorts bring Ryuuji over to try to reconcile things between them, but Ryuuji storms off.

Ryuuji is depressed over his fight with Minori and heads to the vending machine area. Ami follows, forcing him out of the spot between the two vending machines where she normally sits. Ryuuji asks what happened with Minori after he left the classroom, to which Ami answers that Minori went home. Ami can’t understand how Ryuuji could get angry with the girl he likes. Ryuuji blames Minori for the whole thing, but Ami isn’t there to listen to him complain. Instead, she gets him to return to class, citing that returning with her will give him cover. Her whole attitude is different from when Ryuuji first met her, meaning she’s changed which is something he wants to do as well.

That night, Taiga is late coming home and as Ryuuji makes dinner, Ryuuji’s mother notes how terrible Taiga’s father is, which stuns Ryuuji. When Taiga gets home, she and Ryuuji talk about his fight with Minori. Taiga wants Ryuuji to make up with Minori. The following day starts the festival and Class 2-C’s wrestling event is a huge draw. During the final preparations, Ryuuji and Minori cannot look at each other.

The first show is well received, though Yuri-sensei snaps at the parody of herself and tries to storm the ring, forcing members of the class to drag her away. After the performance, Ryuuji notices Taiga frequently checking her cell phone. Ryuuji, Taiga, and Yuusaku are taking a break with Taiga eating a crepe when Yuusaku takes a bite of it. This flusters Taiga so much, she ends up cramming the rest of the crepe down Ryuuji’s throat, regretting it later.

Ryuuji and Taiga go for a walk when Ryuuji asks if Taiga’s father sent a message, noting her frequent cell phone checking. She denies looking for a message and claims to have been playing a game. Ryuuji knows there are still more performances that Taiga’s father can attend, but Taiga isn’t interested in talking about that, instead asks what he’s going to do about Minori. However, the school day ends and Taiga’s father did not come, upsetting Taiga almost to the point of tears.

Thoughts/Review:

Well, Toradora! 12 took an unexpected twist for me. I never would have thought that Ryuuji would get angry with Minori and vice versa, leading to them no longer speaking to each other. However, it appears that Minori was right about Taiga’s dad, which is unfortunate. I guess Ryuuji longs for the father that will never come home, so much so that he’s been blinded by how Taiga’s father really is. When Ryuuji’s pathetic excuse of a mother can see Taiga’s father as a cad through her brain-damaged haze, it must be pretty bad. However, the anime writers play things as Ryuuji sees them, so as an audience member, I never saw a hint of Taiga’s father being scum. I guess this means that next episode, Ryuuji and Minori will make up and Taiga will continue to live alone in the apartment next door.

I was disappointed in the play as it didn’t end up being funny as I’d hoped (beyond a mild amusement when Yuri-sensei snapped and had to be dragged out of the classroom during the first wrestling performance). What the class did was more of a play with a tiny bit of wrestling a the end (aided by the other class members) and so there was no opportunity for humor. Besides, the Minori-Ryuuji fight hung over everything like a cloud (at least to me), which kinda kills the humor mood.

While I’m thinking of it, I liked how Ami’s character is coming along. Granted, this kind of character path is predictable (beautiful, spoiled, famous, rich girl becomes like a normal girl), but I still enjoy it.

Well, I’m almost caught up with the releases in Japan. Onward, ho!