Don’t worry, she won’t bite. But a hard jab in the solar plexus can’t be ruled out entirely . . .

From Wolf Hurricane, our very best wishes to all in the new year.

I went into Toradora not expecting much; a typical slice-of-life school piece with a balanced load of drama and comedy with all the typical things that happen in school slice-of-lifes like sports days, culture festivals, school trips and plenty of love triangle misunderstandings focusing around a “delinquent” protagonist. In other words, I was expecting Toradora to be kind of like School Rumble.

Maybe I was expecting too much though. Toradora began decently enough with a colorful cast and light tone. As was expected, Ryuji and friends had their fair share of problems, but it was balanced out with plenty of comedic moments to keep the levels of teen melodrama (meh-lodrama) down.

Drama has taken over the show recently, putting Toradora into a very uninteresting emo mode. The cast just isn’t dynamic or interesting enough to pull off convincing drama, which had made each recent episode a 24 minute grind to get through. To me the drama between the characters has been over very trivial, petty things. I honestly can’t remember what Minori has to feel guilty about. Ami has been unbearable with her “pay attention to me, love me” attitude. Ryuji is in denial that he loves Taiga and continues to draw out all the drama with Minori. In fact the most bearable character amidst all this drama has been Taiga. Freaking Taiga, the most annoying character in the show. I can’t believe I just said that.

Drama is not Toradora’s strong point. It is very rarely done well in this kind of show unless the cast is genuinely interesting like School Rumble. SR had plenty of flaws, namely that the story kept going around in circles, but it struck a good balance between comedy and drama with an interesting cast to boot. Toradora has really fallen on its face with drama that fails to impress. If it went back to the early episodes that interspersed small bits of drama among slice-of-life and comedy, I would be more forgiving. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case, and the drama will no doubt continue to the end of the season… And probably into a second season as well. Since there are only two episodes left, I’ll have to suck it up and finish the mess that Toradora has become.

Episode 10:
Yusaku overhears Ryuji and Taiga’s plan to scare Minori and agrees to help them. Yusaku leads the group into a local cave rigged with ‘scary’ traps. While briefly separated from the group, Ami does a psuedo confession to Ryuji and says that she would be best suited to him as an equal compared to Taiga and Minori.

They return soon after when the plan starts to go awry with the disappearance of Minori and Yusaku. Scared out of their wits, Ryuji and Taiga soon find out that they have been played by Minori, who was savvy to their plan the whole time, and her partner in crime Yusaku. Later that evening Ryuji admits to Ami that he likes having her around, and Minori suggests to Ryuji that they go UFO hunting sometime.

Impressions: I liked Minori’s scare reversal plan to turn the tables on Ryuji and Taiga. The hunter becomes the hunted… My only qualm is that it was hard to see much of anything in the cave. Ryuji’s reaction to Ami adjusting her the bow on her swimsuit was absolutely priceless. Whie Ryuji is slowly moving closer to Minori, he’s also getting plenty of brownie points with Ami too. The love triangle will inevitably get more complicated as Ami now enters the fray as a serious contender.

Episode 11:
The school cultural festival is coming up, and Ryuji’s friend Haruta is absolutely ecstatic with thoughts of a cosplay cafe. Haruta’s poor planning backfires on him though, and the class ends up deciding on a pro wrestling skit for the festival. Ami is cast as the hero with Taiga and Ryuji playing the villains.

Meanwhile, Taiga’s father suddenly attempts to come back into her life. Ryuji encourages her to make amends with him despite strong protests from Taiga. She ultimately gives in and decides to give her father another chance.

Impressions: We didn’t get to really see a whole lot of Taiga’s dad, but my initial impression of him was that he looks like a big d-bag. Also, Haruta is the man. He had the right idea but was too stupid to put it in place, so they ended up with a wrestling skit of all things. My favorite scenes had to be Ryuji imagining the palmtop tiger running up Taiga’s flat chest, the teacher having a major mental breakdown in the middle of class and the class discussion of the prizes. Ryuji’s got some daddy issues and it seems to me that he’s trying to live vicariously through Taiga by encouraging her to spend time with him. To close this impression, I can’t be the only one that thought of “other things” when Ryuji pinned Taiga to the door, right? Maybe my mind jumps to those kinds of conclusions way too quickly… Onto the next episode.

Episode 12:
Taiga is spending a lot of time with her father lately and tries to impress him when she asks Ami to switch roles for one showing, so that Taiga can be the hero. When Minori finds out she tries to dissuade Taiga from spending more time with her good-for-nothing father and has an argument with Ryuji in the process. Even Ryuji’s mom has the same sentiment when she had a chance encounter with Taiga’s father on the balcony. Additionally, Ryuji soon finds out that Taiga’s father wants her to move into another apartment, which Taiga later confirms.

The day of the school festival, Taiga tries to get Ryuji and Minori to make amends but the two still refuse to talk to each other. The pro wrestling skit is a smashing success with the whole school but Taiga’s father doesn’t attend for even a single show, leaving our palmtop tiger heartbroken.

Impressions: The wrestling skit was so bad that it was good and ended up being funny. Taiga’s deadbeat dad not showing up was a foregone conclusion, and he’ll no doubt have a lame brain excuse for not showing up to watch the show. Ami is a pretty slick customer and has quickly become the frontrunner for Ryuji at this point in time, though Ryuji will eventually apologize to Minori and get even closer to her. My favorite scene from this ep is tied between bald, eyepatch Minori asking the audience to lend their power to Ami and the class teacher having a meltdown during the middle of the show and getting carted off. So next week, more of Taiga’s deadbeat dad.

PS: Didn’t feel like captioning all these pictures, but they will return in the next synopsis.

Ryuji and Taiga both have a horrific dream wherein they are married with um, puppy kids. Taiga then loses a wager with Ryuji and takes the support role to help Ryuji hook up with Minori on the summer trip. Well aware that Minori doesn’t like scary things, Taiga devises a plan to scare her and have Ryuji come to her rescue.

There are plenty of hijinks at the villa, mostly involving Ami, before Taiga and Ryuji put their plan to scare Minori into motion. A very naked Yusaku shows up during dinner preparations and shocks Taiga and Minori with his nakedness. Shortly afterwards everyone enjoys some of Ryuji’s super special, super spicy curry at dinner.

Taiga’s stomach is upset from the super spicy curry and she leaves with Yusaku to his room for some stomach medicine. Ami attempts to put the moves on Ryuji but is unsuccessful when he is called away by Minori to wash dishes. Afterwards Ryuji and Minori share a romantic moment on the balcony together. When Ryuji asks if she has a boyfriend, Minori relates her love experience to that of her belief in the supernatural and ghosts; She explains that she believes in both but has never experienced either firsthand and may consequently give up on both before finally saying that she doesn’t have a boyfriend. Ryuji tells her that just because she hasn’t seen the supernatural, she shouldn’t give up so easily on it, all the while indirectly hinting at his own interest in her.

Taiga confides in Ryuji that her plan to get closer to Yusaku isn’t going so well as she has been a nervous wreck the whole time, and that she only feels at complete ease with Ryuji. She contemplates that the doghouse dream may have had a deeper meaning before dismissing it. The two go to their respective rooms but mysterious things are happening.Taiga calls Ryuji to her room before mysterious knockings start coming from the door and the outside window.

Inu Mimi Mode.

I’ll take this shuttlecock and squeeze it.

Bad dog, no biscuit!

Is Minori lost in thought or just plain dumb?

Onigiri are overrated but eh…

The plan is elementary my dear Ryuji!

If you thought I was going to make a Death Note reference, think again. Ha!

Nice view.

What’s with that crazy look in your eyes?

Ami loves to tease Ryuji.

Scaring Minori is easier than shooting fish in a barrel.

*thumbs up*

What would Minori say if she saw us like this?

I would say go ahead as long as I get to watch.

Don’t look now but…

Minori is taking a picture of naked Yusaku.

What is that thing?

If the curry doesn’t burn your mouth then it’s sissy curry!

The burning sensation in your mouth let’s you know you’re alive.

Listen up. Minori and me need some grown up time.

Can you feel the love tonight?

I really need to stop with the Disney references in these captions.

Come on Yusaku. Make a move!

Could Taiga finally realize Ryuji is the canon love choice? Nah.

There’s a tapping at your chamber door. Do you answer it?
[Y/N]

Impressions:
Quite a funny episode with a good amount of plot progression. I loved everyone’s reactions to the super spicy curry as Ryuji just sort of looks on. Ciel-senpai would be proud. Ryuji concurrently advances closer to Taiga and Minori while taking a step back from Ami, even with the copious amounts of Ami flirting. Also the more I see of Yusaku the more I think his head isn’t screwed on completely straight. Naked Yusaku burns my eyes!

I suspect Minori knows that Ryuji and Taiga are trying to scare her and is taking steps of her own to counter them. My predictions are usually wrong but we’ll have to wait and see what’s really going on in the next episode.

Following up from the previous episode, Minori chooses a swimming competition between Taiga and Ami and the two rivals place their wagers. If Taiga wins she will share her incriminating video of Ami with everyone in the class. If Ami wins then she gets to take Ryuji to her summer villa.

A gossip note circulates around the class and Ryuji places his bet on Taiga’s victory. He later helps the pool shy Taiga with a swimming training regimen. Ami expresses to Ryuji that she genuinely wants to spend the summer break with him at her villa. Later Minori expresses her trust in Ryuji by leaving Taiga in his care.

The next day while continuing their training, Ryuji and Taiga have a fight. Ryuji mistakenly thinks that Ami’s ploy is to indirectly take Yusaku by association with Ryuji during the break, but Taiga’s real reason for competing is in fact to fight for Ryuji. Thanks to some advice from his mother, Ryuji realizes his folly and apologizes to Taiga the day afterwards.

Taiga shows up to the pool ready to wallop Ami. Taiga gets a huge head start when she jumps Ami, removes her bikini top and paddles away on a boogie board. At the halfway point Taiga gets a cramp and Ryuji jumps in to rescue her. Taiga’s determination doesn’t allow her to accept defeat though and she pushes onwards to the finish. Meanwhile some guys are fooling around and fall on top of Ryuji, knocking him out, and Taiga swims back to save him while Ami finishes the race. Taiga is very upset that no one bothered to save Ryuji and proclaims her true feelings for Ryuji by stating that he belongs to her.

Afterwards at Sudohbucks, Taiga saves face by saying that Ryuji belongs to her in the sense of the relationship between dog and master and also drops the bomb that she will be going to the villa too along with Yusaku and Minori. Ami laments to Ryuji that they won’t be alone but still suggests that there will still be plenty of opportunities for just the two of them.

And the Anime Emmy goes to… Clannad!

It’s either a swimming competition or starfish carving. Take your pick.

Taiga sporting the new ‘paper airplane in your hair’ look.

I’m not sleeping in class. Honest!

Ryuji’s not a bad swimming teacher, but I’d rather be taught by Light Yagami.

One of these days Ryuji… Bang, zoom, straight to the moon!

Ami likes tight places. Kinky.

Take good care of Taiga okay? I barely have enough mental capacity for myself.

*frown*

*shock*

*cry*

*listen*

No crazy expression from Inko-chan this week.

Everyone knows the way back to a girl’s heart is through her stomach. Or expensive jewelry.

AMI IS SO FUDGIN’ HOT.

So Taiga forfeits by default, right? Right?

Not so fast, Ami!

Holy crap. That can’t be good.

Mission complete!

Uhhhh… *nosebleed*

Time to make like a tree and get outta here.

Taiga should have properly stretched before swimming. Don’t let leg cramps happen to you!

Ryuji took some loli grabbing classes too.

Hanase!

It’s raining men.

Oh shi-

Taiga: Ryuji, what happened?

Taiga: Ryuji?! RYUUUUUUJIIIIIIIII!

Hanging out at Star– I mean Sudohbucks.

Taiga: One of these days…
Ryuji: I know, I know. Bang, zoom, straight to the moon.

Taiga: Exactly. >=)

Ami has some smooth moves.

Next week, the villa!

Impressions:
Ahaha, maybe I went too crazy with the screencaps. This was a good episode and gets the ball rolling for the love polygon to build some momentum. I originally thought Ami only feigned interest in Ryuji to make Taiga jealous, but it looks like she does sincerely like him after their bonding back in episode 6. Ami gets to kill two birds with one stone by taking Ryuji away from Taiga; Get the guy and get the last laugh against her rival. Ami certainly isn’t shy about like Ryuji either because she shamelessly flirts with him at every opportunity. Oh Ami, you’re such a fake bitch… But that’s what makes you great. There are too many nice girls in love comedies, so I like seeing the manipulative Ami do her thing.

Minori is getting closer to Ryuji in a more subtle way and although she doesn’t have as many interactions with him, their relationship is progressing in a more intangible way, though a part of her seems to acknowledge that Ryuji seems more suited to Taiga.

Let’s wrap this up with Taiga. Equal amounts of tsun and dere from the palmtop tiger this week. Taiga herself seems to realize more and more that there’s something between Ryuji and herself, courtesy of Ami as the catalyst. Of course being the tsundere she is, she has to deny it as much as possible until the climax of the show. I’m fine with that as long as we get more of those delightful URUSAI moments.

So all in all Toradora is finally picking up steam after languishing with some early filler and exposition. The love polygon is starting to materialize and Taiga and Ami will no doubt continue their rivalry with Minori hilarity sprinkled throughout. Next week, to the villa!

Shocked and surprised to see Ryuji and Ami together, Taiga tries to dismiss the matter but it still seems to weigh on her mind through the evening. Though she seems to realize that Ryuji is not at fault, he is still at the receiving end of her scathing, tsuntsun attitude.

The next morning Taiga and Ami exchange their usual back and forth at school. The teacher announces that tomorrow is the class pool day and sends the class into a tizzy. Ryuji, Taiga, Ami and Minori go swimsuit shopping together, but Taiga makes a big fuss about buying a swimsuit. Back at his house, Ryuji finds out that the cause of Taiga’s embarrassment stems from her flat chest and to a lesser extent an inability to swim. He pulls an all-nighter sewing some fake cups to stuff into her swimsuit, and in the meantime Taiga apologizes to him for her previous harsh attitude towards him.

At the pool Taiga shows off her new ‘breasts’ and everyone in the class has fun goofing around until Ami tosses Taiga into the pool. Ryuji is forced to save her and put the cup back into place when it falls out. Taiga and Ami have an argument in class that escalates until Minori steps in and suggests they settle their differences with a sports match.

Inko-chan demands more screentime!

The fierce rivalry goes on.

Brain freeze!

Taiga do not want swimsuit.

Perfect size for Taiga!

How do I look?

Isn’t it supposed to be Ryuji getting excited?

I’d say… C.

*nosebleed*

Don’t feel too bad Taiga. Ami is hot stuff.

*poke poke*

Flat, flat…

Flat as a pancake.

Ryuji sews the Palmtop Tiger’s new breasts.

Meanwhile she plays Tetris Attack.

Do you know the real Ami?

Inner Ami strikes back!

I’d say… B.

Meh, they’re nothing special.

Minori: My fake breast sense is tingling.

Into the drink ya go!

Ryuji to the rescue… Or does he have something else in mind?

Inappropriate touching!

Getting groped in the pool can happen to you too.

Sudden Minorin appearance.

Shakugan no Minorin.

Dynamic Minorin Pose!

Impressions:
Love comedies and pool/beach episodes go together like peanut butter and jelly. At any rate these are freebie episodes that don’t need to advance the story too much. This episode is here to escalate the rivalry between Taiga and Ami and strengthen the bond between Ryuji and Taiga some more. Aside from those plot points there wasn’t anything too important.

The highlights of the episode had to be the Ami fanservice and Taiga’s crazy Sailor Moon hairbuns. As a whole not as good as the previous episodes but still decent enough. Next time, sports match!

Ami has integrated herself into the classroom but continues to put on her fake personality around everyone, even in the face of some bizarre harassment courtesy of Minori and Taiga. Ami later asks to stay at Ryuji’s house to hide from a stalker but ends up staying with Taiga for the night instead.

The next day Yusaku asks Ryuji and Taiga to help bring out Ami’s true personality. Ami is less than enthused when she is forcibly invited to have lunch with Taiga, Ryuji and Minori that day. Later the four end up doing some volunteer work for the Student Council to clean up litter around the city. Frustrated with Ami as usual, Taiga soon wanders off with Minori and ditches Ryuji and Ami.

Ryuji tries convincing Ami to show her true personality instead of the fake nice persona but they are interrupted when Ami’s stalker shows up. While Ryuji and Ami hide from the stalker, Taiga and Minori show up looking for the two. The stalker soon earns the wrath of Taiga when he takes a photo of her, and the palmtop tiger starts chasing him.

Ami is in awe and admiration of Taiga who so freely acts the way she wants to, and she resolves to show her true personality from now on. Ami gives chase to the stalker as well and scares him away once and for all with a show of force. Later at Ryuji’s house Ami expresses her envy for how Taiga can so openly show her true self and have a friend like Ryuji. She then asks Ryuji if she shows her true self to him, whether or not he could fall in love with her. Taiga is in shock when she sees Ami putting the moves on Ryuji.

I don’t know what’s going on but I like it.

I’ll sue!

This doesn’t look like a bad pairing.

Taiga: Ami, there’s only one reason I brought you home…

Taiga: *evil smile*

Ryuji is always the unwilling accomplice.

Let’s do lunch. Or don’t you remember last night?

Taiga turns to putty when it comes to Yusaku.

Your veggies aren’t gonna eat themselves. Open the hatch for the airplane~

SIEG ZEON!

This scene would have been better if they were having an ‘electricity coming out of the eyes’ duel.

Some quality bonding time hiding from the stalker.

…Are they wearing trash?

Peekaboo. I see you.

The fear. The fear! THE FEAR!!!

I could make a Higurashi reference but I won’t.

The art of seduction.

How can you resist those doe eyes?

Hey Ryuji what’s going–Holy PG-13 adult situation!

Obligatory Inko-chan.

Impressions:
I like Ami. She’s a massive bitch but she’s not really a tsundere or anything, thus making her more bearable than a certain palmtop tiger voiced by Rie Kugimiya. You can only guess as to whom I am referring to. Speaking of bitches, Toradora certainly has no shortage of them. There’s Taiga, Ami and the still unnamed Student Council President that has way too much fun shouting on the megaphone.

The masochistic Yusaku seems to have a thing for women with attitude as he is surrounded by them and his crush on Taiga appears to have transferred to the callous Student Council President. In Yusaku’s defense, I also like the President character. Don’t you just love a hotblooded woman like that? Swoon~

Overall a good episode. Loved all of Ami’s expressions and Minorin delivered on plenty of laughs. The love triangle — Wait… love polygon is unfolding now that Taiga, Minori and Ami have expressed interest in Ryuji, though for Taiga it’s in the roundabout tsundere way. I’m looking forward to more Ami and how her character jumps into the mix as the love polygon continues.

Ryuji and Taiga dine at the family restaurant and unexpectedly introduced to the famous model, Ami Kawashima, by their common friend Yusaku. Ami puts on the pretense of being a nice girl while voraciously flirting with Ryuji in an attempt to make Taiga jealous.

Yusaku soon pulls Ryuji aside and has him observe Ami’s true personality from a distance as she and Taiga talk alone. Taiga gets fed up with Ami’s arrogance and slaps her across the face as Ryuji and Yusaku return to the table.

The next day Ami shows up as a new transfer student (don’t they always?) and wins the hearts of everyone in the class with her fake cheerful demeanor. Ami gets friendly with Ryuji and causes some misunderstandings with Minori, who mistakenly thinks Ryuji is two-timing Taiga. After school, Ami deduces that Taiga has a crush on Yusaku and tricks Taiga into thinking that Yusaku hates her for being so violent to Ami at the restaurant.

Taiga is upset the rest of the day and doesn’t show up for dinner as usual. Ryuji heads over to her apartment and tells her that Yusaku has been well aware of Ami’s true personality for a long time and tells her that Yusaku has no ill feelings towards her. Immediately afterwards, Yasuko sends Ryuji and Taiga to go and buy some Tonkatsu sauce for their dinner. As the two head back home they spot Ami walking down the street incognito with bags full of treats. Taiga suddenly has an epiphany and discerns Ami’s weakness.

Synchronized drinking…

And synchronized spitting. We have a new winning team!

Ami Kawashima, obligatory childhood friend and all around bitch.

A nice, peaceful meal. Or so we are led to believe.

Ahaha~ I’m such an airhead.
(And if you believed that you’re not a Toradora! resident yet.)

Yusaku: There’s something I have to tell you about Ami.
Ryuji: Let me guess–She has extra equipment? Why are the cute ones always traps?

I am not a trap. Look at my magnificent breasts. See?

Damn baby, you so fine…

You so fine you blow my mind.

Taiga is not amused.

As luck would have it, Ami transfers to the same class the next day.

This hand of mine glows with an awesome power!
Take this! My love, my anger, and all of my sorrow! But mostly my anger.

Ami’s a hit with the entire class. Except Taiga. Such scenarios are probably listed somewhere on TVTropes.

“All signs point to right.”
Minori Radar. Don’t leave home without it.

Taiga: That’s my Minorin.
[Cue audience laughtrack.]

I can’t resist a picture of a cute girl. It’s my weakness, okay?

The infamous Taiga death glare. So intense it tore her book.

Minori does her best Onizuka impression.

I’m also weak to the pouty look too.

Peekaboo. Crouching Taiga much?

Impressions:
That Ami is cute but is a major bitch with a capital B. I don’t completely get what ‘triggers’ her bad persona to come out but it’s such a drastic 180 degree change from her gentle persona. Is the switch voluntary or involuntary? Thus far the only thing that appears to set her off is the rivalry with Taiga (possibly for Yusaku?).

Minori had some hilarious moments in this episode. Ah Minori, your spotlight stealing antics will always have a place in my heart. I wouldn’t mind if the show was exclusively about her. As long as the Minori lulz keep coming I’m a happy customer.

Guess the next episode will further develop the rivalry between Taiga and Ami, which should make for an interesting development.

During the daily routine of going to Taiga’s apartment for the morning chores, Ryuji notices a peculiar box sticking out of the closet. He inspects it and finds an album full of poorly shot photos of Yusaku. Realizing that Taiga wants some photos of Yusaku, Ryuji volunteers to take some candid pictures for her.

Ryuji gives a selection of photos to Taiga, who is overjoyed to have the pictures. Ryuji offers to laminate her favorite photo to preserve it, but Taiga cannot make up her mind and eventually hands them over for Ryuji to make the decision for her. As Ryuji sorts through the photos, Yusaku casually overlooks the process and asks if the photos are for Taiga.

Yusaku then drops the bomb on Ryuji and reveals that he has a picture of Taiga stashed away. Furthermore, he confessed his feelings to Taiga a year ago and was promptly rejected. Ryuji confirms this with Taiga on the roof, and she says that she only fell for Yusaku after the confession.

Don’t wake sleeping tigers.

Pick me up!

The Student Council President. FYI, she’s a bitch.

Such spiritual pressure!

I admit she’s kind of cute though…

Yusaku’s loli grabbing classes are finally paying off.

Let’s do lunch. Have your people call our people.

[Insert Newtype flash sound effect.]

It’s time to begin the operation!

If you don’t know what this is supposed to be, you deserve a Harisen to the face.

*drool*

Tagia gets ready to go on a killing spree.

Taiga gains +1 cooking skill.

Oni~giri.

Minori is a limitless source of energy.

Ah facepalm, you’ll never let me down.

The gentler side of the tiger.

Here’s this week’s obligatory picture of Inko.

Impressions:
Not much to this episode. The only real noteworthy thing was Ryuji learning that Yusaku used to be in love with Taiga in the past, the key words being in the past. Judging by how Yusaku rejected Taiga back in episode 2, my guess is that Taiga will have to somehow win his heart back with Ryuji’s help, all the while the relationship between Taiga and Ryuji will slowly blossom to fruition. It should be pretty obvious by now that Ryuji/Taiga is the true pairing as the short tsundere only shows her true side to Ryuji and confides so much to him. The story must go on though.

Of lesser note Ryuji was slick when he kept a photo of Minori when she was doing her little show and tell and got distracted. The guy has a few moves. My prediction that this episode would be Ami’s introduction turned out to be wrong, but in my defense the student council president really looks a lot like her. Turns out the next episode will introduce Ami for real. I see a potential rivalry between Taiga and Ami for Yusaku and/or Ryuji. We’ll have to see how it plays out next week.

Ryuji and Taiga go eat dinner at a family restaurant, and to Ryuji’s surprise they are waited on by Minori, who is more than willing to reveal that she works several other part time jobs as well. Ryuji later asks Taiga why Minori needs so much extra money, but Taiga tells him there’s no particular reason.

During a day off, Ryuji and Taiga run into Minori working at yet another part time job. Ryuji volunteers his and Taiga’s services to the shop owner for the day to help out. Taiga is sent on a delivery while Ryuji and Minori are accidentally locked in the storage room. While they’re stranded together, Ryuji has a bonding experience with Minori and learns that behind her constant smile she has her share of worries and insecurities too. The two then try to climb out the window but the attempt is inadvertently foiled by Taiga who also becomes stranded in the storage room.

Everyone knows baseball isn’t a real sport.

Taiga the Hutt.

There’s no need to fear, Minorin is here!

Minorin, take me with you!

What you talkin bout Ryuji?

Ah Ryuji, you are a glutton for punishment.

I’m still charging my laser!

A worried face is moe too.

Ryuji’s mom is a MILF. Just saying.

Got Japanese snacks?

Product placement at its finest. Try Asobi beer today!

Taiga: !

Service with a ‘smile’.

Ryuji’s got a girlfriend~

You’re supposed to ride the bike Taiga.

Don’t worry. Be happy.

That can’t be good.

Impressions:
Minori is a hyperactive, batty girl but she kind of grew on me. I usually find this archetype unbearable, though I’ll make an exception for Minori. She’s a huge spaz but is so genuine and happy that I really can’t hate her.

I don’t think Minori clicks with Ryuji in quite the same way Taiga does. Ryuji/Minori is just too normal. Call me sadistic, but I like seeing the various ways Ryuji suffers under Taiga’s oppressive rule. Ryuji/Taiga is a twisted relationship but works oh so well. Taiga may not admit it, but she really shows her jealous side whenever Ryuji so much as looks at Minori. Of course the jealousy could also be interpreted as Taiga simply being protective of her sole friend by keeping threats (ie. Ryuji) away.

Anyway, I suppose we’ll learn about Minori’s past and how she became Taiga’s friend in upcoming episodes. Next episode looks to introduce Ami Kawashima. Until next time then.