01.26.2009 - Toradora! - Episode 16 and Tower of Druaga Sword of Uruk - Episode 3

Posted in Anime, Toradora, Tower of Druaga by Epi at 10:15 pm

Go Taiga Go!

Toradora episode 16 started off slow but ended with a bang. It may be the best episode of the season yet.

I was quite happy that unlike most other shows of last season, Toradora decided to continue on for the full 26 episodes. For a while I was worried that the show would end early right when it was just picking up steam. The last few episodes have definitely been the best ones so far. From the school festival ultra-cute Taiga, to Ami being more and more awesome the show had been slowly building up over the last few episodes.

This episode began as a continuation of the previous, with Taiga running for the student council presidency in order to get Kitamura to get rid of his blonde hair (hey hey’s no Akiba) and return to his senses. From all the strong hinting and set up in the previous episode, it seemed that Kitamura had been confessed to by the current student council president Sumire and now apperently weirded out by this had decided not to run himself. As the episode unfolds we learn that in fact it was the other way around, and that Kitamura realizing that Sumire was leaving for America would not achieve his dream of confessing to her before he is a man she could respect.

Sumire is of course leaving to America to do none other than to… go to a special school so that she could learn to be an astronaut!? As a former applicant to the Canadian Space Agency astronaut program, I can tell you that whatever special program you went to in high school, probably doesn’t matter as much as your PhD, pilot’s license, Russian speaking ability and knowledge of geodesy… but I digress.

Eventually Kitamura comes around and runs for the position anyway, and uses his acceptance speech as publicly humiliating method of confession to which he is resoundingly rejected. Realizing that she cannot comfort Kitamura in any normal way, Taiga decides to do what she’s best at to resolve the situation…

Early vote for anime fight of the year

The result is my first nomination for anime fight of the year 2009. Wow that was a pretty awesome fight, bloody faces, emo face distortions, and pure unadulterated rage. Awesome.

The episode ends with some girls finding Taiga’s wallet in the classroom post-fight and finding the picture that Taiga bought from the school festival of her and Kitamura dancing and notes that Taiga really does love Kitamura. Overhearing this conversation, Minorin has a sudden strange look on her face. Ami manages to snatch away the wallet before the girls can see the picture underneath, and as she walks by Minorin exclaims “Are your feelings of guilt gone?”. Apparently Ami being Ami, she was able to see through Minorin and see her love for Takasu. But as Ami continues to walk we see her gritting her teeth. Was she sad/mad because she noticed the picture underneath which was a picture of Taiga and Takasu? (a position favoured by Michael of Animeotaku) Or was she mad because she knew she just confirmed that she had another rival in the form of Minorin? Only time will tell.

One thing I am sure about though, is that even though Ami is the best girl in the entire show, there’s no way the ending will be with her, and Takasu and Taiga will surely end up together or no one will end up with anyone in the end.

Melt, the new Lando Calrissian

Meanwhile, Tower of Druaga is back for a second season now named “Tower of Druaga - Sword of Uruk”. As always, it’s nothing spectacular, but always fun to watch. Episode 3 was particularly enjoyable, with lots of laughs to be had by all. I especially liked the 131 132 heroes who defeated Druaga, Melt’s Lando moment, and Coopa now with glasses. The new character, is pretty fun too, what’s her face with the short purple hair and the arrows that make people go to sleep.