EPT
I only have 2 complaints with the story, and I really don't know if I'd classify them as complaints at all. But man how I wanted to see a little more out of the ending in regards to maybe hinting at the 2 main characters getting together. Something along the lines of them going to a cafe together as the credits start to roll or something to imply that they were going to get together and it was going to be a happy end. I don't think I can really complain about the ending, I'm just a sucker for happy endings and romance. The second "complaint" is that I almost wish that this had been a full blown anime instead of just a movie. Like damn I think there was definitely enough content here to make at least a 1 season show.
But when it's all said and done, this movie was pretty damn close to perfect. This is what I wanted 5 cm/second to be (a rant for another time perhaps but I thoroughly HATE 5cm/sec). If you haven't seen it, watch it.
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This brings me to some ranting I wanted to do about a couple of things. Firstly I watched A Certain Scientific Railgun/A Certain Scientific Railgun S. And it was okay. I didn't hate it. But I never found myself really engrossed in the plot. It had its moments (such as Episodes 5/6 of Railgun S, and a good chunk of the "sisters" arc) but it was never amazing. I think I won't be watching Index, at least not for a while. It's a neat world, but there's too much fluff and not enough character development for me. i.e. I need some drama. For instance, what if Mikoto had broken down during the Sisters Arc in some way? You never see her really fail, it always works out. But like I said I didn't hate it, I just felt like it could've been more.
The second thing I wanted to rant about was Toradora. I actually own this show on DVD (The only other anime I own are Clannad and Planetes) and every time I watch this show it's like I have a different opinion of it. The first time I watched it I really loved it, like how it ended, didn't really like Ami. The next couple of times I watched it, I liked Ami much more, and while I still liked the ending something bothered me about it. Now having rewatched most of it I think I've finally got my finger on what bothers me.
Up to a certain point I think Toradora is spot on. But after the Christmas episode things take a turn for the worse. And I think it has to do with characters not being honest with themselves, or more accurately being written to fit an outcome rather than how the character should behave. If Takasu really loved/liked Taiga, why doesn't he "realize" it until the scene in the classroom at Valentines? Feelings like that aren't like a switch. You don't just turn them on all of a sudden and change gears. I think when Takasu went to Taiga's house at the Christmas episode, his true feelings were revealed. And yet until the Valentine's classroom episode he never really internally or externally acknowledges these feelings. He's still "after" Minorin. Them Bam suddenly he realizes how much he liked Taiga after all in that classroom. I think this is my #1 biggest problem with the series. Somehow he needed to come to the realization that he actually liked Taiga, graduallyish. It shouldn't have just happened in 1 moment. Similarly I think Minori needed to act on her feelings. I can kinda understand the whole "Taiga needs him so I can't have him" thing that was going on, but here again it always felt unnatural. The way she was able to behave around Takasu and never really felt like had internal conflict/struggle in regards to how she felt for him is off. I think it would've gone a long way if she could've shown internally or externally that she liked him in some way. If she could've betrayed her protective nature towards Taiga and acted selfish towards her feelings for Takasu in some way I would've really liked it.
And as an aside, having Taiga go away for a year feels like a bit of a cop-out ending in some way. Like really? Do you think she wouldn't talk about it, and would just disappear? And then they wouldn't talk for basically a year? Give me a break. Though on that note, if she went away from a year then Minorin and Takasu slowly started developing forbidden feelings for each other, a la Shoji/Sachiko in Nana that would've been amazing. But alas.
Actually having now written all of this out I think I feel better about Toradora as a whole. I think this the first time I've really been able to get out exactly what I dislike about the show. But like Minorin's UFO talk, it took me a while to figure out wtf exactly I was trying to say about it. I still really like the show, and I think I can deal with its flaws. Toradora overall is still a show I find very re watchable. Unlike say Clannad After-Story, which I thoroughly love but can never seem to finish all the way once I start getting close to the end. Oh well.
