While Growing Up
Do little kids dream of being or doing something when they grow up? Do we put that aside and ride that rail road to better education, career, and income?
Japan is a place where people ride the rail. And I’m not just joking, I’m both joking and being serious!
They even have train pushers to pack their massively jammed rush hour sardine cans on rails. But I’m not going to talk about that. Well, maybe the literary symbolism a little.
As a small challenge to myself I’m going to try to write something positive about Toradora! Its popularity to me is a testament of how lame 2008 was in terms of having something exciting among all the new anime that came out that year. And it isn’t to say there weren’t great shows, just none that floored me. And probably none that floored you. Sans the ones you haven’t watched. It isn’t really about how good Toradora is. To me it’s an above average show that didn’t do anything special. If “did nothing seriously wrong” was not a special quality. Remember, that’s just me.
So let’s take the one character that did grow up in Toradora, at least in a literary and figurative sense: Sumire. Now it’s one thing to question which national or private effort will rally behind her with a space program, even if it’s quite interesting, it’s another to evaluate her role within the show’s themes.
I am currently reading the novelization of RahXephon. Comments on the English translation aside, in volume 3, there was a little scene between Sayoko (Itsuki’sQuon’s brother’s aide and stalker) and Haruka Shitow, which played out in terms of “who’s really the ‘mature’ one.” It’s curious because the assumptions we make and operate within are sometimes delusions made to make us feel better about ourselves, and the passage did well to convey that in a succinct manner without telling it to you.
And while there is a fair bit of self-delusion going on in Toradora, some of it can be attributed to a lag. Like, say, Ryuuji and realizing/understanding his feelings for Taiga. Or Taiga for him. They’re just slow. As they say in the modern American Baptist(?) tradition, the distance between the brain and the heart is quite long.
But that’s really the magic about Toradora–it’s about that idealist self-delusion. Sumire is the rocket girl that pierced that illusory ceiling and went on to pursuit her dream. Do the rest follow? Do they see the limits as imposed? Or are they real? It’s fitting that the anime series reached a turning point on that outburst around episodes 15 and 16. As they say in Honey & Clover (and, well, literature of times ancient and everything since) it’s about finding yourself.
Back to RahXephon. That scene I described above came in two parts. The first part, told from Sayoko’s perspective, described an angry woman. She’s a hurting and hurtful individual, and they’ve gotten across that rather bluntly. It also didn’t help that she likes Itsuki, and yet here stood the woman who is Itsuki’s ex because Haruka dumped him and the idea that Itsuki will never be hers eats away at her. Sayoko and Haruka’s friendship (at this point in the story) is cordial but mostly because Haruka kept it that way. Sayoko and Haruka made some talk, in the first part, but it ends up with Sayoko asking Haruka something “work related.”
The second part of that scene in RahXephon, told from Haruka’s perspective, dealt with that piece of information. It detailed mostly Haruka’s inner thoughts as she conversed with Sayoko. Realizing that by asking her those questions, it marked the move of a third party manipulating her feelings. Haruka didn’t really notice or find Sayoko’s passive-aggressiveness bothersome, but she plays along her image as projected. Something about being an adult?
In a similar way, we can think about Ami and Minorin on similar terms. It’s not a perfect fit, but you get what I’m saying, I hope.
More seriously, however, Sumire was like, the rock that toppled the status quo. Much like Quon was the deus ex lolitamachina whose “la la” ate away at the sanity of all around her. It’s a very typical screenwriting strategy for TV anime, now that I’ve thought about it from this angle.
- You introduce your main cast, your core concept, your hook
- You create a stable, attractive and comfortable reoccurring theme
- Set up the final plot arc while doing so.
- Break open the egg and tune your world. BAD END. Except in RahXephon’s case, which they made enough money to give it a real ending via the movie. And it was lovely.
And your viewers will translate into delicious omelets made of DVD revenues? LOL.
I know I am trying to say something positive about Toradora, but I’m sorry, when I try to read things like this, I just can’t. I laugh at it. It’s like the crazy people who think they’re actually doing serious business on TV Tropes. But I did manage to compare it with RahXephon. I mean comparing Toradora to H&C really is an apples-to-oranges comparison, but comparing it with RahXephon, hey, at least they ARE trying to do the same things with the human relationships detailed within. Granted, they are also so different that the comparison only makes sense within a very narrow set of frameworks.
That was a joke, by the way. Really forcefully shoved in. Can’t you tell? I would tell you, but I am trying to say something positive about Toradora…
I guess that means I can’t tell you what I predict what I think how the ending will be either.
2008 did indeed suck ass for anime, but I was obsessed enough with Toradora that I can’t call it reflective of the year as a whole. And that’s in the light of all that you’re saying - I can’t say there’s a good reason to like Toradora beyond it being a good show, it just clicks with me. Personally, I’m tired of anyone talking about it being good, I want to hear more about real reasons to like it.
I thought I was falling out of interest in anime recently, since honestly I haven’t gotten really engaged by anything in quite a while and I was increasingly getting frustrated that people were getting really excited about stuff that I just couldn’t see much to get excited about in. This being one such example. I’m glad that it seems I wasn’t alone. :)
For the record, I’ve been greatly enjoying Toradora mainly due to its good execution and pacing, both of traits of which are all too rare. Apparently, I don’t crave (require?) new experiences and innovation as much as you. Lucky me!
As an sidenote, I know correlation doesn’t imply causation and all that jazz, but sometimes I get the “must haet popular things” vibe from you. On the other hand, if I didn’t get that vibe I’d have to call you a (good?) omo-imposter! ;)
I write about popular things so it seems that I hate on them more. At the same time, they make bigger targets since there tends to be more idiocy surrounding them.
I enjoy Toradora too, mainly because it does timing right. I am not sure if good execution and pacing are rare, though. Fact is, most anime do execute just fine, and there is nothing that elevates Toradora above the fray on those grounds. It has a good grasp of comedic timing, but a lot of funny shows do that just fine too…
I think it’s important to distinguish critical thinking from saying someone merely enjoys something. People enjoy porn all the time but they don’t have to praise it as if there’s some objective reason behind it that makes it good, for example. Likewise, I wouldn’t really say “good execution and pacing” regardless if they are really rare or not, when in reality it isn’t all that good. And that’s not even to mention where Toradora doesn’t do well.
2008 was an average year. The problem is that the average year is usually pretty weak.
Toradora’s awesome, the characters are awesome and I love, love, love it. CONTRIBUTING SOMETHING USEFUL TO THE DISCUSSION.
I have. In fact it’s quite potent if you decide to read it.
I think the problem with Toradora is that most of the critical minds dismiss it, and the people who do care about the show don’t give it the critical attention they think they are giving. And that’s probably rightfully so. I’m not going to praise Apple Jacks for being something better than the average breakfast cereal, but you’re free to like it as you wish.
Update from Author:
http://ani-nouto.animeblogger.net/2009/03/03/wah-on-toradora-and-hc/
In reply:
“Killing me softly with his song, killing me softly…”
my trackback didn’t appear D:
http://21stcenturydigitalboy.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/why-goodness-doesnt-matter-probably-secretly-a-confused-toradora-post/
apples to oranges….
OH, YOU MEAN LIKE RED DANGOS TO ORANGE DANGOS
:)
Ha, I was talking about myself, blindly loving Toradora and completely dismissing and/or ignoring the criticism’s you gave it with my comment. It was a troll *shrug*
Omi: Love harder!
DS: what kind of dango aficionado are you? Everyone knows andango is the best and the rest do not compare!