I’m sure you are asking yourself what exactly I could mean by “experiment.”  It’s simple really. While watching the first episode of Saki, I found myself being fairly entertained by something I know little to nothing about. That being the game of Mahjong. I don’t know how to play. I don’t know the rules. Nada. My little experiment will be to see what will happen if I continue to watch this show. Will I be able to enjoy a show about something I know nothing about? Will I decide to learn how to play the game, or will the show become annoyingly specific to Mahjong players, ruining the experience?

I don’t really think that the last option will be the case. After all, there are plenty of examples of anime based on card games that do well despite the viewers having no real interest in the game.

There is always the off chance that something entirely unexpected will happen, too. I’m sure it will all be very exciting. Well, not for you, probably. Unless you are following the show as well. It sure makes Mahjong seem awfully entertaining with all the lighting, smoke, and sound effects.

Taiga and Ryuji are the only characters in Toradora that have experienced any “growth” throughout the series. I say that very sparingly because it wasn’t as if their character changed as much as it was that they were shown to have been accepted by those around them.  The key point here is that they were always the way they have been portrayed in recent episodes. For instance, Taiga has always supposedly been hyperactive and cheerful. Albeit, the presumed history would say it was only around her best friend Minori. This is shown in both the opening credits of the show (both versions) and in her interaction with Minori during each episode.

Taiga and Ryuji share the same distinction in that they were “misunderstood.”  The other characters have diverged from their set personalities at times or we were given some small glimpse into their inner thoughts, but for the most part all the characters are the same as when we were first introduced to them in the beginning. It is that we know more about them now, in particular, Taiga and Ryuji.

From my last Toradora post:

If there is one common vein in the connections between characters in Toradora, it is that the characters were fixed in a direction and they continue in that direction no matter the results.

I think this is what people have been seeing in the story that has kept them watching. Toradora’s story is about people being people. We’ve all grown accustom to characters having some type of revolutionary change.  There is always some event that forever alters the landscape of the plot and the characters themselves. Whether it be the average school boy who turns out to be the only one who can pilot a giant robot to save the Earth, or the Magical Girl who turns out to be the only one who can control the legendary power that can save the world. Most of all, we are conditioned to look for an antagonist, or something approaching that of an evil opponent that the hero/heroine must face in order to save that which need saving.  That conveniently distressed something-or-other.

It isn’t that Toradora is without these antagonist who are the enemies of our beloved characters. No, this is very much not the case. As a matter of fact, it would seem that there are an equal number of opponents, one for each of our cast. Each one has somebody to face off against in the final battle for all our salvation.  Of course, they may be a bit hard to find if you aren’t looking for them. Because, like you or I, the opponents that are most challeging to the characters in Toradora are they themselves. With each character, the one who is constantly tripping, stifling, and getting in the way of their wants is nonother than the same person who wants.

Synopsis of Episode 0 -

Keita is a middle school student preparing for high school. He has two sisters. He awakens in the first episode in bed with his sisters who proceed to molest him whist he is unable to move. He is immobile due to his sisters having used his arms as pillows resulting in their heads putting his arms to sleep because of a lack of blood flow.

The rest of the show is a combination of pantyshots, for the most part. Yeah, there is some plot. It involves furthering the story to a point where he eventually bones either one or both of his sisters, presumably.

I didn’t know too much about Kiss X Sis before watching it. Honestly, I was not too sure what to expect. Obviously, given the title, I was expecting some siblings to be engaged in some type of forbidden romance. Luckily, Kiss X Sis does not appear to vary from that particular plot angle.

We all know the standard line by now. Even though they have been living under same roof for the entirety of their lives, it’s okay because they’re not “blood related.” I’ve always thought of this as text book Freudian sexual desires, but it may just be a convenient plot device…who really knows?

On another note, Keita’s father seems to be encouraging his son to go for it, which just increases the amount of “suspension of disbelief” needed for this show. Seriously, just turn off all the parts of your brain that are not governed by sex.

Some individuals have already decided on the best show of fall* 2008. Now, unlike some people I usually don’t express opinions about shows that I haven’t watched. I’m not making any accusations. It’s just that, contrary to popular belief, 38% of people are actually not entitle to their opinion.

I’m calling it here and now: Toradora! is the best show of 2008, and postemptively of all time.  Come on, you absolutely cannot disagree with me on this one. I mean, the name rhymes and, as if that wasn’t enough to tell you this show is new and original, it has a freak’n exclamation point tacked on. Yeah, you read that right, a freak-in-ex-clam-a-tion-point!

! – there, ’cause I like ya’.

Besides, Taiga is probably the cutest character since Zero Louise.

-Errata-

* It was noted that the author of the link attributing a certain show to being “the best of 2008″ was actually declaring it as “the best show of fall 2008.” far away no where offers apologies for any inconvenience or violent beatings on the way home from school this may have caused. This statement does not represent an admission of liability or acknowledgment of good taste in anime.

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Rie Kugimiya’s wiki entry notes that she has been “typecasted to tsundere roles.” I thought I was the only one that had noticed…

Hikari quickly became one of my favorite characters simply because of her amazing ability to not get what was going on, despite her apparent academic aptitude. Specifically, she seemed to be totally ignorant of Kei’s feelings, even when it was readily apparent that Kei was infatuated with her.

I kept on telling myself that this story was going to be one of those standard plots where the girl is just being aloof or “playing hard to get.” We learn, near the end of the series, that is not the case. For the majority of the show she is not cognizant of any romantic feelings she harbors for Kei. When she finally becomes aware of those feelings, she associates them with losing to Kei.

The “rival” mantra Hikari repeats in every single episode played through to the very end.  She was only able to express her love for Kei in terms of that rivalry. It was supposed to show that she greatly respected and admired him, as well as loved him.  I felt it went a little too far, but I also realize that it fits in with the plot.

As much as I wanted these two to get together, I was a bit disappointed in the ending. I expected more from the final disclosure of their affection for one another. The show ends as expected, we receive a bit of closure with a short embrace. Then as quickly as that happens, it’s over, and we are back at the greenhouse. Everything has returned to normal, nothing has changed, and everybody is happy again.

…if only life were so easy.