Toradora Ending Explained: Why Did Taiga Leave School? Minori’s Dark Grief

Toradora Ending remains to be one of the most heartbreaking endings in anime history. On the brink of a few scenes, the narrative changed into something that no one was expecting. It is undeniable that Toradora is a flawed story, much like life itself. A lot goes on depending on how fans want to look at a certain conclusion. In the huge divide that was created by Toradora Ending, some fans loved the realistic ending of the show. Meanwhile, some of them were keen to notice the fatal flaw in the character arcs.

What adds to this is the fact that the ending of the anime was twitched from the original source. To date, fans continue to discuss and debate this decision of the studio. So, was it fair to give Minori’s character a sad ending? Plus, Taiga taking a leave for an entire year felt pushed and unnatural. So, let us discuss the ending of Toradora in context with both manga and the anime adaptation.

Toradora Ending: What Happened In The Anime?

After Minori decided to give up the love of her life for the sake of her best friend, everything did not go as she had planned. The love between Taiga and Ryuji did fester for a short while. But in the end, Taiga decided to leave Ryuji and went away for one year. This only added to Ryuji’s troubles even more. Even though he was a kind-hearted and generous boy, he had gone through a lot in his childhood.

When Ryuji’s mother was pregnant, his father had left the family. These abandonment issues have stayed with him since. And now that Taiga has also left him, Ryuji’s fear from the past will resurface once again. The probable reason for her departure was the fears that she had developed due to her traumatic past. Taiga had decided that she wanted to become worthy of Ryuji. And so, she ‘ghosted’ him without giving him a proper reason.

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It was Taiga’s decision to fix her own life before starting a life with Ryuji comes as selfish. If she had been mindful enough, she would have chosen to work on herself while being with Ryuji. But she decided to do it all alone.

How Did The Manga End?

The manga draws the plot directly from the light novel. However, it is notable that the original story took up a different ending than the author had planned. The anime concludes on high school graduation day. This was the final meeting between the two main leads. After this, she made the ultimate decision of leaving Ryuji. As for the light novel, Ryuuji had begun his third year in school. And the two met on their way to high school. It was only after this that they parted their ways in life.

This was the only minor change that was different from the anime. Aside from this, most of the events traced a similar path. However, many fans feel that the manga dealt with the story of separation way better than the anime itself. This was because the extended panels of the story were beautifully traced by the illustrator. Plus, the grief of separation was something that was expressed with precision in the manga.

Minori’s Sad Ending

Right from the beginning, fans had rooted for the character of Minori. Even though Taiga was completely opposite of her, she chose to be her friend till the end of the line. Their contrasting personalities complemented each other very well. However, Taiga was viewed through a sympathetic lens as she was the one who came from a damaged family. As for Minori, even after enduring the pain of losing a loved one, her story did not see a fair conclusion.

Some fans argue that in a flawed tale like Toradora, it was more than fair for one of the characters to go through this arc. Right from the beginning, it was evident that this was the fate that would befall them. But it was not expected that she would be the one to sacrifice the love of her life.

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Taiga’s Character Arc

Taiga’s departure from the love only goes to show that the story ended by completing her arc. The character’s purpose was not just to fall into the trope of a perfect story. Instead, Taiga, Ryuuji, and Minori were all flawed characters, and they were supposed to grow from the situations that they went through. In Taiga’s case, her entire arc was about outgrowing her own immaturity and fixing her family troubles.

Ryuuji was only the push who would make her realize the importance of holding accountability in life. Thus, the act of leaving Ryuuji was temporary damage that would come in the way of mending her own life. Possibly after resolving the conflicts with her mother and her stepsisters, she would come back as a better person.

The decision was not about selfish ghosting or leaving her love stranded, it was more about finding wings. Taiga is now a confident woman who has taken charge of fixing things back home. As for Ryuuji, he will soon get back the love of his life. But it is undeniable that what happened to Minori was heartbreaking and will always remain that way.

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