[houkoholic]

Originally Posted by Darknemo2000

And this is why I disagree with you

Spoiler for bah:

Taiga and Ryyuuji are not a couple yet. Considering that the family issues which do not seem to be resolved in a few lines are left as well as Ami's situation, considering that we still need to see them grow as a couple or elde it will not feel complete considering how long they took to reach it, to end it with well theys ort of got together after that does not feel right considering the story.

For me 10th volume is needed to solve family issues and Ami and them starting to be a couple. And volume 11th them establishing as a couple. And providing an epilogue to the whole series. Cramping it all up in one volume will guarantee us a rushed ending with a note 'and they become a couple after that' which is barely romantic at all.

For me, ending it with 10th volume would mean that Ryuuji and Taiga are not a real established couple at all. No one asks for it to go Clannad way, but at least showing them build up something in romance way would be nice, specially how long it took them to get there and that they are STILL not there.

Spoiler:

If you still think that they need to get all "romantic" to be a couple I think you've been reading the wrong series all along. I hate to stereotype but ToraDora's romance is very much a female POV and almost cliche dream of a perfect stable couple relationship (due to author being female at all) rather than a male one, even though it is techinically a shounen series. The little things Taiga and Ryuji share is much more important and subtly showing deeper caring for each other - such as the amount of details the author goes and repeats on how they share a scarf (whether Taiga forcefully takes it from Ryuji, or Ryuji willfully giving it to Taiga and caringly wraps it for her, how they can smell each other's oder and shampoo from the same scarf etc), are very subtle while romantic to females for its gentle yet strong display of affection rather than the superficial "oh they kissed!" or "they hold hands!" type of young couple/shounen flirting romance. As I've pointed out in another thread (General), what they do for each other are already beyond what couples on their initial "still finding if they are right for each other" stage does, all they need is just to acknowledge their feelings, and they're most DEFINITELY there at the right point in acknowledging it (not even they, just Ryuji!). In fact, if they go back to make Taiga and Ryuji all blushy I would argue that it cheapens their relationship and it would be a cheap "reset" trick. If I have to make a comparison to another work, I would say the relationship in ToraDora is most similiar to Maison Ikkoku, Godai and Kyoko confessed to each other after all their trouble they went through and the last and only thing they did that could solidify their "romance" or raise their status as a couple was sex because after all that they had shared with each other of their life it was the only thing they had left to prove that they are a couple, their mentality as a couple were more than complete, they didn't need to date each other or anything like that. All that was left was physical lust (not saying that in a degrading way), and Takahashi Rumiko did exactly that in the story (what's left after Godai and Kyoko had sex in MI were personal issues, not their romance/relationship related issues, again a very similiar parallel can be drawn to ToraDora here). Taiga and Ryuji is pretty much the same thing, they are really, REALLY, only that far from being "officially" a couple. Though I'm sure the author probably won't do sex (this is shounen compared to seinen of MI), but a kiss after a passionate word confession is really all there is to it. Winding their relationship backwards to the flirting stage would be very very poor writing.

And since you've brought up Clannad, this is actually the same case in Clannad too. The people whinging about Tomoya/Nagisa not having even kissed yet and haven't done anything "romantice" but had already setup for marriage is totally missing the point. Again what they do shows something more than the physical lust, it is a mark of a complete relationship.