A lot of people seem to be raging about Ryuuji proposing to Taiga, when they're so young and still in school and it's so early in their relationship and so on.
I think there's a reasonable explanation for this. (Note that I don't know about Japanese laws, and this is just a personal impression.)
In the novels, there's a very palpable sense of urgency: Taiga's mother is actively chasing after Ryuuji/Taiga to grab her daughter and move far, far away. She drives her Porsche after them on the streets, and they run away, making sure to use narrow alleys where cars can't drive while keeping a lookout for black vehicles, and later they also hop on different trains to shake off pursuers (excessively, perhaps). Taiga's mother also visits Kitamura and asks him where she can find them.
Now, Ryuuji is a young man, a few days away from turning 18, and over the course of a year he's grown incredibly attached and fallen in love with Taiga. She's still a minor, and now her mother appears out of nowhere and wants to break them apart, ripping his loved one right out of his life. Inner monologues and various scenes with crying/screaming make it abundantly clear that Ryuuji is very upset about this.
His solution is simple: Run away for a few days until he turns 18, then marry Taiga and move in with her. "WHAT?!" go most people watching. Why get married so soon? I believe it's because at age 17, Taiga is still a minor, and under the custody of her mother, who can move her wherever she wants. However, if Ryuuji marries her (I think girls have to be 16 in Japan), he most likely becomes her "guardian" and thus gains the right to live with her, in practice freeing her from the evil mother's grasp. This allows him and Taiga to stay together, and gives Taiga the opportunity to live a life in contact with her very precious friends.
Of course it's insane, and rash, and surprising. Ami even comments on this in the book, calling it a childish plan. But remember that Ryuuji grew up with a single mother who did exactly that: she ran away from home and gave birth to her son and lived in exile from her parental home. To him it's not a crazy, impossible occurrence - instead it's exactly what he's living proof of. Taiga, on the other hand, hates her parents and has always felt utterly betrayed by them, so to her it's the only way to be close to the people she really cares about, her friends and Ryuuji.
Right, well, I guess this is where someone knowledgeable comes in and tells me I'm wrong about how marriage and custodian laws work in Japan, and then you can declare me mentally unstable.
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Originally Posted by fish eric
Type like what? A regular human?
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A non-regular human, actually. I meant the usage of capital letters and punctuation, which is pretty rare in instant messaging.