Kawashima Ami-chan: Bad Girls are so Much More Interesting…

More importantly what is she thinking about?

I never did expect to like Toradora! much, still while I have mild levels of love for Taiga toradorable though she maybe (as she is loli enough to reside three miles past the point of uncomfortable and has yet to use her wealth to provide Takasu with decent ingredients) I did find myself liking Ami more and more as the episodes go by. I like her not only because she looks more developed biologically than Taiga but also because she is so deliciously insincere that it is hard to read her character and her motives. While there have been many who have wondered if Ami-tan ever did take off her mask I do suppose she has, instead of pretending to be an air head the whole time, shown much more of her mischievous self and insincere tone to those around her. Perhaps the Ami we see now is the real Ami, a person with a unique gift for obfuscation. If nothing else Ami has no problem using a ball with lethal force against Yusaku.

Leaving are we, Ryuji? Were it so easy…

Oh Ami-chan does know how much Ryuji can’t say no to cleaning something…

Not that Ami-chan needs to know, she just wants him to confess what went on in dirty mind of his.

I confess that I have not watched much within the harem genre, but from what I have seem Ami seems to be rather unique this year in that she seems to show much more cunning than your average haremette. The fact that Ami is already aware of where Ryuji’s crush at least indicates some significant powers of observation and deduction, and as a result points to Ami having a high degree of intelligence. Moreover she is already aware of Yusaku’s disinterest in Taiga and possibly about Yusaku’s crush on Sumire. Like a future top tier operative it is very possible that Ami is making a file on everyone, and so far she at least knows which buttons to push on both Taiga and Ryuji. Subtlety seems to be her strong point as she lacks that spectacular flair that Taiga seems to be oozing out constantly. Taiga may possess the brute strength but Ami seems to be a bit more precise in expending her efforts as demonstrated by the Taiga pool toss. Not only is her precision impressive, but her mental agility is worth noting as well. I was quite impressed with how she turned that shower thing around and humiliated Ryuji in the space of less than a minute. Ami went from hearing him to figuring out a plan a executing it with devastating results that made Ryuji cry like a sissy at the drop of a hat.

It took Ryuji a while to realize that he had been toyed with…

Ami-chan is spicy…

So you like Minorin, your thoughts betray you. Taiga was wise to hide it from me, but now her failure is complete…

If nothing else Ami is confident to the point of arrogance though one has to wonder if she is being genuinely narcissistic or just putting up another layer of smoke to keep people guessing. All that can be said for certain is that Ami has the knack for playing mind games as Ryuji was sent crying back to Taiga after she toyed with his pure boy heart, though as she did succeed perhaps Ryuji is not so loyal to Minorin as he thinks. The thing that makes Ami’s private little war with Taiga is that Ami is better able to get under the latter’s skin in ways that not even a brutal beating could equal. Sure Taiga might be able to inflict a bit of physical pain, but the wounds from the kiddie swim suit might well last a lifetime as Taiga has yet to have her growth spurt. Where Taiga never seems to have all of her wits about her given her uncertainty in just about everything including herself, Ami at least knows herself a bit more and certainly knows what her own agenda is and how to execute it. Out of the titular five it is Ami that acts as the catalyst for accelerating developments. Ami forces Taiga to react to her omnipresent threat and that at least keeps things interesting in the short term.

Part of me still wonders if goading Ryuji to make an extra spicy curry wasn’t part of one of her schemes, in any case I doubt it could have gone any better in feeding sweet curry loving Taiga some real curry.

Ami is a veteran of being around Yusaku, I suspect that Taiga doesn’t even know half of Kitamura’s quirks…

She speaks the truth of course…

There is a large degree of transparency to every one but Ami. Ryuji obviously has the hots for Minorin, Minorin is living in her own little world, Taiga is gunning for Yusuke and for now harbors little overt romantic interest in her inu (taking an active part in trying to hand Minorin over to Ryuji does not in my mind indicate romantic attachment), and Yusuke gave up long ago on Taiga and has his heart set on Sumire. However we can never be sure if Ami is genuinely interested in Ryuji or simply delights in picking on the simpleton. The one thing we can count on in regards to the other five is that for now she seems to know Yusuke too well to actually harbor any feelings other than that of friendship. Unlike the rest it was only Ami who kept her cool after Yusuke decided to streak as Taiga froze up and Minorin just went blank. Perhaps in the end much of the mystery surrounding Ami’s motivations will disappear, but until then at least she remains deliciously different from the typical well meaning kind of female you expect from the genre, I am quite sure that Ami has plans within plans to keep Taiga off balance. With any luck Ami-chan will be able to mislead those around her with enough innuendo, half-truths, and bald face lies while looking hawt to keep us all guessing at what her true agenda is.

Even if Ami is not the nicest person of the year at least she boasts something that is sorely lacking within the typical haremette, intelligence and the willingness to use it. Ami-chan is clever and cunning, and that makes her my kind of scum. Ami might be a bitch, but the same can be said of Taiga. Taiga certainly could do with a lot more tact when she interacts with people and definitely could do more to quell her outbursts. More often or not we wear masks when we go out in public, there ought to be no displeasure that Ami is more than capable of doing the same. After all we are expected to be on our best behavior in public, for is it not dishonest to smile at a person you loathe rather than reaching over the table and clocking them?

Well it seems that Taiga was shocked and awed by what she saw…

A bald faced lie, no doubt…

I like her scowl.