Aminori

"Oh, give me a break. You're way too young to be waxing philosophical. Maybe in ten, twenty, sixty years, but now, you're way too young... we both are."

- Ami comforting Minori after she breaks down into tears.

Aminori is the femslash ship between Ami Kawashima and Minori Kushieda from the Toradora! fandom.

Canon
Ami and Minori share minimal interaction with each other throughout most of the show, and their relationship is among the more glossed over by the narrative. While they are not exactly close friends, Ami is shown to have a much more positive relationship with Minori than with her best friend, Taiga Aisaka. Despite this, there are times where Ami is put off by Minori's behavior and random antics. Unlike her friends, Minori is not shown to be aware of the "airhead" façade that Ami puts up, but does have her suspicions that Ami is not what she seems on the surface. Nonetheless, Minori accepts Ami as a friend, and is usually very kind to her. It is not until towards the end of the show when Ami and Minori's relationship becomes significant, as a conflict brews between them due to the continuous pressure that Ami exerts onto Minori to admit how she feels about her classmate, Ryuuji Takasu. However, the two eventually make up, and become better friends as a result.

Moments
In episode 5, upon seeing Ami for the first time, Minori describes her as "super cute and has a great body." However, she claims that her radar for detecting cute girls doesn't pick up anything when aimed at Ami, making her suspicious. Later in the same episode, Ryuuji gives a note to Minori, asking her what she thinks of girls who refer to themselves as "airheads" (in reference to Ami). In response, Minori stands up and looks at Ryuuji, smiling at first, before her expression dramatically shifts to that of extreme disgust.

In episode 6, Ami's views on dieting greatly offend Minori, who considers herself to be a "diet warrior." She had also previously been informed by Taiga of the excessive amount of junk food that Ami had purchased at a convenient store. As punishment, Minori begins to grope Ami's stomach while Taiga restrains her. A flustered Ami begs her to stop, but Minori continues until Ami falls to her knees. Later in the episode, while having lunch with Ryuuji and Taiga, Minori tries to offer Ami some kombu, but Ami says she doesn't want any. Later, Minori supports Ami's decision to help pick up trash with her and some other students, as she views it as a form of exercise to help Ami lose weight, even though Ami's primary motivation is to spend time with Ryuuji.

In episode 7, Ami invites herself to go shopping for swimsuits along with Minori, Taiga, and Ryuuji. At one point, Ami steps out of a changing booth wearing a one-piece swimsuit, and asks Minori and Ryuuji if they think she'll stand out. While Ryuuji is too stunned for words, Minori angrily responds that she'll stick out like a sore thumb, before questioning why her legs are so long. Minori then holds Ami's hand and begs to know the swimsuit's brand and where she found it. After Ami answers her question, she asks if Minori would like to match with her, to which Minori instantly replies with "yes," but then quickly changes her answer to "no" after realizing what she said, before running away in shame of herself.

In episode 9, Minori is seen enjoying onigiri that was prepared by Ami. She is also shown to be super excited to spend her summer vacation at Ami's beach house with the rest of her friends after getting a view from her porch.

In episode 14, while viewing the photos that were taken during the school's culture festival, Minori tells Taiga to look at a photo of Ami for "something hot," which she alludes to being an undershot of her breasts.

Near the end of episode 16, a handbook that contains a picture of Taiga dancing with Yusaku at their school's culture festival is found by one of Ami's friends. When Ami sees this, she assumes it means that Taiga has feelings for Yusaku, and tells Minori that she no longer has to feel guilty about trying to pursue a relationship with Ryuuji, revealing that she knew about Minori's feelings for him all along.

In episode 17, Minori continues to ponder about what Ami said to her, which causes her to avoid speaking to Ryuuji for two weeks. Later, after Minori rejects Taiga's offer to be on the planning committee for their school's upcoming Christmas party, Ami opts to take her place.

In episode 22, Minori appears to be completely over the incident that occurred at the ski lodge, as she cheerfully greets Ami when she passes by, and even compliments her appearance while attempting to give her a high five. However, Ami ignores her, and when Ryuuji questions her about this, Ami remarks that "stupidity is contagious," and walks away.

In episode 23, Ami reveals to Ryuuji that she's considering leaving the school, and he asks her if it's because of what happened between her and Minori. However, Ami assures him that she wouldn't let a "freak" like Minori effect her life. Later, Ami is asked by Taiga to promote chocolate that she and Ryuuji are trying to sell. Ami initially refuses, but Taiga offers her a free box that she can give to Minori as an apology gift, having apparently noticed over the last few days that Ami was distressed over not knowing how to make up with her. Minori insists that Taiga doesn't know what she's talking about, but Taiga pushes her offer further by suggesting to give Minori a call and letting her know that Ami is ready to speak with her, noting that the timing is perfect due to it being Valentine's Day.

Quotes
"Okay, she's super cute and she's got a great body, but something's fishy here. When I aim my radar for detecting cute girls at her, it doesn't pick anything up! Maybe it needs recalibrating..."

- Minori's first impression of Ami.

"Yeah, you're gonna stick out! Like a sore thumb! Why the hell are your damn legs so long?!"

- Minori's reaction to Ami in a swimsuit.

"Oh! Hey Amin! Happy new year!"

- Minori wishing Ami a happy new year.

"Oh! Hi Amin! You're looking super fly today, girl!"

- Minori complimenting Ami's appearance.

"Nevermind. God, talking to you makes me feel like I'm on my period."

- Ami insulting Minori.

Fanon
Aminori is the most popular shipping option for both Ami and Minori. Additionally, it is the most popular femslash ship, and the second most popular ship overall in the Toradora! fandom, losing only to RyuTai. For some fans, this is confusing due to the fact that they have a limited number of interactions, and have far more significant relationships with other characters. Nonetheless, there are many aspects of the ship that fans enjoy, including the characters' contrasting personalities, which some find compliment each other. There are 23 entries for the ship on Archive of our Own.

Headcanons

 * Some fans of the ship believe that Minori was always physically attracted to Ami, due to her making several suggestive comments about her appearance, as well as experiencing what some fans label to be a "gay panic" when she sees Ami in a swimsuit.
 * There is a point in episode 13 where Minori questions if she is a lesbian. However, this is in reference to her undying loyalty to her best friend, Taiga.
 * Some fans of the ship like to believe that Ami and Minori spent more time together after Ryuuji and Taiga elope, as Minori's friend group does not appear to be very large outside of her relationships with Ryuuji and Taiga. This makes Ami the closest person to Minori by proximity.

Fandom
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Trivia

 * Ami and Minori were both born in 1989. Interestingly, despite Minori claiming that Ami is more mature than the rest of them, she is actually older than Ami by over four months.