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 in 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 she is not what she seems on the surface. Nonetheless, Minori accepts Ami as a friend, and is usually very kind to her, and while Ami does not always reciprocate these feelings, there are times where she does. It's later revealed that Minori actually admires Ami for her perceived "maturity," and although she questions whether or not she has good intentions, she wants to believe that she does. 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 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.

Ami and Minori are seen together a few times in the show's second opening, "Silky Heart." At the beginning, they are seen standing back-to-back, before walking away from each other. Towards the end, Minori can be seen happily pushing Ami towards Taiga, who puts up some resistance.

In episode 20, after arriving at school with Ryuuji, Minori greets Ami and wishes her a happy new year. Ami returns the greeting in a passive-aggressive tone, but Minori doesn't appear to pick up on this. Minori then asks Ami if she's seen Taiga, but Ami replies that she hasn't, before sighing in annoyance and muttering "and here we go..." When Minori asks her what's up, Ami says that she's still waiting to find out herself, and leaves.

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. Minori then begins to chase after her, and eventually finds her sitting between two vending machines.

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. Initially, Ami refuses, but Taiga offers her a free box that she can give to Minori as an apology gift, having apparently noticed that Ami was distressed over not knowing how to make up with her. Ami insists that Taiga doesn't know what she's talking about, but Taiga pushes her offer further by suggesting to call Minori herself and let her know that Ami is ready to speak with her. She also notes the appropriateness of it being Valentine's Day. Suddenly, a group of people who recognize Ami see her by the stand, and she begins to speak positively about the chocolates, which get people to crowd around the stand to buy some. As Ami leaves, she can be seen holding the free box that Taiga promised her, presumably to give to Minori.

In episode 24, as Ryuuji, Taiga, and Yusaku prepare to leave Ami's house, Minori tells them that she's planning on staying a little longer to chat with her, despite Ami being against this. Taiga assumes this means the two have finally made amends, and congratulates Ami, causing her to blush. After the three have left, Ami asks Minori what she wants to talk about, but Minori begins to slide down her body and onto the floor in exhaustion. Annoyed, Ami tries to make her get up, before she notices that Minori is crying. When Ami asks her if it's because Ryuuji took Taiga away from her, Minori replies that she doesn't know herself. Seeing that she's being open and honest with her for once, Ami smiles at Minori, before telling her that she's pathetic. Minori acknowledges that she is, before telling Ami that she's learned "if you run through the halls and trip, you get a nosebleed. If you go through life and trip, you cry." Ami then tells Minori that the two of them are too young to be speaking philosophically. The following moring, Ami can be seen watching Minori train on the snow-covered field, and asks her if she wants to go see Ryuuji and Taiga off at the train station. However, Minori says she can't hear her, and continues her training. Ami rolls her eyes at Minori once again avoiding things, but also says she doesn't blame her because she was "dumped" by her best friend and love interest. Suddenly, Minori playfully hurls a snowball at Ami's face, making her angry. After another snowball is thrown, Ami can be seen grinning vengefully at Minori, and a snowball fight ensues between the two girls.

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, such as the characters' contrasting personalities, which some find compliment each other well. Although it is the second most popular ship in the fandom, Aminori is still a relatively small pairing, likely due to the Toradora! fandom not being overly large in general.

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 how she feels about her best friend, Taiga.
 * Fans of the ship like to believe that Ami and Minori had grown closer with each other after Taiga and Ryuuji elope. This headcanon is supported by how Ami appears to be more affectionate towards Minori in the final episode of the show, which takes place after a timeskip. Additionally, Minori's friend group does not appear to be very large outside of her relationships with Taiga and Ryuuji, so by proximity, this makes Ami the person closest to her.

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Trivia

 * Both girls' surnames begin with the letter "K" and end with the latter "a."
 * 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.