Tonikaku Kawaii

This year, 2020, had a strange phenomenon of rom-coms. We had ‘Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It’ at the beginning of the year, where the idea of romance became an experiment as part of its storyteller. Spring dropped us into a fantasy world of reverse harem and otome tropes with My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Led to Doom. And of course, let’s not forget Summer 2020 that gave us ‘Kanojo, Okarishmasu’ a rom-com with relationships based on lies. Fall 2020 decided to give us a truthful romantic comedy of a married couple, and by marriage, I mean commitmentand a lot of romance. Isn’t this just a strange year? Kenjirou Hata isn’t known for being a masterpiece storywriter. Most of his works often deal with romantic comedy elements and among them is Hayate the Combat Butler. Watching Tonikaku Kawaii gave me a similar impression at first when we meet Nasa Yuzaki, the main protagonist who gets involved in an accident. Is it fate when at that moment that he encounters his future wife, Tsukasa Tsukyomi? And that’s the funny idea about fate. When we talk about fate, it seems characters are destined to meet and one of the recurring tropes from the author’s previous work. Nasa and Tsukasa develop a relationship quickly as they get married in the very first episode. If you don’t believe me, just watch their union and signed registration. When you have two main protagonists get married from the very first episode, there’s bound to be endless questions popping into your head. One of the first questions may be why these two would get married in the first place? Doesn’t marriage take time and commitment? They barely know each other but now are a married couple, a type of relationship that may last until death do them apart. From the very first few episodes, we can deduct that both main characters does have attraction towards each other. Nasa sees Tsukasa as a girl that you can only dream of even dating, let alone marrying. On the other hand, Tsukasa sees Nasa as a gentle soul with a selfless nature that truly values her well-being. However, the two are lack experience when it comes to actual romance. For instance, it took a lot of convincing for Tsukasa to tell Nasa to talk to her without being so formal. Tsukasa herself has trouble expressing her feelings and this usually translates into dozens of awkward moments between the duo. You could easily say that each episode is a test for the two lovebirds. Although over time, Nasa and Tsukasa learns a lot about each other and what it means to love. As mentioned before, marriage is a commitment and a lifelong vow. To comprehend this idea, Tsukasa and Nasa had to arrange their life into a state where they can live comfortably. This includes securing a stable job, buying the right furniture, and making time to be with each other. It sounds a lot harder than it looks but realistically, almost any normal couple would have to go through this process. For Tsukasa and Nasa, some unfortunate circumstances drops them into a temporary home in later episodes. It’s one of those old sayings where when life knocks you down, you have to get back up. From a storytelling perspective, the duo faces the hardship of life and reality. The main storytelling theme focuses on their way of life and how they live each day to be what they committed to. Despite some of the serious wordings of the plot elements, Tonikaku Kawaii is a fairly lighthearted show with tons of comedy and entertainment. You have to remember that the author wants us to experience a light rom-com, without too many tearjerking moments or despair. Indeed, this anime adaptation remains lighthearted that focuses on entertaining rather than a complex storytelling. With 12 episodes, the anime sets the bar for being what a rom-com should be although I emphasize that the ongoing manga is fairly long. In other words, this 1-cour adaptation serves more as a tool for viewers to get into the surface of the franchise. There’s a whole lot more down the rabbit hole. Otherwise, fans should be familiar with the overall tone of the comedy such as the character name gags (namely Nasa), misunderstandings, and other mischiefs. With its small yet colorful cast of characters, the author also borrows similar character concepts from his previous work such as maids. Characters such as Kaname, Aurora, Charlotte are decorated with maid characteristics while Kaginoji Chitose serves the role of a jealous girl who gets the wrong impression about Nasa. No doubt, Chitose causes some unsettling drama between the couple and some episodes shows that she can be an annoying brat to deal with. Luckily, this is where we see Nasa at how he tackles the problem in his honest and sincere way. In many ways, Nasa is the ‘nice guy’ in their relationship but only that he doesn’t finish last. He’s first to be married to such a perfect housewife. Studio Sevens Arcs may not be a powerhouse studio when it comes to animation but one thing is for certain, they managed to connect the dots in the right places for this adaptation. Tonikaku Kawaii’s visual style has a light touch with its character designs. It has a vibrant colorful art that retains the style of the manga look. Tsukasa in particular stands out as the poster girl and while other female characters are made with delicacy. Nasa himself also has a girly look despite being a male. This may or may not rub people’s impressions in the wrong way but for a rom-com, it suits them right. Plus, who can forget all those cartoony expressions. It’s almost like a dream fantasy for Nasa, being able to find such a perfect girl like Tsukasa. Fate tied the knots together for these two characters and by no doubt, they retain a faithful relationship. Everyday is a challenge and every episode follows their steps of this married couple. If only the real world is perfect with all that buffet handholding.

"You don't get married because you've proven you're in love... You get married so you can prove it." - Yuzaki Nasa First, one thing I want to make clear is that if you don't like simple romance with no drama, then you need to stay away from Tonikawa, because it's definitely not for you. Anime like OreGairu will suit you better. The beauty of Tonikawa lies in it's simplicity. It's not just another wholesome fluffy rom-com, it's much more than that. What I think makes Tonikawa the perfect rom-com for me is that how the romance isn't dragged out, there is little to no drama, whichis perfect for people like me. Not that I hate it, but I find it overwhelming, drama isn't something I'd watch every time, anime like OreGairu is good, but exhausting at the same time. On the other hand, we have anime like Tonikawa, which is completely different from that, it's something I could always watch. These kind of anime is precious to me, because it just eases my exhaustion of real life, it's a real mood refresher, at the end of a tiring day, I'd love to sit with a bowl of ice-cream and enjoy this sweet anime. It's THAT kind of an anime. Another reason why I think it's great, is because of how it keeps some question unanswered. And frankly, I don't mind it, it's only been season 1 and they have been successful to pique my interest in the story that if a season 2 ever drops, I'd gladly watch it, not just because of it's wholesome romance aspect, but also because to find out where the plot is heading, because there's clearly a plot and it's definitely heading somewhere, as hinted by the mystery surrounding Tsukasa. The mystery keeps the overarching plot alive. The plot is very simple, Nasa Yuzaki, our MC, falls in love at first sight with Tsukasa, our FMC. As Nasa tries to approach her, he gets hit by truck, only to be saved by Tsukasa's swift movements. Nasa doesn't miss the opportunity and forces himself to confess and ask her out. However, Tsukasa has one condition, they can only be together if he marries her! It may sound unrealistic, but nobody said it has to be realistic to enjoy the anime. The entire story is just Nasa and Tsukasa's compilation of learning how to be a married couple. Though, it might sound boring at first, it is far from it. This is where the wholesome part shines the most. Going to bedding shopping together, Nasa trying his best to make small living space comfortable for his new bride, Tsukasa showing Nasa how to make a proper meal, Nasa introducing Tsukasa to his parents, all of these small things are a big part of this show, and most possibly the best part. This is where the true beauty of the anime lies, simply having fun in your daily life, that's what this anime is about, for most of it's part. While some questions have been left as a mystery, such as Tsukasa's past, all of it just compliments the plot while keeping the viewer's attracted. Now onto the characters, one of the best aspect of this anime! While Nasa might seem like a very childish MC, I mean who throws away their life for a girl they barely know about? But it's no doubt how his love for Tsukasa is real. Though it may seem he loves Tsukasa just because she's cute (As per the title of the anime, Tonikaku Kawaii) he actually does love everything about her, not just that she's cute. During his speech with Chitose, he said the destiny is real and how he talked about his love to Tsukasa was just too heartwarming. Riemann Zeta Function is the very last thing I would expect to appear in an anime, using math to prove your love is also something I never expected from this anime. This just goes to say how he loves Tsukasa, a girl who he just met more than a person that you love and knew from a long time. As much as Nasa loves Tsukasa, Tsukasa also loves everything about Nasa. When she was asked about what he likes about Nasa and how she blushes a little while saying that she like everything about him, it's just really heartwarming. Tsukasa notices the littlest detail about Nasa and compliments him on it, and Nasa also loves when she compliments him, what can be more cute than this? Other than Nasa and Tsukasa, all other characters are absolutely adorable! Kaname, Aya, Nasa's parents, all these side characters, I just can't get enough of these adorable set of casts! The character who was a teensy bit annoying was Chitose, she reminded me of those generic Tsundere characters, other than that I don't hate her much. Also the voicing of each and every character is so amazing! I adore all the Seiyuus (Voice actors) working behind this anime. About the artstyle, it's adorable! I don't know how anyone could not like it. The artstyle just compliments the setting and couldn't be any better. The blush lines are kinda ridiculous, but I'd be lying to myself if I said that I didn't find that cute. The opening is just amazing, at first, I kind of didn't like the idea of EDM in an anime opening, because most of the time it sounds generic, but Yunomi changed my mind. I've listened to Yunomi before this, and I was very surprised that this opening was from Yunomi. And I was even more surprised when I found out that it was Tsukasa's Seiyuu who was singing the opening. Starting with a beautiful instrumental, when the EDM part started, it took me by surprise. Not only the opening, but the ending is beautiful beyond explanation. I have already listened to it an unhealthy amount of times, the piano's involvement in the ending is really great. I'm listening to it as I'm writing this review! It's really helpful and I'd suggest you listen to it while reading this as well, kinda gives a good feeling. And now onto the most important part, enjoyment. If you read this review completely then you know that I've enjoyed this a lot. There aren't many heartwarming anime like this, which is why this is so special to me. I remember making a thread months ago, asking for a romance anime with simple story, "I just want a romance anime where the boy and girl are simply in love with each other, and do relationship stuff together without any drama." were my exact words, after I saw this anime, it felt like it was just made for me. I couldn't be more happier, I enjoyed every second of this anime. I see a lot of negative comments about this anime, most of them complain about the same thing, about how everything is too simple, how much of a fool can you be? With a little bit of research, anyone could've found out that it's those simple SoL type of anime, if it wasn't your thing then why watch it? Many people try to bring real life logic into it, like how it shouldn't be possible for them to marry each other, blah blah blah. Oh please, this fiction, nowhere did it say that it's based on real life laws. I also don't get why people say that nothing happens in this anime, please don't be ignorant. All criticisms on this anime look very shallow, it's what happens when you try too hard to find something bad about an anime. Although I don't blame those people, even if I tried then I couldn't truly find something about this anime that was absolutely terrible. Fridays have been sweeter with this anime around. This anime impacted me in a way that Fridays will be a little empty without this, this is a huge success, and for that alone, this anime is more than deserving of a solid 9.

"If you marry me, I'll go out with you." - The (Princess Kaguya-ish) waifu material, Tsukasa Tsukuyomi: The modern-day sequel story of "The Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter's Wife". "Yes!! With pleasure!!" - The simp (that's not so simp) husbando material, Nasa Yuzaki: The man who'll achieve the speed of light faster than NASA! That's the only story plot "full of love and dreams" you need to know, an overnight done deal, and truly "faster than the speed of light". If you're wondering what Tonikaku Kawaii is all about, this is Hata Kenjirou (Hayate the Combat Butler!) flexing his marriage to Asano Mayumi (Sore ga Seiyuu!) in early 2018,that birthed the start of this amazing rom-com manga (right-smack on Valentine's Day in the same year, no less), and has finally come around to this anime adaptation (albeit under "Crunchyroll Originals" URGH). As a huge fan of the manga, I can't tell you how long fans have waited for this diamond gem of a rom-com to be brought to the small screen, and now this reality has come true. For anime-onlys, sorry, but you'll still have to read the manga regardless! Rather than going through the usual points (as my reviews tend to be), I'd like you to conduct this very simple checklist: - Wholesome, cutesy, adorable Rom-Com SoL happiness? Vanilla check. - Romance right at the START instead of the END? Story plot check. - Male MC not a clueless, spineless moron that thinks with his brain? Absolute check. - Male MC is a man of Kazuma-level culture and boldness? DOUBLE check. - Female MC not a violent tsundere bitch? Absolute check. - Female MC smug face? DOUBLE check. - Supporting cast isn't annoying AF? Hilarious, yet serious check. - Even the most annoying character (the blonde loli) is reasonably non-intrusive? Idealistic check. - No filler characters: Everyone seems real instead of feeling like they are being put there just for the sake of the MCs alone? Realistic check. - Great OST? Musically check. - "Meta" memes and references of Japan's pop culture and others? Extra check, if you're eagle-eyed, that's a plus. Good one on you. - (Most importantly) Truck-kun unable to Isekai MC? TRIPLE Check!!! If any of the points you see here checks out, then I'm sorry to say that this show is not for you. And yes, to add the salt and rub some more wounds, Japan's legal age for young marriages are truly a gleam of wonder, with males at 18 and females at 16 (and yeap, both Nasa and Tsukasa are legal of age!). Talk about moving past ALL the BS drama, troupes and cliches (NTR included) and dense "high school" relationships we've seen time and time again that gets old so quickly. What you see here, is what you get: a pure wholesome vanilla romance of a young boy and young girl, their marriage as fresh as their friendship-cum-relationship towards one another, exploring each other's quirks and identifying what is good and bad while holding no grudges, and more importantly, going through the rite of passage together as one of (if not) the best husbando and waifu couple pairings of recent times. Dr. Seuss even puts it best with this romantic quote: “You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep, because reality is finally better than your dreams.” BUT, with a cinch of comedy, as Mae West puts it: “Marriage is like trading in the adoration of many for the sarcasm of one.” WHEW, talk about idealistic (but realistic) gut-punching. In a nutshell: This is the marriage life of the Yuzakis': Nasa and Tsukasa, who only coincidentally met each other on a winter's night road, and within the span of the night, a marriage proposal is formed...and after 3 years of disappearance, the wishful thinking has come full circle. Day and night, this lovely and beautiful couple learns to understand each other's likes and dislikes for character development, all while committing "lewd" acts time and time again to amaze-balls of "will they get on it, or not?" (even right in Nasa's original home, such kind parents). Some backstories here and there that'll question you about Tsukasa's "immortality", but it's just a small set-up for both the anime and the manga (for now). Even with the supporting cast of the Arisugawa family of jokers: Kaname is a down-to-earth, but extremely fun and comical (best supporting) LIT younger sister; Aya being the complete airhead (of over 9000) of an older sister that has held her crush for the husbando (for far too long) and reverting into YouTubing after the damage is done; and not to mention, their loving-cum-merciless mother who always gives the cold, hard truths to the older sister with no remorse. Like mother, like (older) daughter. Also, the questions about the frustrations of blonde-haired Chitose and her able maids Aurora and Charlotte: Chitose seems like the typical "annoying AF" character that is the only opposing factor to the Yuzakis' marriage, but it sure takes a lot of convincing to get the mistress's mind straight and recognize that regardless of her actions, there's no stopping them both from divorce, and at the very least, she acknowledges that the marriage is here to stay. Both maid servants Charlotte and Aurora however, really punch in the "butt of the joke" towards the condescending naivete of the mistress, even Tsukasa (because she's THAT easy to be fooled). Carry the humour back and forth, because it's as hilarious as heck. The only thing that worried me about this adaptation is the "Crunchyroll Originals" tagline, because shows under the series get a VERY BAD rap for subpar production quality (remember Gibiate from Summer 2020 and EX-ARM for Winter 2021?). Well, colour me surprised, because this is one of the better low-budget productions (besides Onyx Equinox) that was produced decently. The production team over at Seven Arcs did a fine job at adapting Hata Kenjirou's work, and even in an interview where the creator himself said that "this work is left to good hands" under director Hiroshi Ikehara (mainly directing kids' shows) and his team, I was SO relieved, and watching this for 3 months, it held on its own pretty nicely. A pretty good job, if I were to say so. And the music, OOH. If that "historical-gone-total rap" feeling of an opening of Yunomi X Akari Kitou isn't a banger, then I don't know what is. While the ED is plentiful fine-ish, it does not get more important than getting the right VAs for both Nasa and Tsukasa. I know many have been asking for the old VAs of both main leads Hayate and Nagi (Ryouko Shiraishi and Rie Kugimiya) to reprise their roles, but what we got of the modern-day big favourites of both Junya Enoki (who's also Jujutsu Kaisen's main lead Yuuji) and Akari Kitou (who's also Adachi to Shimamura's main lead Adachi) are really good. Not quite the same nostalgia for die-hard Hayate fans, but definitely a worthy refresh for the times of now. If you haven't got the gist of what I've said so far, please go back to that checklist, because Tonikaku Kawaii is truly a masterpiece work of Hata Kenjirou's calibre as a veteran mangaka that knows what he's doing, and really moving hearts a plentiful with overflowing fluffiness. Fans of the Rom-Com genre should absolutely not swipe left against this show, because it is pure diabetes to your heart.

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