TONIKAKU KAWAII SEASON 2

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyTonikaku Kawaii
SPECIAL ComedyTonikaku Kawaii: Seifuku
ANIME AdventureMeitantei Conan
ONA ComedyTonikaku Kawaii: Joshikou-hen
MANGA RomanceKekkon Suru tte, Hontou desu ka: 365 Days To The Wedding

REVIEWS

• 

  ElfChika

  100/100
  Unapologetic Fluff Returns for a Second Season

  The cutest rom-com is back with a second season and just as sweet and wholesome as ever, even dubbed in sync with the original audio, too, for those uncomfortable with reading subtitles and taking everything in simultaneously. The most special attribute of Tonikawa: Over the Moon for You is that it doesn't try to be anything special. It just puts two likeable characters together and lets their chemistry take centre stage. Indeed, Nasa and Tsukasa's interactions are still an absolute treat to experience.

  Typically, in rom-coms of this nature, they would still be in the process of falling in love and would probably be in the halfway stage of getting to that point by season 3. One of my absolute favourites, Teasing Master Takagi-san (another sweet romance you should absolutely watch in spite of everything), falls into the trap of "will they, won't they?" and stretches it out beyond a trio of seasons and a movie. In fact, we don't actually get to see Nishikata and Takagi be a couple until the end of the movie in spite of it being so obvious they had fallen in love midway through season 2 let alone 3.

  And, of course, once they 'officially' become a couple, that's it; the end of the series, embodying every rom-com ever. The rom-com genre usually tends to treat the characters announcing their undying love as the end of their story rather than the beginning. No. Now that the characters are a couple I wanna see them ACTUALLY be a couple and see how their newfound love shapes their lives. Tonikawa gives this to us. Right off the bat, Nasa professes his love for Tsukasa in the very first episode of season one and Tsukasa, admiring his determination to seek out a complete stranger despite being on death's doorstep, reciprocates his feelings with the caveat that he has to marry her first.

  He does so without question. ? It's that slice of intentional ridiculousness that really livens up the series.

  From there, the series deliciously explores their relationship with all the sweetness of freshly fried pancakes drenched in honey-flavoured syrup, no drama no problema. Tonikawa never feels the need to "spice things up" with forced drama, to which I'm considerably grateful for. It allows Nasa's and Tsukasa's relationship to breathe with all the fluff of high school sweethearts, affording plenty of soul-healing moments.

  If I were to level one criticism against the series, I would say some of the side characters can be a little underwhelming and a bit overbearing at the worst of times, though the new additions added to season two helped to amend this issue. Nasa's 'bro female friend' seeking a girlfriend herself, and his middle school sensei wanting a husband were really cute, and of course Tsukasa's 'jackass Grandma' was incredibly entertaining.

  The artstyle and animation remains as strong as ever from season one with Studio Seven Arcs still producing Hata Kenjirou's masterpiece with the same love as the aforementioned season one and I couldn't be more appreciative of their hard work giving us the best Tonikawa we could hope for.

  Overall score: 100/100, naturally. This is an absolute must-watch if you want something wholesome, sweet and straight to the point without the need for forced drama. Best combined 24 episodes (12 in each season) you'll ever binge.

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• 

  lezvie

  40/100
  Season 2 was bad. I've watched better romance scenes in Harems.

  Before anything, let me get one thing out of the way. I LOVE romance anime. It is my favorite genre, and it made me watch sooooo much bad anime just because of the "Romance" tag.

  So, with the hype Tonikaku Kawaii got over the past years, you'd guess a romance lover would say it is a must watch, right? Well, that is correct. But not because it is good. Rather, it is because the romance here is so tasteless it serves as the perfect example of how a "marriage story" would look like if written by a horny male teenager with zero experience with love. Now, you might say that is a mouthful, but hear me out: if you think this story is a good representation of the ideal cute couple, you are maybe the target-public for this show.

  One of the things that really annoyed me in season 1 was how Nasa was supposed to be this super smart and dependable boy, but a second later he is about to waste a fortune on a ring. But, I saw these scenes as merely educational. I mean, the whole season 1 feel like Japan propaganda to induce their youth to seek marriage, and "teach" them the rights and wrongs on it. So, in that aspect, it was kinda succesful. Season 1 managed to use a harem structure to build a story that wasnt a harem by any means. But there is a reason why most romances end right after the couple ends up together. Because it is very hard to keep a story going without conflict. And you don't expect conflict after the couple is finally together, right? So Tonikaku Kawaii Season 1 redirects their conflicts to other things, like them buying things, losing their house, have a whatever jealous sister being a pain in the ass...

  But this is not a review of season 1. Lets talk about what season 2 did. Well... The very fact that I've been talking about season 1 so far indicates how season 2 was, right? It has so little going on that it might as well be an extended OVA.I just finished watching it, and all i remember is nasa being horny, tsukasa being horny too, them trying to do couple things and other random people suddenly appearing. By "random people" i mean the whatever characters that were introduced in this season. There are so many one-dimensional characters in this season that I can't even bother with their names. Season 2 as a whole can be separated between Nasa and Tsukasa moments, and filler random bullshit with the other characters.

  So, now that we know that most of it was filler, at least the cute and fluffy moments were good, right? No. Nasa is still as cringe as ever, and it feels like they didn't develop at all. Yes, they kiss and hug a few times, and even get to the point of sharing a bed (imagine being a married couple that still haven't shared a bed after so long) and taking a bath together. But honestly, these only seem like ecchi scenes to me. They are NOT romance material, because every single development between Nasa and Tsukasa is fake. By the end of the second season, they are still feeling embarassed because there is a bath on the room they are going. It is infuriating.

  If season 1 had somewhat of a plot, season 2 didn't. Which would be okay for a slice of life that focus on its characters. But it only works if your characters are well design, and if their gags are funny enough. Tonikaku Kawaii's selling point is its couple, and yet, it amounts to Nasa goint "she is so cute", and Tsukasa going "he is so cool". The main characters of this show have two dimensions at most in their character design. Lets now talk about the supporting characters. We got little-sister-like girl that acts like an old lady. We got older-sister-like that is bad at school because she plays too much games. We got looks-like-a-delinquent middle schooler. We got airhed loli. We got unmarried teacher marrying her first love at 30, because she got jealous of her student getting married before her. You see where i'm getting, right? All of these characters can be summarized by those words through all of the season. Later in season 2 there is the attempt to develop the main plot of the series, which i've been spoiled at though manga readers. But it is done so poorly, trying to keep a misterious vibe to it, that it is lost between the random filler though the rest of the season.

  Talking about adaptation itself, i don't have much to say. The VAs were okay. The music wasn't anything impressive, but managed to set the right mood when it mattered. The animation felt cheap, but hasn't dropped too much in quality when compared with the previous season. Overall, seems like it had a low budget, but didn't need much to begin with.

  Overall, i think it is okay if you liked it. If it is your first romance anime, chances are you will like it. Tonikaku Kawaii's best feature is how it appeals to its public-target. Which most likely is those people who comment on every single romance manga "why am i so alone? why can't i have this?" But honestly, i doubt people like me who have been watching romance for a while thinks this show is anything above average. Personally, i think this show as a whole is an insult. You can find better romance material in Harem shows, i kid you not.

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• 

  JopsealSama

  59/100
  I thought that I would hate this, danna-sama... (spoiler-free)

  Note: This is a review for Tonikawa as a whole (both S1 and S2). Very little actually changes between Season 1 and 2, so separate reviews aren't warranted.

  Some books (or anime, movies, etc) CAN be judged from their cover. Any love story with the phrase “over the moon for you” in its title promises a perpetual honeymoon phase. And that’s exactly what Tonikawa is. It’s a depiction of marriage fervent in the idea of soul mates and unconditional love, with more casual cuddling and kissing than I have seen in my life as a professional third wheel. There are no relationship bickering and long, emotional text messages to be found. To put it simply, the marriage between Nasa and Tsukasa is a fantasy marriage—unabashedly oblivious to the pains of real human relationships and entirely aware of the ideals.

  The opening act is nothing short of bogus. In its defense, there isn’t much you can do to sell a premise like “boy gets hit by truck but boy loves girl now so marry pls.” But the love-at-first-sight declarations and near-instant marriage feel unearned. Tonikawa persistently tries to persuade you to believe that everything is due to “true love”—that the red ribbon of fate justifies the downright dumb decisions from both Nasa and Tsukasa. Yet the romantic attraction on-screen feels more like superficial puppy-love, indistinguishable from high school drama or whatever Twilight is supposed to be.

  My disbelief is further un-suspended by how goddamn horny Nasa is. The show dedicates an insufferable amount of time to the unfettered cringe that is his highly ‘energetic’ monologues, ranging from entire bathing fantasies to weirdly specific details like body temperature, body odor, and skin textures. I actually double-checked whether I missed ‘ecchi’ in the genre tags list. I would have absolutely skipped Tonikawa if so (the recommendations of multiple real-life friends be damned). These moments are BY FAR the worst part of the show, and it’s hard to believe that Nasa wasn’t thinking with the wrong ‘head’ when agreeing to marry Tsukasa after you hear horny-jail-worthy felonies for the third time in one episode.

  Yet, to my pleasant surprise, Tonikawa picks up considerably after its more-than-rocky start.

  Around the latter half of S1, let alone S2, the wholesome fluff that so many people seem to adore Tonikawa for starts to shine through. As the married couple settles into their daily routine, the almighty writers above choose to de-mystify Tsukasa from a mysterious object of desire to a normal human being, and it works out wonderfully. Nasa and Tsukasa, over the course of 1.5 seasons, discover each other’s passions, grow to admire each other’s strengths, and learn to accept each other’s weaknesses. They create new memories with each other, whether it be mundane errands or a once-in-a-lifetime visit to anime DisneyLand. It’s the kind of organic relationship development that should have begun in episode 1. Even Season 2’s attempts to flesh out the horrid opening act, particularly through Tsukasa’s perspective, strike a degree of profoundness.

  Unsurprisingly, Tonikawa makes sure to butter these moments with saccharine sayings and physical affection. The show has the cheesiness of a high school love poem and the earnestness to actually sell it. Quotes like “my feelings for you burn way hotter than this [sauna]” or “whenever I catch your scent, it makes me want to do whatever you want” are the norm. Virtually every episode has explicit hand-holding and a goodnight kiss. Every happening is another opportunity for Nasa and Tsukasa to flirt… or call each other cute for twenty-four minutes. And it all just works. Whenever I’m not cringing out of my skull (frick you Nasa), I’m uncontrollably smiling—sometimes without realizing it.

  I came extremely close to dropping Tonikawa at one point during its less-than-ideal start, but I’m glad I decided to pull through. In its best moments, it truly lives up to the ‘wholesome vibes’ moniker given to it. And, if nothing else, it was a perfectly decent way to kill time. I can’t say that I’m in love with it in the same way many people are, nor do I believe it deserves accolades of any kind. But there is something to be admired in stories so shamelessly rooted in fantasy like Tonikawa. It’s about as ‘feel-good’ as it gets, for the better or worse.

  Note: I still can't believe they added anime Jeff Bezos. The anime certainly isn't a 10/10, but that image certainly is.

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