Tonikaku Kawaii review: Is it worth being “over the moon” for?
Tonikaku Kawaii (2020), also known as Tonikawa: Fly Me to the Moon or Over the Moon for You, was probably Kenjiro Hata’s most successful anime adaptation yet. Ratings-wise, that is. So far, it had better ratings than his immensely popular Hayate The Combat Butler (2007). Speaking of the comparison, perhaps a first impression would be how it reflected Hayate’s features in a somewhat nostalgic manner. Of course, there were differences, and personally, it made me think if this was subconsciously recreating the ship that never was in the series: that of Hayate Ayasaki and Hinagiku Katsura (see lower half of first photo). To better understand though, one had to follow Hata’s already completed work, which may take some time considering the first two seasons of Hayate already had 77 episodes. Never mind the cameo in Tonikawa made by Hayate characters like Tachibana. The nostalgia aside, Tonikawa offered an interesting, if not surprising, premise that capped off a year that was already known for its somewhat unique roster of romantic comedies — the fastest marriage in anime history. And so, did it work in making the audience go over the moon or was a good opportunity lost in space and time? Warning: spoilers ahead!
Romance and science do not mix… or do they?
Alright, so maybe not all anime which start with marriage in the first episode would arguably be the fastest in history. Recall Yakitate!! Japan (2004) with Ryo Kuroyanagi having a 5-minute marriage for the sake of a punny reaction, for instance. But perhaps not a lot would have it as the major premise. Protagonist Nasa Yuzaki was a science prodigy who wanted to prove his mockers wrong by achieving the speed of light before America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), his implied namesake. His life goal was derailed with the appearance of isekai’s iconic truck speeding towards him. Miraculously, he was saved by his future wife, Tsukasa Tsukuyomi, with only minimal damages. Ignoring the state of his body, Nasa asked her hand for marriage. She agreed, but it would not be two years later when she suddenly appeared at his apartment to fulfill the agreement they made. Thus began their married life, except that almost nobody else around them knew until the couple told them so.
Why did he propose to her? Compatibility? Destiny? Opportunity? Apparently, none of the above. As the title suggested, tonikaku kawaii. Literally, she’s cute anyway. The highly intelligent Nasa lost all his logic for this particular moment, changing his objective from speed of light to finding the love of his life. But make no mistake. There would be less science and more romance in this, so one may not really expect intellectual exchanges like those in Rikekoi: Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It (2020). There might even be more history than science in Tonikawa, considering how the plot utilized the couple’s trip to Nara to display Nasa’s interest in the discipline, and also the story of Princess Kaguya in the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter to foreshadow Tsukasa’s rather obscure background. While science fiction fans may be disappointed in the long run, Tonikawa still lived up to its original romantic comedy genre, albeit it proved to have less plot development so far than Hayate the Combat Butler. Not that Hayate had any real overarching plot to begin with, but Tonikawa was even more diffuse and episodic in a way. The smaller cast, however, did help in keeping Tonikawa from moving in too many directions.
Perfect wife, perfect life? Perhaps not so much
To be fair, while the couple’s whirlwind marriage might appear like a fantasy to some, Tonikawa managed to portray a number of real world problems that needed solutions with their mutual approval. It ranged from managing the home (Nasa’s apartment would eventually get burned down, prompting them to find a new place to stay) to budgeting the purse (Tsukasa’s insistence on cost-cutting measures such as buying the cheapest of appliances and buy one take one wedding rings) to quarreling over the more mundane things (like which food to eat). More so, relationships were shown as a never-ending getting to know each other phase. Granted that they only knew each other little prior to their marriage, and they were relatively young as well, but somehow, the lack of dynamism in the plot did not hinder this aspect of the series being highlighted.
The attempt at creating a romantic rival, however, was not as brilliant. Built in the person of Aya Arisugawa, one of the caretakers of a local bathhouse whose genius was balanced out by her inattentiveness, her one-sided love for Nasa ended without much of a fight. There would be none of the epic yet ridiculous battle phases as in Hata’s Hayate. Of course, that was just about to be expected if the couple was already married. But Aya’s backstory, which people placed in similar situations may relate to, could have benefited better if the first episode did not begin as it did. She was introduced rather late into the series (Episode 3) even though she knew Nasa longer than Tsukasa ever did. Yet by her own admission, it took her long enough to do her move, making her lose Nasa in the process. “My first love ended in a mere 10 pages,” or so that was how Aya put it in the manga. Besides Aya’s weak development, the Nasa-Tsukasa tandem already created a solid audience that it might prove difficult for another rival to emerge as a strong contender. Besides, if it was Aya who Nasa found as cute early on, would he have married her instead of Tsukasa? A speculation that would be moot and academic.
Saibancho, the verdict
Lucky sugiru tenkai? In the end, Tonikawa leaned more into its slice-of-life aspect than anything else. Breaking the speed barrier or actually flying to the moon could have been a good science fiction concept to employ moving forward, but it was not to be thanks to finding a kawaii wife. Meanwhile, could Tonikawa have fared well in comparison with well-rated contemporaries in similar genres like Horimiya (2021)? Probably, probably not. In a world of declining marriage and courtship rates, it might come as a surprise that romance productions like Tonikawa would even fly. But perhaps that was part of the anime’s charm. Not all things could be explained rationally, and certainly not a successful marriage at the first episode. Also, for some reason, it makes one look forward to when and how the two would have an actual wedding ceremony.
While there were aspects of Tonikawa that pretty much reminded of Hayate the Combat Butler, there may be reason why the former was receiving higher ratings than the latter. The animation style and the soundtrack were not exactly spectacular, so to speak, perhaps with the exception of the opening theme Koi no Uta by Yunomi. But in terms of a shocker premise to introduce the plot, Tonikawa may well be among the more remembered. Learning something new about each other every day is part of any relationship. How to respond to these novel discoveries in life would be one lesson that Tonikawa provided throughout the series.
(Photos from the series courtesy of Seven Arcs)
