Tokimeki Tonight

Tokimeki Tonight is not a well-known anime (which is why there are no reviews for it). It's fallen to the wayside since it finished airing 35 years ago. Is it fair or is there more to this series than what's on the surface?

Story:
If you ever wanted an anime version of the Addams Family with your typical shoujo clichés thrown in, this is the closest you're going to get.

Due to the episodic nature of the series, don't expect any significant progress. Yes, even after the dramatic events of episodes 25 and 26, everything turns back to normal when the credits roll. Also, don't be surprised ... if some clever (at first) ideas get driven into the ground.

The "forbidden" nature of Ranze's love for Makabe-kun will definitely hit home for some viewers. (More on that later!)

Music:
I was rather taken aback by the score on Tokimeki Tonight. The score was quite infectious, to the point that some of it played in my mind while I was trying to fall asleep. A special shout-out goes to the fighting music with the saxophone in it.

Of course, the main draws are the OP and ED. I must admit, this is one of the few series where I liked the ED music more than the OP. However, both are quite catchy and memorable (in accordance with the law of 80s themes).

Characters:
While there's no character I like 100% of the time (outside of the shark in episode 32, which, trust me, makes sense in context), the main cast tends to be likable more often than not.

However, there were some I couldn't bring myself to like, no matter how hard I tried. The rigidness of Ranze's mother made any scene she was in tough to digest. She wants Ranze to fall in love with a fellow monster and repeatedly tries to sabotage her romantic efforts with Makabe-kun. In fact, her rabid traditionalism even puts Ranze in danger in episode 13.

Yoko, Ranze's rival in love, is a brat at best and downright treacherous at worst. However, I believe she was intentionally written to be unlikable.

Recurring characters Sand and Prince Aaron are borderline predators and that ruined any enjoyment I could have had of them.

Art:
One of the most unusual aspects of Tokimeki Tonight is the background art. While the series presumably takes place in Japan, most of the signs are in English and the architecture has an old European flair to it.

As for the rest of the art, it's par for the course for an anime made in the early 80s. There was obviously a limited budget, which explains why the coloring is often basic and there's a lack of detail in the character's faces (you'll notice several times throughout the show, characters are drawn without noses). I'm willing to let this fly, as the art isn't vomit-inducing and anime wasn't the most fruitful industry at the time.

Enjoyment:
Tokimeki Tonight is a mixed bag. Sometimes it's bad, sometimes it's good. Some stories are entertaining, while others can be borderline snooze fests. Like most everything else with this series, my enjoyment was about abverage.

Final thoughts:
While not the worst anime I've seen (*cough* Blue Flames), it's understandable as to why this series fell to the wayside. It's a 7 at its best and it's a 3 at its worst. I honestly thought I would have more to see for this, but it's just-so average. It's an obvious 5.

So, all in all, I give this series five glasses of tomato juice out of ten.