Based on a popular manga of the same name Tonikaku Kawaii which is more popularly known by its English title of Tonikawa: Over the Moon For You is a Romance and comedy genre anime that gives us the unique opportunity to see what will happen if one day a book smart and friendly if quiet teenage boy that’s been long ridiculed by others on account of his strange name that’s coincidently the same as a famed national space exploration agency were to not only survive a near-death experience with Japan’s most infamous serial killer Truck Kun but also in the process encounters a beautiful girl who not only saved him from certain death by taking the blow for him but miraculously survives the encounter with only light injuries. Still, a dazed Nasa musters up all of his reserves of courage that he had been saving up and confesses his love for her at that moment fearing that once the night passes, she will vanish like the moon would do as day approaches but to his eternal surprise Tsukasa not only accepts but also proposes that they also take the next step and marry as well once they get of age to which Nasa wholeheartedly agrees before passing out.
And as the fated day when he reached the age of adulthood finally arrives and as if drawn by fate the girl from that day who accepted his first-ever confession returns guiding him to the local marriage office to make do their promise and by nights end Nasa who never expected to find a girlfriend so soon was now at the tender age of 18 a husband who had a beautiful wife in the form of Tsukasa and on the cusp of starting a brand-new life together as a newly wedded young couple. While the hurdles that they will face will be many on both a social and a personal level Tsukasa and Nasa will do all they can to both support each other and adapt themselves in order to learn more about each other and cement their new relationship as husband and wife together. Hand in hand they will face whatever trials serve to impede them as they begin their new journey that’s filled with endless possibilities drawing strength from their loved one that stands beside them.
In general romantic comedies is a genre of anime that I tend not to watch that often largely because the great majority of them tend to make use of the school as its main medium to which its story and characters are revolved around. While over the years there have been many notable series that made effective use of school-based settings as well as some that have managed to graduate to other settings in the form of The world god only knows, Yamada and the Seven witches, Anohana and Wotakoi I felt that to me this genre had become pretty stale and needed a sense of innovation in order to rise up once more. And this spark surprisingly to me came in the form of this series Tonikawa: Over the Moon for you. While the overall encounter scenario as shown within the first ep was not something that was ground-breaking by any means I felt that the character of Tsukasa specifically the sense of majesty and mystique that clung to her like a veil really served to make the episode and story advancement that she guided along click and while I was pretty sceptical of just how strong of a bond can she form with the clueless Nasa I confess in that my interest in the show was to follow on and see the kind of magic that she can weave in this new and sudden married life that both she and Nasa seemed to have gotten into and by the seasons end I have to say it was a journey that was really worth every hour spent on it.
Nasa Yuzaki
Nasa Yuzaki portrayed by veteran voice actor Junya Enoki of Kono Oto Tomare fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the primary protagonist of the series. Initially, Nasa was prior to the time skip induced by his meeting of his future wife a middle school third year but soon after reaches the age of adulthood by the end of the first episode. From his initial appearances, Nasa was seen to be a friendly, calm, and confident person by nature that approached each day with positivity and enthusiasm. While intelligent and logical Nasa was shown to be lacking somewhat in social skills and his common sense was seen to be a tad wacky at times as a result of his isolation from his peers on account of his unique name. While often leading to him being easily embarrassed and causing undue anxiety due to over-worrying this was countered by his fast thinking nature that allowed him to fall back on his logical side and bounce back up as demonstrated countless times within the series. Though the path of not only dating but also forming a new family by marrying Tsukasa was one that Nasa accomplished rather early in life by conventional standards it can be seen that Nasa’s base attitude of being kind, patient, and understanding along with his honesty the latter of which can often cause tension within a relationship actually served to become an effective foundation for his relationship with Tsukasa enabling him to not only coexist with her within their apartment with no trouble but also allow him to gradually peel away the walls that Tsukasa had built around herself to protect her heart. Key to this aspect of their relationship was Nasa’s extreme honesty and his relative inexperience in romance related matters that served to not only make things between them highly entertaining but also served to make Tsukasa let down her guard in embarrassment and support Nasa by revealing to him the things that ail her.
At the beginning of the series prior to his meeting with Tsukasa Nasa was shown to be someone that was ambitious and determined to prove his worth to society which is largely a result of his unfortunate forename that served to make him the butt of jokes in society. On the surface, while Nasa was shown to have no visible ill effects from this treatment beneath the surface, he was shown to be instead rather weak-willed and indecisive and while not shunning society off as one would expect was seen to prefer going about his life solo when possible. Indeed until meeting Tsukasa Nasa’s circle of friends within his immediate area consisted of only the Arisugawa sisters Kaname and Aya whom Nasa was shown to have a strong bond with on account of the shared debt of gratitude that both have for each other. However, after encountering and subsequently marrying Tsukasa and starting a new life with her this sense of isolation gradually transformed with Nasa instead becoming more confident both in himself and in dealing with others. At the same time while still relatively inexperience in matters of bonding with others Nasa thanks to his adoration of Tsukasa sought to remedy this by learning not only how to bond effectively with others but also learn how to recognize their weaknesses and learn how to complement them with his strengths and in the process learning what is it really like to love someone dear to you. Within the series, this is best exemplified in Nasa’s core aim of providing Tsukasa with the best possible life that he can and make many happy memories with her together.
Tsukasa
Tsukasa portrayed by veteran seiyuu Akari Kitou of Grancrest Senki and Youkoso fame is one of the main characters of the series and is the main female lead of the series. A mysterious girl that Nasa encountered after being saved by her from being killed off by Japan’s most notorious serial killer Truck Kun Tsukasa from her initial appearances were shown to be a quiet, blunt, and logical person by nature that gave off the image of being someone that was indifferent to the plight of others unless they were ones that amused her a trait that served in my eyes to highlight the almost ethereal beauty that she presented in her debut appearance in the first ep that almost resembled that of a goddess. A cool, calm, polite, and soft-spoken person by nature Tsukasa in the beginning while courteous and intelligent was someone that was shown to have a curious preference to stay apart from others though in her case rather than due to a desire to avoid personality conflicts for Tsukasa’s part it seems to be due to her desire to indulge in her travels across the land to learn about the land and gain new life experiences. While the transition from single life to that of a young wife in the course of one night was a rapid one it can be seen that Tsukasa to her credit was able to adapt to her new life relatively quickly without having to make any concessions. Indeed in this regard rather than lose anything Tsukasa while learning to be dutiful to her new role also gained the opportunity to show off her more playful nature that she had kept largely hidden from her surface personality.
As the series progresses and Tsukasa’s personality is gradually expanded upon it can be seen that despite her quiet and standoffish nature Tsukasa was someone that was understanding, kind and thoughtful and was noted to be someone that was quite perceptive to both the attitudes of others as well as their own struggles that they’re trying to keep hidden. Though her default persona was the very image of a calm and composed young wife it can be seen surprisingly that this side of her was surprisingly vulnerable to being surprised which can lead to her mask to slip off quite readily and allow us to see more of her maiden self that was while humble and generous was also capable of switching emotions quite readily as shown when her family tries to involve themselves in her new life with Nasa aspects that served both to enhance her character’s cuteness while also demonstrating her desire to start a new life with her new love and start a fresh chapter in her life.
While the relationship between Tsukasa and Nasa that serves as the foundation for both the series and her personal arc was one that started rather abruptly and one whose true nature remains enigmatic as the series progresses it can be seen that despite the speed of their relationship that transitioned from confession to marriage in the blink of an eye that Tsukasa’s love for Nasa is indeed genuine and serious and while the life of a wife is one that will be tough for one so young that Tsukasa is determined to live her new life as Nasa’s other half as exemplified by her determination to master all the intricacies that comes from the role while also striving to spend as much time with him as possible and build the one thing that until now she had been solely lacking which was a place that she can truthfully call home a place not surrounded by riches and servants but instead one that’s filled with people that’s able to offer you love that is heartfelt and honest.
Overall as a character, I felt that Tsukasa was one that was both well designed and developed with her development from a mysteriously calm and cool-headed beauty that Nasa meets one night to a loving wife that while young for her role was able to provide her husband with a wife that was not only diligent in her duties in managing the house but also serve to broaden Nasa’s views on the little pleasures that lay hidden within society that’s best shared by couples who have both the time and the opportunity to savour them.
Chitose
Chitose Kaginoji portrayed by Konomi Kohara of Kaguya sama Love is war fame is one of the main support characters of the series and is one of Nasa and Tsukasa’s main rivals within the series though in this sense the rivalry is one-sided on her part. A member of the same family that Tsukasa belonged to before her marriage with Nasa and a middle schooler Chitose in her initial appearances was seen to be a confident, dignified and intelligent person by nature that despite being a noble was someone that was also humble, polite and kind and was willing to admit her own mistakes to others while being readily capable of understanding and accepting the feelings of others that she crosses paths with. While for the most part, Chitose’s upbringing and base personality traits serve to allow her to easily navigate the minefield that is modern-day society it can be seen that when dealing with matters that relate to her beloved Tsukasa that she sees as someone that’s akin to a dear elder sister to her that Chitose would show off a side that she rather stay hidden from outsiders which was the devoted younger sister mode. In the past when Tsukasa and Chitose were still living together in their family home it can be inferred that the relationship between the two was relatively strong and indeed on Chitose’s part due to a combination of her young age and the fact that her parents were likely largely away for most of the time she subconsciously began to view Tsukasa as her elder sister despite this being, not the case.
As a result of this when re-encountering her after many months of not hearing any news regarding her Chitose was shown to be overjoyed and understandably rushed to meet her only to find to her eternal shock that Tsukasa had in the meantime encountered and hitched with a man that she had fallen in love with a fact that proved to be exceedingly devastating to Chitose. Suffice to say Chitose’s relationship with Nasa her beloved Tsukasa’s new husband from the onset was an extremely poor one as she viewed him as the thief that stole her beloved elder sister away and in her first encounter was shown to display a very rare image of her being visibly angry which showed well the depth of the anger that she felt at this turn of events and setting the stage for her to manifest her devious persona whose main role was to create plans that she hopes will be able to successfully break the bonds of love that had been formed between Tsukasa and Nasa and bring her beloved sister back to her just like in the past. In this persona, while Chitose largely retains her confident nature she was also shown to have become much more cunning in her plans and was willing to use any method that she deems necessary even if that meant crossing lines that she should not be crossing on account of her age and role as a middle schooler. Overall the character of Chitose I felt was an interesting character that served well to act as first a potent trial that Nasa and Tsukasa must meet and face in their new life as a couple, secondly as a source of comic relief that serves to enhance the series storyline by adding a sense of hilarity when the overall plot requires it and lastly as a link to Tsukasa’s past that will prove useful to Nasa should he desire to know more about his new wife though only on the condition that he be able to overcome the fierce trial that is Chitose.
AMV
In terms of character designs, I felt that the designs of the individual characters while relatively simple in concept and style were never less ones that were well designed and featured an effective usage of colors that were used to enhance the characters in line with their assigned personality traits. In this, I felt that while the designs for them were beautiful I also thought that they also harmonized well with their assigned seiyuu’s performances. Location variety wise while the series only featured a handful of locations to which the cast visited throughout their adventure I felt that these locations while still making use of the concept of simplicity as a strength were also ones that served to not only allow Tsukasa and Nasa to strengthen the bonds that exist between them but also in the process allow them to learn more about each other by finding activities that both enjoy equally. Within the series, these include learning the joys that came from owning a tv, the joys that can come from owning a digital camera and the hidden treasures that one can find at service stations, and the exploration of Nara which was Nasa’s homeland which also allowed Tsukasa and us to meet Nasa’s parents.
Music-wise the series made use of one opening and ending theme which was Koi no Uta that was performed by Tsukasa’s seiyuu veteran seiyuu singer Akari Kitou and Tsuki to Hoshizora that was performed by KanoeRana. While both of these songs were excellent ones I felt that these two songs had very contrasting feelings and emotions when listened too with the former one being both cute in execution and theme but also highlighting the number of bonds that they had formed with the people around them while the latter served to showcase just how much these encounters have served to allow the pair to overcome the trials that they faced and in the process allow them to explore the land together happily and in the process allow them to make many happy memories together as well.
Voice acting-wise I felt that overall the series main voice cast all did an excellent job at portraying their assigned characters whether they were main ones or support ones. In particular, I felt that Junya Enoki, Akari Kitou, and Konomi Kohara all did an excellent job at portraying the characters of Nasa, Tsukasa, and Chitose respectively. While I didn’t cover her within the character analysis, I also felt that Yuu Serizawa also did an excellent job at portraying the character of Kaname Arisugawa whose dirty jokes, harshness, and determination to push things through for Nasa and Tsukasa all combined to make Kaname an excellent support character and dear friend for Nasa and Tsukasa.
Overall conclusion
In overall Tonikawa: Over the Moon For you I felt was an excellent anime that had among its main strong points a unique premise, excellent story, characters, beautiful animation, and character designs, excellent voice acting and an excellent balancing of the romance and comedy aspects that served to make the overall tale not only sweet and cute but also served to showcase just how much the two main leads have been able to develop as individuals thanks to not only their efforts but the efforts of everyone around them.
In overall I feel that as a final score Tonikawa: Over the Moon For you easily deserves a final score of 10/10 for while the tale may be one that is familiar to fans of the two genre’s and Romcoms, in general, I feel that the series tale that combined the classic boys meets girls concept, marriage, relationship expansion via a mutual deepening of one's bonds and the forging of near unbreakable bonds between them as they learn what it’s like to live their lives as a couple when combined with the dual emotional aspects of the comedy from Nasa and the emotional aspect from Tsukasa served to create a series that is one of this season's sweetest, most heartfelt and cutest animes.
