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, which is 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.
