Basically, take every single cliche cookbook you can find in every rom-com anime, and remove that… that my friends, is Tonikakku Kawai. THE best rom-com anime of fall 2020.
Story and Theme:
In every other rom-com anime, what we usually get is slow and steady development. The protagonist generally isn’t liked by others, but somehow comes across this one girl who likes something about his personality that others don’t like or don’t see. They work together, go out, people assume they are in a relationship, we might get to see some casual bullying from the popular kids, threats, discrimination from a peer group of girls or rest of the class.
But all these things strengthen their bonds further. They go out on school trips and finally get some alone time, where something special happens, at night time and fireworks behind them, and we might get a confession. Finally, after knowing a lot about one another, they finally get into a wholesome relationship, and if you are lucky enough, you might get a final kiss at the end of the 12 episodes.
This is what generally we get to see in most of the cliche, vanilla, wholesome rom-com anime out there. But now let me discuss how Tonikakku Kawaii progressed.
If you haven’t noticed by the memes already, this anime freaking starts with the protagonists getting married in the first episode itself. All because of a simple promise, and the sheer power of simpness.
The anime starts with our male protagonist, Yuzaki Nasa, yes you guessed right, the man is a genius, after dedicating his life to study and optimising everything to live up to his name, Nasa. One night he comes across, the most beautiful female he has seen, Tsukasa Tsukiyomi. Trying to reach her, Nasa is hit by a truck, saved by Tsukasa, who walks away. But this is where the simpness starts. After getting hit Nasa passes out only after running to Tsukasa, confessing his feelings to her, with broken legs and extreme blood loss and agreeing to her terms about marrying her if he is serious about getting in a relationship with her.
Time leap, two years pass by, no word from Tsukasa, Nasa falls into depression, and finally, when he turns 18 Tsukasa returns to his apartment somehow and brings along with marriage registration forms. This is where the anime actually starts.
From here starts the journey of a young but legally married couple, who get to know each other as the story progresses, with absolute wholesome fluff moments and all the anti-cliche stuff you can imagine. Things that the protagonists usually think about but don’t act on in every single other anime happens here. When you feel some or something is going to ruin an upcoming wholesome moment like we get to see in every other anime, that doesn’t happen here, the moment happens and you are left confused and utterly speechless because you never see it coming.
What Kenjiro Hata (the mangaka) has done is taken every single wholesome and cute moment which exists in every rom-com anime. And he made it happen, without any cockblocks. Moreover, all those moments occur at a steady pace, one after another, every episode leaves you wanting for more fluff, and makes you anticipate what could we possibly get in the next episode.
Another thing I noticed in this was, how easy things become once you take out the relatives and parents factor out of the equation. Just two young couples hanging out, living their lives together with no one to judge them or present their views, like we get to see in certain other rom-coms. Things become more wholesome, and lesser restrictions on the possibilities.
Characters:
Starting with Nasa. So we have a genius, who is fairly skilled and has knowledge about science, efficiency and a lot of general stuff which you wouldn’t expect a general guy to know. The biggest thing was, he isn’t dumb headed like a lot of harem and rom-com protagonists, neither is he depressed nor seeking something. Nasa doesn’t have a tragic or sad backstory, just a smart guy, who has been living a positive and healthy lifestyle with strong morals. This again is very different from the characters of most rom-coms.
Tsukasa’s character is, perhaps the most mysterious one here. Throughout the 12 episodes, we haven’t been given any backstory to Tsukasa. No information about her real parents, where she came from, how was she treated at her home, why aren’t her parents concerned about her, why have they not come to meet her yet, and lastly, what was the reason for her to marry Nasa and put up that condition. We only know she is a mad fan of movies, a wonderful cook, and a loving wife.
The only person she has closest as a relative is her non-blood related younger sister, Chitose Kaginoji. Chitose is strongly against Nasas and Tsukasa’s marriage, as she doesn’t consider Nasa to be worthy of her sister as she herself doesn’t know Nasa.
So throughout the series, we see Chitoses futile attempts at trying to destroy the relationship of Nasa and Tsukasa, which is usually pretty light and nothing serious, she could be called perhaps the “annoying” character we see in the anime. But she is still way tame and non-annoying than most of the other characters we see in some anime. She does nothing to harm their relationship in a big way, neither do we get to see any psychological drama here.
Lastly, we have the kouhai of Nasa, Arisugawa Kaname, who is handling the bathhouse which was supposedly saved from shutting down by Nasa’s aid. She pokes and teases Nasa a lot as her junior, but she respects him more than anyone. Now her character was pretty well made, besides teasing Nasa, she gives him insight into how a relationship could be strengthened and what all are dos and don’ts. Without her intervention or suggestions, we would have missed out on a lot of wholesome moments. So she doesn’t just tease, she actually serves an important purpose in their story.
Art/Animation and Sound:
Now, this is where the anime sort of lacks. We definitely don’t have the best animation or art style one would expect. There are a lot of rom-coms that excel in this field. But in Tonikawa, having the best animation or art isn’t really the point.
We have the most basic and simple anime style one could have. Suitable for a seasonal. But doesn’t bother one much.
Pretty much the same for the OST, nothing special. But the opening was a total banger. “Koi no Uta” is perhaps the only dubstep anime op this season. Really gotta love the way the music changes.
Conclusion:
So we have perhaps the most wholesome, cute, relationship speedrun rom-com anime. Which fucking starts with marriage and then the characters get to know each other, without any psychological drama, annoying characters, or parental pressure and trouble. Just wholesome moments.
It would be a big mistake not to watch this one if you love rom-coms, this is a must-watch. Doesn’t really matter if you are new or old to anime, you are definitely going to love this one. Great for a group watch too, just mah hart, mah souls, mah body moments. Go for it.
