TONIKAKU KAWAII SEASON 2

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyTonikaku Kawaii
SPECIAL ComedyTonikaku Kawaii: Seifuku
ANIME AdventureMeitantei Conan
ONA ComedyTonikaku Kawaii: Joshikou-hen
MANGA RomanceKekkon Suru tte, Hontou desu ka: 365 Days To The Wedding

REVIEWS

• 

  ElfChika

  100/100
  Unapologetic Fluff Returns for a Second Season

  The cutest rom-com is back with a second season and just as sweet and wholesome as ever, even dubbed in sync with the original audio, too, for those uncomfortable with reading subtitles and taking everything in simultaneously. The most special attribute of Tonikawa: Over the Moon for You is that it doesn't try to be anything special. It just puts two likeable characters together and lets their chemistry take centre stage. Indeed, Nasa and Tsukasa's interactions are still an absolute treat to experience.

  Typically, in rom-coms of this nature, they would still be in the process of falling in love and would probably be in the halfway stage of getting to that point by season 3. One of my absolute favourites, Teasing Master Takagi-san (another sweet romance you should absolutely watch in spite of everything), falls into the trap of "will they, won't they?" and stretches it out beyond a trio of seasons and a movie. In fact, we don't actually get to see Nishikata and Takagi be a couple until the end of the movie in spite of it being so obvious they had fallen in love midway through season 2 let alone 3.

  And, of course, once they 'officially' become a couple, that's it; the end of the series, embodying every rom-com ever. The rom-com genre usually tends to treat the characters announcing their undying love as the end of their story rather than the beginning. No. Now that the characters are a couple I wanna see them ACTUALLY be a couple and see how their newfound love shapes their lives. Tonikawa gives this to us. Right off the bat, Nasa professes his love for Tsukasa in the very first episode of season one and Tsukasa, admiring his determination to seek out a complete stranger despite being on death's doorstep, reciprocates his feelings with the caveat that he has to marry her first.

  He does so without question. ? It's that slice of intentional ridiculousness that really livens up the series.

  From there, the series deliciously explores their relationship with all the sweetness of freshly fried pancakes drenched in honey-flavoured syrup, no drama no problema. Tonikawa never feels the need to "spice things up" with forced drama, to which I'm considerably grateful for. It allows Nasa's and Tsukasa's relationship to breathe with all the fluff of high school sweethearts, affording plenty of soul-healing moments.

  If I were to level one criticism against the series, I would say some of the side characters can be a little underwhelming and a bit overbearing at the worst of times, though the new additions added to season two helped to amend this issue. Nasa's 'bro female friend' seeking a girlfriend herself, and his middle school sensei wanting a husband were really cute, and of course Tsukasa's 'jackass Grandma' was incredibly entertaining.

  The artstyle and animation remains as strong as ever from season one with Studio Seven Arcs still producing Hata Kenjirou's masterpiece with the same love as the aforementioned season one and I couldn't be more appreciative of their hard work giving us the best Tonikawa we could hope for.

  Overall score: 100/100, naturally. This is an absolute must-watch if you want something wholesome, sweet and straight to the point without the need for forced drama. Best combined 24 episodes (12 in each season) you'll ever binge.

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• 

  lezvie

  40/100
  Season 2 was bad. I've watched better romance scenes in Harems.

  Before anything, let me get one thing out of the way. I LOVE romance anime. It is my favorite genre, and it made me watch sooooo much bad anime just because of the "Romance" tag.

  So, with the hype Tonikaku Kawaii got over the past years, you'd guess a romance lover would say it is a must watch, right? Well, that is correct. But not because it is good. Rather, it is because the romance here is so tasteless it serves as the perfect example of how a "marriage story" would look like if written by a horny male teenager with zero experience with love. Now, you might say that is a mouthful, but hear me out: if you think this story is a good representation of the ideal cute couple, you are maybe the target-public for this show.

  One of the things that really annoyed me in season 1 was how Nasa was supposed to be this super smart and dependable boy, but a second later he is about to waste a fortune on a ring. But, I saw these scenes as merely educational. I mean, the whole season 1 feel like Japan propaganda to induce their youth to seek marriage, and "teach" them the rights and wrongs on it. So, in that aspect, it was kinda succesful. Season 1 managed to use a harem structure to build a story that wasnt a harem by any means. But there is a reason why most romances end right after the couple ends up together. Because it is very hard to keep a story going without conflict. And you don't expect conflict after the couple is finally together, right? So Tonikaku Kawaii Season 1 redirects their conflicts to other things, like them buying things, losing their house, have a whatever jealous sister being a pain in the ass...

  But this is not a review of season 1. Lets talk about what season 2 did. Well... The very fact that I've been talking about season 1 so far indicates how season 2 was, right? It has so little going on that it might as well be an extended OVA.I just finished watching it, and all i remember is nasa being horny, tsukasa being horny too, them trying to do couple things and other random people suddenly appearing. By "random people" i mean the whatever characters that were introduced in this season. There are so many one-dimensional characters in this season that I can't even bother with their names. Season 2 as a whole can be separated between Nasa and Tsukasa moments, and filler random bullshit with the other characters.

  So, now that we know that most of it was filler, at least the cute and fluffy moments were good, right? No. Nasa is still as cringe as ever, and it feels like they didn't develop at all. Yes, they kiss and hug a few times, and even get to the point of sharing a bed (imagine being a married couple that still haven't shared a bed after so long) and taking a bath together. But honestly, these only seem like ecchi scenes to me. They are NOT romance material, because every single development between Nasa and Tsukasa is fake. By the end of the second season, they are still feeling embarassed because there is a bath on the room they are going. It is infuriating.

  If season 1 had somewhat of a plot, season 2 didn't. Which would be okay for a slice of life that focus on its characters. But it only works if your characters are well design, and if their gags are funny enough. Tonikaku Kawaii's selling point is its couple, and yet, it amounts to Nasa goint "she is so cute", and Tsukasa going "he is so cool". The main characters of this show have two dimensions at most in their character design. Lets now talk about the supporting characters. We got little-sister-like girl that acts like an old lady. We got older-sister-like that is bad at school because she plays too much games. We got looks-like-a-delinquent middle schooler. We got airhed loli. We got unmarried teacher marrying her first love at 30, because she got jealous of her student getting married before her. You see where i'm getting, right? All of these characters can be summarized by those words through all of the season. Later in season 2 there is the attempt to develop the main plot of the series, which i've been spoiled at though manga readers. But it is done so poorly, trying to keep a misterious vibe to it, that it is lost between the random filler though the rest of the season.

  Talking about adaptation itself, i don't have much to say. The VAs were okay. The music wasn't anything impressive, but managed to set the right mood when it mattered. The animation felt cheap, but hasn't dropped too much in quality when compared with the previous season. Overall, seems like it had a low budget, but didn't need much to begin with.

  Overall, i think it is okay if you liked it. If it is your first romance anime, chances are you will like it. Tonikaku Kawaii's best feature is how it appeals to its public-target. Which most likely is those people who comment on every single romance manga "why am i so alone? why can't i have this?" But honestly, i doubt people like me who have been watching romance for a while thinks this show is anything above average. Personally, i think this show as a whole is an insult. You can find better romance material in Harem shows, i kid you not.

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• 

  nashyyyy

  70/100
  fun watch but essentially the same as season one, little development in characters/plot

  Tonikawa is a great watch for those times if you are feeling lonely. The show’s purpose is very clear and it doesn’t deviate from it. You know exactly what you are going to get and the question becomes a matter of whether you want it or not.

  Plot [6/10]: Each episode has its own plot whether that be playing video games or going camping. Honestly speaking, it’s kind of impressive that tonikawa manages to maintain its popularity with literally 0 plot. It’s not even as if they are stringing episodes together to create arcs of any sort. The conflict/main event introduced at the beginning of the episode is 100% of the time, resolved at the end of the episode. It’s really just focused on creating “cute” couple moments between Nasa and Tsukasa, the main attraction of the series. I want to add that the show’s comedy is decent. Sometimes it's cringe because Nasa and Tsukasa act so unrealistic which each other, i.e. whenever Tsukasa acts bashfully towards indulging Nasa’s requests to be intimate. She acts embarrassed but never says no to him lmao. However, they manage to stay creative enough in the comedy department that the show isn’t a bad watch, because if it weren’t for the comedy, the show would be unwatchable, even for romance lovers.

  Characters: [7/10]: I mean really the same as last season, in the sense that there isn’t really any character development, but I’ll say that there is a large variety of characters this season, both new and old, that elevates the show and keeps them watchable. This includes his old teacher, Tsukasa’s caretaker, Kaname’s friend, and Nasa’s high school friend. Even if it’s the same old Nasa and Tsukasa, even if they annoy you by being repetitive/unrealistic, it’s hard to hate them. If you watched season one, it was probably for them after all, like I said, you know what you are getting with tonikawa: sugar-sweet romance.

  Animation/Art [7/10]: The art is really well done in certain moments whenever they want to create cool scenery for Nasa and Tsukasa, like a bath scene or night sky. The art is easy on the eye in my opinion. It’s a more chibi style but it fits the “cute” theme of the series. The animation is good enough, maybe a little choppy but does the job for a romance/slice–of–life. The sound effects and comedic effects were good too.

  Soundtrack/Voice Acting [6/10]: The comedic nature of the series really means the voice actors don’t have much to do, it’s pretty much the same throughout, with little variation unless you are Nasa or Tsukasa. Kaname has some decent moments here but it's pretty average. I wish tonikawa would do more in the soundtrack department, it’s kinda stale with the same lighthearted soundtrack. Overall, pretty average here, the opening is good for the first few seconds then turns into some EDM song that sounds terrible smh.

  Conclusion: I think it’s a fun watch as a rom-com fan. Just because the show is nothing to write home about doesn’t mean it’s not good. I think that Tonikawa is an average rom-com, but without the drama, harems, and triangles. It really gives off slice-of-life vibes. The whole Nasa and Tsukasa are a new couple thing does wear off but you have to keep in mind that they got married as teenagers and are a new couple. Their lack of intimacy is unrealistic and becomes boring because they are already married, there really isn’t any room for further development. The side cast is decent enough and makes up for Nasa and Tsukasa’s faults for the most part, even though they get well over half of the screen time every episode. As mentioned previously, Tonikawa has one job: sugar-sweet romance, and if you want a cute and heartwarming watch, and enjoyed Season One, Tonikawa: Season Two gets the job done.

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