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Tonikawa is no masterpiece, but it’s still damn entertaining.

There are valid complaints about Tonikawa that one should not be glossed over. “Why can Tsukasa stop an entire truck with just her body?”, “Why does she recall history from a millennium ago like it’s her memory?”, “Why does she have a fucking meteorite in her room?”—burning questions about Tsukasa were never answered, and it’s frustrating to see no one in the show questioning it.

However, the main appeal of Tonikawa was never its mysteries or plot development. Tonikawa excels in making supposedly mundane experiences fun to watch, otherwise known as being a good slice of life. It exaggerates every moment without exception, to contrast and emphasis with the ordinary moments as a vehicle to deliver pure fluff and humour, though the latter may be considered by some as childish. Nevertheless, humour is subjective, and Tonikawa absolutely nailed the fluff that the audience came in looking for anyways.

On the topic of fluff, Nasa and Tsukasa are no doubt a cute couple. Things were awkward in the first few episodes, but as they live together and get to know eachother better, they have clearly grown throughout the series, both as husband and wife and as individuals. All this was not due to some dramatic confrontation or shocking revelation, but merely the familiarity that comes with time. This is something I think not much anime have ever touched upon, and Tonikawa did a great job in portraying that.

But the cuteness isn’t all there is to it, they are legitimately great characters in their own right. Nasa is a diligent teenager defined by his unfortunate name, but not in the way you would think. He worked hard to avert all negative connotations that his name brings, something that ended up working in his favour as he became a literal genius in everything. And his wife Tsukasa, to say the least, is quite the sharp and independent figure for a romance anime, but still with a somewhat conventional gap-moe personality that the audience can recognise and not feel alienated.

In stark contrast to the great characters, though, is the art and animation. Characters off-model, backgrounds mundane and movements stiff, the animation of Tonikawa is uncharacteristically poor. It’s not all bad though, I enjoyed the style that Tonikawa employs, the unique effects, the visualisation of verbal thoughts, the characters exaggerated expressions.

The unsatisfactory animation is therefore compensated by its incredible sound. The OP and ED are absolute bangers, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. The voice acting is also top notch, and saying it elevated the show would be an understatement. It practically carried the show with characters lively and personalities vibrantly presented by the voice actors. Altogether of which I dare say has done more than enough to make up for any detriments the animation had brought to Tokinawa.

I will be that guy and say the manga is better, but the anime is still a good starting point. And I would recommend anyone who loved what they see here to read the manga. There is one thing that my opening sentence missed. Tonikawa (the anime) is no masterpiece, but it’s still damn entertaining.