Considering how annoying people in love usually are, it’s surprising how compelling a watch Tonikaku Kawaii is.  Nasa and Tsukasa are just such lovely, nice people.  And while I’m not big on wish-fulfilment as a part of the anime experience, this is a rare exception where I can’t help but want to put myself in the protagonist’s shoes.  Tsukasa is (and this is obviously a plot point) beyond perfection.  The way she goes otaku over silly things and approaches them with such earnestness has the exact impact on me that it does on Nasa.  Adorable.

In many ways in fact, this series is all about the whole being more than the sum of the parts.  The vibe is kind of Hara-sensei taking another look at manga tropes from the perspective of someone with more life experience, and finding wry and very clever ways to gently send them up.  I know there’s an elephant in the room but I find myself hoping it never gets acknowledged, because the aimless time-wasting is so much fun in these expert hands.  And what could be more aimless than a trip to the amusement park (is Muffy a cross between “Mickey” and “Luffy” – or is it “Miffy”?  Hmmm…)?

Muffy Land itself is, indisputably, mostly Disneyland.  Right down to the wedding thing – which of course was teased in the first episode.  And Yanagi-sensei showing up was teased too of course, as we got a peek at Taniguchi-sensei (Arai Ryouhei) inviting Yanagi to the park last week.  As for how Nasa and Tsukasa showed up, it was Yakuza-kun who got them passes as thanks for taking care of Toast (who indeed seems to have become a permanent resident).  Tsukasa goes overboard of course – she always does – and Nasa is mainly concerned about whether the park will live up to her inflated expectations.

Rain isn’t a bad thing, as theme park aficionados know – it’s a pain, but it keeps the crowds down.  For Nasa of course the big draw is seeing his darling in a Muffy raincoat, and her spirits are not remotely doused.  There’s a nice mix of mostly Disney-spoof rides here, from Haunted Mansion to Space Mountain, with a One Piece knockoff too to justify the Luffy connection.  Unfortunately Tsukasa’s three annoying satellites show up – they’re the one element of ToniKawa that’s never won me over – but they’re limited to a relatively minor role, happily.

Tsukasa realizes immediately what’s happening with Yanagi-sensei when their paths cross (of course Tsukasa is clueless), and eventually the two of them wind up doing play by play for the nascent couples courtship.  Taniguchi is being a total wimp about this, and Yanagi is as clueless as Tsukasa (she assumes no guy would be interested in her).  When mealtime comes Tsukasa and Nasa wind up at the buffet, where she proposes that they each pick each other’s food out as a test of how well they know each other.  That’s so Tsukasa, and it totally fits these two.

When Yanagi-sensei says “You wanna get married, then?” – during the fireworks, naturally – it’s one of the few anime moments where I actually said “Ehhh!?” out loud (at the same time as Taniguchi-sensei).  Maybe this is a more Japanese thing, where courtships in general seem to be shorter and there’s more of a “the point of a relationship is to get married” kind of vibe, but it certainly jumped the queue.  Good on them, I suppose – they’re certainly old enough.  For our main couple it’s another perfect day drawing to a close, living a life most of us could only dream of (and one that’s not remotely centered on material things).