I had pretty modest expectations about Tonikaku Kawaii: Joshikou-hen, but so far (and hey, it’s half over) they’ve been comfortably exceeded.  It seemed like a pretty flimsy premise, and the vibe from manga readers was kind of meh.  But this is totally working for me, both because in the main it’s just regular Tonikawa and because the schoolgirl stuff is so restrained.  This is not a CGDCT anime, but the parts where it does go there have Hata-sensei’s deft touch to them.  Frankly it makes me wonder if I should revisit Hayate no Gotoku, because it’s been a long, long time and I don’t remember it being nearly this good.

We start out with a ramen chapter, always welcome.  Tsukasa has gotten it in her head to try the new “next level” super spicy ramen at the local joint, and Nasa is only too happy to tag along.  They run into Haru from his programming class there, and it turns out she has a secret life as a ramen influencer.  And yes, they do exist, both in Japanese and English – ramen is 100% an otaku passion for many in this country (and increasingly the States, too).

Honestly, this is pure slice of life about as good as anime does it.  The interaction between husband and wife is incredibly natural, and Haru is a bit in awe of their synchronization as a couple.  Nasa sensibly offers to order a standard bowl in case the special turns out to be too spicy for Tsukasa (which it inevitably will).  They trade, and it’s too hot for him too – but he soldiers on like the GAR domestic superhero he is.  Haru can handle the karai no problem, but she’s a pro.  I like spicy food, ramen included, but I never go top level at any place that offers the option – that shit is way, way too fiery for mere mortals.

Next up it’s another uniform bit.  Yes, this was already a thing – they did a whole OVA about it – but Tsukasa acknowledges that when Aya suggests it.  Aya’s hare-brained scheme (all of them are, for the record) is to have Tsukasa dress in her school’s uniform to drag Nasa’s eye away from his students.  Yes, he’s a sucker for that look – but the truth is, he’s a sucker for any look on Tsukasa, and there’s zero chance he’s going to get his head turned by anyone else.  But there’s no harm done, he’s amped up enough to ask for photos, and it’s obvious that the two of them had an enjoyable evening.

Next up Nasa’s students invite themselves over to his house for extra study (every alarm bell in the world should have been going off in Nasa’s head there, but oh, well).  They’re fascinated when they find out it’s a bathhouse, and when they arrive they end up blowing off the studying and just enjoying the facilities.  It’s entirely believable than kids this age would never have been to a sento, much less used a sauna (and yes, sento saunas are notoriously scorchers).  This whole sequence is a great example of why Joshikou-hen works, because in lesser hands it could have been insufferable.  But it’s just low-key and amusing in a wry fashion, with minimal to no CGDCT tropes and fanservice.

Finally, Aya takes center stage with another dumb idea – she wants to build a pond and drain it.  I was completely unaware of it – and this is not the first time Hata has exposed me to a weird Japanese pop culture quirk – but a few years ago a show called Ike no Mizu wo Zenbu Nuku Daisakusen (“The Great Plan to Drain All the Water from Ponds”) became a big hit with Japanese youth.  It was about (you guessed it) draining ponds.  The idea was to do so to capture and remove invasive species (a big problem here) but for a soufflé-head like Aya, it just read as “draining ponds is cool”.

Digging a pond is hard damn work, and doing so just so you can drain it is really dumb.  But what stands out here is what a pushover Nasa is (nothing new there).  I seriously hope he learns to say no sometime soon, because there can have been few better opportunities than this.  But he’s Nasa, so not only does he do the deed but he does it superbly (I was surprised he had to Google it).  At least he got to show off his he-man mode for Tsukasa – for once he’s the one getting her all hot and bothered (not that she needs much of a push in that department).