Occasionally a song will run through my head when I’m watching a show. This time around I kept hearing “Peaceful Easy Feeling” by The Eagles (written by folkie Jack Tempchin). It’s not like it’s one of my favorite songs or anything, so I basically never think about it. But the vibe of Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka just matches it perfectly. It’s not like anime is all or even mostly about vibes most of the time for me. But this show just has a phenomenal vibe. It’s so easy to love, so relaxing and natural. It’s like a girl who’s beautiful without wearing any makeup.

At this point I almost wish the series was going to stay in Aso permanently, because everything with Takuya’s family has totally clicked. I love the little touches like the old farmhouse not having aircon, so the only way to cool down Rika was to blow a fan in her face. And that whole bit with Takuya and his father carrying her around the house while Grandma shouted orders was comedy gold. It’s hard to overstate how real all this family stuff plays – amped up a bit for comedy effect, but essentially organic.

There’s a fair bit to parse here. Kouichi being quite angry about this whole thing is, I would say, totally appropriate. It’s obviously caused the whole family but especially him to jump through a lot of literal and emotional hoops for no reason. But there’s also the aspect that while he’ll never discuss it openly, it meant a lot to him that his screw-up son seemingly had leveled up in life. From his perspective I totally get why he would scold Takuya for living in a half-assed way, even as I totally get Takuya finding that unfair. I also loved Grandma putting their futons in the same room – she totally knew what she was doing there.

What we’re seeing here is how a change of venue can reveal sides of people that they manage to conceal when they’re ensconced in their usual bubble. Being here indulges the travel otaku in Rika to be sure. She knows more about Aso than Takuya does, and when the big sisters (I feel you, Takuya) suggest he take her sightseeing before their flight, she insists on the Aso Volcano Museum. It also finds her straying into romantic thoughts she normally suppresses – her daydreaming reflects both these effects. Her obsession with Takuya’s bedhead is amusing but also quite telling.

For Takuya, it’s kind of reverting to his kid self. He does have his niece and nephew but basically, he’s the baby of this group and it shows. He’s also the local, and kind of enjoys playing a home game with Rika – he knows the frogs, the sky, the lay of the land. And when the pair arrive at the museum, he reveals a side of himself Rika hasn’t seen when a group of rowdy elementary schoolers on a field trip enter the scene. It’s a bit of a generalization but like so many there’s a kernel of truth at the heart of it – a guy showing he’s good with kids is a trusted means to impress a potential romantic partner (though that’s not Takuya’s intention here).

The final card played here is one of those twists that in a lesser series would really have you worried – the introduction of Umiyama Nao (Fairouz Ai). A triangle, an osananajimi, I can hear your groans from here. But it’s about trust. and trust is earned. Given what it’s shown me in five episodes I trust that Kekkon Suru tte is going to use this to take the story in interesting, non-tropey directions. Evidence of this is Rika’s reaction to Nao’s introduction – that of “well, that’ll teach me” irritated resignation which totally rings true. I don’t think this will prove to be a romantic conflict anyway – Nao and Takuya don’t have that kind of vibe. But it will obviously be a catalyst for both protagonists to consider what their feelings for each other are.

I would also note how fitting it was to have Nasa make a cameo here, in the form of Enoki Junya doing the voiceover for the “Bochi Komori” fantasy playing out in Rika’s head. Kekkon Suru tte and Tonikawa obviously have a lot of differences but they also have more in common than just director Ikehata Hiroshi. He’s the right choice to direct here, let’s put it that way – a thoughtful and charming look at young adults wrestling with relationships and daily life is far more a rarity in anime than it should be, and Ikehata clearly has the golden touch with them.