This was quite the fascinating episode of Tonikawa this week.  And a fascinating week too, with the surprise (to me) announcement that the franchise will be getting what’s probably best-described as a miniseries this summer.  That would be a 4-episode ONA adaptation of its “Kawaii Joushi Kou-hen” arc.  It goes without saying that more Tonikawa is always a good thing, and it’s nice to see a runtime fitted to the needs of the source material (though I think manga readers don’t consider this among the series’ best).  Hopefully it’s a placeholder until we get a full third season in the next couple of years.

It should come as a surprise to no one that the whole camping trip was part of an elaborate ruse by Tokiko-san.  The old lady is nothing if not manipulative, though her heart (as far as we can tell) is generally in the right place.  Using Kaname as a facilitator was clever – it did seem odd that she’d stay behind “for work”.  They always say that weddings are mostly for the family and friends, and Tokiko surely felt cheated that she never got to have one for Tsukasa.  So this glamping reception is a nice consolation prize until when (if?) she can have the real thing.

It’s hardly surprising the way fans gush over Tsukasa, because she’s basically (and maybe literally) the ultimate modern nadeshiko.  But Nasa is quite a catch too, when you think about it.  Not a mean bone in his body, whip-smart about practical things, fearless, and both willing and able to come up with a good speech on the spur of the moment.  He’s a good kid, and in his way maybe the perfect match for someone who theoretically could never find a true partner in our world.  Some sort of celestial prince would only be overshadowed by a moon princess – better that she be paired off with basically the ultimate mensch.

Things all got very philosophical after the party, which happens with Tonikawa sometimes.  The star-gazing (naturally Nasa knows a ton about that) was of limited interest to most, and soon gave way to fireworks.  Those were basically Tsukasa’s plan to get some couple time, and Kaname as usual fulfills her wingwoman role expertly and efficiently.  But that’s preamble to the conversation between Tokiko and Nasa, which feels like something the series has been building up to for a very long time.

This scene vibes as very important.  Of course Tokiko is giving her blessing to the marriage and that’s in itself a big deal, but I don’t think it was ever really in doubt.  The headline moment is Nasa saying he has a “hunch about what’s going on” (Tokiko’s reaction certainly confirms its significance).  We may not know exactly what Nasa means by hunch (yet), but I think Tokiko believes that he understands the truth – by acknowledging the impossibility of what happened that fateful moonlit night.  If indeed Nasa knows the truth as we assume it to be, that casts their relationship in a very different light.

Tsukasa’s monologue about why people get married is both romantic and extraordinarily sad.  It reflects the feelings of someone who’s known incredible loneliness (I don’t think it can be taken any other way), but also someone who’s found solace.  The implications are impossible to confirm based on what we know.  Is she merely getting a short respite – “a hundred years if you’re really lucky”?  Is she, in fact, making a choice to give up her own immortality in order to be with Nasa (I don’t know how that would work, but it makes sense poetically)?  Between these two conversations, I think the questions that are at the very heart of the series are in the balance.

Of course, none of this really matters if Nasa isn’t nuts about Tsukasa and his libido isn’t a perpetual motion machine.  The glamping bridal suite is certainly romantic, especially with that star (and moon) gazing ceiling.  But as Nasa notes, it doesn’t offer any soundproofing (I wouldn’t bet against Kaname being someone in the forest close-by) if Tsukasa starts making “sweet sounds” – which is also a turn-on for the little horndog.  Love manifests itself in many ways, and that’s something Tonikaku Cawaii is very good at getting across.