It always makes me a little sad how little attention Tonikaku Kawaii seems to get in English.  These posts have never generated much in terms of discussion of page views, and it doesn’t seem to have a big following elsewhere.  It’s quite popular in Japan – popular enough to have gotten two seasons plus a sort-of third and a couple of OVAs.  I suspect it will eventually receive a full adaptation in fact – I certainly hope so, as so little of the truth has been revealed.  But I wish more people recognized Tonikawa for just how good it is.

To me, there are two core elements that make Tonikaku Cawaii really stand out.  Most obviously, Nasa and Tsukasa are a truly great anime couple.  There’s just such nice, likeable people – the kind you’d love to have as friends at that age.  The other is the remarkable ease with which Hata Kenjirou and the staff swing the story between absolute slice-of-life and extremely melancholy and mysterious.  The transitions are so seamless (as was in evidence this week) when in theory they should be jarring.  It’s a series that’s equally comfortable in both modes, and more than anything I think that’s down to Hata’s easy confidence as a writer.

Tokiko is really the star of the show in this finale, and she’s more closely tied into the secrets about Tsukasa that anybody.  She speaks of the wish she hoped to make come true for Tsukasa twice in the episode – in the latter instance lamenting that her part in it was ending before it was granted.  I think it’s very obvious that Tsukasa is either immortal or extremely long-lived and possibly Princess Kaguya, but what is this wish Tokiko speaks of and how specifically is it connected to that moon rock?  She tells Nasa she has something to talk to him about, but Tsukasa walks in on them before she has a chance to enlighten us.

Back home, the big news is that the burned apartment building is close to being restored.  That means moving out of the bathhouse, which is a little sad.  Not least for Kaname, who’s bummed about losing her friends and best chance for voyeurism.  It also means a new phase in the marriage.  Truly being in their own place, with a bed and a bathtub, and no more excuses to keep their romantic liaisons  quiet.  I have to assume that they’ve been intimate by this point because if not nothing in the world makes sense, but there are times when these two sure don’t act like it.

At  this point we’re back in full slice of life mode, with Tsukasa lecturing Nasa about how bad his hugs are and he asking for permission (denied) to conduct repair operations when she’s a messy sleeper.  When these are the worst issues between a couple they’re in pretty good shape in the big picture.  But of course there are other issues hanging over these two, the true nature of which still remains clouded.

Tokiko collapsing and being hospitalized finally kicks things along in the plot department, at least a little.  Tsukasa’a admonishment to Tokiiko to start living for herself seems to be a case of too little, too late.  The ever-observant Nasa notices what Tsukasa doesn’t, that her stride has shortened considerably.  Tokiko strongly implies that she’s not long for this world, and since Tsukasa behaves as if she’s indestructible that will come as a big shock to her.  Tokiko entrusts both the moon rock and Tsukasa’s happiness to Nasa, and while she could hardly have found a safer pair of hands, it’s obvious that Tokiko hasn’t fulfilled what she considers to be her responsibility where Tsukasa is concerned.

The series will continue at least through the Joushiko-hen arc this summer, with a four-episode adaptation of that premiering in July.  That’s great, but to be honest that arc doesn’t strike me as particularly riveting at first glance.  And it seems very unlikely to shed much light on the larger mystery.  This final episode played like one which was written with future installments in mind, and I certainly hope so because I very much want to see what’s really going on here.  I’ll read the manga to find out, if it comes to that, but I’d love to see Tonikawa get a complete treatment by anime.

In a season bursting with good to great romance anime, Tonikaku Cawaii still managed to stand out.  The main couple being both so unusual and so relatable is typical of the split personality this series pulls off with such aplomb.  We certainly need more romcoms about married people, but they’ll only work this well when the writer has such a deft touch and the principals are such wonderful characters.  I’m glad Tonikawa will be with us in anime form for at least a little while, and hopeful that will be the case for a lot longer.