TONIKAWA revolves around Tsukasa, a beautiful girl with homemaking skills and mysterious origins, and Nasa, the somewhat detached yet good-hearted genius. They both have friends/family who offer support and pose a threat to the new couple. The Arisugawa sisters are indebted to Nasa with the younger Kaname constantly embarrassing and teasing him and older Aya silently pining for his affections. Chitose is the ‘younger sister’/self-proclaimed only-viable-romantic-option for Tsukasa who finds herself constantly ignored by her onee-sama. Her two maids Charlotte and Aurora mostly help Chitose with her schemes while providing comic relief contrasting Charlotte’s boldness with Aurora’s reserved manner.

Tsukasa and Nasa are mostly just a sweet, happy-go-lucky couple peacefully enjoying life while Kaname and Chitose stir up trouble and force them through difficult situations. At least Kaname just likes to embarrass her senpai and has his best intentions at heart. Chitose just wants to prove that Nasa isn’t good enough to be Tsukasa’s husband but her plans often blow up spectacularly in her face.

It would seem to be set in normal modern-day Tokyo in a regular neighborhood with perhaps odd-ball but normal human characters. We do know with various hints throughout the anime that Tsukasa is not a normal human. She has some important tie with the moon that goes beyond a mere fascination and it seems almost fated her husband would end up being someone named after NASA. It mostly plays like a comedic slice of life with some depressing themes touched on but ultimately healed with understanding and love that leaves you feeling healed at the end of each episode.

The absolute feel-good vibes TONIKAWA gives you are the crowning jewel, with no awful surprises and only delightfully intriguing mysteries to stand out amongst rom-coms. With Nasa so easily flustered and Tsukasa so cool-headed, you would think you’d seldom get to see Tsukasa’s insecure or flustered sides but there are scenes aplenty! Watching them both admit they’d like to sleep next to each other or be romantic together with blushes on their faces will have you squealing with delight! There’s also no unnecessary drama that pushes them apart and the effective and quick ways they move past disagreements to become even closer keep up the happy atmosphere.

There is no introspective look at humanity nor any great understanding that will be gleaned from watching this show. While it is so nice and relaxing to watch, if you aren’t in the mood for some sugar-coated courting, you will not be able to connect much with the characters or the story. The added mystery about Tsukasa’s connection to the moon helps but it is, at its core, an anime about a very compatible couple and their cute everyday lives.