In Nasa and Tsukasa's new lives as a married couple, there is no drama and there are no high stakes. There are no drawn-out misunderstandings nor are there frustrating love triangles. Tonikaku Kawaii is twelve episodes of unwaveringly cute and inconsequential romance.

The art style is very reminiscent of the anime style of the mid 2000s with its most obvious comparison being Hayate no Gotoku from the same creator. Like the anime itself, the art and animation are inoffensive, simple, and consistent. The opening song "Koi no Uta" by Yunomi is a modern bop of this decade that contrasts with the previously mentioned mid 2000s art style. The sweet and sentimental sounding ending song "Tsuki to Hoshizora" by KanoeRana often pleasantly transitioned at the end of each episode. The voice acting performances from every character were entertaining and full of life. It felt as though the cast had a fun time doing their lines.

I remember two years ago, I started reading the manga for this when it was brand new. I stopped reading after a couple of chapters because I thought neither of the two main characters had any personality, and more importantly, I thought it was ridiculous that anyone would agree to marry a random person they had not seen in two years and only known for literal minutes prior. After reluctantly picking up the anime, my opinion is a bit different. Looking at this set-up alone, it sounds like uncreative wish fulfillment. But how Tonikawa articulates its idea of love throughout the show helps make that initial set-up less and less iffy. Tonikawa leans heavily into things like love at first sight and true love. For Nasa, he knew the moment he saw Tsukasa that she was the one. Though he knows nothing about her at first, something inside him tells him that it doesn't matter and his love for her is real. Tsukasa's character is more of a mystery, but she, too, made the insane decision to marry Nasa. Despite the entire situation being utterly reckless and crazy, there is nevertheless this vague notion of pure undeniable instantaneous love that attracts these two to each other. I personally don't believe in something like that, but I've always liked the exploration of the meaning of love, and Tonikawa's idealist take on it is interesting to me. Also, the anime just puts a dumb smile on my face.

So, I think Tonikawa's conflict-less and immensely fluffy romance works in two ways: It is a pleasant and cute show for those who want to watch two people endlessly flirt. It also justifies Nasa's immediate proposal to Tsukasa as well as her agreement to it. Their perfect relationship drives home the idea that these two really were fated for each other - that they lucked out on the one in a zillion chance of finding the person who is undeniably, without a doubt, one-hundred percent for them.

To me, Tonikawa is almost so full of fluff that it's almost depressing because nothing as perfect as Nasa's and Tsukuasa's relationship would ever happen and there's no point in ever hoping it would happen and 3D is just one dimension too many and.......

But overall, Tonikaku Kawaii is, well, cute.