Before anything, let me get one thing out of the way. I LOVE romance anime. It is my favorite genre, and it made me watch sooooo much bad anime just because of the "Romance" tag.

So, with the hype Tonikaku Kawaii got over the past years, you'd guess a romance lover would say it is a must watch, right? Well, that is correct. But not because it is good. Rather, it is because the romance here is so tasteless it serves as the perfect example of how a "marriage story" would look like if written by a horny male teenager with zero experience with love. Now, you might say that is a mouthful, but hear me out: if you think this story is a good representation of the ideal cute couple, you are maybe the target-public for this show.

One of the things that really annoyed me in season 1 was how Nasa was supposed to be this super smart and dependable boy, but a second later he is about to waste a fortune on a ring. But, I saw these scenes as merely educational. I mean, the whole season 1 feel like Japan propaganda to induce their youth to seek marriage, and "teach" them the rights and wrongs on it. So, in that aspect, it was kinda succesful. Season 1 managed to use a harem structure to build a story that wasnt a harem by any means. But there is a reason why most romances end right after the couple ends up together. Because it is very hard to keep a story going without conflict. And you don't expect conflict after the couple is finally together, right? So Tonikaku Kawaii Season 1 redirects their conflicts to other things, like them buying things, losing their house, have a whatever jealous sister being a pain in the ass...

But this is not a review of season 1. Lets talk about what season 2 did. Well... The very fact that I've been talking about season 1 so far indicates how season 2 was, right? It has so little going on that it might as well be an extended OVA.I just finished watching it, and all i remember is nasa being horny, tsukasa being horny too, them trying to do couple things and other random people suddenly appearing. By "random people" i mean the whatever characters that were introduced in this season. There are so many one-dimensional characters in this season that I can't even bother with their names. Season 2 as a whole can be separated between Nasa and Tsukasa moments, and filler random bullshit with the other characters.

So, now that we know that most of it was filler, at least the cute and fluffy moments were good, right? No. Nasa is still as cringe as ever, and it feels like they didn't develop at all. Yes, they kiss and hug a few times, and even get to the point of sharing a bed (imagine being a married couple that still haven't shared a bed after so long) and taking a bath together. But honestly, these only seem like ecchi scenes to me. They are NOT romance material, because every single development between Nasa and Tsukasa is fake. By the end of the second season, they are still feeling embarassed because there is a bath on the room they are going. It is infuriating.

If season 1 had somewhat of a plot, season 2 didn't. Which would be okay for a slice of life that focus on its characters. But it only works if your characters are well design, and if their gags are funny enough. Tonikaku Kawaii's selling point is its couple, and yet, it amounts to Nasa goint "she is so cute", and Tsukasa going "he is so cool". The main characters of this show have two dimensions at most in their character design. Lets now talk about the supporting characters. We got little-sister-like girl that acts like an old lady. We got older-sister-like that is bad at school because she plays too much games. We got looks-like-a-delinquent middle schooler. We got airhed loli. We got unmarried teacher marrying her first love at 30, because she got jealous of her student getting married before her. You see where i'm getting, right? All of these characters can be summarized by those words through all of the season. Later in season 2 there is the attempt to develop the main plot of the series, which i've been spoiled at though manga readers. But it is done so poorly, trying to keep a misterious vibe to it, that it is lost between the random filler though the rest of the season.

Talking about adaptation itself, i don't have much to say. The VAs were okay. The music wasn't anything impressive, but managed to set the right mood when it mattered. The animation felt cheap, but hasn't dropped too much in quality when compared with the previous season. Overall, seems like it had a low budget, but didn't need much to begin with.

Overall, i think it is okay if you liked it. If it is your first romance anime, chances are you will like it. Tonikaku Kawaii's best feature is how it appeals to its public-target. Which most likely is those people who comment on every single romance manga "why am i so alone? why can't i have this?" But honestly, i doubt people like me who have been watching romance for a while thinks this show is anything above average. Personally, i think this show as a whole is an insult. You can find better romance material in Harem shows, i kid you not.