What a magnificent mixture of slice of life and rom-com and a little mystery and total cuteness! This show is full of heartwarming moments and beautiful characters. It’s so simple yet so sweet, I looked forward to this every week as I watched the simulcasts. You wouldn’t think a show that dwells on the ordinary as much as this one […]
What a magnificent mixture of slice of life and rom-com and a little mystery and total cuteness! This show is full of heartwarming moments and beautiful characters. It’s so simple yet so sweet, I looked forward to this every week as I watched the simulcasts.
You wouldn’t think a show that dwells on the ordinary as much as this one does could be interesting, but it very much is. There’s a lot of happiness watching these characters do very ordinary things. And that’s just one of the remarkable things about this series. It’s a great feel-good anime, prompting only the best of sensations and feelings. A big recommend on this one.
Content covered: Two seasons (24 episodes), 2 OVAs
Beautiful characters that stir your heart at least once per episode. Whether it’s how they look and behave, or some of the things they say, or the circumstances they find themselves in, there were always heartwarming moments from them in every episode. That’s quite remarkable, especially given how simple this anime is. It’s a real feat in that regard.
Nasa-kun is of course the main character, sort of. The funny name kind of disappears into the plot after the first few episodes, but it still works and totally makes him memorable. This is the nicest male character I’ve ever seen in anime. By nice I mean he never does anything wrong really. He’s considerate to the extreme. I don’t think he ever thinks about himself much the whole time, and even if he does it’s in a cute kind of way towards his sweet wife. He finds himself totally thrown into the mess right away! But he also chose that mess himself, and he chose it without hesitation. Hey, it’s not a mess! No indeed. To continue the space theme, he let gravity suck him in and he fell safely to a wonderful new world, even if the ride was wild and out of control sometimes. He’s a fine character for this show, and you can tell how happy he is.
Ah Tsukasa-chan! I’m gonna get the “perfect female” thoughts from some of you I know. And it’s hard to argue, tsundere shyness aside. The authors make every attempt to make her completely adorable. Her interaction with Nasa creates a simple but so cute dynamic. Her pinkish-red hair and eyes are so fun. The voice is silky smooth, and one could fall in love with her just for that alone. Akari Kito (Demon Slayer, Classroom of the Elite) is getting a lot of leading roles these days, and she super deserves it.
But enough of the outward appearances. What’s up with this amazing character? The writers pique your curiosity, then let it drown in layers of cute ordinary life-ness, then they pique it again. I think we finally have some certainty though from S1 ep12 (and a little more given circumstances in S2–see Story section). If the circumstances of her walking away from the accident in the first episode could be explained away (I tried), and if the occasional references to a time long past could be passed off as an eccentricity or oddity (she has plenty), her declaration in that last episode of S1 cannot be explained away. “I cannot get sick or be hurt” she says in so many words. Tsukasa is some kind of mythical person with some sort of supernatural abilities. How bizarre is that? Yet I cannot doubt it anymore. In a simple, seemingly ordinary slice-of-life anime about the young married life of two people and the simple things they do everyday, this crazy element is sprinkled in magnificently, without putting the show in crazyland. It really works, and it adds to her characters so much.
I don’t know a lot about traditional Japanese mythology, but the title of this show and the early mention of Princess Kaguya and those references to the ancient folklore The Legend of the Bamboo Cutter make me think Tsukasa’s character is largely based around that famous myth. But in some ways, I don’t want it ever to be explained. It’s so much fun watching her slip up with comments that give hints about that side of her occasionally, and watching Nasa just accept it in the sweet way he does, I don’t want it to change really. She’s a fantastic character in every way.
The supporting characters, down to Chitose’s two maids, are all great and memorable. Those two have so few lines, yet they’re ever-present with Chitose and they add a great comedic elements. Chitose’s unreasonable possessiveness can be annoying, but it fits. The little sister type who runs the bathhouse, Kaname, and her way-too-straightforward sister Aya are totally fun. Aya has the only sad moments in the show, if it could be even called that, as she is so dumb she doesn’t realize she can’t have Nasa anymore, and you realize her loss at the same time you realize it even is a loss to her. She deals with it well, but it’s still kind of sad. Kaname is annoying, but in the best kind of way, and she definitely helps out any of the characters when they have dumb-moments. And Nasa’s goofy parents are so fun. S2 introduced the hilarious Ouka Nakiri and Kyuuma Kagari, who impressed with very little screen time. All the supporting characters add appropriately to the show, and are very memorable each in their own way, regardless of how much time they get in the show.
Accomplishing a lot with a little is an appropriate theme for these characters. The main characters are ever-present, but always doing ordinary stuff where it doesn’t seem like there would be opportunity to make a strong impression, but they do. And the supporting characters literally appear and disappear in short order, and yet they’re very memorable. That takes good writing by the mangaka and great character design by the anime studio, as well as great directing and voice acting. All of this is done extremely well in this super simple and super sweet anime.
Very beautiful, very simple, like the show itself. The art adds to that effort. Very clean and smooth, almost always bright and cheery.
The lighting is nice. Even the night scenes are nicely lit, which makes sense given the theme of the moon and space and all. Tsukasa in particular at night is beautiful. Her first appearance is a beautiful scene. It takes you by surprise so much and sets off all kinds of alarms, wondering what direction the show is about to take. It’s a perfect starting point for her, and the artwork is done exquisitely. She is definitely more pale than all the other characters, and that’s highlighted perfectly in the moonlight. I think this paleness adds to her otherworldliness, always in contrast to her environment, and is very powerful at night.
Eyes are simple but very pretty here. They’re on the larger end of the spectrum, even for anime eyes. As mentioned above, Tsukasa has a pink, almost red tone to her eyes, and they are gorgeous. Glassy, appropriately cold but expressive, and so very unique.
The pink versus blue thing is a real thing. I didn’t realize it until late in the second season, but this contrast between Tsukasa and Nasa is clearly intentional. Whether it was supposed to be obvious and I simply didn’t notice it or whether it simply became more obvious in the second season or whatever the reason, it struck me suddenly and I realized it had been there all along. I don’t know what the point of it is, or if there’s point, but it’s definitely a thing.
Physiques are unremarkable, but rightly so. This show isn’t supposed to be stimulating in that way, and only strays there in dialogue occasionally, and that’s just for comedic effect. Tsukasa is plenty stimulating even without that, but even so, she’s the most voluptuous, as they make obvious a few times.
One fun thing I observed was the reaction animations on the characters’ faces. There are a lot of red faces in this one, especially on the main characters, as they are often so shy with each other. Occasionally you even see the red-face animation on the back of Nasa’s head once, which is kind of funny. Not in a bad way, but in a way that you just laugh at how silly it is, but never thinking it’s out of place. I noted a lot of fun eyebrow movements too, easy to miss if you’re not watching carefully, very quirky and fun.
Scenery is simple, but always sufficient and pretty. The moon is obviously featured prominently, and is very pretty. Sometimes inanimate objects in anime start to look too real, and the moon is approaching that in this show. I don’t have a problem with that. Usually, the moon is so unnaturally big in the scenes it appears in, you don’t have any trouble recognizing it as animated.
So nothing spectacular but very pleasing. The calm and cool colorfulness is perfect for this kind of show. It’s very pink and very blue and very pretty. I’m happy.
The mythical element twining through the series is a master touch. It really only pops up every two or three episodes, and yet when it does it reignites that aspect of the show. I think it causes a heightened sense of the beauty in the story.
There isn’t much to the main storyline. Nasa meets Tsukasa under peculiar circumstances and they get married. Wow, that was fast. It’s sweet because it’s the most extreme love-at-first-sight result possible. I wonder how many of us have dreamed of meeting someone like that and knowing so well that’s the one for us that we up and get married right there. It’s crazy, but that’s the fun and the sweet part about it. It’s almost–mythical, isn’t it?
Mythology plays an important role in this show. The Legend of the Bamboo Cutter is one of the big myths in Japanese cultural history, telling of Kaguya-hime living on Earth for a time and attracting lovers whose hearts she breaks when she returns to her home on the moon. I hope we’re not in for heartbreak here. There doesn’t seem to be much concern about that. But still, this story very obviously draws on that myth. How far any of it extends I’m not sure. I think we’re to assume that Grandma Tokiko is waiting to return to the moon herself, perhaps, at the end of S2, and that’s what she’s always trying to tell Nasa and Tsukasa. So I don’t think we’re in for any great tragedy with Tsukasa.
Anyway, I think Tsukasa is simply the heir of that Kaguya family, however that works, and has some mystical powers because of that or something. Other than the “can’t get sick” thing in S1 this hasn’t really shown itself. I kind of wanted to see it developed more in S2 but was disappointed. Mystical powers aside, the connections to the myth were confirmed with the moon rock late in S2, so there’s no more doubt about that connection.
Everything that isn’t mythical in this show revolves around the daily lives of these newlyweds, and when I say daily lives I mean daily lives. Buying groceries. Changing clothes. Fixing vacuum cleaners. Eating out and cooking. Interacting with each others’ acquaintances, family, and friends. It’s all so mundane that if you’re reading this and haven’t seen the show you’d wonder how I can go on about it so. Yet it’s all so cute and sweet to watch somehow. It’s like reality TV but with only good people, which sounds really weird but isn’t far from the truth. You find it interesting despite it all. You almost look forward to going with them to buy groceries. I’m not kidding!
When the ordinary becomes extraordinary in literature, that’s good writing. This show has a super basic story with some super weird elements attached to it, but it’s all clad in the most ordinary slice-of-life materials, and yet it’s wonderfully entertaining. Somehow it all works to create a very wholesome and sweet anime, one of the most innocent anime not aimed at children I’ve ever seen for sure.
The ordinary becomes extraordinary because the only thing they really add is love. These two are really in love, without a lot of dramatic trappings or selfish adult emotions. And more importantly, they’re only just in love. There’s no reason really. Their friends try to pull reasons out of them for why they like each other, and they just bemusedly name random, simple aspects of each other’s character, things you would only really find attractive if you really were super in love with someone. It’s so cute you could die.
There were always one or two heart-skipping moments in these shows. Tsukasa would say something cute to Nasa, or Nasa would make some cringy straightforward admission to Tsukasa, or they’d randomly kiss each other, or do unexpected things in their sleep, and your heart would melt. To be so simple, and so engaging, the whole show reeks of love and hope and sweetness. The most love-scarred heart could find encouragement in this show I think. It cuts out all the crap and leaves just the pure goodness behind.
That gets me to the final thing I wanted to note about this show. Most great works or characters have an element of darkness about them. The human race is quite inclined to evil, and often therefore finds it easier to be creative in the darker realms, and usually finds it difficult to make great art without introducing anything darker. This show pretty much is able to do that. It’s cute, simple, peaceful, ordinary, and yet it can inspire super emotional responses and feelings. It’s this basic kind of humanness (and in anime no less) that speaks to something deeper in us that yearns for good things unsullied by evil. I know that’s kind of heavy, but I think this show is able to get at those things somehow. And that’s quite an artistic accomplishment.
I love it. I love it for its wholesomeness and for its sweetness and for its extraordinary ordinariness and for its sweet scenes and its mythical mysteries and its wild characters and that sweet little married couple of children, Tsukasa and Nasa. I look forward to seeing them more in S3.
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