7th Time Loop – 03 – A Match Maid in Heaven

Oliver has served Arnold for a decade, and even he was surprised by the prince’s decision to ask for Rishe’s hand in marriage. He’s also never seen the prince happier. While wedding preparations are ongoing, there’s also a big party to be thrown that sends the message that the crown prince is still searching for a bride.

But while Arnold decries its pointlessness, Rishe holds out her (gloved) hand for Arnold to take, and gives him leave to go ahead and reveal her as her fiancée, turning the search party into an engagement party on the fly. As always, Arnold is surprised and impressed by Rishe’s reply.

After her previous princely fiance dumped her in front of the entire court back home, the attention, curiosity, jealousy, and likely scheming that surround her after she is revealed feel like “nothing at all.” She’s had her trial by fire in this environment, while also having fought actual martial battles in her past knightly life, after all.

When she asks why Arnold announced so quickly, he says it’s better to make it apparent now that he will protect her, no matter what happens. This surprises Rishe, who is so used to holding in her mind the image of him slaying her. She comes out and says she thinks he might be the most dangerous person to her, for one because she can’t match his swordplay.

After he invites her to spar with him and agrees to give her training in the near future, the two engage in a dance in the center of the ballroom. Each time Rishe tries to surprise him by taking the lead, he counters with a twirl, resulting in a dashing display of footwork and shifting tensions.

I love dance scenes, and this one did not disappoint, not only because it looked great, but because it’s a dance only two swordsmen could pull off. Delighted witnesses even mention how it felt like a sword dance. It’s also the closest Rishe has physically been to Arnold since the night a life ago when he killed her.

In effect, the dance is their first sparring session, and there was no need for swords. As expected, the women who had come specifically to present themselves as the crown prince’s potential wife don’t use swords either to  express the frustration with his choice. One such woman offers Rishe a very obviously glass of wine as a gesture of goodwill.

Sure enough, it contains red pepper. Rishe knows because of her herbalist past. Knowing what’s in it, she has a sip and shows no discomfort. When she steps out to the balcony, Prince Arnold joins her, and finishes off the wine she didn’t want to waste (her merchant past shining through).

Arnold, who is no dummy, wants to confirm if Rishe was thinking of someone other than him while they were dancing. She can’t say it was his future self in another life, so she pivots to her medical experience, saying she was worried for his health, asking if he had ever been wounded where the neck and shoulder meet.

Sure enough, he unbuttons his collar to reveal a nasty scar made form multiple vicious strikes with the intent to kill. She noticed he had trouble moving that shoulder while dancing, but it is also the same spot she was able to draw blood from during their swordfight in her future past. He is clearly impressed she noticed it, as he’s never revealed it to anyone, but he’s not ready to tell even her how he got it.

With the party over, the maids anticipate who among them will be chosen for the crown prince’s fiancée’s household staff, completely unaware that Lady Rishe is right among them doing her own laundry. The maid’s queen bee, Diana, scolds Elsie and her fellow newbie, saying they don’t have a chance at being chosen.

Rishe asks them about Diana and learns she came from a wealthy merchant family that drowned in debt and necessitated her going to work as a maid. She also observes Elsie and the other newbies closely and concludes that they know what they’re doing, they’re just doing it at a slower pace, and there’s a good reason Diana is frustrated with their inability to retain her instructions.

Rishe makes things extra-dramatic as Oliver announces her and she slowly descends her staircase. At that point, Diana is certain she has this in the bag, while also observing that Rishe’s villa is awfully clean, and wondering who did it. When their lady turns out to be Rishe, Diana is shocked. She’s even more shocked when all the newest maids are selected to be her maids, while she and her more experienced colleagues aren’t.

She breaks protocol to protest—not surprising considering her previous well-off status, and receives another shocker: as of today, she’ll no longer hold the position of maid. Diana falls to her knees, bereft, but Rishe asks her directly if she always knew what to do when she first got here. Diana said she didn’t.

Then Rishe points out why she was able to learn faster than her new maids: she can read and write, and thus could study what was told to her without bothering the more experienced maids. Diana gets teary-eyed as she admits her family had nothing and there was no one to protect her, but she worked her ass off to become a maid, only to fail to teach the newer ones properly.

Watching her genuine remorse, Elsie and the other newbie come to her side to comfort her, but they are all mistaken: Rishe isn’t firing Diana, she’s promoting her. She chose newbies because wants her villa to be a training ground for new maids. Teaching them to read and write will not only make them better maids, but make them more quick to adapt to changes in their lives, should they come about.

To that end, she asks Diana to create teaching materials for the other maids. Diana agrees, and the next we see her, she’s no longer in her maid outfit, has syllabi in her arms, and is super motivated and excited. She’s having fun. Diana was only ever nasty to Rishe, but once Rishe learned where that bitterness came from, she decided that helping her was more beneficial to her than casting her off.

That desire, that urge to avoid conflict and try to bring people together, is no doubt borne from all of the different lives she’s led so far in vastly different stations. She’s been all of the people she encounters in this life, and so is better suited to knowing how to unite them. And I truly believe that attitude and drive will continue to influence Prince Arnold, who was far more pessimistic and even misanthropic before meeting her.

With her household staff in place, Rishe dons her gaudiest and most expensive dress for her first meeting with the Aria Trading Company. She explains to Elsie that the dress is her battle garb for her talks, and in her head she knows that wearing something so loud will give them the impression of a mark, even though in another life they taught her everything she knows about trade and economics.

Her meeting with Aria’s leader Kaine Tully is auspicious, and has a similar feel to her first meeting with Prince Arnold in this life. She finds herself in the strange position of meeting someone she’d known, in this case for five years, meeting her for the first time.

7th Time Loop – 02 – Rishe’s Precious Riches

With the setup provided in the first episode, this second one is free to explore the person Rishe Imgard Weitzner is today: a supremely capable young lady with years of experience in multiple disciplines. In other words, she’s a catch. This is a status not achieved just thanks the time loops, but by her own hard work.

She declines Prince Arnold’s proposal at first, because it’s coming from someone who instigated a war that lead to her death in all past loops, and someone who personally slew her in the last one. It gives her a blind spot to the fact that this Arnold is not the bloodthirsty emperor of those past … not yet at least.

As a Crown prince, Arnold is used to getting what he wants. When he tells her he’s “fallen in love”, its an acknowledgment he’s never encountered someone like Rishe before. As such, he agrees to all of Rishe’s very specific conditions for giving him her hand in marriage.

Those conditions include hiring the Aria Trading Company for everything needed in the ceremony, a place to receive foreign guests, a separate residence from the emperor, and most importantly, leave to laze about and loaf about the castle. If anyone has earned a life of leisure, it’s Rishe.

Her final condition is that he not lay a finger on her, but when she’s asleep in the carriage leaning against his sword like a grizzle knight, she senses he’s about to touch her, wakes up, and unsheathes the sword. Noble ladies aren’t supposed to fall asleep on swords or sense movements while asleep and not being touched, and yet she can.

When some bandits attack the prince’s convoy, he locks her in the carriage for her own safety and joins the fray personally. When she picks the lock (a skill learned from her life as a maid) she sees he’s swiftly dispatched all of the bandits himself, but notably didn’t kill any of them, another sign this younger Arnold is not yet too far gone.

When some of the guards report numbness near their wounds, Arnold and Rishe both conclude it’s the work of poison. She even knows its composition, and tells the prince she can make an antidote with the plants she has on hand. When the soldiers hesitate to accept the balm, she cuts her own arm with the poison blade and treats it, which convinces them it’s safe.

Rishe later learns that the men are not just random guards but Arnold’s handpicked retainers, so chosen for their diversity of backgrounds and experiences. When she finds his gaze lingering on her, she asks what’s up, and he simply says he finds her “unfathomable,” and can’t wait to see what means she’ll use to “entertain” him. Rishe tells him it’s not her intent, which Arnold understands.

He then gets on one knee and bows to her in thanks for saving his retainers, explaining that they were wary because they knew her engagement was broken and still wondered what their prince was getting into. When Arnold notes that he told his father the emperor that he “stole” her, Rishe states that that makes her a hostage of the empire, which gives her that much more freedom to laze about like she wants.

Rishe is overjoyed to arrive in Galkhein’s imperial capital, where he gets a royal welcome and the streets are packed with smilng faces. Of all the lands she’s visited in her lives, this is the one place she’s never been. When Arnold reports that the villa where she’ll dwell is in no fair state, she is unbothered.

Donning simple work clothes and tying her hair back, Rishe once again calls upon her maid experience to clean the whole house herself. After all, it’s much more rewarding to loaf about in a home you yourself cleaned.

While fetching washing water from the well, Rishe encounters three maids bullying a fourth that they call a “novice”, while they all have three years of experience. Rishe, with five years under her belt, helps the novice up and ignores the others, then recommends they don’t wash large articles today as it’s supposed to rain. They don’t believe her and do so anyway, but it does rain. She then helps Elsie, the novice maid, properly wash her muddied outfit.

While admiring the city from the balcony as the sun begins to set, Rishe’s knight senses are set off by Arnold lurking inside. He is impressed, as he purposefully masked his presence only for her to detect him anyway. He tells her about the interesting buildings she points out in the distance, unsure why she values them, then notes that she’s unlike anyone he’s ever met, and possesses skills a “simple nobleman’s daughter” would have no need for.

Those words cause Rishe to remember what her noble mother told her: that personal feelings, academic studies, and pursuit of anything other than the art of maintaining appearances in social situations are immaterial to one born to a duke’s family. Her duty was merely to marry a prince and bear children.

Rishe tells Arnold that while others may deem the things she’s learned unnecessary to her station, she treasures them as riches she’ll always have. In other words, she is the one to decide what pursuits are “necessary”. To her surprise, Arnold is in full agreement, and declares that she should be free to do whatever she wants without constraints.

When she asks why, he says simply that he’s fallen completely in love with her, and that he doesn’t find her various skills pointless, but delightful “from the bottom of his heart.” Again Rishe, informed by her bloody past, suspects he must be up to something … but I don’t think he is. He is telling her the truth.

In all the other loops, the day arrived when Arnold killed his father and started a war. But in all those other loops, he’d never met Riche. Their fight in the castle when she was a knight doesn’t count, because he didn’t know her. This Prince Arnold may prove quite different, solely by dint of him meeting and falling for her. If only she realized she possessed that transformative power, she’d be a lot less wary in her dealings with him.

 

I’m in Love with the Villainess – 07 – The Noble and the Commoner

The president of the Knights asks Rae to find someone to train everyone in proper service technique, and she chose Lene. Little did she know Lene would immediately become drunk on power, wear glasses and carry a whip and make everyone, regardless of station, call her sensei.

However, it works, and she whips nobles and commoners alike into a bunch of passable maids and butlers. However, Lene’s “reliability” tracks, as she was the only one of young Claire’s personal maids to last more than a week, all because she knew how best to deal with her selfish whims.

The day of the Foundation Day Fair arrives, and Claire, Rae, and Misha are resplendent in their butlers’ outfits. Claire can’t help but compliment how good Rae looks, completely unbidden! She also proves a top-notch server, even when Rae on her break is her customer.

Claire maintains a serene face and patient tone throughout their interaction, even though she knows full well Rae is loving every second of being waited on by her mistress. I love a good role reversal!

When a young man tries to get Prince Yu’s attention, blushing the whole time as if he wants to confess to him, we then cut to a mysterious masked man lurking in the shadows. I have no idea what that’s about except that the masked guy appears in the OP so he was bound to show up at some point.

Speaking of showing up, Rae has the misfortune of getting some difficult stuck-up foreign royalty for customers. In the game, one of the princes would have bailed her out, so she assumes she’s on her own. However, it’s Claire who comes to her rescue, able as she is to speak the royals’ language fluently.

Rae later thanks her for saving her, and Lene, who observed what went down, isn’t surprised. Claire also saved her from some uppity royals when they were kids, and Claire wanted to buy her a dress. Sure, Lene was only a commoner, but she’s a commoner under the employ of the Francois family, which is different.

When Claire and Rae share a break, Rae helps her with her hair, and while Claire is impressed with how good a butler Claire has been, she prefers the “usual, honest” Claire. Claire scoffs and asks what part of her is honest, and asks Rae to skip the flattery as she’s well aware of her flawed personality. To this, Rae gets on one knee and holds out her hand, and offers to escort Claire around the fair.

Claire could have easily turned Rae down, but instead she takes her hand. Why? Because, like us, Claire knows that whatever headaches Rae may cause, she’s a hell of a lot of fun to hang out with. So hang out they do: Claire is predictably petrified by the haunted house and clings to Rae, while Rae (probably) lets Claire win the biggest stuffed animal at target practice.

When they take a break and Rae offers to grab Claire some water, I was suddenly worried that masked guy might kidnap Claire or something. Instead, it’s Rae who gets accosted, by fellow commoners, who are starting a “Commoner Movement” calling for equal rights and treatment. Claire, wondering what was delaying Rae, takes her by the hand and leads her away from the hard sell.

Rae later admits that she believes the movement makes some great points, but also assures Claire that no matter what, noble or commoner, she’ll always serve Claire. Rae then presents to her the gift of an amulet meant to aid with romance, wishing her good luck with Thane.

When Claire asks why, if she loves her as she claims, Rae supports her having success with the second prince. Rae simply states that Claire’s happiness is more important to her than having her own love realized. After all, Claire is her “heart’s savior.”

Back in her old world, Rae was worn down to the bone by the pressures of her job, but playing her otome and interacting with Claire helped soothe her troubled, exhausted heart. Claire may not know or believe it, but she saved Rae. It’s only natural she’d want to pay her back by prioritizing her happiness.

Claire does her usual thing where she says Rae is just messing with her as usual (she’s not), re-establishes that they are noble and commoner, “nothing more or less” (untrue), but the fact is she doesn’t refuse Rae’s gift, but holds it carefully in her hand as she walks away.

The next day, while performing more mundane Knights tasks, Rae, Claire, Lene and Misha encounter a commotion, and learn from Claire’s friends that there was a skirmish between commoner and noble. It’s looking like a battle between the classes is inevitable, and Claire will soon learn that Rae isn’t all talk about serving and supporting her no matter what.

The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent – S2 04 – The Prince from Across the Sea

Johan and Sei receive word from the king that a prince from the distant kingdom of Zaidera is traveling to Salutania as an exchange student at the royal academy. Due to the fact Sei’s status as Holy Saint is a state secret, the king requests that Sei remain sequestered in the royal palace for the duration of the prince’s stay.

Sei bristles at this. Not only does she have work to do and rare herbs to tend, it’s a big imposition to suddenly uproot her from her daily work life. When Jude suggests that the potion she gave to the sea captain from Zaidera may be the reason the prince is coming, she concedes it might be best if she’s not around when he is.

Liz, who is vice president of the academy’s student council, jests to Sei that the prince could be a troublemaker escaping is country, or even a spy, but in all seriousness doubts that Zaidera cares all that much about Salutania’s national secrets. What she’s not so sure about is whether they care about Sei.

While Sei is to stay at the palace while Prince Ten’yuu is at the research institute, as a member of the royal court it’s her duty to attend his welcoming ceremony. She does so while wearing her saintly raiments, but also a magical veil that will conceal her face. Since the veil makes it harder for her to see, she needs an escort for the ceremony.

Enter Al, who is once again clearly overjoyed to serve her once more. Sei is working on not letting his compliments fluster her, but while she does well at first, when the maids note she looks like a bride and he calls himself her groom, she loses her composure. At the ceremony, Al is all business, and Sei could swear the prince momentarily glanced in her direction.

She stays away from Ten’yuu as agreed, and Liz reports that he is indeed a very studious, serious young man, but also one who makes friends easily and soaks up knowledge like a sponge. But one day when Sei is back at the institude, Prince Ten’yuu is suddenly there, introducing himself and asking all sorts of pointed questions about her herbs and what she does there.

It turns out his impromptu visit to the institute was neither announced nor sanctioned, and while he claims to have simply gotten lost, Sei overheard his attendant saying “it’s almost time,” which wouldn’t really make sense if they were actually lost. He’s given a warning and the king assigns him bodyguards to make sure he doesn’t wander anywhere else without warning.

Ten’yuu has almost immediately zeroed in on Sei as the “key” to his mission in Salutania. Whether he sees her as a resource for potion-making, a suitor to heighten his status, or something else, it’s clear he has all four of his eyes fixed upon Sei. It seems only a matter of time before he discovers she’s far more than a mere herb gardener…

The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent – S2 03 – Ballin’ Out

Sei is unexpectedly summoned to the Royal Palace for not one but two official events: her official debut as the Kingdom’s Saint, and the royal ball later that night. It is reiterated that Sei can be rather insecure and unconfident about such things, as she lacks the self esteem she should have.

However, whenever Al takes her hands in his, as he does when he offers to be her escort, Sei feels a lot better. The morning after she spends the night in the palace, the maids don’t hide their excitement at the prospect of dressing her up not once, but twice.

Sei is less enthusiastic, especially when she considers herself unworthy of the intricate white robes of the Holy Saint. But once again, as His Majesty introduces her to his assembled court at the debut ceremony, Sei finds that Al is in attendance, offering her a smile of support, and her spirits are buoyed.

That’s also the case when Liz stops by to see Sei in her Holy Saint vestments. She brings along a friend, Rayne, the second prince of Salutania. He was eager to meet her, and also to apologize on his behalf of his brother. Seeing Liz and Rayne so happy to see her, Sei stops regretting going through with the ceremony.

When they encounter one another other in their ballroom duds, both Al and Sei play a back-and-forth game of who can make the most Shoujo Manga Face. It hurts a bit when Sei tells Al not to say she’s beautiful when she clearly is, and also when she’s not able to tell him how beautful he is. The two simply end up embarrassed when the royal herald and maids loitering in the hallway tell them it’s time to line up for the ball.

If I had a complaint, it’s that Sei and Al don’t actually get to dance for very long. I feel like Bell and Ais got more time. Nevertheless, the pair oozes chemistry and grace, and both Sei’s butter yellow dress and Al’s blue suit reminded me of Belle and the Beast in the Disney film.

Etiquette dictates that Sei not dance with the same partner twice, so with a lot of ball left to go, she is protected by Al and Johan from randos who might want to curry favor or even propose to her. Johan dances with her first, followed by Yuri and Erhart.

While having tea with Liz and Aira the next day, Sei mentions how she had no idea men lead in different ways, since her only partner for a while had been her dance teacher. When Liz asks her who her favorite was, Sei hesitates. She says she’s not sure, but c’mon. It was Al. I know that, you know that, and Liz sure as hell knows that!

The tension builds after the credits as Johan tells Sei that she must have received a number of fresh invitations from members of the court and nobility, but the palace likely politely declined them on her behalf. The herald once again summons her to the palace for an important matter, suggesting perhaps the subject of her future husband will be broached.

TONIKAWA: Over the Moon For You – S2 01 – Wedding Hell’s Bells

With a school dramedy seinen, a misfit school rom-com, and a college-age rom-com already on my list, did the Tonikawa sequel arrive too late to make the cut, even if we’re only in April’s single digits? Less than two minutes into this first episode, my answer was as clear and direct as Tsukasa’s when asked if she wants a wedding ceremony: Absolutely not.

Rather than being satisfied with the first season, I wanted more of Tsukasa and Nasa being the absolute cutest young newlywed couple on TV, and we get more here. They’re still living at the Arisugawa’s cozy guest house, and after Nasa wraps up his work stuff they go to a fancy movie theater.

The OP features a lot of scenes from Tsukasa’s past, and she may well be an immortal moon goddess in human form who has walked the earth since the days of the samurai … but at this point it’s almost part of the comedy that this is never addressed during the actual run of the show.

Tsukasa vividly envisioning a movie with flying sharks in the skies above a city and getting that “why the heck is this happening” vibe cheekily mirrored the experience of watching the OP of largely non-supernatural slice-of-life rom-com, which was one of the very best and most relaxing hangs of the season during its first run. Fun to think about, but not the focus of the show, at least not for now.

When talk of a wedding—as in, an actual formal wedding ceremony—is broached by Kaname (who wants a gondola and fireworks), Nasa asks Tsukasa about it during dinner, which is when she voices her vociferous lack of desire to go through such an ordeal. Turns out Nasa is hilariously ignorant to the cost and complexities of such events.

When Kaname drops by with an watermelon, she and Tsukasa experience the full extent of that ignorance, as Nasa assumes a wedding taking no longer than a week to prepare costing, oh, around $5,000. The thing is, that kind of is possible, as long as you’re creative and focused enough to avoid the all-too-easy pitfalls and excesses of traditional wedding planning.

In a way, Nasa’s lack of knowledge on orthodox ceremonies helps him stand out from everyone else who is simply overthinking things. They say a wedding is often not for the actual bride and groom, but for their family and friends. It’s what’s expected, not always what the couple actually wants.

While doing some ridiculously high-impact combat training in her courtyard, Chitose admits to her maids that if Tsukasa were to go through with a ceremony, she’d not only attend, but also not make any effort to ruin things. She wants Tsukasa to be happy, and also for her Gran to see Tsukasa in a wedding dress. Who wouldn’t?

After his evening bath, Nasa encounters Aya slacking off in the lounge with her handheld game, and she echoes a lot of Kaname’s sentiments about a wedding being a no-joke elaborate hassle-and-a-half. What’s funny is, while she’s aware weddings can take a year or more to plan, she’s not exactly quite sure why.

Enter Tsukasa back and refreshed from her bath, listing all the preliminary steps like invitations, RSVPs, seating charts, favors, et cetera, ad nauseum, e pluribus unum. The bottom line is, she’s not interested in all that effort. But Aya, no doubt wanting them to have the kind of wedding she’d want, tells them they won’t know if it’s worth it until they try.

That brings us to another generally-held conception among the populace—not just in Japan or America but everywhere—that the stress and complication is the point. It’s not just a celebration, but a trial by fire: if a bride and groom can get through their wedding, they’ll be well prepared adversity later in their marriage.

The wedding mag they obtain at the konbini is as thick as a phone book. Couples sometimes get into fights during wedding planning. But here’s the thing: Tsukasa just…rather wouldn’t? She likes things the way they are, all easy, breezy, and lovey-dovey. She loved the simple day she just had hanging out with her husband, and wouldn’t mind many more days like it.

Nasa, who was never particularly married to the idea of a wedding ceremony (no pun intended), is in full agreement that they table the wedding plans for now and take time to think about it. There’s every possibility they can also put their heads together and come up with a more scaled back, economical wedding that won’t take years or millions of yen to execute.

The couple then heads home, slips under the futon together, and have what might be the perfect ceremony for them, not anybody else. Reveling in the peace and relief that resulted by tabling more complex plans, they exchange quick and concise vows, affirming their love and dedication to one another, and kiss right there in the bed. Tsukasa may still don a wedding dress, but she’s perfectly fine with just Nasa seeing her in it, in private.

I’m proud of our newlywed kids for not falling down the rabbit hole of wedding planning hell, because at the end of the day it’s not for everyone and something no one should feel pressured into. I’m as content to watch their peaceful lovey-dovey lives as they are to live it. I’m also as unconcerned with their lack of ambition with wedding plans as I am with the show’s refusal to explain Tsukasa’s past. Mostly, I’m just glad Tsukasa, Nasa, and the gang are back!

Overlord IV – 01 – A Land as Sweet as Honey

Overlord’s fourth season—and the first episode of Overlord I’ve seen in 1,373 days—announces it’s going to be the same old Overlord by starting off with Albedo rolling around in bed pretending a pillow is her beloved Ainz-sama. Ainz has to contend with maids constantly fussing over him (and sitting beside his bed at night and not sleeping). The household staff is led by Fith, who has him dress in robes of red and gold rather than his usual sinister black.

It’s a casual easing back into this quirky world of overpowered monsters-as-workplace protagonists. Ainz sifts through a lot of carefully-prepared paperwork that he admits (only to himself and the audience) he doesn’t know a whole lot about—he is just a salaryman back home—but such are his subordinates absolute trust in and love of him that he can BS his way through pretty much any situation.

After some lap time with Aura, Mare, and Albedo (the red makes him look like a regal, skeletal Santa) Ainz meets with the always extra Pandora’s Actor, who will be taking over Albedo’s duties while she’s off in the Re-Estize Kingdom. As Pandora’s “father”, he expresses his wish for his “son” to surpass his original settings.

Pandora also gets Ainz thinking about the bigger picture of what kind of leader he wants to be in this new Sorcerer Kingdom. Right now there’s almost no commerce, the city is short on supplies, and the adventurer’s guild is all but abandoned. But in this world, the adventurers are essentially security or exterminators.

Ainz wants to change that, by absorbing the guild into his kingdom and giving them a new directive: actually, ah, adventuring. Exploring new places and gathering information, in ways his subordinates would have more difficulty both due to how powerful they are and how much they detest lower forms of life.

Ainz wants to build a kingdom and a guild he’d be proud to show his old friends, whom he believes may still be out there somewhere. But he knows he can’t do it alone. He’s going to be leaning on Demiurge (all too happy to serve), Albedo (who is all too happy for him to lean on her), and the rest of his colorful crew of cretins.

TONIKAWA: Over the Moon For You – 13 – Love In the Time of LINE

It’s been over eight months since the last TONIKAWA but this extra OVA episode doesn’t skip a beat, delivering all of the notes that made the first twelve episodes so endearing and comforting, especially at the end of one of the worst years of many peoples’ lives. Things are going a bit better now, so it’s especially nice to check in on these two sweet young lovebirds in that context.

Tsukasa’s smartphone finally arrives, which means she’s finally arrived in the 21st century (though she still contemplates how much one could accomplish with a smartphone in the Sengoku era, one more hint that she’s either lived a very long time or carries the memories of past lives).

Something as simple as adding contacts is made much more profound as only one person in their address books can occupy the “spouse” category. But no sooner does she gain a smartphone (and LINE app) than she loses Nasa…if only for the day, as he’s summoned to his old work for a last-minute project.

Tsukasa goes in to work at the bathhouse, only to get bored and start wavering over whether to send Nasa a text or sticker. Aya doesn’t help matters by saying she’s sure he’ll message Tsukasa, since when he doesn’t do so all day, it only adds to her loneliness and anxiety.

While sitting out on the back patio after dark, she tries and fails to hold back tears despite knowing how ridiculous it is to be crying. But is it so ridiculous? Tsukasa and Nasa have been together—and close—for most of their married lives, and love each other dearly. So it’s no surprise that they both feel lonely.

That intensity of their love also makes it that much more satisfying and relieving when we finally hear that little alert sound and Nasa confirms he couldn’t use his phone while working. He misses her every bit as much as she misses him; smartphones or no, their hearts remain tightly connected.

When Nasa shambles home at four in the morning, he fully expects Tsukasa to be asleep, but she’s wide awake, having not been able to sleep “for some reason”. His futon is out, so they lie down together, and Tsukasa, still out of sorts from being without her darling for so long, takes the initiative for the first time by giving him a passionate goodnight kiss.

Nasa is wide awake at this point, contemplating how his wife suddenly seems more aggressive, only for Tsukasa to visit his futon and insist that he hold her tight. Now, I’m not saying they go on to make full-on love for the first time in that early morn, nor am I saying they don’t, but this is definitely the most hot and heavy we’ve seen them.

Even in the morning, with the couple’s faces beet red and smoking it’s not clear exactly how far the two went a few hours prior, but it is clear from Kaname that they “had fun” in the early morn. She’d love the details (as someone with a “sexy radish” as her LINE picture), but also knows these two well and how easily they’re embarrassed whenever they contemplate the prerogatives of their status as husband and wife.

Because this is a check-in OVA, we also check in on Chitose and her maids Aurora and Charlotte, the latter of whom was at the bathhouse and overheard about Tsukasa’s potentially fun night. Charlotte, despite being an adult, has no idea what that “fun” entailed.

After doing a coffee spit take Chitose tells her it’s “far more intense” than the horseplay she and Char get up to. Chitose demonstrates her growth from last season as she doesn’t immediately head to Tsukasa’s house to investigate/put a stop to it. After all, Tsukasa is married; it’s perfectly normal for things to get intense.

After a parting scene of Char teasing Aurora, who actualy would like to hold hands in bed, the standard credits roll. While a couple of decent romances like Horimiya showed up in Tonikawa’s wake, that series grew more scattered and disinterested in its main couple down the stretch. It was nice to be reminded how good, steady, and consistent Tonikawa always was, and how deftly it portrayed young love—or in Tsukasa’s case, very very old young love! XD

TONIKAWA: Over the Moon For You – 12 (Fin) – I Want You to Live

In the first half, Nasa lets his tendency to get really involved in something get the best of him, and he works on a computer project all day and through the night. When he’s done, he has a fever, and Tsukasa is committed to being the “cute newlywed wife” who sees to his every need until he’s better.

That includes making him food and administering medicine, but also more intimate things like having him strip (as much as he dares to) so she can wipe down his sweat. By the end of the day, he’s feeling much better…better enough to get frisky in bed.

But Tsukasa again warns him to know when to “apply the brakes”—she’ knows he’s still not fully recovered enough for strenuous activity. As for Tsukasa, she drops one last hint about her mysterious origins by declaring she “can’t get sick or hurt”.

The remainder of the episode is actually the reason Nasa worked so hard he got sick: he wanted to be able to go to the summer festival with Tsukasa. He makes what he believes is not an unreasonable request to watch Tsukasa change into the yukata Kaname lent her, and doesn’t forget his camera—mostly to take pictures of his cute wife, not fireworks.

Nasa shows he’s not good at everything when he instantly fails at goldfish scooping, and Tsukasa confesses that the way they made takoyaki at their party is not her favorite way, and she’s super stoked to get the traditional kind at a food stall. Finally the two make and offering and pray for a long and happy marriage, for their health, and for better luck scooping fish in the future.

Then they join the others to watch the fireworks, Nasa looks forward to going to next year’s festival with his wife, and they return home together, husband and wife. Nothing too fancy! Certainly no other further revelations about Tsukasa’s possibly immortal status are revealed.

In this regard, TONIKAWA ends just the way it should have, with the lovely status quo of a happy Nasa and Tsukasa continuing to enjoy their lives with one another and their little circle of friends. It’s simple and mundane, but in the very best way, and I wouldn’t mind more heartwarming comfort food of this kind at some point in the future.

TONIKAWA: Over the Moon For You – 11 – Perfect T.A.K.O.

Chitose is about to drop in on Tsukasa when she discovers her apartment is gone. She spots Tsukasa passing by, and Tsukasa tells her she’s living in the park now, lures Chitose into one of those big plastic domes with holes, and leaves her there.

Back home, Nasa has found a pan for grilling takoyaki, and suggests they have a takoyaki party (or Takopa), since that’s what the young people are into these days. Tsukasa isn’t sure where Nasa learned that, but thinks a party will be a good opportunity to get to know Aya. I’m also reminded of the similar fondue parties that were so popular in America back in to 60s.

Chitose and her maids track Tsukasa to the bathhouse, where Kaname tells them to have a nice refreshing bath to cool their jets. Chitose and Aya clash over the worthiness of Nasa to be with Tsukasa and vice versa, respectively. Chitose very nearly insults the bath, but insists to Kaname she wasn’t.

Tsukasa and Nasa decide to invite everyone to their little home for the Takopa, and the maids have helpfully done the extra shopping needed. Tsukasa proves she’s prime wife material to Aya when every single thing she makes is delicious.

But culinary skills aren’t all it takes, so Aya decides to test Tsukasa another way: with video games, specifically Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. Not a parody, mind you: the actual real-life game, released back in February.

I’m not sure if Capcom provided promotional consideration, but the episode is able to avoid feeling like a commercial because it’s the personalities of the characters, not the game, that take center stage, especially when the maids propose a competition among the girls with the prize of having Nasa do any one thing they ask.

Kaname backs out due to her inexperience, and while Chitose is game, she is quickly torched by Aya. Tsukasa puts up a better fight but ultimately Aya beats her too, and Tsukasa hates losing so she keeps playing. Soon, the contest format is forgotten.

Once it’s clear she can’t beat Aya at SFV she whips out the original game, for which she had Nasa use his electronics expertise to create the necessary retro proprietary controllers. Tsukasa gets a lot of early wins, but Aya is a natural gamer and soon figures out the controls, resulting in a Double K.O. in their final game.

Tsukasa and Aya do a fist-bump to express their mutual respect, and Kaname reminds them that, as it’s a takoyaki party, perhaps they should start making some takoyaki? Chitose watches as Tsukasa shows Nasa the proper way to turn them, sees how much fun they’re having and how happy she is, and decides to more or less drop her disapproval of the marriage.

A good time is had by all, and once everyone is gone, and Tsukasa and Nasa clean up in the kitchen, Nasa asks Tsukasa what she would have done if she’d won the video game contest. Rather than tell him, she just does it: she leans in and kisses him.

Stating that she can do that whenever she wants, she responds “Sometimes, then…”, and the two shift a little bit closer to each other and lean on one another. They’re in an adorable state of true spousal bliss, brought on by the fact they were able to pull off one hell of a lively party—an indication of further growth in an otherwise slice-of-life episode. After all, entertaining isn’t just about having fun with friends, but showing yourselves off as a couple.

TONIKAWA: Over the Moon For You – 07 – Matrimonial Proof

As she and the maids observe the happy couple from a bush, Chitose declares without evidence that Tsukasa and Nasa’s honeymoon will end in divorce. Each time she believes the first crack in the armor has appeared, Tsukasa and Nasa quickly make up and continue being lovey-dovey.

TONIKAWA is many things: cute, endearing, heartwarming, pure…but is also very often quite funny, consistently delivering some of the better jokes of a Fall 2020 season that’s light on comedies. For instance, I enjoyed Tsukasa scolding Nasa for settling for a chain restaurant at the food court while ordering something local and bold, only to be thoroughly disappointed in her choice.

Does Nasa gloat to her? Nope! He tastes it (she feeds him) and agrees with her, then snaps a cute photo of her sour face after biting into a lime. Even when she’s cross about this and demands he “regain her favor”, he proceeds to do just that. As the maids observe, the couple’s micro-arguments only serve to make them a closer, cuter couple.

With the passive approach not working, Chitose reveals her presence to Tsukasa and reprimands her for being “in such a place” and falling for “such a guy”. Tsukasa retreats back to the bus with Nasa, but not because of Chitose; she wants to avoid appearing in the same morning show that burned her with the lime udon.

In a nice bit of irony, the maids enjoy the honest grub of the food court as much as Tsukasa and Nasa, and are in no hurry to pick up the chase (their luxury car can easily catch up to the bus). In the payoff of the morning show joke, someone declares the lime udon to be great…even though it wasn’t anything special!

Still, the words Nasa heard Chitose yell: “Why did you marry that guy?” still ring in Nasa’s ears. Tsukasa chalks it up to a marriage rarely involving only the two people getting married, but with the insinuation that you can’t please everyone; particularly Chitose.

The next morning Nasa wakes up on Tsukasa’s shoulder to find they’ve arrived in Kyoto. Calculating that they have a half-day of sightseeing in Kyoto before taking the train to Nara, Nasa asks Tsukasa where she’d like to go first, and she suggests a bakery or café. In a fun reversal, Nasa is as passionately opposed as she was to him ordering chain beef bowl at the rest area.

He beseeches her to avail herself of Kyoto’s unique attractions, which leads to her suggestion of visiting the Manga Museum, so he resorts to rapping to tell her Kyoto’s all about the history and culture. She relents, and decides to look the part by dressing traditionally. Unsurprisingly considering her still-unknown true age and origin, she knows exactly how to put on the kimono without assistance.

Just when she and Nasa are ready for sightseeing, Chitose arrives, flanked by her maids, resembling a trio of old-timey anime villains (which anime I am not sure). If Chitose’s goal is to judge Nasa’s worthiness to be married to Tsukasa, Nasa suggests they have a talk so he can provide what she needs. Charlotte and Aurora agree to take Tsukasa to the cafe and Manga Museum.

While going into the episode I was dreading the constant interruption of the happy couple’s honeymoon by an interfering brat, I’m actually really glad Chitose showed up in Kyoto! For one thing, it shows that Tsukasa and Nasa can and really should split off at times and do their own thing; independence is key to a lasting marriage.

More importantly, Nasa is able to demonstrate to Chitose that Tsukasa didn’t choose him on a whim; he truly is a prepared, thoughtful, and positive fellow, i.e. precisely Tsukasa’s type. The fruits of his extensive research of Kyoto leads to an enjoyable fake date for Chitose…even if she doesn’t openly admit it to him.

Charlotte and Aurora aren’t particularly tactful in asking Tsukasa about why she married Nasa, but they’d prefer to stop hounding her, so anything that will get Chitose off her back would help. Tsukasa starts by blushing up a storm and simply saying Nasa is “just…really cute”, and as she describes Nasa the maids realize that yup, he’s exactly her type.

But that’s not enough for Chitose, who knows a whole lot more about Tsukasa than he does, and ultimately feels it comes down to her having been in Tsukasa’s life first, and it’s not fair that an interloper should “claim” her. Yet even when Nasa learns for the first time that Tsukasa is athletic, he isn’t disheartened; he’s delighted!

When Nasa tells Chitose that Tsukasa saved his life, Chitose replies that Tsukasa saved hers as well—whether she means literally and how remain to be seen. Then Nasa tells her he felt—and feels—lucky, not because she saved his life, but because he met her. Then he launches into a monologue about math—but not to prove his love of Tsukasa to Chitose!

The Drake Equation, used to determing the likelihood of extraterrestrial planets, was modified to express the likelihood of finding the person you’re “fated to be with”. In both cases, the likelihood is 0.0000034%. But the moment he met her, he knew he’d beaten the odds. He’d found someone he felt he’d been searching for since before he was born.

He then mentions concepts like prime numbers and gravitational waves, which were intuited by scientists long before they were scientifically proven. In that same vein, he didn’t marry Tsukasa because he’d already proven his love for her, but because he intends to spend his entire life proving it, day by day. Chitose may yet still be swayed by the bitterness of “losing” Tsukasa to Nasa, but after that presentation she doesn’t have much of a logical argument to oppose the marriage.

Nasa’s worthiness to be with Tsukasa and vice versa is not in question, except for those like Chitose who are driven by personal interest and emotion. And Nasa assures Tsukasa that if his parents aren’t sure about their marriage, then he’ll simply convince them. It’s all part and parcel of his lifelong effort to prove his love is real. Anyone doubting his commitment or discounting his track record do so at their peril!

TONIKAWA: Over the Moon For You – 05 – Any Old Ring Will Do

Tsukasa and Nasa’s marital bliss is suddenly, sharply interrupted by Tsukasa’s realization that Nasa doesn’t own a television. On one level, that’s quite admirable for a studious young man; on the other, if he’s going to be married to Tsukasa, there’s going to have to be a TV in the house, because she’s a TV and movie buff, with particular enthusiasm for the oeuvre of one James Cameron. But like her futon, she doesn’t need the best; a god cheap TV will do just fine.

While waiting for Tsukasa at the baths, Nasa tells Kaname that he proposed, though they don’t have rings yet. Kaname stops Nasa before he spews one of the three main husband clichés she so wonderfully proceeds to recite: that their wife doesn’t care about fancy trips, going out for fancy food, or fancy jewelry. Yet when Tsukasa emerges fresh from the bath, both she and Nasa exchange looks that suggest rings really aren’t necessary.

Nasa has to go in to work, which means leaving Tsukasa alone for the day. He feels bad about this, and can sense that she’s feeling a little lonely when they stop to sit on a lakeside bench in the park. That’s when the two both lean in for a long, sweet kiss—just as Chitose’s maids are ready to pounce on them anew. Where this scene kicks so much ass is that the kiss isn’t interrupted at the last second, and the maids don’t interfere. In fact, they aren’t seen again!

Instead, the balance of the episode centers on Nasa’s insistence he procure not one or two but three rings—an engagement ring for Tsukasa and wedding bands for the two of them—to serve as reminders of one another and symbols of their enduring love. The ever-practical Tsukasa only sees it as a waste of money…but just how much money remains unknown to Nasa.

She takes him to the fanciest jewelry store in a fancy district to try to dissuade him from his crusade, but Nasa harbors the foolish belief the brilliance and cost of the diamond must be proportional to the amount of love he feels for Tsukasa. The attendant’s sales pitch is so strong he almost liquidates all his assets. Worse still, when Tsukasa takes him to a budget jewelry store, he starts to think ¥680,000 is “cheap”—which I guess it is, after seeing ¥9,000,000 rings!

When Tsukasa discovers that Tsukasa is doing this far for her, so she won’t be lonely, she kisses him and tells him, essentially, that if they absolutely must have diamond wedding rings, the cheapest ones will do. They settle on a pair costing a total of ¥32,000—which is still a lot of money for “little rocks!”

But Nasa need not despair that the rings aren’t worthy of symbolizing their love. Tsukasa tells him every time she’ll look at her new ring she’ll remember the day he bought it for her, how kind he is, and how much he takes care of her, and those thoughts will make give the ring a surpassing shine that won’t fade. Nasa never had to buy the moon for Tsukasa. It’s the thought—and his love—that counts!

TONIKAWA: Over the Moon For You – 04 – Never Gonna Let You Down

After a haunting cold open in which Tsukasa is staring at the moon and seeking a warm home, she comes home to an empty apartment. While she’s waiting for Nasa to come home she decides to pass the time with domestic chores. The place is already spotless, so she prepares to cook something.

That’s when the doorbell rings. Tsukasa assumes it’s her husband, but it’s Kaginoji Chitose, her “little sister” from her previous home, who has come to bring her back. The only problem is, Tsukasa has no intention of going back. Also, she’s married!

Chitose is crying on the steps to Nasa’s apartment when he arrives, and offers her a hanky like a gentleman. Chitose mentions the person she’s looking for as a “glass butterfly”; so delicate and fleeting you might lose her if you blink.

As we’ve seen, Nasa understands that, which is why he had Tsukasa spend their first wedded night together. Despite his kindness, once Chitose learns he is the person Tsukasa married, she becomes engulfed in flames of outrage. Simply put, Chitose won’t let Nasa have her Tsukasa.

Tsukasa watches in amazement as Nasa takes total command of the conversation, having clearly studied conflict resolution and mediation among his many other interests. He puts on a high-level rhetoric clinic by not refuting what Chitose says, objectively address her concerns, and propose a practical solution.

Alas, Chitose isn’t interested in discourse, and has her chauffeur pull up, tie Nasa up, and drive them to her mansion, leaving Tsukasa in the dust. Nothing like a spot of abduction to spice up a dull afternoon, eh?

At said mansion, Chitose tasks her two maids, Charlotte and Aurora, to scrape up some tabloid photography of Nasa she can use to convince Tsukasa to divorce him immediately. Charlotte initially takes the request literally and strips; while Chitose covers her back up, Nasa flees.

He comes across a room that smells vaguely of his wife, and there he finds something not just special, but otherworldly: a genuine moon rock, displayed within a nitrogen-filled case to prevent oxidation. Charlotte finds him and swings a huge RPG sword at him, damaging the case and causing a leak. What a klutz!

Fortunately, Nasa is also well-versed in nitrogen museum cases, and is able to repair it, MacGyver-style as Chitose and the maids watch in amazement. Chitose explains that her great-grandmother acquired the rock to “soothe Tsukasa’s heart”—another new hint that could suggest Tsukasa is actually Princess Kaguya from the moon.

Charlotte offers her thanks by pressing Nasa into her bust, and Aurora snaps pictures and rapidly ‘shops them to look like compromising photos, just in time for Tsukasa to arrive. While her voice is calm and controlled, Nasa detects a threatening aura. Did Chitose succeed in torpedoing their union?

Uh, no…duh! Chitose pretends to be mad and takes Tsukasa somewhere private to talk, but in reality she’s giving Chitose the slip. She shows Nasa a secret passage and leads him by the hand to a beautiful but defunct church atop a hill. It’s there where Nasa realizes that while he knows next to nothing about his new wife’s past, it’s their future that matters.

To that end, he makes use of the gorgeously-lit church setting to make a formal proposal to Tsukasa, complete with a kiss. He’ll promise to share everything happy that happens to him with her, and also share in her sadness when applicable. Nasa may be a studied guy, but it’s clear his words come from the heart—and he can be counted on to keep his promises.

I was worried when Tsukasa and Nasa were apart for most of the episode and the focus was once more on new characters. But the madcap comedy of Chitose and the maids was surprisingly decent, and the episode finished strong when Tsukasa rescued Nasa and he proposed.