Tonikawa: Over the Moon For You - Season One - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Tonikawa: Over The Moon For You - Season One



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
OK, this is exciting. As some of you know I’ve been a HUGE anime nerd since the mid to late 90s, and while I’ve tapered off from the rabid consumer that I once was, I REALLY look forward to wasting way more money than most people dream possible on a new show, ESPECIALLY when you consider the fact that Shout! Studio rarely puts out Anime SERIES on Blu-ray. We’ve gotten more than our share of movies from them, as well as some reprints of things like Neon Genesis Evangelion, etc. Now we get a series (at least the first season) of a show that I’ve been DYING to watch ever since I read about it back in 2020.

I’m usually more of an action or sci-fi anime fan, but one of my favorite subgenres is one that might surprise some of my readers. That being the slice-of-life romance genre. Yeah, I know, not exactly in my wheelhouse you might think. That’s usually my wife’s genre of choice (though I love the more syrupy sweet comedic ones like Ai Yori Aoshi, Hand Maid May, and Onegai Teacher, she tends to go more in the direction of the angsty drama-based ones like Clannad, or Snow White with the Red Hair), but I will happily delve into a good romance if given half a chance. And to make this all the more sweet, Tonikawa: Over the Moon For You comes from a HIGHLY lauded manga series (written by Kenijiro Hata) that fans have been raving over for years. Needless to say, when I saw that Shout! Studios was distributing the Anime Limited Inc. series on Blu-ray I IMMEDIATELY requested it.

Just a heads up, while I’ll be reviewing the plot in a limited fashion, most of this review will be my reactions to it rather than an in-depth analysis of everything that goes on. The reason for that is that much like many other slice-of-life films/series, the plot itself is an amalgamation of daily activities for our protagonists, vs. your standard 3 arc storytelling that we’re used to.
Anyways, our series starts with young high school graduate Nasa Yuzaki (Jun’ya Enoki) over enthusiastically heading off to University where he has planned his life out to the letter. However, his life is forever altered when he is almost killed in a car accident trying to say hello to a pretty girl. At first glance, you might think that this is the end for him, but it turns out said pretty girl is the one who saves his life, and upon recovery cheekily tells the young lad that the only way he can date her is if they get married. Johnny on the spot, Nasa takes up Tsukasa (Akari Kito) on her offer and before he knows it, he’s married to a redhead that he’s head over heels with but barely knows anything about.

Going from a bright-eyed student to newly married is something that Nasa had never thought about, and while Tsukasa seems to be serious about it all, the two are thrust straight from the kitchen counter into the frying pan, forced to learn anything and everything about a relationship on the fly. It helps that both young adults want to make this work, but still, trials and problems most certainly crop up along the way. Some of that comes in the form of relational hiccups, but even more, stems from Tsukasa’s younger “sister” Chitose (Konomi Kohara) who seems to know a bit more about the demure Tskukasa than she lets on. Couple that with a hint of mystery that lies in the background of his new bride, and you have yourself the keys to a sweet and lovable rom-com that sets up some MAJOR plot points in upcoming seasons.

Honestly, I thought I was going to like this judging by what I had seen online and my knowledge of the Manga, but I wasn’t prepared for just how well it translated into Anime form. I’m used to Anime series being nothing but a decent facsimile of the Manga, but this is one of the most accurate print-to-screen adaptations that I’ve seen. It seems overly sweet and sugary on the surface, but it works in a way that I haven’t seen since the first time I watched Onegai Teacher around 2002 or so. The main characters certainly deal in typical anime tropes (the overly perfect guy who will do anything for the girl, the girl who is standoffish and embarrassed easily, and of course the overly spunky younger sister who has a problem with her older sister dating someone), but those tropes are completely washed away with the utter sincerity in which Nasa and Tsukasa approach their relationship. The romance and love are genuine and not forced, and the show doesn’t devolve into overly ecchi fan service elements that so many other shows have dealt with in the last 15 years. There’s JUUUUST enough ecchi to make Nasa believable as a guy, but it comes across as cute and endearing rather than lecherous and creepy.

Knowing what I know about the Manga, it’s going to be hard to simply review this season without comparing it to what is coming, but it’s not impossible. Needless to say, this season (and the second season and OVA which was released back in 2023) cover pretty much most of the first half of the Manga and fit right in at home with the saccharine sweet tones of this season (and the next). HOWEVER, there’s a bit of a quirk that some viewers may want to prepare for. The manga is split into Part 1 and Part 2, with Part 1 being this season (and the next) and then deviating WILDLY into left field by losing most of the sugary and fluffy elements that we’re seeing here, and becoming much more dark and morose as they delve into Tsukasa’s past (seriously, if you have no read the manga, when they release season 3 it’s going to be an emotional roller coaster)




Rating:

Rated TV-14 by the MPAA




4Video:

The Seven Arcs animation looks beautiful on Blu-ray, albeit it’s not a show-stopper by any means. The show looks beautiful, with luscious brilliant colors, well-done line animation, and a sense of warmth and flavor that is hard to describe. It mixes pale pastels with bright primaries flawlessly while muting some of the sharper highlights into a more mixed visual palette. Clarity is good, but not something that will blow your mind. Fine details are good, but the show’s animation style doesn’t lend itself to jaw-dropping effects. The show is rather artifact-free for the MOST part, although I did notice some banding in the opening credits (blue night sky almost always bands in Anime), and a couple of dark shots throughout. Nothing major, but it was just something to make note of.







Audio:

I was a bit surprised to see dual LPCM 2.0 Stereo audio tracks on the disc in this day and age, but being that this is a straightforward drama, I’m not horrified or shocked. Both the English Dub and the original Japanese audio (which comes with forced nonchangeable English subtitles) sound great for what it is, but I HIGHLY recommend the Japanese track for this one. The English dubbing is solid, but it feels so much more impactful with the original language track (for some reason the Japanese EXCEL with dramatic inflections more than the English voice actors seem to be able to pull off). The music is soft and pleasant, and there’s even a teensy bit of sub activity blended in as well. It’s not spectacular, but it more than comfortably fits in with the genre and does everything asked of it quite well.






Extras:

• Collector's Slipcase
• 16-Page Bonus Manga
• Poster
• Trailers

Final Score: ​

As you can tell, I had a GREAT time with Tonikawa: Over the Moon For You’s first season. At this point I’m chomping at the bit for season 2 to hit Blu-ray, and think I’ll actually break my rule of “no streaming if at all possible” and binge-watch season 2 as well since it’s on Crunchyroll along with the 4 part OVA that acts as a bridge between season 2 and what’s going to happen in season 3. Shout! Studios has done a great job making this a nice collector’s edition, with not only the series, but the ADORABLE SNS OVA included as well. Digital extras on the disc are fairly light, but Shout! Studios have included a poster, an extra manga, and a REALLY nice slip box for everything to fit in. Highly recommended for those who like slice-of-life and/or romance Anime.

(Just a heads up, I believe this is exclusive to Shout! Studios directly, as well as Crunchyroll, as none of the other major retailers has this)


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Akari Kitô, Junya Enoki, Yû Serizawa, Konomi Kohara, Hitomi Ôwada, Yuki Nagaku
Directed by: Hiroshi Ikehata
Written by: Kin-Yee Au, Tai-Lee Chan, Li Jun
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: LPCM 2.0, Japanese LPCM 2.0
Subtitles: English Forced Subs
Studio: Shout! Studios
Rated: TV-14
Runtime: 325 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: December 17th 2024

Recommendation: Highly Recommended.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I haven't seen a good anime series in a while.. (attack on titan).. so will check this out.