Love at first sight to the extreme.
Creative Staff
Story and Art: Kenjiro Hata
Translation: John Werry
Touch-up Art & Lettering: Evan Waldinger
Design: Jimmy Presler
Original Cover Design: Emi Nakano
Editor: Shaenon K. Garrity
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Tonikaku Kawaii or Fly Me to the Moon, is one of the most popular romance manga currently in serialization. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise as it offers readers a unique take on the romance genre, as well as incredibly wholesome entertainment.
The manga follows our unfortunately named protagonist Yuzaki Nasa. As a child, he is constantly reminded of how silly his name is. To counter this and prove he can surpass his famous Space exploration namesake, he studies and improves himself to the best of his abilities and becomes one of the brightest students around. As he prepares for his high school entrance exams one snowy night, he spots a beautiful girl on the other side of the road. She immediately piques his interests so he chases after her, only to be hit by a truck.
The manga starts with Nasa on the floor, bleeding out after getting hit. He barely makes it out thanks to his savior, the same unknown girl with scarlet hair and eyes. He quickly becomes enamored with her, and through sheer stupidity and will, he ignores his wounds to chase after her, much to her surprise. Shortly after, he declares his love for her and asks her out. She agrees only to the simple condition of him marrying her first, a proposal he enthusiastically accepts before his body hits the snow as he passes out.
Upon waking up in a hospital, she is nowhere to be found, and a few years later, Yuzaki is 18. He drops out of school due to apathy and keeps busy at his part-time job, believing they’ll be reunited again someday. One day while lamenting his current state, someone knocks at his door, and it turns out to be the very same girl he’s been searching for all these years. Along with a marriage form, she introduces herself as Tsukasa, and their life together as man and wife begins.
I can only describe the first few pages as both bizarre and charming as we see a young man virtually throw his life away for a girl he knows nothing about. After introducing the plot, the manga then quickly explores the dynamic between the two characters as two people who are seemingly in love. After Yuzaki signs the marriage form, they both head out to submit the forms the same night, which shows how scarily easy it is to get married in Japan if the manga is proven accurate.
However, the volume noticeably doesn’t show much of the characters’ backgrounds. While we at least see a bit of Yuzaki’s past, we know almost nothing about Tsukasa, why she asked a stranger to marry her, who her parents are, and what her living situation is for her to leave home and marry a random person she met at the age of 16, which all hints that she might be runaway. Aside from all that, I found it odd how she can easily brush off being hit by a truck. All these elements pose a lot of questions to the reader, and while absurd, may also hint at some supernatural elements.
After showing how the newlyweds met, the volume then explores the couple’s dynamic and new living situation as Nasa tries to make his small living space comfortable for his new bride. To do so, they both head out to famous Japanese megastore Don Quijote to buy Tsukasa some new bedding, while shopping, Nasa shows a bit of his brilliance by explaining all the varieties of a mattress to her. As already established earlier, the Yuzaki living space is quite limited, and as such does not have a bathroom, so the volume ends as the couple head out to a local bathhouse Nasa frequents.
In Summary:
What I enjoyed the most about the manga is how it shows how cute the couple is together while also throwing in the usual romance tropes. I also enjoyed the manga’s impeccable yet simply drawn art style that fits its cutesy nature quite well. While I would’ve enjoyed more content in the volume, especially as the currently airing anime covers the whole volume in just two episodes, I can still confidently recommend it as it takes a different approach to the romance genre.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: NA (Digital)
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Teen Plus
Released By: Shonen Sunday (Viz Media)
Release Date: September 8, 2020
MSRP: $9.99
