Tonikaku Kawaii: Seifuku

Tonikaku Kawaii, I would say this series remains one of the best romcom anime in the past few years. Especially in this OVA, the romance and comedy element is well balanced throughout the episode.

The thing they improved the most is the art and animation. Compared to the first season, it has been progressively better as it is further released. For the first season, parts of the art and animation did not seem to be polished enough, such as the characters' faces. But starting from the last OVA and this one, the character art is a lot more polished and the scenes are more pleasing to ... the viewers' eyes.

The romance element of this episode is well-directed and realistic. Starting from season 1 to this OVA, the main characters are becoming more open towards each other on the romantic side, which this episode shows a lot of. Through comedy, the side characters (Aya, Kaname, and Charlotte) are able to pave a pathway for Nasa and Tsukasa to smoothly transition to the romantic side of the story. With their silliness, they are very likable and played a huge role in the story progression.

Overall, this OVA is a 10/10. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a relaxing, fun, romantic, and cute romcom anime to watch.

While some of the romance scenes were at times a bit more passionate than previous episodes, this episode still adds a nice touch by providing the start to a shift toward a deeper, more intimate relationship between Tsukasa and Nasa while not going so far overboard as to lose the same light-hearted, slightly self-aware comedic style of previous Tonikaku Kawaii episodes. If you've liked the rest of the series, then this episode should not disappoint.

Overall, this episode serves as a good sign for the quality of Season 2 (coming 2023!) by providing solid character growth while keeping the same original charm.

I’m not going to lie — this episode genuinely left me a bit gobsmacked. For a series that originally came across as really sweet and almost like something you could comfortably have on with family around, this one was very horny. I’m pretty sure the final scene was basically Nasa’s wet dream, and honestly that part was an uncomfortable watch and not something I expected from these characters or this show.

Starting with the episode itself, the maid outfit section was the first thing that felt strange to me. I’ve had a girl dress up as a maid before, but it was a lot more revealing ... of an outfit. Here it’s just a traditional maid uniform that covers everything, and Nasa completely loses his mind over it. I get that it’s meant to be a fantasy trope, but I didn’t fully understand the reaction to that specific version of it.

The school uniform segment was even odder. Don’t get me wrong, the school girl outfit is another that I’ve had a girl wear for me but it wasn’t some stylised version or anything exaggerated — it was just an actual school uniform that real school kids would be walking around in. I understand Nasa is young enough that he realistically could still be in school himself, but it still felt strange seeing that framed as part of the fantasy angle.

The episode does still have some solid comedy moments. Kaname and Aya once again carry a lot of the humour. Charlotte also makes an appearance, and while I’m increasingly realising I’m not a huge fan of her personality, it was definitely easier having just her rather than the full trio with Aurora and Chitose. Charlotte’s presence is still fairly random, but at least it doesn’t feel as chaotic as when they’re all together.

The episode actually starts off fairly innocently. The little game show segment where they’re trying to distract Nasa was fun enough, even if the prize itself didn’t exactly feel life-changing. The conversation afterwards about Nasa’s preferences was genuinely funny — especially when Aya calls him pervy. Throughout the main series he was often labelled that even when he wasn’t doing much wrong, so seeing him actually deserve it this time was pretty satisfying.

Then we move into the outfit try-on and ultimately the dream sequence, which is where things get properly weird. The wet dream itself was the awkward part. That was the bit that felt uncomfortable. Finding out it was a dream, followed by Nasa immediately asking Tsukasa to recreate it and wake him up in a school uniform, was actually funny. Tsukasa being furious, confused, and completely taken off guard made the whole thing land comedically in a way the dream itself didn’t.

Overall, I’ve given this episode a 6/10. The characters are still ones I like, the art style remains consistent, and there are some genuinely funny moments. But this episode felt almost entirely driven by horniness rather than story or relationship development. I understand slice-of-life entries don’t always need to move things forward, but this one really does feel like it exists purely for fanservice — and that’s not what I watch this series for. If I wanted something that leaned this hard into that tone, I’d watch something like High School DxD. I watch TONIKAWA because it’s usually a warm, wholesome rom-com, and this special drifts a little too close to fetish territory for my taste.