Tonikaku Kawaii S2 – 11

「月が輝く夜に」 (Tsuki ga Kagayaku Yoru ni)
“On a Moonlit Night”

Nasa got philosophical there about marriage. He’s got a point, though- it’s a pretty big decision, one that’ll drastically affect the future of the two people, and potentially more. Not something you can or should decide on the fly. Life is often hard and it sweetens things if you can live it with someone who you can have fun with and who gets you on some level (not that there’ll always be a perfect understanding), a haven from the storm. Someone you’ll want to get out of bed to see most mornings. And on a more practical level, two people who get along and think they can make a go of a future together, while of course, being terribly attracted to one another and share a bond, a red thread of fate if you want to get poetic. Otherwise without the latter two, it would just be a business contract, but maybe in some sense it is. Of course, there’s more to it than that and I’ve never been married, so I could be totally speaking out of my ass.

Tsukasa’s answer checks out with my surmise that she’s a moon princess or at least some long-lived being. You want something that surpasses the impermanence of life, something/someone to place your trust in, a handlebar to grab onto in the misty obscurity of life that could drop you off the edge of a cliff at any moment. Marriage and love could fill that role. It’s sad to think about the kind of life Tsukasa has led from what she’s said here, living on and on while watching the people dearest to her die time after time. Having experienced that and knowing that Nasa, being human, will end up like the others in time says something about the bond of fate between her and Nasa (Tokiko observes that he may be the person who’ll finally make Tsukasa’s wish come true) and the extent of her feelings for him.

Interestingly, in his conversation with Tokiko, Nasa lets drop that he has an idea of what’s happening with Tsukasa. I guess that would mean that, like us, he has surmised that she’s not a normal human- but exactly how much has he surmised? Like, a moon princess is pretty much beyond the wildest imagination, even with all those hints. He’s not stupid though.

I’ve always thought that an absolutely romantic “wedding” would be just the two lovers in the clearing of a forest at midnight beneath the moon and a starry sky, exchanging vows to each other with the forest animals the only audience (rather specific, I know, but I’m an unapologetic romantic at heart). That scene with Nasa and Tsukasa unexpectedly and delightfully played out that ideal.

Right from the start, it was obvious Kaname was playing this as her entertainment (well and an affection for the couple). “Nasa smooched truck before he could kiss his future wife” – that intro photo montage was a hoot. It wasn’t entirely fair of Tokiko and Kaname to put the pair on the spot like that, but Nasa successfully took up that gauntlet. Nothing comes for free and with Nasa’s adorable little speech more than paid for that barbeque Luffy would approve of. While if I were in Tsukasa’s shoes, I might be a little pissed about having something like that sprung on me, you really can’t go wrong with dear friends wanting to shower their affection on you- by all means, let them do it so long as it’s very small and cozy and not outrageous. And this was an intimate affair, a nice way to celebrate the bond between these two with only those who mean the most of them and without any drama or awkward obligatory invites/unwanted guests. The people who are there want to be there and genuinely have the Yuzaki’s happiness at heart. And hey, it’s free cake.

Kaname’s clearly setting them up with that glamping tent and king-size bed. Of course Nasa and Tsukasa’s minds are going to go there with all that space to romp around and the reception pretty much leading up to a wedding night atmosphere. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kaname was spying in the bushes nearby, but Nasa goes in with abandon and why shouldn’t he- it’s taken them long enough and all the bells and whistles are practically a flashing “come on already” sign. The problem is, how to get things going- there’s absolutely no need to beat around the bush for that one, they both know what they want to do. The stargazing on the bed pretense was cutely funny- we all know it’s not the stars they’ll be gazing at.

So did they or didn’t they? The camera cuts out once they get settled, but I think it’s probably safe to assume they finally did it, how could they not in that mood (although that’s what I think every episode). This whole season has been leading up to it with their slowly increasing their intimacy comfort levels, not to mention in the preview, Nasa saying that they were “united”. They’ve already been married for a while, so what else could they mean?

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