Tonikaku Cawaii Chapter 147.1
Fly Me to the Moon: Tonikaku Kawaii 1

Spoiler Summary/Synopsis:

Some 1400 years ago, a bamboo cutter discovered a special bamboo stalk with a thumb-sized little girl inside. Years later, Tsukasa is with her father, when they walk past the bamboo cutter’s estate. Her father explains the situation to Tsukasa and learns the girl in the bamboo is named Kaguya. While interesting, this had no impact on Tsukasa’s job as an apothecary, gathering herbs and making medicine for the sick.

Around the time that Kaguya announced that she’d be returning to the moon, from whence she came, Tsukasa became deathly ill. Tsukasa is prepared to die, but regrets never marrying. Her father was there with others on the imperial staff to try to thwart Kaguya being returned to the moon. They were unsuccessful. Just as Tsukasa is dying, her father returns and gives her something to drink.

The following day, Tsukasa is not only alive, but fully healed. She is naturally pleased by this turn of events, wondering if this is divine province. She returns to her work gathering herbs, not knowing what troubles lay before her.

Thoughts/Review:

In actuality, Tonikaku Cawaii Chapter 147.1 is actually Fly Me to the Moon Chapter 1. That’s because this is Tsukasa’s backstory, and thus Hata-sensei wanted to mark it as a separate, spinoff tale (though still published in the Tonikaku Cawaii volumes). Regardless, it is good to finally have some time to read this chapter.

Tsukasa’s Backstory

After all this time, we are finally getting the mystery of Tsukasa’s past cleared up. At least, that appears to be Hata-sensei’s intent. I’m guessing that after dealing with her backstory, Hata-sensei will return to the “life of a young, married couple” romantic comedy stories, which will be fine with me.

Nevertheless, it was interesting to learn that Tsukasa was an apothecary. Even though she’s only 16 at the time, in those days, Tsukasa would have been considered an adult. So it made sense to me that she’d have a job. I think it is cool that she was in the medical field, primitive though it was back then.

I don’t know if Tsukasa’s father, Iwakasa, is also an apothecary. He’s on the imperial staff and Tsukasa appears to live alone in the woods. It was really sad seeing her prepare for death. What’s strange is that her father wasn’t there when she awoke, and she didn’t question that aspect. I wonder why.

Ad Astra per Aspera Connection?

When I saw the scene of the cube ships descending to Earth to retrieve Kaguya-hime, I was reminded of Hata-sensei’s short series (on hiatus), Ad Astra Per Aspera. While the aliens there weren’t from the moon, they did have a moon base. In my mind, it would be cool if somehow, the alien race that Kaguya belongs to, and the alien race that invades Earth in the future were the same.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Tonikaku Cawaii Chapter 147.1 / Fly Me to the Moon Chapter 1 was an interesting chapter, delving into Tsukasa’s backstory. I’m hoping it also covers a lot of material with Tsukasa over time, but with only four chapters, we’ll see what Hata-sensei can squeeze in.