Tonikaku Cawaii Chapter 161
Tonikaku Kawaii Fly Me to the Moon 161
トニカクカワイイ 161

Spoiler Summary/Synopsis:

In November 1770, Tsukasa is in Paris. She is friends with Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, who has just invented the automobile for the French military. She gets him to agree to let her drive the machine, but she promptly crashes it into a wall.

In the present, Tsukasa notes how cars don’t crash into walls. She gives Nasa a test, based on her experiences in 1770, and he easily passes. Nasa isn’t worried about his written exam to get his driver license. However, he is worried about the driving test.

Sometime later at the bathhouse, Kaname is happy to hear that Nasa is getting his driver license. She then mentions that if Tsukasa and Nasa get a car, they can do all kinds of lovey things. Nakiri enters, telling Tsukasa that Tsukasa and Nasa need to get an RX-7 (Initial D and Mechadoc) or a Delorean (Back to the Future). Kaname shocks Tsukasa and Nakiri by not knowing those cars.

A shaken Nasa returns from his first driving lesson. He mentions how even driving slow felt like moving at the speed of light.

Thoughts/Review:

We get a little taste of Tsukasa in 1770, then some “old” cultural references in Tonikaku Cawaii Chapter 161. Also, Nasa learns to drive.

Tsukasa in France

I got a kick out of Tsukasa being in 1770 France. If she can be with historical Japanese people, then there’s no reason she couldn’t be with historical French people. And it is all amusing how she drove the first, motorized vehicle, then immediately crashed it.

It may be much to ask, but I wouldn’t mind seeing what took Tsukasa to France in the first place. Was she teaching Japanese or something? Hata-sensei had the French address her as “Sensei”, which is fine if she’s teaching them Japanese or something. Otherwise, it would have been cool to have seen French honorifics used.

Getting a Car

Kaname got to be her usual self in Tonikaku Cawaii Chapter 161. She always cracks me up with her desire to push Nasa and Tsukasa into more love-love moments. So as far as she sees it, them getting a car means they can go anywhere and have a place to get busy with it. 😅

Hata-sensei has Nakiri return after a long absence from the manga. I got a kick out of how she wants Tsukasa and Nasa to buy cars with a pop culture tie. Still, I had to laugh when Kaname asks what a Delorean is. The look on Tsukasa’s and Nakiri’s faces are kinda what mine would have been.

Finally, we see Nasa return from his first driving lesson. Going 30 KM/H is like going 18.6 MPH. In reality, that’s pretty slow. HOWEVER, if you’ve never driven before, it can feel like you are going insanely fast. I remember my first time driving a vehicle. I honestly couldn’t see how folks go even think of speeding on the roads, much less be a race car driver. But you get used to it, which I know Nasa will as well.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Tonikaku Cawaii Chapter 161 was a fun chapter in which cars and driving over the years take center stage.