The great thing about doing panels about years of the 1980s is that I end up finding out that I have barely scratched the surface in regards to classic anime. For 2017, I am working on a panel for 1982 which features classics like Space Adventure Cobra, Arcadia of my Youth, and the original Macross (yeah for Macross). And in the process I find undiscovered gems, at least for me, like Tokimeki Tonight (Heart Throbbing Tonight), which I just finished recently finished and enjoyed very much. So what is this shojo comedy all about?
Ranze Eto is much like your typical teenage girl. She is totally into the boy she sits next to in class, Shun Makable (she always calls him Makable-kun, I thought it was cute), and she has to deal with a rival, the ‘thick eyebrowed’ and conniving Yoko Kamiya. But there is more than meets the eye because Ranze comes from a family of monsters. I mean she does not look like a monster, but ask her parents who are a vampire (her father) and a werewolf (her mother). And when these two fight, wow, they go way off the wall, but they do love each other and their family. And plain looking Ranze, in time, discovers she has a vampire-like ability where if she bites anything or anyone she transforms into the victim. And don’t worry, no harm is done to any humans or animals as they end up passing out for a while. To transform back, she has to sneeze… pepper please!
Similar in a way to the Shonen Jump classic Kimagure Orange Road, as this has a prototypical love triangle of one boy being fought over by two young ladies (the simple days before harem) and super natural elements, this one is a bit different. First of course it being a shojo, the ‘target audience’ leans the story telling a little different, but the big difference is the elements of horror and mythology. And it works quite well with all these odd elements, but that is just the surface. The real essence is the comedy. And I will give my two cents, I had moments where I was laughing a lot, A LOT! Going in cold on this one, I was surprised with the all out lunacy. Such a funny show. Although I felt after watching episode 26 it got a bit heavy with filler episodes. Episode 26 was such a great climax, but maybe that could be due to popularity extending the series, maybe (it ended after 34 episodes in case you are wondering)? Just my hypothesis. Funny thing this show ended well before the end of the manga, yeah never heard that before.
And then there are the opening and closing tracks, especially the closer (named Super Love Lotion… kinda kinky?) as it makes you want to dance with that electronic disco beat. Also an interesting observation from me as this show was animated in 1982 because the background artwork reminds me a lot of titles from the early 1970s like the original Lupin III. A little bit on the plain side, but then again this was animated by Group TAC (from my research as they seemed to be the main studio?) and they are also known for their 1985 classics Touch and Night on the Galactic Railroad both of which are a little sparse in the art department, but masterpieces due to the story telling.
Tokimeki Tonight you were a pleasant surprise indeed. I can never give up the faith that there is more gold left in the ground to harvest. Now the only question is… what should I watch next?
The Classic Anime Museum 
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