Tokimeki Tonight (ときめきトゥナイト) is a Japanese manga series by Koi Ikeno. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Ribon from July 1982 to October 1994 and became a huge commercial success. The manga series had a circulation of 30 million copies in total, making it one of the best-selling manga series. An anime television series directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa was adapted from the manga and was broadcast on Nippon Television from October 7, 1982 to September 22, 1983.

Plot

15-year-old Ranze Eto lives in an isolated castle in Japan with her werewolf mother, vampire father, and younger brother, Rinze. Despite her lineage, she has yet to demonstrate any special powers of her own, and her parents are worried she might be a normal girl. One day, Ranze's innate power finally manifests itself when she, quite by accident, discovers that she can change herself into a carbon copy of any object she bites, whether it be a person or an inanimate object like a piece of bread, and can return to her normal self only by sneezing. Her parents are overjoyed, but Ranze's new powers make it difficult to continue living life as a normal teenage girl. On Ranze's first day at her new school in junior high, she meets and falls in love with the brash yet handsome young athlete, Shun Makabe. The chief problem with this is that Ranze's parents will not allow her to date a human - although there may be much more to Shun than meets the eye. On top of this, she also has a bitter rival in the pretty but spiteful Yoko Kamiya (the daughter of a yakuza boss) who also likes Shun and doesn't take kindly to Ranze's intruding on her turf.

Characters

Eto Family

Ranze Eto (江藤蘭世) Rinze Eto (江藤鈴世) Mori Eto (江藤望里) Shiira Eto (江藤椎羅) Peck (ペック)

Makabe Family

Shun Makabe (真壁俊) Hanae Makabe (真壁華枝)

Kamiya Family

Yoko Kamiya (神谷曜子) Tamasaburo Kamiya (神谷玉三郎)

Others

Kunihiko "Shuusai" Takaba (國彦「酒斎」高場) Aron (アロン＝ルーク＝ウォーレンサー) Sand (羅々) Mr. Mitsuki (みつきさん)

Media

Manga

There are 30 volumes in the original release of the manga series in Japan. By 2006, they sold 26 million copies, making Tokimeki Tonight the sixth best-selling shōjo manga.

Tokimeki Midnight

In 2002, a second manga series called Tokimeki Midnight (ときめきミッドナイト) lit. 'Exciting Midnight', also by Koi Ikeno, began serialization in Shueisha's magazine Cookie. The manga is an alternate retelling where the roles are reversed. The series was completed in 2009 with nine volumes.

Tokimeki Tonight: Sore kara

On May 26, 2021, a sequel, Tokimeki Tonight: Sore kara (ときめきトゥナイト それから), which takes place after the third arc where Ranze and Makabe's daughter Aira saves the world from crisis and centers on the lead protagonist Ranze as her 40s, began serialization in Cookie magazine starting from July 2021 issue.

Other books

There are several additional stories set in the Tokimeki Tonight universe that have been collected in the following volumes: Additional books released about the series include:

Anime

A 34-episode anime television series adaptation, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa and produced by Group TAC and Toho, aired in Japan between October 7, 1982 and September 22, 1983 on Nippon TV. Its opening theme is "Tokimeki Tonight" and its ending theme is "Super Love Lotion". Since Group TAC closed its doors as a studio, Toho has been the sole rights-holder of the series. Since the anime series ended years before the manga, the staff had to craft their own conclusion. In the final episode it's revealed Shun has a star-shaped birthmark that proves he is the long lost prince of the Demon World. However, Shun denies this, saying it's actually a bruise and not a birthmark. The door to the Demon World is sealed, with the Eto family banished until they are able to locate the lost prince. Sometime later, Shun's mother reveals the star-shaped mark is in fact a birthmark. The following morning Shun tries to tell Ranze the truth but is interrupted by Yoko. The series closes with a special version of "Super Love Lotion" featuring the main cast.

Episode list

Reception

The manga had a circulation of 30 million copies in 2021. On Anime News Network, Justin Sevakis said the anime was "a thirty year-old comedy that's still funny, with a setup that's still plausible and interesting, and animation that's still serviceable".