Tokimeki Tonight (Japanese: ときめきトゥナイト, Hepburn: Tokimeki Tunaito, lit.'Exciting Tonight') is a Japanese manga series by Koi Ikeno. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazineRibon 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.[2] 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.
The lead character, a 15-year-old girl, Ranze originally manifests no supernatural powers until she bites Yoko Kamiya and discovers she has vampiric powers that let her "metamorph" into whatever she bites a certain way.
Ranze's 5-year-old younger brother, appears to not have any supernatural powers but seems to be the only one that can tell who Ranze is when she is transformed.
The infamous "womanizer" who typically accompanies Aron.
Mr. Mitsuki (みつきさん)
Ranze's homeroom teacher.
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.[3]
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.
On May 26, 2021, a sequel, Tokimeki Tonight: Sore kara (ときめきトゥナイト それから, lit. Exciting Tonight: From Then), 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.[43][44]
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
Secret of étranger (October 7, 1982)
Door to The Demon World (October 14, 1982)
Bathroom Crisis (October 21, 1982)
A Small Friendship (October 28, 1982)
Ranze goes to the Demon World (November 4, 1982)
Romance in the Foggy Night (November 11, 1982)
The Terrifying Culture Festival (November 18, 1982)
Action Camera of Love (November 25, 1982)
Tamasaburo's Love (December 2, 1982)
The Invisible Girl, Miel (December 9, 1982)
Full Moon Birthday (December 16, 1982)
Teehee. Ranze's Wish (December 23, 1982)
White Sweethearts (January 6, 1983)
I saw her! Ranze is a Tanuki! (January 13, 1983)
Sorry I'm naked (January 20, 1983)
The Youthful Runner of Love (January 27, 1983)
The Flirtatious Magician (February 3, 1983)
Title Match of Love (February 10, 1983)
The Great Sentimental Giant (February 17, 1983)
Chaos! Lots of Ranzes! (February 24, 1983)
Love Letter from E.T. (March 3, 1983)
Panic! Pajama Game (March 10, 1983)
Sand's Love Story (March 17, 1983)
Ardent Love! Great War in the Demon World (March 24, 1983)
The Prince's Order of Assassination (June 16, 1983)
The Migratory Bird Returns (June 23, 1983)
Venture! Island of Sweethearts (July 7, 1983)
Tokimeki Folktales (July 28, 1983)
Fall in Love! Be in Love! The Love Triangle! (September 22, 1983)
Reception
The manga had a circulation of 30 million copies in 2021.[2]
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".[48]
References
^Loveridge, Lynzee (June 6, 2017). "Tokimeki Tonight's Ranze & Shun Smooch on Wedding Application Form". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Where can a half-vampire, half-werewolf girl find love? Koi Ikeno's long-running supernatural romantic comedy manga Tokimeki Tonight starred one such girl and her potential beau Shun Makabe.
^ときめきトゥナイト それから1 [Tokimeki Tonight: From Then 1] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
^ときめきトゥナイト それから2 [Tokimeki Tonight: From Then 2] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
^ときめきトゥナイト それから3 [Tokimeki Tonight: From Then 3] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.