Date a Live author Koshi Tachibana posted an illustration of Tohka and Tenka that was made by its light novel illustrator, Tsunako, on October 10, showing, to mark this symbolic day for the series. Tohka and Tenka’s names both can be read as “ten” in Japanese.
Warning: This Section May Contain Spoilers
In the first episode of Date a Live series, Shido Itsuka met Tohka Yatogami on April 10. During that time, Tohka didn’t have a name and she was being addressed as “Princess”, by the AST (an organization that fights spirits). As such, Shido befriended her during their second encounter and gave her the name, “Tohka”, which means the 10th day of the month. Tohka is written in Kanji as “十香”. The “十” means 10. The day in kanji is written as 日, but in Tohka’s name, it was replaced by a homonymous character, “香”, which means “Fragrance”, because it was Spring season during that time.
In the final episode of Date a Live II, the inverse form of Tohka was introduced. It was also explained in episode 8 of Date a Live IV that the inverse form of spirits is their through forms, although they look like their alternative selves. Therefore, Tenka is the true form of Tohka Yatogami. Tenka is written in Kanji as “天香”. The character “天” is pronounced as Ten in Japan, which means “Sky/Heaven” in English, and is also homonymous with the English pronunciation of the number 10.
Fujimi Shobo serialized Koshi Tachibana’s Date a Live light novel series with Tsunako’s illustrations from 2011 to 2020, and it has a total of 22 volumes in circulation. The anime adaptation began in 2013 by studio AIC+. Season 2 was animated by Production IMS in 2014, and it was followed by a movie titled, Date a Live: Mayuri Judgement in 2015. The franchise returned in 2019 with the 3rd season by J.C. Staff. Keitaro Motonaga directed all of it.
In 2020, two anime films titled Date a Live: Dead or Bullet, and Date a Live: Nightmare or Queen had a theatrical screening. Season 4 began in 2022. Jun Nakagawa directed all of it at studio GEEKTOYS. A fifth season has already been announced, and more information about it will be revealed at the upcoming Fantasia Bunko Big Thanks Online 2023. The franchise is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
Source: Official X of Koshi Tachibana
© Koshi Tachibana, Tsunako / KADOKAWA / “Date A Live V” Production Committee
