Lovely★Complex
Love★Com

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My first review! Forgive me if I've given out easy 10's, but I really do feel this deserves it, at least in my opinion!

I've read the manga, excluding a few chapters from 57 on that could not be found. I have to say, I was completely hooked. Really, I never read a lot of strictly romance. Sure this is comedy, but it has no other plot than the relationships between the characters. Usually, this style of anime could really fly off course. But Lovely Complex was really great! It's a character-driven series, and this time the characters are likable, or realistic.

I watched the live action ... movie after I read the manga. It was a pretty faithful adaptation, and I did like the character choices a lot, and they did their best to depict the height differences between the two main characters. Otani was really adorable, and Risa was really crazy and generally awesome. However, I'm not used to watching Japanese movies or even dramas, and it was a little different for me. In a manga or anime, the characters can look a certain way, but when real people try to mimic anime, it can look a little fake. I really enjoyed it, still, despite the fact that they had to cut some parts out due to length. It really was cute.

I've only just started the anime. I did like it, the style and presentation in up my alley, but I am disappointed after reading the manga. It progresses way too fast for me to be comfortable. It's great for me, since I already love the characters from the manga, but if I hadn't of read it, I don't think I'd be very attached to them! So, if you plan on getting into the series, or already are, make sure to read the manga! It's long and really satisfying, but it doesn't drag on.

__STORY__
I really like the story. Too many romances about one person having a complex (which is never a complex, just moe of some sort) and liking a person. Bleh. Lovely Complex presents two characters who have identical complexes, and the growing relationship between them as they battle to overcome their problems. I really liked it a lot, and I enjoyed that the characters had complex feelings. It never was like they had one pure emotion, they had feelings mixed in which made it really realistic and enjoyable. A very nice story to me.

__ART__
I'm a fan of the style. Nothing completely unique as far as I'm concerned, but truly great presentation. It's not really notable, but it would've been easy to mess it up, so the artist deserves props!

__CHARACTER__
The best aspect, because their is no plot that involves a magical girl transforming and having to keep her identity from her crush. It's just straight character development, through and through character-driven. It's really wonderful, you grow attached to every character, even minor ones who don't appear much after their introduction. You end up liking the characters so much, and seeing them as realistic people, that you don't complain when they make a stupid decision, because it's 'what a person in that situation would do'.


I really love the series, I never want to finish it! Once I finish the anime, what will fill the Love*Com hole in my heart? WHAT, I SAY?!

--- DISCLAIMER: Minor Spoilers Ahead ---

Lovely Complex was OK: there were times where it was hilarious and I really liked it; however, more often than not, Lovely Complex's story and characters tested my patience. Because of that, I think that it's fair for me to give Love Com a score of 6.

Going by most of the comments about Love Com, it's clear that many people regard the series highly and believe it's 'refreshing'. However, if one ignores the fact that Risa and Otani have a rather large height difference, Love Com is your standard shoujo romance set in a high school. Risa is your standard ... noisy crybaby whilst Otani is your standard jackass with a soft heart. The rivals are clingy, one track-minded and annoying (as per usual). The misunderstandings are typically stupid. Everything just follows the standard romantic comedy formula without doing anything different at all. Yeah, the gags are funny but they're too far and few - especially when most of the pages are full of incessant whiny and crying (from Risa's part).

The relationship between Risa and Otani isn't particularly innovative either. Of course, Risa, being your typical submissive heroine, is the first one to fall for Otani after he does one nice thing after being a huge jackass for most of the time. She chases after him in her mission to "make him love her". Now, I know this isn't an uncommon trope in manga like Love Com, but in the case of Risa, it really goes on for far too long. I really hated seeing her try so desperately to make Otani fall in love with her for as long as she did. She was so whiny and pathetic - it was as if this girl's only goal in life was to get some permanently butthurt half-pint, like Otani, to fall in love with.

When the two finally do get together, the relationship itself is just as generic as the build up to it. A rival, or a stupid misunderstanding, will arise and either Risa or Otani will end up blowing their top off and throwing accusations at the other party. Cue a bucket of tears from Risa, and lots of cold glares from Otani, several pages (sometimes even chapters) of not speaking to each other etc etc before the side characters tell the two MCs that they're both being unreasonable idiots and should just talk things out. MCs talk things out and make-up. Rinse and repeat. Literally, that is pretty much all that happens in Love Com. Things do get more interesting near the end of the series when it starts to focus on the prospect of the future and we get to see more of the supporting characters, but otherwise, there's really nothing that sets this manga apart from others in its vein. The story is actually really frustrating, for the most part, and I found myself rolling my eyes on more than one occasion because all of the major conflict was seriously stupid and pathetic. I understand that the two are in high school, so they don't need to have such severe communication problems. It's so inane.

Furthermore, Risa is just plain annoying. I could barely tolerate her. She had been a whiny and hypersensitive crybaby from the beginning, but instead of getting over her insecurities once she got boyfriend, she got worse. All she did was moan, whine and cry. It was like Otani was much better, but at least he did mature a bit as the manga went on whilst Risa's character just stagnated and she continued to be her incredibly childish self. Both of the characters were stupidly selfish as well, and I don't think they ever truly got rid of that.

Honestly, I don't think the relationship in Love Com is a particularly viable one. Risa and Otani weren't compatible, in my opinion, because they spent more time bickering with one another instead of having meaningful communication and trying to get over their differences diplomatically. It's probably why Love Com did very little for me, in the romance department. I would have preferred reading more about the supporting couples because whilst those relationships did seem to have some conflict, it wasn't incessant and they seemed compatible with another.

As for the art, well, as for most things about this manga, it was generally OK. My biggest gripe with the art is that too many of the characters look exactly the same sans for different hairstyles. Even Otani and Risa look ridiculously similar. However, this manga did have some excellent comedic facial expressions. They were hilarious and better than the characters' regular faces.

Overall, Lovely Complex is OK. I wouldn't tell people not to read it, but at the same time I wouldn't recommend it either. I think there are lot of manga, like Lovely Complex, that do what Lovely Complex does, but better and with more depth. It's disappointing to see the characters barely develop over 62 chapters as it makes their relationship seem really shallow. I mean, it's all well and good that they say that they love each other, but I can't help but wonder WHY after reading Lovely Complex. I did have high expectations for Lovely Complex. Unfortunately, they weren't fulfilled, but I wouldn't say it was a waste of time. It was a fun way to kill time, whilst it lasted, but I probably wouldn't read it again if I didn't have anything else to do.

I found a version of the translation that flowed very well and helped make this story more lovely than the original manga translation. I read a few chapters of the original and the writing was just so stiff it really took me out of the story, with that said I found myself enjoying the story less and less as time went on regardless of the translations.

The story revolves around a topic that really does bother a lot of people, height. So it was really cute to see a couple not care about it, or even try to work past it to find out that together ... they have a lot in common. SPOILERS: Otani wants to appear manly despite his height, which means he can be a real ass and as some stories go that's what cool looks like. bleh. Risa and Otani fight CONSTANTLY and at first it makes complete sense, but as time goes on Risa is the only one that really starts to change and work past constant insults. Otani, continues to be an asshole and Risa has to just forgive and forget. Notice how often she has to apologize for over reacting when Otani struggles to comprehend wtf he should. There were moments they addressed things like "Wow you didn't believe your own girlfriend but you believed a stranger?" but this is followed by Risa having to apologize because even though Otani did do something shitty, she was wrong about something that barely is considered relevant.

Risa spends all of her time, life, and energy swooning over Otani, especially once they get together. She is his personal cheerleader. The favor does not get returned and we even find out as much as Risa is struggling, Otani is thriving and not really talking to people about the fact that he has a girlfriend. Ouch.

There's a lot of Risa talking about how Otani is her life, her power source, ect. And we never see that on Otani's side but every blue moon as he has to be struggling with how manly and dumb he is, all in all it was fun at first, but as many of these types of stories, the girl has to be extremely forgiving and her life has to revolve around the boy she loves, and it was well.... It was meh. Nice try, Lovely Complex. He did a few things right, you had a great start, you had a trans person that you accepted as a girl but couldn't quite wrap your mind around how to interact with that concept. It's cool tho, you're not just not meant for me. Let's break up, k?