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Feb 11, 2020
"I hope I don't forget what happened today." ~ Kaori Fujimiya
Selective amnesia, platonic love, and an unbreakable bond between friends. A simple trio of elements, but all the more powerful when put into the story of Isshuukan Friends, or "One Week Friends" in English.
The beauty of this show is that it portrays friendship with a wide range of emotions and feelings. Friendships are a whole lot more than just spending time and making memories with someone you hold close to your heart; there are ups, downs, and in betweens that bring people closer just as much as they pull them apart. Isshuukan Friends explores this
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idea of friendship - whilst adding a new layer between the lines.
Story (8)
The story of Isshuukan Friends is small in scale, but large in theme. Kaori Fujimiya, a 16-year-old high school student, is essentially forced to be alone, as her memories of her friends are effectively reset every Monday when she wakes up. It's a concept that sounds irrational and unreasonable, especially considering the intangible nature of how she defines "friends" and how she can only remember anyone who isn't her "friend", but it runs deeper than that.
Yuuki Hase, the story's protagonist, finally works up the courage to talk to her, asking her a simple question that becomes a motif of the entire show as it's repeated countless times:
"Fujimiya-san...I'd like for us to be friends!"
The story revolves around these two characters and their two friends as they navigate the tough road of friendship together. The events of this anime are your standard, run-of-the-mill slice-of-life friendship events, but they're executed so well that every event builds upon the last. Balance between dramatic and wholesome moments can be tricky to pull off, but Isshuukan Friends executes this perfectly, as drama escalates naturally and never overstays its welcome.
There's a certain aspect of the story that pulled me in emotionally and didn't let go until the final credits rolled. It's innocent and wholesome, but at the same time, the writing is handled with such maturity that it becomes much more than a slice-of-life anime. Everything is simplistic, but at the same time each second Hase spends with Fujimiya is meaningful and full of life. Despite the obstacle of Fujimiya having a week-long memory span, it was evidently clear that the group grew closer together the more they spent time together, and it was truly heartwarming to see it play out. By the time the show ended, it was like I had witnessed something truly special develop between a group of introverts brought together by one girl with a week-long memory.
If there's one thing to learn from this anime, is that true friendship runs deeper than love. Best friends are a dime a dozen, and an unbreakable bond is something you can never put a price on. Despite the story's innocence, it came off as something really relatable and emotionally sincere. It awakens unforgettable memories within me of my own best friends, and it makes me think of the trials and tribulations we went through to get to the point we're at today. You can love someone without romantic implications, and sometimes, friendship can be more valuable than a relationship, because it's something that can last forever.
Art (8)
The art is charming and something that can be absolutely stunning when it wants to be. I've always thought the character's faces were drawn a bit funky, but it's a very unique art style that I grew used to over the course of the series. The backgrounds are drawn in a watercolor-esque kind of style, and it's vibrant and colorful enough to enhance the scenery. Camera angles are drawn in and held for bits of time to enhance emotion, and intimate scenes are handled with a lot of care and love. Brain's Base did an excellent job with the animation, and similar to Oregairu, nothing ever felt out of place or overly dramatic. It's not perfect, but the art style and direction was perfect for this kind of bittersweet and innocent show.
Sound (9)
The show's soundtrack was a very solid one, pulling everything together. There's a heavy usage of melodramatic pianos spread throughout, and while there was a certain gloominess to it, there was a bit of heartwarming charm in it too. The OP, "Niji no Kakera", was a perfect tone-setter to every episode and was borderline tear-jerking hearing it for the first time. Lyrically, it was very genuine and sincere, and was perfect to portray Hase's feelings toward Fujimiya.
The voice cast also did a brilliant job portraying the characters in a very unique way. Sora Amamiya's performance as Kaori Fujimiya was nothing short of amazing, and Yoshitaka Yamaya's performance as Yuuki Hase was not only unique but very fitting to his character. Kiryu and Saki's seiyuus also turned in great performances, playing perfect contrasts to their friends Hase and Fujimiya's voices respectively.
Character (9)
The character cast of Isshuukan Friends is what drives the story, and despite appearing to be a bit tropey in the beginning, they all develop in ways that feel real and human. All their interactions feel genuine and believable, and their contrasting personalities bring them closer together rather than pull them apart.
Yuuki Hase, the protagonist, is a stereotypical "average high school student" who can appear a bit airheaded, but is someone who becomes a lot more than that after meeting Fujimiya. He's not only kind-hearted and caring, but he is also extremely persistent and patient, a very endearing character trait that can charm even the coldest of people. His complexity as a character comes from his internal struggles that arise not only from his conflicted feelings of love for her, but also his negative traits of being possessive and selfish when it pertains to Fujimiya. We see him struggle throughout the story with them, as Fujimiya's condition not only affects her, but ir affects him just as much; at the end of the day, however, he genuinely cares for Fujimiya and deeply desires to be her friend and stop her suffering, finding happiness along the way.
The heroine of this anime, Kaori Fujimiya, is a complex character whose condition, despite being very unrealistic, even by anime standards, is very compelling as a character. Appearing slightly kuudere in the onset of this show, being cold and quiet, her actual personality directly contrasts it, as she's actually a bright, cheerful, and earnest girl. At the same time, however, her amnesia causes a deep disposition within, as she wants nothing more to make friends, but due to her memories resetting every week, she decides to isolate herself so she doesn't hurt anyone. It's tragic to see such a girl handicapped by such a weird affliction fall into a depressed state and shoulder the burden by herself, but due to Hase's persistence and insistence that she track memories through a diary, that's where the story's greatness begins. Despite resetting her memory every week and forgetting who Hase is, the memories she makes with him are still hidden deep down within her, and the diary's true power is to awaken those said repressed memories and continue their friendship regardless of her memory status.
(**SLIGHTLY SPOILERY PARAGRAPH AHEAD**)
Memory repression due to past trauma is a huge and very human issue, and in the case of Kaori Fujimiya, it's what makes her an equally tragic and uplifting kind of character; it's a very lasting issue that makes those afflicted with trauma continue to suffer, and in the show it's an aspect that unconsciously makes you root for Fujimiya to overcome it. She was forced into circumstances out of her control, and is paying the unintended consequences for it, and the obstacle that keeps her from becoming who she wants to be is none other than herself.
(**END SPOILER PARAGRAPH**)
The rest of the cast is really well-done, as all their traits come together to create a friend group that's not only bound tightly together, but creates a truly loving circle of kids growing up together. Shogo Kiryu is very quiet and abrasive, yet caring individual who is unafraid to say what he wants to say, a direct contrast to his friend Hase, who is very cheerful and outgoing. Saki Yamagishi, a girl who suffers from a more unpredictable memory loss disposition, is a very deadpan comic relief character who also contrasts Fujimiya's docile and quiet nature, but is also strong as a standalone character due to her inability to shoulder her problems alone and her desire to rely on others. Hajime Kujou was a late addition to the cast who played a deuteragonist role, but is completely essential to the story, effectively bridging the gap between past and present for Kaori Fujimiya.
Enjoyment (7)
Isshuukan Friends was a hard watch for me. Not only was it a pretty slow-paced anime, there was no shortage of emotional moments and it felt emotionally taxing to watch. The payoff and process of watching it, however, was something that I found extremely rewarding. While it was hard to watch multiple episodes in a row, it was a really enjoyable experience that warmed my heart as much as it shattered my emotions. As I mentioned in a past review, anime that encompasses the full range of emotions are anime that I consider special to me, and this anime is one of them.
Overall (8.2)
A small story with a big heart, Isshuukan Friends is an anime that was simple, but also very thought-provoking and somewhat complex. Stories of friendship is an anime trope that has been around forever, and will continue to permeate stories for the rest of time, but this one in particular stands out to me in more ways than one. If you love stories of friendship, love, and development of characters that feel real, Isshuukan Friends is an anime that I definitely recommend you to watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 23, 2020
Though this is only the first movie I've seen out of the entire Kara no Kyoukai series of movies, it's certainly done enough for me to warrant a series of reviews to go along with each movie. This one in particular, titled "Overlooking View", was one I genuinely enjoyed and occupied a sort of emotional space that comes off as very unique to me.
Paired with ufotable's masterclass artwork, which looked damn good by 2007 standards, Overlooking View felt more like a visible and kinetic piece of poetry rather than an anime. Whether it was the atmosphere it presented or even the philosophical dialogue that came
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in spurts throughout its 50-minute runtime, I just felt like there was something that just kept me intrigued all the way through.
Story (8)
The story felt a little convoluted and maybe it went nowhere at points, but the events of the film flowed really well and the pacing was nicely done. It didn't feel too long or too short; Extended shots either dragged or it held long enough to convey emotion, and when it did there was legitimate tension in the air. The entire atmosphere of the story was dark and gloomy, and it was unafraid to do so; in handling a serious story, there were no out-of-place comedic moments, and the consistent tone throughout was something that made the experience a lot more compelling.
The story of Overlooking View not only asks important questions about existentialism and the inherent meaning of suicide, but also on a more broad scale and what it means to die itself. Choosing to die for purposeful reasons or for no reason at all brings about entirely different outcomes; you're either floating or flying to escape the world. Whether we as people choose to live or not, the choice is presented to us to shape our own futures, and despite making mistakes, we have the choice to either let it die with us or let it influence us to make the right choice further down the line. It's remarkably profound, and even if it was rather spelled out through dialogue rather than shown, it's still impactful to listen to.
Art (10)
I don't have much to say about ufotable's art style and choices, because it'll be like a broken record talking and hearing the same spiel about how great it is. They're the same people who animated the beautifully-done Fate series, and even though this series came long before Fate/Zero or UBW the top-notch art direction is still there. Shiki's eye design may be my favorite eyes in all of anime that I have ever seen, and although none of the character designs are really standout, they're realistic enough to contribute to its real-world-esque setting.
Sound (10)
Soundtracks in anime don't really stand out to me unless they clearly and completely dominate the experience, and Kara no Kyoukai's music may just be the best example of this. Sound design contributes IMMENSELY to the atmosphere of a film or show, and all of the sounds and songs and bells and whistles in Overlooking View were done to perfection. The angelic-yet-dark feeling of the music felt grand and intense, and it was utilized extremely well to the point where I got tense and breath-taken just watching the entire movie play out. The music amps itself up during important and compelling moments, making them all the more memorable.
Character (7)
Character gets a 7 for setting up the characters for future episodes really well, as I wasn't really given much in such a story-driven film. The cast itself is really small, and I left with more questions than answers, but they're interesting enough to where I want to watch more to learn more.
The main character of this series is Shiki Ryougi, a seemingly apathetic ghostbuster with supernatural abilities. Not much is said about her or explored much in this first film, and that's part of the mystery of not only the story but her character herself: who is she? It's apparent that she is special amongst a cast of normal humans, possessing an ability within her eyes to see death itself and destroy it. She's a certified badass, but it seems to come at a cost as she's rather cold, distant and unemotional, even possessing an artificial arm that's yet to be explained. The preview to the second film hinted at an incoming backstory, so it's something I'm definitely looking forward to as she shows a lot of potential as a character.
The other main character, Touko Aozaki, is a puppetmaker who also helps run a detective agency Shiki works for. Everything philosophical, existential, or thematic that's told in the film is told through her words, her perspective, and almost works as a pseudo-narrator in this sense. She asks important questions that not only are asked towards the other characters, but to us, the viewers, as well - while I do think this is crucially important to the themes and literary implications of this series, I can find it a little excessive and she's not really explored as a character other than that. Of course, this is most likely bound to change since this is only Film #1 out of many so I can't pass judgement so far.
Mikiya Kokutou is the only male character in the main trio, and hardly any screentime is given to him to establish his character in this film alone; That said, his story is presumably going to be tied to Shiki's, as he spends most of his screentime within her presence. He's shown to be quite caring for Shiki, and despite her reluctance to accept his kindness, he still goes out of his way to help her. Like I've been repeating, this is only one part of a whole, and at this point there's a base for his character to walk on, so it's not like he's a waste of space but rather setting up to be important later down the line.
Enjoyment (10)
It was an enjoyable ride all the way through. Despite the characters being really underdeveloped (which I can excuse, I interpret it as a way to intensify the various mysteries of this series and I'll learn more about them in due time), the atmosphere it brought was so strong and the soundtrack was so moving it was impossible to look away from what I was watching. Beautiful, powerful, and grand, it checked all the boxes for what makes a show memorable to me.
Overall (9)
As a standalone movie, it leaves with more questions than answers, which would probably make me give it a 7 - however, given that this is the setup to a much larger story, it's a great starting point for me to build on. The characters, especially Shiki, seem interesting, the plot is more than what I see unfold on the screen, and the combination of ufotable's beautiful artwork and masterclass soundtrack leave me wanting even more of this series. The beauty of movie series is seeing how the parts add up to a whole, and as I will continue to progress through the Garden of Sinners, I can only hope to find the mysteries as fulfilling as this one.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 20, 2020
Having recently finished the first Nisekoi season a couple of days ago, I went full speed ahead into Nisekoi: with higher expectations than the first. Second seasons of romcom anime are, theoretically, supposed to be better than the first: The characters have been established, the atmosphere and tone are set in stone, and in return it allows for further growth once the story events continue to evolve. Two prime examples of this that I hold in high regard are the respective second seasons of Saekano and Oregairu: second seasons that not only continue to build their characters, but also add in plot events that hold
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emotional weight to them and craft something truly impactful.
In the case of Nisekoi:, it was more or less a mixed bag of greatness and missed potential. For all its shortcomings, however, at its heart it created an experience that not only made me appreciate the series as a whole more, but also ended in such a personally satisfying way.
Story (6)
Despite me giving this section a decent 6, this was easily the most conflicting part about Nisekoi's second season. Whereas I wanted a continuation of the overarching story of Chitoge and Raku's fake relationship and all the consequences and stakes that go along with it, instead I got an episodic anime with no over-arching narrative whatsoever, save for a half-episode in the series that doubles as a Madoka Magica parody. Gone are the mystery of the locket and faction wars between Raku's yakuza family, Chitoge's gangster family, and even Marika's police force family, and that's easily the most disappointing aspect, because there could have been so much more than what I got from it. Instead, in its place we have a more grounded and down-to-earth romcom deliberately focusing on its main characters, completely shifting the tone from something tense to something more laid-back.
And that's why even though I didn't get what I wanted story-wise, I felt like the lack of plot actually allowed for a lot of natural development between the characters, letting them drive the plot itself. Character interaction completely drives the story in Nisekoi:, and where it excelled in was crafting events that developed their characters through creating emotion. A lot of the scenes held emotional weight to it, and while the stakes aren't nearly as high as in the first season, there were a lot of situations that forced the characters to deal with it in a more mature manner, showcasing the character growth and allowing it to take center stage. So even though the story lacked in narrative, what it really excelled in was creating situations (admittedly some of them coming out of thin air) that allows for the cast to shine, and that alone is worth a lot to me.
Art (10)
Nisekoi:'s art style, while not as daring and ridiculously creative as its first season, is still elite in terms of aesthetic. The tonal shift of the story created a more emotionally driven atmosphere, and because of that, a lot of the scenes are a joy to look at. The scenery, despite the setting being the same as the first, felt more grand and beautifully done, empowering a lot of the important scenes and turning them into memorable ones. Shots of cherry blossom petals falling or snowfall during emotionally touching moments are things that are minuscule and subtle, but they worked rather well in the situations they were used in. Vibrant, tear-jerking and occasionally ridiculous, the work done by Shaft on this series' art style as a whole was one I loved to observe. It isn't as outlandishly creative as a Trigger work or as beautifully realistic as an ufotable Fate entry, but Nisekoi's art style was charming in its own way.
Sound (9)
The sound department is more like a 9.5 as it's an improvement over the first season, but not a perfect 10. The background music seemingly fit even better than the first, and played a really nice complement to the more heartfelt and genuine scenes, creating a perfect atmosphere. Even though a good portion of the music is recycled from the first season, Nisekoi:'s utilization of its already-established soundtrack was a safe, but good move on their part to keep things consistent. While it could have been better, I have no complaints with the music.
LiSA sings the OP, "Rally Go Round", which I found incredibly endearing and is quickly becoming one of my favorite opening songs as of late. The excellent voice cast of Nisekoi returns here, and each of the seiyuus give great performances as their characters.
Character (10)
Character development was the name of the game in Nisekoi:, and since the characters drove the story, all I wanted was for the characters to keep building on the momentum from the first season. And, based on my rating for this section, I got exactly what I asked for.
Raku Ichijou, despite having less focus than the first Nisekoi season, had a reasonable amount of growth from the first season and still managed to stay consistent to himself. He manages to make less mistakes in Nisekoi:, and it's a great development for him, because he continues to prove that despite his love life looking like a convoluted and complicated mess, he's still a genuinely good person regardless of situation. He's similar to Subaru Natsuki from Re:Zero in that he's almost recklessly self-sacrificial and won't hesitate to help solve anyone's problems, and seeing how far he was willing to go to make someone happy is something that's done a lot, but here it was executed well.
Chitoge Kirisaki is still the gorilla tsundere she was from the first season, but once again, as the main heroine of the series, she gets an outstanding amount of character development, even becoming the main character in some episodes. The addition of her mother into the cast, despite only appearing for one episode, helped bring a lot of her familial insecurities to the forefront and helped further flesh out her character backstory, making her arguably the most well-rounded character in this series. Having fallen in love, a lot of focus is given to her struggling with her newfound feelings, and because of this change in personality, she comes off even more likable than I found her in Nisekoi's first season. She's a whole lot less abrasive and cold, and it feels consistent, because by this point she's become more comfortable in her environment and she feels more in tune with her actual personality.
Kosaki Onodera also got a good amount of character development compared to the first season, and while she doesn't have the amount of nuance or given as much focus as Chitoge did due to her docile personality, I really like how they utilized her in this second season. While most of her screentime was a sensory overload of cuteness in Nisekoi, Onodera was fleshed out and developed beyond that in Nisekoi:, making her a relatively strong character late in the anime. Despite bad luck being an inherent part of her character, the second season actually pushed her insecurities and fears into the spotlight, and while not a complex but rather simple character to the core, it's hard to dislike her as she's simply just doing her best to maintain the things she already appreciates.
The rest of the cast also got some key moments, whilst introducing new ones as well. Marika Tachibana, after seemingly being a contender for Raku's heart in the first season, was hardly anything other than a running gag, which is probably the most disappointing aspect of the cast after a promising buildup; Shu Maiko gets his shining moment late in the series, making him a little bit more than just the perverted best friend; Tsugumi got a fair amount of backstory with the addition of fellow foreigner assassin Paula McCoy; Kosaki Onodera's sister, Haru, creates an interesting contrasting dynamic with her, taking Ruri's place as her right-hand woman. The families, particularly Claude-sama of the Kirisaki family, are relatively missing from the scenes, but with the amount of focus given to the main characters being worthwhile, it's a decent trade-off.
Enjoyment (9)
I loved the first season of Nisekoi, and Nisekoi: is no different - it takes a likable cast of characters, puts them into tight situations that allow for their internal struggles with their feelings to take center stage, and develops them in such a way that it's satisfying to see play out. Despite the lack of overarching narrative, each of the scenes were a blast to watch - in particular, one of the episodes were just the perfect storm of emotions and art, and legitimately one of my favorite episodes in anime. The emphasis on feelings and emotions is one I loved, and while the second season fell short in some things, it did some things better than the first, which already set a high bar.
Overall (8.5-9)
Despite being a step down from its predecessor in terms of story, the most important aspect, Nisekoi: built upon the characters established in the first season and added Shaft's signature style to create something I really enjoyed. Yeah, I can admit that Nisekoi falls under a lot of tropes and what it does is hardly original; That said, I believe that tropes shouldn't matter if they're done well, and since Nisekoi brought a lot of enjoyable moments and focused on its strong points, I would say that it's a job greatly done.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 16, 2020
“It’s kind of similar, don’t you think? The play....and our own story. Our families feuding with each other...And the two respective heirs...Being in love...Well, the biggest difference is that we’re not really in love.” ~ Chitoge Kirisaki
I've been pondering which anime I would write my first official review for, and I figured with the new decade beginning, I decided to bite the bullet and watch Nisekoi, an anime I've had my sights set on watching for a while. Given I have an inherent bias towards Shaft due to them animating my beloved Monogatari Series, I came in expecting big things from it. As someone who
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didn't read Nisekoi's manga either, I wanted to experience it in action before I eventually read it.
And after finishing the anime's first season today, I come back from it having had it make quite the impact on me. Not only was it better than I expected, but I came out of it feeling truly satisfied with everything that happened.
Story (8)
I'm a sucker for forbidden love stories such as Romeo and Juliet, and Nisekoi brought a nice angle to the trope with the yakuza background and premise. To put things simply, the story's MC, Raku Ichijou, made a promise to marry a girl 10 years in the past, but he doesn't remember anything about her. Cue the main heroines of the show, who hold the keys to his heart, or, to put things literally, the key to his locket he gave the girl in the past - but the mystery surrounding them is simple: which of these girls have the key that fits? I may be in the minority in this, but despite this plotline not being the most original of plotlines, it doesn't affect me in the slightest - in fact, the motif worked perfectly with this type of show. There was a bit of missed potential because the yakuza/gangster background could have provided a lot of extra characterization which keeps me from rating this section higher, but for the most part I don't have a problem with the way the story is presented.
Art (10)
I would have given this series a score higher than 10 in this category if I could. Shaft is a studio that crafts a unique way to tell their stories through their borderline extreme art directions, and in Nisekoi's case, it was absolutely top-notch. Shaft went the whole nine yards in Nisekoi's art direction - you have the over-the-top dramatized facial expressions, abstract camera angles, close-ups out of the ass, and their signature neck tilts (I counted 33 of them), and there was no sign of bland shots or boring stills. The backgrounds were beautiful, the overusage of effects exaggerate all of the characters' emotions, and the colors were extremely vibrant and pleasant to look at. Nisekoi brought to me a ton of eye candy, and in the process showed me a ton of memorable shots I'll remember for a while.
Sound (9)
I'm not too much of an anime soundtracks kind of person unless it's absolutely memorable and standout, and while I can't recall any specific songs in Nisekoi's soundtrack, I felt that every piece of music in the background fit the vibe of the scenes perfectly. I can't ask for much more than that, and to top it off the OP and ED songs, which I didn't even know existed until like halfway through the series, were pretty decent but not very memorable.
The voice acting was absolutely excellent. Nao Touyama pulled off Chitoge extremely well, and the split between her "tsun" and "dere" was definitely the strong point of her acting. Kana Hanazawa voiced Onodera, and having recognized her from her more cutesy roles such as Nadeko from Monogatari and Chiaki from Danganronpa, she did just that - make Onodera a sensory overload of cuteness. I don't have much to comment on for Raku's voice actor, but he did a good job and his acting was very consistent with the character.
Character (9)
This was SO, SO CLOSE to being a 10, but a couple of personal gripes keep it from being a 10. Overall? I didn't find any of the characters unlikable, but rather that all the characters were actually made likable despite questionable first impressions.
Raku Ichijou, the main character, is a pretty decent take on the harem protagonist. He has the stereotypical density of a harem MC, but he has enough quirks in him to make him more than just a boring self-insert. He doesn't exactly have a spine, being too self-conscious at points, but at the same time, isn't a pushover who gets walked all over by the heroines. He's more along the lines of a male tsundere, and this allows for a lot of chemistry between practically every character he comes across. He's likable, but he's prone to making borderline infuriating mistakes, but what kinda human doesn't make mistakes? Personally, I felt like there was something "missing" from his character. Perhaps it's because his yakuza background was barely even explored or his quirk of being a really good cook is hardly utilized, but he isn't a standout main character by any means.
The main heroine of the series, Chitoge Kirisaki, is my personal favorite character in Nisekoi and despite feeling lukewarm upon first impression, she ended up skyrocketing in my personal favorite anime character rankings when she was given proper time to become a character. Normally I find tsunderes to be hit-or-miss, mostly because it's such a common trope that it's practically overdone, but as the series progressed and we got to know who Chitoge really is, she became a lot more likable and the way her actions and emotions changed throughout the story was nice to watch unfold. She's abrasive, violent, vulgar, and cold - but at the same time, it not only feels consistent with her backstory and background, being a rather disliked and lonely girl in the U.S. in the past because of it, but it makes the moments where she is genuinely nice and showing vulnerability to Raku shine even brighter. Chitoge comes off as likable because she's actually a compassionate and caring person when accepted by others, but that's if one puts in the effort to understand her.
Kosaki Onodera is the secondary main heroine, and unlike Chitoge's case where Raku has an extreme distaste for her initially, we find out early on that Onodera's the one he has his eyes on, making her the "main love interest". She serves as Chitoge's foil throughout the story and Raku's ideal woman, representing the polar opposite of her: Cute, kind, and shy. She shares the feeling with him, but her internal struggle stems from her inability to convey how she truly feels about him. While she comes off as likable and easy to root for, up to this point I haven't seen enough character from her other than my aforementioned overload of cuteness, and that hurts her in the end, which is a bit saddening because she can be a lot more than that.
Marika Tachibana, the third "main" girl in this clusterfuck of a lock-and-key plot, was introduced too late in the story to make a big splash, but her introductory episode made a big impact on me. Unlike the two main heroines, where she shines is how aggressive she is in pursuing love. She has enough boldness and dedication to create chaos at any given turn, and while we only see glimpses of it, she also seems to be a compelling character worth rooting for too. I can't really say much about her because of her lack of screentime, but she's one I'm looking forward to seeing develop in the second season.
The rest of the cast is likable enough with tropes that hit more than they miss. Tsugumi was but was relegated to mostly background duty, but she has a handful of cute moments and almost jarring character development; Ruri plays the role of Onodera's best friend, and spices up the plot enough to push things forward; Shu Maiko is the stereotypical perverted bro, and Chitoge's and Raku's respective families provide a nice comic relief. As I mentioned before, the cast is really likable, and all the girls have such good chemistry with Raku that I felt bad for rooting for only one of them to win.
Enjoyment (10)
There was never a dull moment throughout my experience watching Nisekoi, and that says a lot. Even the episodes where I thought it felt like filler and typical of the harem genre I found genuinely enjoyable, and it had no shortage of emotional scenes as well. Anime that make me experience genuine happiness, sadness, fear, laughter and anger usually end up my favorites, and while the harem genre itself is admittedly limited in terms of emotional prowess, Nisekoi is one of the most enjoyable harems I've ever watched.
Overall (9.5)
Every part of Nisekoi's whole comes together to create something I find truly special. The enjoyable story, fun interactions, the outstanding art, the fitting sound and great voice acting, a likable cast full of tropey-but-well-done characters, and an overall enjoyable experience makes this series one of my absolute favorites. While not a perfect 10, it comes pretty damn close; perhaps one day I might move it up to a 10 in the future?
Onward to the second season I go!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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