Feb 4, 2025
"Always leave them wanting more."
Lovely★Complex is almost great but it ends up being merely good because it couldn't adhere to this maxim.
There's a lot to love here! The conceit is well-executed! The art is great! The score is absolutely fantastic! The two main characters, Koizumi Risa and Ōtani Atsushi, are vulnerable and endearing and their respective seiyuu absolutely elevate this show from the rest of the romance pack!
I would be lying if I said this show didn't touch my heart more than once.
The problem is that it overstays its welcome by about six episodes. If released today, it really should be a
...
tight 12 or 13 episode show but it instead continues to manipulate its audience back and forth before the curtain falls after 24 episodes. Even for its time, 18 episodes would have been perfect. This is partly due to all the annoying side characters getting involved and extending various plot contrivances. They added very little for me, especially the ones introduced later who serve only to stoke conflict and serve no other purpose.
It also bears mentioning that the show is transphobic in a really bizarre way: The two main characters treat the sole trans character well and she explains who she is in an incredibly cogent way -- especially for the time -- and then everybody else kind of sucks about it which makes me think the writers knew better but committed to the lazy and mean bit anyway.
I'd still say I recommend it overall despite its flaws because when it's on, it's really on. I got so giddy when OP1 would start up. It's just always a disappointment when a show is almost unforgettable.
As it stands (at 172cm), Lovely★Complex left me wanting less.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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