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Koizumi Risa. ‘Nuff said.

While she really is all the reason a person should need to go watch this show, I’ll explain what more makes this one of the most enjoyable romantic comedies I’ve seen.

When I sat down to watch (more like marathon) Lovely Complex, I really wasn’t expecting anything special; the beginning of the show even had me a tad worried as I could see it easily going in a clichéd direction. Thankfully, I was wrong (well, for the most part).

After witnessing the explosive chemistry between Koizumi and Ootani, before there was even a flicker of romance between the two, any suspicion of them ... being cliché was blown clear out of the water. Now, I won’t say that their relationship developing further was unpredictable in itself- but that’s not really the point. It’s all about how the show brings these two together.

This is not your typical romance duo- anime or otherwise. Sure, the girl is taller than average and the guy is shorter, but those details take the backseat to these two’s eccentricities and meteoric charm. As lovable as they are, Koizumi and Ootani still have more to them than their comical quirkiness; both have insecurities and show vulnerability throughout the show’s progression. When things do get romantic, it’s always tender and believable.

Now, as much as I do love this series, I’d be lying if I said it was perfect.

The criticisms worth mentioning are few, but still they are enough to make me feel that this show could have been markedly better. Really, it’s just the matter of the side characters; even those that were there from the beginning don’t get nearly as much fleshing out as Koizumi and Ootani. Aside from Nobu (ultimately I felt she was a fairly solid character), everyone else comes off pretty flat. When the show does focus on them, the drama that takes place feels terribly contrived.

The side characters are where the worst of the clichés come in; childhood friend, foreigner, ex, neighbor girl, and coworker all essentially exist for the sole purpose of initiating jealousy/competition for the leading pair.

This show really shines where the focus has been all along- on Koizumi and Ootani. Enough time passes in the show that we get to see the two starting to figure out who they are and who they are to each other. With all the sensitivity and hilarity added on board to that roller coaster, Lovely Complex is a delight to watch.