jordane41 - 2014-05-25 03:30:14

Ah, Nisekoi. The series infamous for never going anywhere has finally made the transition into anime form. And I'm here to tell you... that it is... pretty much the same as it's ever been.

It starts off with an interesting enough concept (by romcom standards), two heirs of violent street gangs are forced into a relationship to preserve the peace between the two groups and prevent all-out war. Only problem is that they don't get along... at all.

We're then introduced to the supposedly "main" plotline. Our protagonist Raku has a pendant that can be unlocked with a key, which was given to him as a child by a girl he promised to marry. So in the midst of preventing an all-out war between rival gangs, he's also searching for the girl whom he made the promise too, since it's been so long he forgot everything about her.

The two biggest problems I have with the main plotline are thus;

1. It goes absolutely nowhere and by the end it has become completely irrelevant. (The final episode doesn't even address it at all)

2. It's... kind of dumb.

What does it matter who Raku made a marriage promise to when he was just a little kid? He's already in a fake relationship with one girl and is crushing on another! Decisions made when you weren't even in middle school shouldn't be influencing your current life. What he never seems to get is how pointless it all is. What matters is who he likes NOW, in the present, not who he liked(?) back then. And if he can't even remember a single detail about this mystery girl, then she must not have been all that important to him to begin with. Why would you ever want to uphold such a promise?

But none of that matters because the show doesn't care about any of that silliness. It completely throws away any potential this main story hook might've had by instead focusing on typical romcom shenanigans and cringe comedy. And if you don't like anime romcoms, NOTHING here will change your mind. Nisekoi is the EPITOME of everything people tend to dislike about the genre.

The characters can be fun, but they are also stupid. All of them. They consistently misinterpret eachother in the dumbest ways, constantly make wrong presumptions and not one of them has a goddamn backbone (well... maybe one of them). If you enjoy this kind of cringe comedy where the main focus is on this kind of forced drama, then you'll probably like this show alright. I myself was rather amused by it at times.

The productions values are way higher than they ever needed to be. Bizarrely, SHAFT of all studios was given the go-ahead for this project and people have been rather divided on whether that was a good idea or not. Especially since a lot of people are getting tired of SHAFT's style. But I'm not. I still love their oddities and the animation here is pretty top-notch for the most part. And when it isn't, that's likely part of the joke.

The usual SHAFT-isms are present, and they aren't for everyone. That's just a warning. But the actual animation is fairly consistent and well done. The music has a few standout tracks that push this production side of things higher. Both OPs and the first two EDs are really good, as well as some of the background tracks. (There's this one track with a heavy emphasis on an acoustic guitar chord that I absolutely love. If anyone knows where I can find it, message me).

The characters are cliche, but provide enough laughs to get the job done, assuming you're into this kind of comedy. Don't go in expecting any kind of resolution to either the main plot or any of the possible romance options though. Nisekoi is and probably always will be infamous for never resolving much of anything. But is the journey enjoyable enough? For me, I had my fun. Would I go back to it? Probably not anytime soon. But if you're looking for a mildly-entertaining romcom with fun visuals and music, this isn't a bad place to go.

Rewatch Value: Maybe (Based on a Yes/Maybe/No scale)

volkman.jeramy - 2014-05-24 17:09:52

Unmarked anime spoilers for Nisekoi. Manga spoilers are omitted.

There's a growing divide in the Nisekoi fanbase today...something that plagues the show even today, up to its final episode.

WHO IS BEST GIRL, ONODERA OR CHITOGE?

Just kidding, we're not going over that today.

If you've watched a few episodes of Nisekoi or had a taste of the manga, and you've been listening to the numerous discussion threads of people bitching about a plot that has moved forward about a dick's length in two years of manga, then you already know very well the general consensus: guilty pleasure. It's acknowledged as shit—by those who dropped it, those who are watching for SHAFT visuals, those who want apart of the best girl debate—it's bad, but it's fun. And if you don't enjoy it for being a guilty pleasure and think it actually has a good plot and characters going for itself, I'm sorry, but you're making up excuses and lying to yourself to rationalize why you like something so bad. Don't worry, it's okay to like something that's shitty.

It's just as everyone says. Nisekoi's plot is one-step-forward, two-steps-back. Sure, the characters don't have the personality of a brick such as those in Shinsekai Yori, but they are nothing but their tropey personalities, and are as 3D and well-rounded as a square. The story and characters will never betray your expectations.

Nisekoi is a show that's really easy to glance at and think, "this is shit." That's because you're trying to find some sort of cohesive story or developed characters. Save that kind of crap for Evangelion. Get all of that bullshit out of your head and clear your mind. Nisekoi is about two things. First and foremost, the obvious—comedy. Second, the not-so-obvious—meaningful underlying messages on romance.

> meaningful underlying messages in nisekoi

"Did he just say what I think he just said?"

Yeah, shocked aren't you? Could a generic romcom like Nisekoi that plays into each trope harder than Baka and Test be trying to tell us something? That's right, and I'm here to conveniently lay that out for you.

Why don't you listen to some ClariS tunes while you read?

A deeper look.

Before you start to throw negative points at me for acknowledging Nisekoi for something more than what everyone thinks it is, I want you to stop looking at Nisekoi for its face value.

“It plays established tropes to a T, encourages the audience to invest in things that will never come to fruition, and basically dances around anything resembling emotional truth.”

Let’s read into this statement from anime blogger bobduh. Yes, Nisekoi's story hits nearly every trope on the list. Its suggestive nature towards love that will never be allowed to blossom is Nisekoi's most famous point. And I challenge you to find a hint of emotional realism.

But take another look...All that heavy breathing you did on episode 18—the beach episode—do you think they made your heart race at the speed of an embarrassed Marika and then outright ruined the moment for you because of poor writing? Would all of the numerous times that one of the girls tries to take the next step with Raku resulting in helpless failure just be purely for comedy in a show literally titled "False Love?"

What I'm trying to say is Nisekoi is arguably one of the most self-aware anime.

It's not that the mangaka behind this story is cruelly manipulating us. He doesn't set up the characters in perfect situations that might bring on some actual story development and then throw it all out the window and crush our dreams just because he's some cold-hearted bastard making money off people like me who are buying up the manga in a pool of our own tears.

You actually thought the plot was going to progress for a second here, didn't you?

The blue balls method is just used because the best place for the story to continue exploring these romantic themes is exactly where its always been and always will stay until the end. It's this neutral position where Chitoge is sort-of crushing on Raku in the midst of their fake relationship, Onodera is longing for him but can't express it, Tsugumi is type A tsundere to him, and Marika is obsessed with him.

Don't get me wrong, there have been some changes with overarching themes too. One big theme that ties into the message title, False Love, is the relationship between Onodera and Raku in contrast to his relationship with Chitoge. As uncovered by anime blogger froggy-kun, Onodera and Raku are in love in the beginning, but as time passes, they ruin their chances and grow further apart. This invalidates their love—it makes their love false. Meanwhile, Raku and Chitoge start off hating each other and are meant to look as though they're in a relationship—False Love. But gradually, this love starts to become more and more authentic. This is the false love that the show directly throws at you. You have to dig deeper to see that it's in tune to the false love between Raku and Onodera—which, I find highly tragic.

Tragedy...that's right, the main theme in Nisekoi's inspiration, Romeo and Juliet, a Shakespearean classic. In Romeo and Juliet, we see how Romeo and Juliet try their hardest to be together, but they fuck it up over, and over, and over, until in the end, they've grown apart, separated by death as a result of their own mistakes. Does this maybe sound exactly like Raku and Onodera? The Romeo and Juliet arc at the end even nudges towards this, with having Onodera play Juliet. Let me spell it out for you. That was the underlying message. This is what an allusion looks like in anime, not when Anno puts crosses in for every explosion just to look cool.

Let's look at the characters now, while we're on the topic of Onodera. If you know me, you know that I worship Onodera. But it's not just because she's the cutest cast member who's moe as shit and can pull at your heartstrings with the beautiful voice of HanaKana bringing her to life. It's because the more and more I look at it, Nisekoi is about the tragedy of Onodera. She is the one we have the most to learn from, the biggest victim, sometimes of her own fault, sometimes of her circumstances.

If you're an angsty teenager who can't grow a pair and ask out that girl you like, Nisekoi sends a message to you too with the situation of Onodera. Back to Onodera's attempts at getting together with Raku. If you've been watching, you'll see that numerous times does Ruri, MVP support player, try to get Onodera together with Raku. She forces Onodera into situations in which Onodera can be alone with Raku. Usually, they're fruitless. But what about when Onodera wills herself to take the initiative? Every time that Onodera herself gets the drive to try and make it work between her and Raku, something actually happens. Ruri might've been the one to leave Onodera and Raku alone in the classroom that day, but it was all Onodera when she finally confessed—or, almost confessed, but that was quickly ruined in typical Nisekoi fashion. Furthermore, there was no help from Ruri when Onodera led Raku to her special place, or when she sat out on the pier with him. What this is trying to tell you, angsty teenage anime viewer, is that there's a limit on what your friends can help you with in terms of romance.

Sure, your friend might be able to push you into your crush on the bus and blame it on centrifugal force, but is that going to win you guys a relationship?

Nisekoi is trying to say, through our tragic Onodera, you won't get anywhere in love unless you take action yourself. Also, notice how in each of these situations where Onodera attempts to confess, after they are over, everything reverts back to normal. Yeah, they didn't get together, but nothing bad comes from trying. What's the worst that could happen? Trying with your crush might be a failure, but it won't ruin your life if it is, and remember: you miss all the shots you don't take.

The most ironic part about Nisekoi is that every character is designed and flawed in a way that none of them can make it work between them and Raku, in a show simultaneously designed to make the viewers fight over who should win. The characters each have an important flaw that dictates their failure to make it work between them and Raku, at least as they are right now. And with how the story's been going, it's a race to see which one will be the first to overcome said flaw to make it with Raku. The only characters so far to make a major step in doing so, up to this point, are Chitoge and Onodera.

I'd start with Chitoge, but I actually can't talk about Chitoge at this point without making at least one major manga spoiler. For as much as the anime covers, the major change we do see that lets Chitoge make any progress is her finally realizing she loves Raku at the very end. Getting past the Tsugumi phase was step one for her, but I can't talk about her resulting situation without getting into manga spoilers.

Onodera I personally believe to be the strongest character of the cast, for her flaw in making it with Raku is her own maturity, something that I have mad respect for. In mirror to Ami from Toradora, Onodera chooses to give up the battle without a fight. She can't make it with Raku because she puts others before herself—such as her friend, Chitoge. She wants to make a move, but chooses not to. If you don't know what I'm talking about, think of every time that Onodera has a flashback to when she catches Raku carrying a photo of Chitoge, giving her the mistaken belief that Raku actually does have feelings for Chitoge. This flashback always goes hand-in-hand with Onodera giving up a battle to Chitoge whenever she might want to chase Raku. While Onodera's had her attempts many times, in the end, her fatal flaw is that she can't do it. She's the closest to winning Raku by far, especially during the course of the anime, in sharp contrast to all the claims that Chitoge leaves her in the dust. In reality, if Onodera could only spit the words out, she'd win Raku and end everything. Once again, the message that the story sends with Onodera is you miss all the shots you don't take.

Now I told you who's the closest, let me tell you who's the farthest. Sorry /a/fags, but Tsugumi can't even come to terms with her own feelings. We know she's thirsty AF for Raku, but she can't even handle being around him. Sure, we see this in every girl to some extent, but the worst offender is Tsugumi by far. If she can't be comfortable around Raku without going into a fit and letting out her confusion through her type A tsundere behavior, what chance does she ever have of being with him? The message I see here? The first step in getting what you want is acknowledging that you want it. On top of that, you can't get close to someone emotionally if you can't handle getting close to them physically.

And so that brings us to the polar opposite of Tsugumi, the obsessive Marika. There are no parallels between these two besides that they are both far behind Chitoge and Onodera. Marika is madly in love with Raku, and unlike the other girls, she actively expresses it. Normally this would put her ahead of everyone else, but she can only show it in the worst way possible. She throws herself onto Raku like she's in heat. Akin to that of a hooker trying to seduce you into purchasing her vagina so she can put the money into her crack fund, except Marika actually wants Raku's dick. But Raku has four options to choose from, not to mention all the harem DLC he picks up later on. He knows not to stick his dick in crazy, and that's all she's shown she is. What Marika doesn't get is that you can't make somebody love you. Something superficial like changing her appearance and behavior to match Raku's taste won't win him over. It all comes down to your chemistry, and Marika doesn't get that. She won't end up together with Raku through something so inorganic. Hell, she's had her father arrange a marriage between the two of them. It doesn't get any less forced then that. To win, she would have to back off and let Raku develop feelings for her on his own without her overwhelming him. The message with Marika is you can't force love.

If there's someone I haven't mentioned enough, it's the protagonist, Raku. Typical one-dimensional harem head who does nothing special and therefore makes pussy drip when it feels his presence. At first I thought he was supposed to be the seat of the viewer, but the more I try to image that the less I can see us learning from his perspective. Instead I like to see it as all the girls being the ones we sit next to and learn from, and Raku being the objective of the girls. While on the surface it looks like the point of the show is to resolve the key bullshit, it's more about the girls trying to find a way to make it work with Raku and overcome what's holding them back from him. Raku is the ideal target to portray the message of each girl in this story since he's the ideal guy and he does not make any advances on his own regardless of his own feelings, leaving that up to the girls. This might play into Raku being a tragic character like Romeo—he can't make himself closer to Onodera (Juliet), or any of the other girls if he so chose. In his case though, it's because he's too passive to do it. So as much as all these girls want him, he can never get with any of them. Ironically, maybe that's Raku's message...Nice guys finish last. Although I wouldn't use the term nice guy, that falls in line with neckbeards who are upset when their virgin genitals aren't attracting chicks' mouths because he holds the door open for them. I'd put it as the passive guy finishes last.

In conclusion to the topic of Nisekoi's thematical side, keep in mind that this isn't even all there is to read into on the underlying messages present in Nisekoi. Once you're aware of it, it's easy to observe how each girl represents a flaw in starting love. It's also obvious to spot the Romeo and Juliet allusions or the alternative meaning on the title. But there's much, much more to look at when it comes to messages and concepts in Nisekoi. It's all up to interpretation, and the deeper you dig into the constants and changes in Nisekoi and look for something not portrayed on the literal level, you can better find even more themes and life lessons on the figurative level.

Everything else in Nisekoi

...IT'S FUCKING HILARIOUS!

Outside of all its romantic themes is the slapstick comedy revolving around how god damn awkward everyone is. At least half the time, the comedy is about awkward misunderstandings. The other half parodies all the common tropes, much like Baka and Test.

I laughed so hard watching Nisekoi that I almost got kicked out of that funeral.

There's also a lot of established elements of Nisekoi that have carved out its identity, making it a show that will be memorable long into the future. The most obvious part of Nisekoi that will consistently resurface even years from now, I leave only this.

Other memorable aspects to Nisekoi include it famously crushing SHAFT's sparkle budget.

And last but not least, the most iconic result of SHAFT making the anime a frame-to-frame mirror image of the manga...the reaction faces.

I'm obligated to quickly go over the animation and sound, which feel free to skip to my closing paragraph if you don't give a shit about this, because you probably have a good idea of what these are like just from watching.

On the animation, it's SHAFT, the fuck were you expecting? It's weird, it's artsy, it's abstract, and there's no reason not to love every second of it. Keeping this brief because I can probably sum this up in three pictures. The first episode established it'd be the crazy shit we expect out of SHAFT, but in later episodes the wacky animation got much more tame, which made it lose a little of its charm, but as the crew behind it would guarantee, it's still stylistic and beautiful.

Talking sound, three categories; soundtrack, music, voice acting. The soundtrack was very unique and had the romcom vibe mixed with this medieval Romeo & Juliet-esque stuff. Vague? I'm not good at describing audio unless it's hip hop, sue me. I can't pull up any videos for you either as the OST isn't out yet, but this cover of the first end card's song shows this flute-thing instrument that helps portray that vibe.

I can't pull up the soundtrack to pick out names for you, but there were definitely standout tracks in Nisekoi that I can recall. The most famous to me is what I have dubbed "the humming girls song," which is exactly what it sounds like, and if you've watched Nisekoi (I hope you have, this is a spoilerific review) you know exactly what I'm talking about.

In the music department, well, you know how SHAFT is. This time the opening music was surprisingly tame though, with tunes by ClariS. Unfortunately, if you've heard one ClariS song, you've heard them all. Much like Oreimo, unless you've been watching the show, when you look back on it, you probably won't be able to remember the difference between the two openings. Don't worry though, SHAFT has you covered on endings! Five different endings, four from each of the main girls' voice actors, and one with them all together. They got a very uneven amount of coverage, though. Chitoge's had 6 episodes, Onodera's 5 episodes, Tsugumi's 3 episodes, and Marika's 2 episodes. Then the openings each aired as an ending once and the remaining slot was for the final episode of all the girls together. The endings are all unique in style and have a great video to go with them. Chitoge's and Onodera's endings got just enough episodes that you'll probably still remember them, but with Tsugumi and Marika only getting three and two episodes for their ending theme respectively, you'll probably forget them instantaneously (I've already forgotten Marika's and I'm kind of sad about that.)

The voice acting area is where I really have to give credit to Nisekoi. As a manga reader, I was highly concerned in this area, but not a single voice actor I would change. Every single voice actor was absolutely beautiful and skilled and played their role flawlessly. Hell, even the person I'd had in mind could be the only person to voice Shuu, Yuki Kaji, made it in as the mustachioed troll himself.

Kouki Uchiyama actually made Raku a lot more likable a character than I'd thought he'd be.

Nao Touyama played a stellar tsundere for Chitoge, no qualms.

Kana Hanazawa...aaaand, that's all I need to say for Onodera. Beautiful.

So, let me remind you, who watched Nisekoi thinking "Ha, this is an enjoyable shit of an anime." You're wrong. Alright, Nisekoi has no plot going for it. But hang me by my testicles and call me a shitogay Chitoge fan because I'll be damned if Nisekoi didn't have a deep message behind it that got glossed over by how comedic it presents itself to be. Combine that with characters so lovable you'd battle it out on the internet for them, a stellar visual and sound performance, iconic quirks, and memorable moments, you get something beautiful, unique, and heartwarming at its core.

If you didn't nearly have a stroke watching this show then I deem you a heartless bastard.

jimmie01 - 2014-05-24 16:51:33

"Zawsze in love. You take this lock and I'll take this key. Hold it close to your heart and keep it safe! One day when we're all grown up we'll meet again! We'll use the key to open the lock and then... We'll get married!"

~The Promised Girl

Nisekoi is a story about a promise. What this promise is exactly and who all is involved is what the entire series revolves around.

Our story begins with Yakuza heir Ichijo Raku sometime between spring and summer in his first year of high school. Following typical anime cliches he has a chance and violent encounter with a girl who happens to be the new transfer student: Kirisaki Chitoge. Raku, like any high school boy, has a crush on a girl. However, that causes issues when various and largely irrelevant plot elements force Raku to be in a fake relationship (Nisekoi means fake love) with Chitoge.

Nisekoi is largely a harem show. So, like any harem show the largest strengths lie in the characters. First and foremost we have our male lead Ichijo Raku. Raku is a kindhearted individual who is easy to like but hard to relate to. He does what you would expect from a male protagonist but is able to feel unique though within the genre to be refreshing.

The girls all fill common niches and talking about them too much could potentially spoil things. So I'll make this light. First up is Chitoge, your classic tsundere with a foul mouth. However she is thoroughly entertaining. She has the most development out of anyone in the show. Her interactions with Raku are some of the best I've seen outside of Monogatari. They aren't as memorable individually but each one is quite hilarious.

Onodera is the timid girl with a crush. Onodera is easily one of the best and worst aspects of this show. The way her development and progression is handled is enough to make you want to pull your hair out. However, she is still enjoyable to watch whenever she is on screen.

There are two girls added later on but they have absolutely no contribution to the plot of the anime in any way shape or form, other than to simply boost numbers in the harem.

Nisekoi is a harem that knows it's a harem, often making fun of other harems. The plot feels gimmicky at times, and the pacing can be frustrating. However, if you can look past all of that and accept the show for what it is it's quite enjoyable.

The art and animation is typical Shaft, mirroring the Monogatari series in many ways as far as style goes. Everything looks great. The backgrounds are crip, the characters look beautiful, and the animation is fluid. Considering how undetailed the manga was Shaft did a phenomenal job bringing this anime to life.

The soundtrack on the other hand is pretty mediocre outside of the OPs and EDs. Each track is able to add emotion to the scene but none are particularly well done enough to enjoy on their own.

The anime however does come with it's own share of issues. Being a manga adaptation many things are bound to be lost or cut. Some of these severely hampered the show. First and most obvious are the two girls added later on. Each one has lost many of their individual chapters making them simply feel like numbers in a harem rather than a compelling characters to move the plot forward. To go along with this many chapters explaining Chitoge's development were also removed making the events in some scenes lose their impact.

Overall Nisekoi is a very good anime, easily my favorite harem. It does have it's faults and it ends with the promise being entirely unresolved but there is hope for consecutive seasons.

Nisekoi is a show that completely surprised me, and now I find myself wanting more.

smith.rozella - 2014-05-22 17:07:13

Decent anime. More aimed at girls I'd say, as all the characters all seem to act like teen girls (even Ichijo). Furthermore, all characters act like they are EXTREMELY high on ecstasy, which is, I suppose what adds to the humor of the storyline.

As for the story line, it's somewhat complicated. It would seem that the story line for each episode depends on a new, shocking piece of information, which doesn't always work with the story line.

Overall, the animation works well to put across the reactions and emotions of the characters, and it's something to pass the time, if you like 'boy-girl high school drama'.

mathias59 - 2014-05-11 02:40:40

Full Review: http://littlecloudcuriosity.com/category/anime-recaps-reviews/nisekoi/

upton.viviane - 2014-03-27 03:45:45

Note: This anime has not ended and these are only my impressions of the show thus far.

Nisekoi... fake love. Its not a concept completely original. Animes have pulled off episodes of where a sub character is forced to ask someone to be their fake lover to impress or to steer off angry parents who want an arranged marriage. Nisekoi is special since the whole entire plot focuses on this "fake love." I find it an extremely good concept to use and the whole plot is going to be driven around the development in the relationship between Chitoge and Raku. Despite the harem cliche traits of "tsundere" and the kind and older sister like Kosaki Onodera, the characters are extremely likable and although Chitoge is our stereotypical tsundere, she's still a great character. Take this in mind when you think about this anime. You have to ignore the harem and school life elements in the show and take it for what its worth. Since this is a romance/comedy/slice of life, you have to look at the characters to carry the show, and not the plot.

The story is original and cute, but there are some unnecessary parts to it as well. I understand since its only a few episodes in and all the characters haven't been introduced, the anime is paced at a relatively slow pace. That being said, its still an enjoyable story line. Most of the time spent is focused on improving the relationship between Raku and the girls in his life. Now you might think the writing is terrible for some episodes and I don't doubt your opinion, but I'm talking about the overlapping plot. This whole thing is determined by the fact that Chitoge and Raku have to proceed and fool everyone around them into thinking they're in a romantic relationship with each other. It makes for some hilarious scenes and although there are some harem elements to it, we can't help but ship every other character as well. Especially Onodera. So cute.

The original story is great. He's waiting for his childhood crush to come back and fulfill the promise he made with her ten years back. His pendant is pretty much his lifeline and he does everything to keep it safe (but he doesn't do that well either).

SPOILERS: PLEASE SKIP IF YOU HAVE NOT STARTED WATCHING THIS ANIME.

A major plot twist that we see is that both Onodera and Chitoge have details and keys to show that they were the child from his past. This is a great way to kinda be neutral to all the girls, as really, it could be any of them. This and the fact that they're forced to date are what make this anime special. You're constantly coming back to see who he'll end up with or who the girl in his childhood is. Its just a tantalizing story that makes us curious just to see whats going to happen next.

END OF SPOILERS

All in all, the story makes me want to keep watching, no matter how dull or how slow paced it gets at times. It does do well with the jokes and the pacing isn't that bad since they're introducing characters and developing relationships at this time. The story is cliched and a bit predictable at times, so I'll give it an eight out of 10.

Shaft pls. SHAFT. PLEASE. Oh god the camera angles and the special effects of this anime just make it wonderful. Scenes seem epic when they're only portraying something ordinary. Scenes are emotional and dramatic. The angles mean everything and Shaft knows it. They make the characters seem just cute. The animators really know what they're doing and I love them for it.

Onodera pls lol.

The soundtrack and sound effects of the anime really make a difference. If you took those away it would just seem different. The opening and ending aren't really special, but they are catchy... and the 2nd ending is just so cute (as you can tell, I love Onodera). I can't really explain much, but this deserves at least a 9 and maybe a 10... I wish I could do 9.5. Here's the 2nd ending to give you a taste of the music.

For all the credit I'm giving to the story and the characters, the characters better be amazing. Even though they're completely cliched and fit into the archetypes we see in harem anime, they're good characters. This is because not only do they seem appealing and attractive, but they also are just so dang likeable. You feel for each one after watching the events play through. They're so good that you don't know who to cheer for. But the two that really make this hilarious are Ruri-chan and Shu. Even though they're minor characters, they pretty much advance the plot and development of the characters relationships. They're like the grandparents of the anime, just messing with their friends to get them together.

(Lol Ruri pls)

Gosh darn it Shu, you're a evil mastermind.

Gosh darn, did I enjoy this anime so much. Even though the characters are a bit cliched and the story moves at a fairly slow pace, ITS HILARIOUS. GOD DANG IT. WHY ARE YOU SO CUTE AND FUNNY? There is some fanservice, but it doesn't shove down your throat. The characters are amazing, and the story is cute and interesting. I enjoyed it. I admit. Its a great anime. Plus Claude is awesome.

Sneak sneak sneak.

Although I think this anime has its shortcomings, it is easily one of the most enjoyable rom-coms I have watched. Shaft does a great job with its camera angles (Shaft pls). The story is original and has plot twists despite its holes. The jokes and style of the anime are just hilarious. The characters are so dang cute that I want to take them home (especially Onodera). I wish I could give this a 9.5 out of 10, but I can't. This is something that I would enjoy watching when I had a lot of free time as it is relaxing and just entertaining to watch. You just love all of the girls in the anime and you ship all of them. The soundtrack is great and I really love the opening and endings. This is my opinion and I'm not going to try to force it on to you, so I'm going to end this off.

I would recommend watching this as it is enjoyable despite its harem elements and cliched character types. Although the story is slow paced, its still quick enough so you don't get bored too easily. A great watch and I would recommend anyone who hasn't picked this up to watch it.

I leave you, with Onodera being cute.

daisy.haag - 2014-02-23 22:05:57

Its so cliche that its adorable, childhood promises, tsunderes, yakuza oh my

noah.runte - 2014-01-19 15:26:10

The following is a reaction response to the first episode to the anime ‘Nisekoi’, released on 11 Jan, 2014 by studio Shaft.

It is a reaction post, it obviously has spoilers.

The series opens with a little scene displayed as if shot on a cellulite film reel. A smart approach to showcase an event that transpired years ago. A black and white (except for stills of the lock pendant and the terrain) ,silent short where two children promise to meet again and get married. Because it is perfectly fine to talk about marriage when you are barely eight years old.

I have never seen better animated cooking in , well, anime, jealous much ‘Yakitate Japan‘?. The animation is fluid and works brilliantly with things like the sound of noodles hitting hot oil, the sound and effect of the knife against the chopping board and yeah I bet you are hungry now.

So the protagonist Raku Ichijou prepares this amazing breakfast and introduces us to a family background quite reminiscent of Gokusen days. A sincere moralistic ambitious young man, who, in the words of the wonderful fun subbers at [horriblesubs], ‘wants to graduate from a top University, get a steady job as a civil servant, and walk straight and narrow, looking right up at the sun’, is by luck, born in a yakuza (Japanese Mafia) family. Cool right? (OMG, deja vu!, Shikamaru Nara had an almost similar moment, 10 points to the Naru-tard that can tell me when)

I know its only the first episode, but would it kill you to actually develop this aspect of Raku’s life a little more. But he doesn’t have to hide it like Yankumi (Gokusen), so I guess making it a big deal would be a waste of time.

So we move on to get the first glimpse of our female lead – Chitoge. Or at least that of her head with those weird pink streaks on honey blonde hair, which can be treated as a standard representation of American teenagers in Japan. The first few shots scream ‘bishie’ and are the extremely anime-esque sequence of a girl in a sailor fuku running late with her breakfast in mouth….I guess.

Oh crap! What is that on her blouse?

So, Chitoge knees him in the face and then runs off and turns out to be the transfer student in ……his ……………class.

I swear I have seen that before! (10 more points if you can figure out where, think mahou shoujo)

The anime doesnt seem to have much in terms of story as of yet. Two children parted ten years ago on the promise to one day meet again, and form what I could fathom, open a time capsule of some sort. The boy is now in high school, meets a whacko chick who uses him as a punching bag. Oh and this other chick might be the little girl with the key pendant…………..and oh I really couldnt care less about the storyline.

One fresh love triangle coming right up!

Aaand there is really predictable twist at the end.

(all because of that stupid locket. Get it, lock-et?)

But dont let my disinterested tone put you off. The show uses a lot of things that actually work for it. The miss timed scene switching which makes character interactions look abrupt, actually renders a sort of peppiness to the show which is balanced beautifully by the artistic background hurled at your face every once in a while.

The pot-pourri of various animation styles works well and makes up for more than the great disaster the story is for the show. Unfortunately, the animator’s obsession with glowing shapes made me blind halfway through. Heck the characters spout sparkle as they speak. Sparkle……..effing……………..uh, nevermind.

The number of instances and the quantity of glowing shape thingy can compete with the amount of lens flares in the reboot star trek movies.

The show is fun to watch. The characters are interesting and entertaining. The animation can be a little choppy at times, but the arty backgrounds make up for it. The ending song for the first episode is pretty good, but nothing commendable.

Watch it. I know I will.

hauck.zack - 2014-01-18 09:29:51

One of the main points of the story is set up immediately and that is the promise about the locket. Now, we all know how promises like these between kids go in real life; most likely, people move on from their past and view it as nothing more than something that was a part of their foolish childhood past. The show makes it clear from the first episode, however, that the characters have already overcome that step. While it may not be realistic in that the chances of this happening in real life is very, very slim, we do need to suspend our disbelief especially in the initial chapters of a story if we are to even have one in the first place. We can use this established fact that Ichijou Raku and Onodera Kosaki have taken the promise to heart as a starting point of figuring out some of their characteristics. For Ichijou, keeping the locket is not such a big deal because he never got into a romantic relationship with anyone because of his goal to… become a civil servant even though he has a damn army of Yakuza. He really loses nothing from keeping it and at this point I doubt he views the marriage seriously as he seems to be mainly concerned with just meeting the girl who gave it this locket to him in the first place. From this, and the fact that he doesn’t want to lead the Yakuza, it’s fair to assume that he’s the type of person who wants to maintain the status-quo.

Although I don’t know how popular Onodera is, I’m sure that at least a few guys have tried to approach her and yet she has rejected all of them for the sake of the locket. Moreover, given how she’s reacting to Ichijou’s statements about the locket, she doesn’t even remember who the other person is either! It feels like they’re both living in some dream world waiting for their fantasy to be fulfilled. They are waiting for the day when fate will bring the two of them together. That thought may be enticing enough for Onodera to continue holding onto the key, and surely I’d accept that line of reasoning more than some faint “feeling” that the two may have about potentially meeting the one who they made the promise with. It’s obviously not going to be as simple as Onodera having the key to Ichijou’s locket though so I expect that uncertainty may arise or maybe someone with another key will appear to shake things up. Nevertheless, with the appearance of Kirisaki Chitoge, we start seeing some actual conflict within the show which slightly worries me in one way, the fact that they, Chitoge and Ichijou, may just be both tsunderes.

Currently, because only one episode has passed, we can dismiss their interactions as two people who just don’t see eye to eye. That doesn’t mean that they’re terrible people. They help out when they need feel that they’re responsible for their actions. Ichijou trying to help her at school with notes and Chitoge finding the locket are examples of this. I don’t mind if Ichijou learns more about Chitoge and becomes closer to her and vice versa. It’s proper development as long as the events they go through in the future change their personality, perspective, and so on. What is not proper development is just shoving random “dere” moments within all the “tsun.” Showing a “dere” side is not a replacement for character development. It’s just showing a side that was already there in the first place. Of course, it’s still a bit early to tell if she is even interested in him right now and is just acting cold towards him just because she’s a tsundere. The same goes for the male character. Regardless, I also have another worry about how annoying it may be for two people to just constantly bash each other every single episode. Hopefully they just won’t be mad at each other for most of the episode only for Chitoge or Ichijou to go “dere” at certain parts only to go back to being all angry right afterwards. That can be quite irritating.
[Spoiler - Proceed at your own risk.] -Well,not really a spoiler-

The Nisekoi Phrophecy - Killer.Trinity.Ribbon.Love.
This is my own prophecy.No,haven't read the manga and other stuff.Just episode 1 and my brain.-May come in light after some 20 episodes

[End of Spoiler]

jacobson.myrtice - 2014-01-11 22:22:56

You've gotta be Nisekoi-dding me!

You know. It was kinda nice to have an anime that was basically running off season. Or in between seasons. It's tough when there isn't anything to watch between winter and spring.

STORY

As far as the story goes, Nisekoi is certainly not perfect. Then again, most harems have to go through a couple of contrivances to convince people that more than three people could be in love with the same person. But, you know what, it's one of the better harems I've seen. Of course this has the character who the main character, Raku Ichijou, promised to marry long ago and then moved away only to appear again. But what happens when it might be two girls? W-what? Three? That's Nisekoi. Lots of questions, maybe one answer in a blue moon, and definitely lots of frustration. Tons of cliche-d anime moments and misunderstandings lace Nisekoi. It's the sort of humor you get from second-hand embarrassment. And it's painful at times. I did also like the point at which they chose to stop it. It was nicely paced and a good place to end, especially if there isn't gonna be a second season. I hope there is, though. As far as it goes, Nisekoi's plot is rather weak in general and hits tropes and cliches like one might hit branches while falling into a tree. Though, to be fair, it's pretty aware of its own trope-y nonsense. I recommend turning off your brain and enjoying the ride because you probably aren't going to get an overly emotional experience from it.

ANIMATION

Shaft does a beautiful job as always. The animation is fluid and the characters really pop to life. I have to say that the cuts are a little bit jarring at times, considering there are times when not two seconds goes by without three cuts. But that's Shaft's thing, I guess. Speaking of things Shaft does, there's definitely some Shaft-y elements everywhere. While the classrooms, and rooms for that matter, aren't quite as futuristic as in Madoka, there certainly are parts of the school that feel like they're maybe something you'd see a little later on. Namely, hallways that have huge glass walls. I feel like that's just not a thing you would see in Japanese schools. But. Whatever. It's anime. There is, of course, fanfare galore. I don't quite remember being as much in the manga, but it's absolutely everywhere in the anime. Aside from the obligatory hot springs episode, lots of shots focus on character's hips and busts. It's the kind of thing you might miss if it were done any subtler. Also there's that collage-like feeling that came through in Madoka as well. From what I recall, it's mostly in the endings, though. It's definitely pretty and it's definitely Shaft.

SOUND

Sound was pretty good, actually. Even the background was nice from the piano bits to the small flute pieces that played every now and again. It was nice enough to notice, but not overwhelming the scene. So, I thought it did pretty well. Also the endings of which there were five. One for each girl in the harem and then one for the last episode where they had all the VAs sing. They were all really nice. Marika's ending, especially, had nods to characters that show up in the future. I thought that was a nice touch. The two openings were nice as well. The voice acting itself was good, too. It was weird hearing voices put to characters I'd read, but it was easy to get accustomed to them and you can hear why. I can only hope and wait for a second season when you get to hear Raku's bestie Shu have actual serious lines.

CHARACTER

Nisekoi would probably be nothing if not for its vibrant and enjoyable characters. The interactions between the characters were fantastic and translate very well into animation. They're really brought to life by the vibrant motion and dynamic voice acting.

Also Ruri Miyamoto for best wingman 2014.

ENJOYMENT

I mean. I absolutely loved watching this manga get animated. I also loved catching all the little things like how the characters in the opening are shades of their defining color before they're introduced. Little things like that really made it more fun. Watching manga get animated can feel a lot like watching your favorite book made into a movie. Only the success rate is way higher with anime. Honestly. Nisekoi was a ton of fun to watch, even if it doesn't require any brain power.

A highly enjoyable harem comedy if for nothing else than the larger than life characters and twisted plot.