Lovely Complex

**Lovely Complex** is a romance, comedy, romantic comedy, drama, Japanese anime series.  It's based off a manga

   series which was written by Aya Nakahara and published by Shueisha in the magazine Bessatsu Margaret.  It originally ran from Sptember 2001 to December 2006 and it lasted for 17 volumes in total.  After that came a video game which was developed by AQ Interactive and released for the Playstaiton 2 on July 13, 2006.  After that came a live action movie which was directed by Kitaji Ishikawa, published by Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, and released on July 13, 2006.  And finally after that came the anime adaptation.  It was directed by Konosuke Uda, musically composed by Hironosuke Sato, and produced by Junko Abe, Hiromi Seki, Yoshiyuki Ikezawa, and Toei Animation.  It originally aired from April 7, 2007 to September 29, 2007, and it lasted for 24 episodes in total.

## Plot

*Love Com* is a love story between a boy and a girl in Sakai, Osaka. The girl, Risa Koizumi, is 172 centimetres (5 ft 8 in) tall—much taller than the average Japanese girl. The boy, Atsushi Ōtani, is 156 cm (5 ft 1 in)—way below the height of the average Japanese boy. Because of this, the pair are called the "All Hanshin Kyojin" after a popular comedy duo that has a similar height difference. The difference in their heights is extremely exaggerated (in the opening credits of the anime, for example, the top of Ōtani's head doesn't even reach Risa's chin when it should be approximately level with her mouth.)

During summer school, a very tall student named Ryouji Suzuki (from another class) shows up and Risa immediately falls for him because he is tall. There is a girl that Atsushi likes as well, so Risa and Atsushi decide to put aside their differences and help each other get their love interests. Their efforts fail spectacularly as Suzuki and the girl whom Ōtani had a crush on - Chiharu Tanaka - end up becoming a couple. All is not lost though, since Risa and Ōtani become close friends. As they get to know each other better, Risa's feelings for Atsushi begin to blossom, and her love life gets complicated from there on.

One notable fact about *Love Com* is that instead of speaking standard Japanese, almost all characters speak in Kansai-ben.[7] Many native Osakan voice actors are employed in the anime. While having one or two characters speaking Kansai-ben is common in many anime shows, having all characters doing so is unusual in media produced for a nationwide audience.

## Why It Rocks

1. Good animation.
2. Outstanding romance.  It's by far the highest point of the series.  The chemistery between the two lead characters is fantastic.  They're fleshed out and made incredibly likable over the course of the show.  We want to see them together, which makes it all the more gratifying when they do end up together by the conclusion.
3. Great voice acting.
4. Other than just the main couple, Risa Koizumi with Atsushi Ootani, the series also explores a couple of other romantic relationships, those being Nobuko Ishihara with Heikichi Nakao and Chiharu Tanaka with Ryoji Suzuki, which prevents the viewers from getting bored.
5. Very appealing art style and character designs.
6. The series has a lot of comedy in it.  While in some series that can seem out of place due to how heavily that this series focuses on the drama and romance, in this series it works becuase the comedy is directly tied to the character's personalities and their interactions and relationships with one another.  Also, the comedy is just excellent in general.
7. Excellent soundtrack.
8. Incredible conclusion, which is very satisfying and wraps up absolutely everything, all the plot threads and romances that the series delved into are brought to closure when the series ends.
9. Amazing pacing.
10. Another notable quality about the visuals is the facial expressions and body language.  They're exaggerated to a humorous level which is not only just really funny, but are also unique to the character themselves and their personalities.

## Reception

*Love Com* received the 2004 Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo manga.[2]

The English edition of *Love Com* has been favorably reviewed, with praise especially for Nakahara's comedic timing,[55] sympathetic characters,[56][57] and deft depictions of emotions.[55] A reviewer at Anime News Network praised it as "the standard by which all other modern romantic comedies should be measured" for its handling of the range of its characters' emotions.[57] The first volume was named by the Young Adult Library Services Association as among the best graphic novels for teens for 2007.[58]

The live-action movie of *Love Com* was named by Young Adult Library Services Association as one of 16 movies that are 2009 Fabulous Films for Young Adults on the theme of coming of age around the world.[59]