Harems are extremely strange matter. On the one hand, they make up the largest percentage of all anime produced, which is explained by the relative ease in developing the script and producing the remaining components. On the other hand, it is very difficult to find worthy specimens among harems. Quantity does not always generate quality; the dialecticians were wrong. However, even if it is difficult to find, they still occur. This time I decided to write a review of both seasons of one of the most famous harem series of recent years called Nisekoi [ TV -1], [ TV -2] (“Fake Love”).
Brief information
Nisekoi is a romantic comedy with harem elements, consisting of two seasons. The first season was released in 2014 and consists of 20 episodes. After the success of the first season, it was decided to release a second season, which was broadcast in the summer of 2015 and consisted of 12 episodes. Both seasons were produced by Shaft , known for its lean, character-driven art style. It is based on a manga by Naoshi Komi.
The anime tells us a story about the heir to the yakuza clan, Ichijo Raku , who, however, does not want to follow in his father’s footsteps and become the head of the clan. All Raku dreams of is to become a lawyer, and he does everything possible to make his dream come true. But one fine day, a crazy blonde named Kirisaki Chitoge - the daughter of the head of a gangster clan. The only thing that can stop the war between the yakuza and the gangsters is the wedding of their heirs, so Raku and Chitoge will have to pretend that they are dating... Everything would be fine, but Raku is already in love with another girl - classmate Onodera Kosaki . And then Tachibana’s childhood friend Marika showed up out of nowhere. And each, as if chosen, is exceptionally smart and beautiful. A difficult choice awaits Ichijo Raku, oh difficult...
Ichijo Raku is the son of the head of the yakuza, although he himself is more interested in a normal life and career than in taking over the reins of the clan.
Kirisaki Chitoge is the daughter of a gangster leader who came to Japan from America and entered a local school. The factions with which these two were associated could hardly tolerate being next to each other, so their leaders decided to bring Raku and Chitoge together as a couple in order to show the connection between the supposed families and avoid unnecessary squabbles. So the boy and girl had the fate of pretending to be lovers, although, to put it mildly, they disliked each other. Not to mention the fact that Raku himself has long been in love with his classmate, Onodera Kosaki. But soon he will have to deal with new problems in the face of new girls he has met... Original title: Nisekoi Genre: romantic comedy, harem Studio: Shaft Original: manga
The series includes: 1. TV series – Nisekoi (20 episodes) 2. OVA episodes – Nisekoi OVA (4 episodes) 3. TV series – Nisekoi: (12 episodes)
“Nisekoi is a strange object. On the one hand, this is a typical harem romantic comedy. With a completely ordinary plot and absolutely ordinary characters. She's not the first and she won't be the last. However, through the efforts of Shaft and their director Shimbo Akiyuki, the result was something extremely atmospheric, cute and even memorable. That is, this usual typical harem romantic comedy... It's out. Really. Not bad.” ASK Administrator
Fake Love is a harem romantic comedy as it comes. Its main feature was the special design and direction typical of the studio’s works, thanks to which this anime turned out to be very atmospheric.
The character design is somewhat angular, partly even rough, the eyes are a little larger than usual. However, the unusual staging of the scenes and the graphics that competently emphasize these scenes made the atmosphere of the action very strong, unusual, thanks to which every romantic moment really touches, makes you feel them, and therefore is able to leave a strong, lasting impression. The soundtrack is not particularly expressive, but it is suitable and should complement the atmosphere of the action.
The plot is typical for a harem romantic comedy. Raku, as is typical for the main characters of such film adaptations, is an ordinary decent young man, although he turned out to be noticeably more lively, reacting less stereotypically to everything. And what is also characteristic is that with his decency he attracts the attention of girls. He has a pendant with a lock, and some of the girls around him have a key, one of which should probably open it, but the opening process is constantly delayed, which creates some semblance of intrigue. But the essence of the work is still not this, but the staging of scenes, especially romantic ones, most of which are truly impressive.
The heroes are stereotypical, although, like Cancer, they reveal themselves very well, which is still a plus [1]. But the fact that the ending is currently open is a clear minus.
Bottom line: “Fake Love” is an ordinary harem romantic comedy with an ordinary plot and characters, unfinished, but with unusual design and direction, which made specific scenes, and the work itself as a whole, atmospheric and memorable [2].
Score: 83%
AMV 158 #1. Fake Love / Nisekoi »
Music: Ed Sheeran – Shape of You Author: muassy Spoiler: minor
AMV 158 #2. Fake Love / Nisekoi »
Music: The Chainsmokers – Closer Author: Eli Spoiler: minor
Art album 158. Fake love / Nisekoi »
Notes:
1 »
But the characters are really stereotypical: Chitoge is a tsundere, Onodera is a moe-dandere, her friend Miyamoto Ruri is a tsundora, Tsugumi is a tomboy with elements of a tsundere, Tachibana Marika is a nadeshiko, although she periodically goes out of character with suddenly worsening foul language, even Raku’s best friend in the face of Maiko Shu and that stereotypical genki.
2 »
Among the Nisekoye artists, a vector artist under the pseudonym Nowakyy stands out. The art album includes three of his works: , and . But there were others too. Not included because they are too similar in context, but they still deserve attention:
And
.
In addition, in the official world, the heroes in the art often repeat the same poses. Even in the art album there were such copies, namely and. There is art that is relatively good in the same style, but it only shows Chitoge and Onodera.
. I didn’t enter because there were already two similar ones.
Characters
It is quite obvious that without well-made characters, a harem game cannot be called good, and it is not by chance that I previously called Nisekoi such. Even with a mediocre plot, the characters make Nisekoi an anime worth watching. I'll start with the main character:
Ichijo Raku is, perhaps, the first main character in harem games who did not arouse my dislike with his impenetrable stupidity. Let's think: “For what reasons can a harem form around a character?” The answer, in general, is simple - the main character, for one reason or another, cannot choose one heroine and refuse everyone else. The most common option is when the main character is simply an idiot or a coward who is afraid to make a serious decision, which is why the viewer has to follow his moral torment for several seasons. However, Ichijo has a very specific reason why he cannot start dating one of the heroines : it will either lead to a war between the clans, or a battle between the clan and the police. This is the first thing I liked about Ichijo. The second reason why the main character does not cause irritation is that despite his “ordinariness,” his judgment is quite sound , and he reacts to what is happening around him in much the same way as I would react.
Now let's move on to the heroines. The general impression of them was extremely positive, even despite their stereotyped nature (tsundere; childhood friend; positive heroine in everything). You rarely come across a situation where choosing the best among the heroines turns out to be such a difficult task. Each of them is good in its own way, and each has the right to exist. The good thing about Nisekoi is that different people will choose their favorite, and they will turn out to be completely and completely right, because any choice is correct . Some will like the explosive and at times sweet tsundere character of Kirisaki Chitoge , some will prefer the calm and kind Onodera Kosaki, and others will choose the persistent and inventive Tachibana Marika. And we must not forget about the shy Tsugumi Seishiro , where would we be without her? Girls for all colors and tastes, hardly anyone will be disappointed.
The only noticeable negative is the secondary characters . Here you have a best friend with glasses, who gets hit on the head every episode and is added just for the sake of one joke, and Onodera’s dwarf friend, who is aware of everything. Given that there are few characters in anime anyway, such banality is striking.
Fake Love Season 3 – main characters
- Raku Ichijo is a high school student who aspires to pursue a normal career as a government employee when he graduates from school, even though he is the son of the leader of a yakuza family. He hides his feelings for the girl he is in love with, Kosaki Onoderu. He shows kindness and caring towards girls, but remains unsure about which girl he likes best.
Still from the anime “Fake Love”
- Chitoge Kirisaki is a transfer student from the United States and the daughter of a bandit leader from the Beekeepers. She is annoyed with Raku calling her a gorilla woman, but pretends to be in a relationship with him to prevent a war between their fathers' gangs.
- Kosaki Onodera is a kind and sweet student in Raku's class. Although Raku loves her, she does not show that she also loves him. Her family owns a dessert shop where she creates beautiful treats. As time passes, her love for Cancer grows and her determination to make him notice her feelings becomes stronger, declaring that she will fight for him.
Plot
The plot is the weak point of Nisekoi [ TV -1] . Not a single component of the plot stands up to criticism. I'll start with the idea itself: the main character is looking for a girl to whom he promised ten It turns out that he does not remember her face or name. How this is possible, given that he carries the pendant with him all this time and remembers the promise - it’s categorically not clear to me. Even more amazing is the fact that all the girls who appear throughout the story have a key to a similar pendant, and each of them has childhood memories similar to Ichijou's. In general, the main idea of the story seemed forced to me, if not crazy .
Well, okay, the plot is the lesser of the evils. If implemented properly, even such a plot can result in unexpected plot twists. However, this did not happen in the case of Nisekoi. Other parts of the plot raise even more questions . I got the feeling that the writers just took every possible template from high school romantic comedies and crammed them into Nisekoi. Here you will find episodes about a school festival, and about a city festival, and about gatherings on the beach. Even a scene in a dark room with a heroine who is afraid of the dark was added. You won’t see any original solutions; everything has already been shown in other anime hundreds, or even thousands of times.
Anime plot
Undoubtedly, the hero of romantic anime is almost always a Japanese schoolboy. It happened this time too, and his name is Itadze Raku. He regularly goes to school, is friends with one lustful classmate and is hopelessly in love with the girl Kosaki Onodera.
Throughout this list, he is hiding two important facts about himself. First, he is the son of the head of the yakuza clan, which means that someday he will inherit his father’s entire business. And secondly, once upon a time in childhood he promised one girl that he would marry her.
As a reminder of this promise, he kept a pendant with a lock. It can be opened only with one key, which he just left for that girl. The problem is that he doesn't even remember her face. But, like a real and honest man, Itadze is going to fulfill his desire, even despite his own desires and love.
And everything would have gone on like this if one fine (or maybe not) day a new student Kirisaki Chitoge had not appeared at school. The characters cannot become friends with each other right away and behave like a cat and a dog.
On the same day, Itadze’s father declares the importance of his son in the future of his group, therefore it is necessary to conclude a dynastic marriage between the two warring clans in the near future. And, as you already understand, the future betrothed should be Kirisaki. When the future couple remained face to face, they agreed that only in public they would play lovers, and at the first opportunity they would separate.
The only problem is that at school they also have to play a couple and Onadera sees it all. She in turn does have a love interest in Itadze, but lacks the courage. However, enough about the one who will soon also move into their school. In general, the love polygon is just beginning to twist.
Panache
The drawing is really good. The girls are drawn incredibly cute and cute. If you have at least once seen an anime from the Shaft , then from the very first minutes you will understand that Nisekoi was released by this particular studio. For those who are not in the know, let me explain: the Shaft studio is distinguished by its economy , for the sake of which many frames in the anime are replaced, for example, with text inserts. Another distinctive feature is the clear emphasis on the characters' faces . Even the backgrounds are drawn in such a way that all the viewer's attention is focused on the characters on the screen. The artists do it so unobtrusively and gracefully that one can only admire their skill. And the last distinctive feature is a special head angle when the character looks half-turned at the camera. Here, for example, is how Ichijo does it:
Music
I can’t say that I’m delighted with the soundtrack, but you can still find several pleasant compositions in it. I think the best word for this soundtrack would be “neat” – there’s nothing special about it, but it doesn’t spoil the picture either. Separately, it is worth noting the cool opening. The opening contains the quintessence of all Shaft creations: a special color scheme, excellent synchronization between the song and the picture, an economical set of frames, and, of course, a pleasant composition.
Characters
From the point of view of the characters, the writers did everything right. They did not add a bunch of new characters, and limited themselves to two or three significant ones, and otherwise concentrated on more fully developing the characters of the old characters. Important characters include Onodera's sister named Haru , who immediately disliked Ichijo because of all sorts of rumors about him, as well as Chitoge's mother . In general, there is nothing special about them, but they brought the necessary variety.
Fake Love Season 3 – Storyline
The story follows high school students Raku Ichijo, the son of the yakuza faction leader Shuei-gumi, and Chitoge Kirisaki, the daughter of the boss of a rival gang known as the Beekeepers. They meet unexpectedly when Chitoge jumps onto the wall and knees Raku in the face. After she runs away, Raku realizes that he has lost his medallion, which was given to him by his childhood sweetheart. After learning that Chitoge is a new student in his class, he forces her to help him find the medallion. During the search, they begin to dislike each other.
Still from the anime “Fake Love”
Returning home, Raku learns that the Shuei-gumi and Beekeepers gangs have agreed to settle their feud by uniting the children of their leaders. Raku learns that his future girlfriend is none other than Chitoge. For the next three years, they must pretend to be in a relationship to maintain peace between the gangs. This proves to be quite a challenge, not only because of their hatred for each other, but also because Raku is in love with another classmate, Kosaki Onodera.
After numerous adventures with girls, Raku realizes that he has fallen in love with Chitoge and Kosaki. When Chitoge learns that Raku and Kosaki have been in love since they were in middle school, she tries to maintain their relationship by leaving Japan. This prompts Raku and the others to look for her.
Plot
The plot was structured in such a way that each heroine was given one or two episodes. A completely justified move, thanks to which each received their share of attention and showed themselves in all their glory. Still, I found the structured plot of the second season much more enjoyable to watch than the chaos of the first. In addition, several dramatic moments were included in the plot, which added the necessary depth and seriousness. On the other hand, the main storyline never advanced one step, which can be attributed to the disadvantages of the second season.
Ratings
First season
Characters – 8.0. Well, how can you give such girls a lower rating? The only negative aspect is the horribly cliche side characters.
Plot – 5.0. The plot is mostly formulaic and dull. The plot also raises many questions.
Drawing – 9.0. Shaft in all its glory is a visual aid on how to make a high-quality image at minimal cost.
Music – 7.0 . Quite mediocre background music with a couple of memorable compositions and a good opening.
Second season
Characters – 8.0. Despite the fact that the old characters were given due attention, no high-quality new characters appeared in the anime.
Plot – 7.0. It became more serious and structured, but the main storyline never moved forward one step.
Drawing – 9.5. At times even better than the first season.
Music – 7.0 . And again, I can only mention the opening.
