Watching: Lovely Complex (TV)

I currently have: 2
Running time: 23 minutes
Number of episodes: 26
Vintage: 2007-04-07
Age rating: ???
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Shoujo
Animation Production: Toei Animation
Production: Shueisha, TBS

Source: Anime News Network

My impressions:

Yep. Another shoujo. I think it’s about time I admit that I’m a sucker for quirky romance stories, especially when every single character in the story speaks in kansai-ben. Man do I love kansai-ben.

Anyway, for those of you who care to know more about Lovely Complex let me put it this way. In a regular school there’s a girl named Koizumi Risa that’s taller than most guys at 170cm and a guy named Ootani Atsushi that’s shorter than most girls at 156cm. It’s the start of a new school year and Koizumi is all fired up hoping to find a boyfriend and ends up confronting her seemingly destined rival at life, Ootani. They constantly fight and bicker and never fail to mention things that usually lead to jabs at their difference in height.

Koizumi and Ootani form a truce when they agree to help each other in the first episode. Koizumi offers to help Ootani get close with one of her close friends, Tanaka Chihara, while Ootani in return gets Koizumi closer to the new guy in class Suzuki Ryouji. Things quickly backfire on them (don’t they always?) and they’re back to square one each being single. They both have very aggressive and competitive personalities so they decide to make it a competition to see who gets a girlfriend/boyfriend first.

The fun starts when Koizumi and Ootani basically become closer “friends” than they think (everyone perceives them as lovers) and are constantly together or thinking about bumping into each other. Their hobbies are all too similar, they like similar foods, heck they even like the same bands! Things are a little too perfect when they’re together even though they actively deny any affection towards each other. There’s some things getting in the way early on in the plot (as expected of any good shoujo) that are both entertaining and drive the romance forward. I’m wholeheartedly enjoying LoveCon for its complete shoujo narrative, excellent comedy, and the kansai-ben. Can’t get enough kansai-ben these days! nande ya nen?!