Nisekoi Season 1 Review

Nisekoi Season 1

All Right! My first ever anime review ever! Honestly I didn't know which anime to pick since I've just started getting into anime earlier this year. After much thinking, I've decided to start off with the anime I've just finished watching, which is Nisekoi. And also the fact that the second season comes out on April 10 2015!

To start off, I have not much experience with animes, nor am I a hardcore manga fan. I don't read the mangas of animes, I try not to get into the manga because I want to move on to other animes. Also, the mangas are usually filled with filler content and other subplots that might or might not be connected to the main story. Now, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the animes I watch, it's just that there's too many animes for me to watch to catch up with the newer ones. Nonetheless, whenever I watch an anime, I try to understand the drama and emotions that goes on throughout the series. Almost every anime that I watch, I can feel a connection with the characters, it's like I can feel what they're feeling and often I can (almost) predict what they're going to say or do next.

Okay, enough with the mushy stuff. Let's start the review!

Kosaki Onodera

Story/Plot

Well, how do I start this... Let's start with the genre. It's a teenage Romantic Comedy and also a Harem. 

The story follows the main character Raku Ichijou, who is a descendant of a man who controls a Yakuza clan and is the soon to be heir of the clan. 10 years ago, Raku made a vague promise to a girl, whom he forgot her appearance and name, that they would get married when they are reunited. They reinforced that promise by keeping a locket (which is kept by Raku) and a key (which is kept by the girl). Until this day, he still kept the locket in hopes of meeting the girl from 10 years ago.

The plot thickens when he has to juggle his relationships with his true love Kosaki Onodera; the daughter of a mobster's leader, Chitoge Kirisaki, whom his father made a piece treaty with the mobster's leader to stop the war between the clans and is forced to be a couple; and also the daughter of the police chief, Marika Tachibana, whom is presumed to be the girl that made the promise with him and has promised to become his fiance.

Now, there's nothing special about the plot. It doesn't contain amazing storytelling, no epic moments, no fight to the death scenes. It's purely a romantic comedy and that's what makes this anime great. It focuses on the difficulties of handling multiple relationships and how the Main Character (MC) handles the situation. It also displays the feelings that goes through inside a girl's mind when dealing with a crush. We'll get to those in the Character Development part.

There are some hilarious and memorable moments in the anime. Of course, I won't spoil them. As to be expected from a RomCom, a cliche hot spring scene (the best moment by far) and a cliche beach scene is a must. No upskirts, no oppai grabbing, no lewd scenes. Basically, it's pure teenage life, which makes it enjoyable instead of shoving fan service in your face.

TL;DR:

It's one of the best RomCom I've watched. The characters themselves can make the anime good. If they had an anime that shows the everyday lives of these characters, I would still watch it. It plays with your feelings which makes up for the minimal plot of the story.

Chitoge Kirisaki

Characters (Development/Characteristics)

The characters in this anime are diverse enough. Each have their own personality and charm attached to them. And as with any other harem genred anime, the main female characters all have feelings towards the MC, from a harmless little crush to an overly attached love.

The MC, Raku, is your not so typical teenage boy who is a bit naive and dense when it comes to girls and their feelings. I wouldn't blame him though, struggling 3 relationships at once is not an easy thing but at least he tries his best to comfort them all. Girls are sensitive and delicate creatures, you need to treat them like they are part of you. And then we have Onodera, who has a crush on him and vice versa, but both have problems expressing their feelings towards one another. She's a sweet, shy and innocent girl who just wants to spend more time with Raku.

Next up is Chitoge, who is forced to be the MC's girlfriend to stop the war between the Yakuza clan and the Beehive Gangster as a peace treaty. She's loud and obnoxious girl who always speaks what comes to her mind. Always denying their love for each other, fighting each other and even punches and kicks him. But behind all that violence, she still cannot deny that she has feelings for Raku... Even if it's just a tiny crush. Oh, and I would like to also mention her protector Seishiro Tsugumi, who was mistaken as a boy by Raku, at first despises her but later develops a feeling for the MC as well.

Then there's Marika, who is the daughter of the police chief. Raku's father made a promise to the police chief that she would be his fiance. Marika held on to that promise while Raku has not been informed by such agreements. She's the unmerciful, overly attached type of girl that would stop at nothing to be wedded with Raku. And she is presumed to be the girl that made the vague promise with the MC.

Other supporting characters are Raku's best friend, Shu Maiko, who's the perverted type of guy and does anything for a laugh; Chitoge's bodyguard, Claude, who does everything that he can to prove Raku and Chitoge are not actually in love; Onodera's best friend, Ruri Miyamoto, who always pushes her to be closer to Raku.

Each episode has different situations and scenarios, except for a couple of episodes. The character interactions are enjoyable, especially with Chitoge and Raku which always sets a smile on my face since they are the one the story is focusing on (mostly). They also made a good job translating personalities into the characters.

TL;DR:
Every main female characters have feelings for Raku. Each of them have their own way of approaching him and their own charms. Each girl has a fair amount of appearances in the series. Waifus for everyone.

Marika Tachibana

Sound, Art, Animation

Not much to say, I enjoy looking at the artwork, the animation is near perfect, and the music is fitting with the genre. The voices were also a perfect match for their respective characters. I can't say any more really, I mean anime is anime, even if the style is slightly different, it's still in "anime" or "manga" style. Although I have to admit I like the artstyle better than most other animes.

As for the opening and ending songs, they're not too catchy nor too memorable. It's like most other Japanese songs with the same lovey dovey vibe. Nevertheless, it's still enjoyable and certainly not the worst that I've heard. And also, it's nice to hear the voice actors singing...

FINAL WORDS

This anime is TCD approved. If you like pure romantic comedy, which focuses more on the character interactions rather than having an absurd plot, mixed in with a touch of harmless harem, then this is the anime for you. The harem is not as extreme as the other harems out there but it is there. I'm pretty sure that there are better RomComs out there that are far better than this, but if you have the time consider watching this. I assure you it will not dissapoint you. It will make you facepalm for it's clicheness, while also leaving a smile on your face. :)

Here's hoping the second season will somehow be better (which I doubt they will) or at least stay true to the previous season!

Sheisiro Tsugumi