<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/2015-10-16nisekoi1covr.jpg">
<b>topic_title by Sarah</b>
Episodes 1-10<br>\r\n\r\nAlthough high schooler Raku Ichijo is the son and heir to a yakuza clan, he’s happy to make breakfast for all his father’s men every day – he’s that kind of a guy. But his father has plans for him – of the marital kind! To keep the peace, Raku is forced into a relationship with the daughter and heiress of a rival gang, Bee Hive. And it’s mutual hate at first sight as blonde, half-American Chitoge Kirisaki not only becomes his fiancée but transfers into his class at school. The two ill-matched lovers are told they must keep up the act of being hopelessly in love for the next three years, which dashes Raku’s hopes of getting closer to shy, sweet-natured Kosaki Onodera, whom he’s been crushing on for ages. But there’s another reason Raku is not ready to give his heart to some<em> tsundere</em> daughter of the rival gang. Ten years ago, he met a little girl who stole his heart. All that he has left from this life-changing meeting is an ornate locket – she has the key. He can’t remember her face, her name... but he’s always searching, hoping that he will find his long-lost childhood love. And Kosaki, he discovers, has a key on a chain that she keeps close to her heart. Could she be the one...? <br>\r\n\r\nAttractive to look at, high production values, an ill-assorted pair in harem comedy <em>Romeo and Juliet-Not</em> situation with yakuzas versus gangsters, bubbly music, what’s not to love? <br>\r\n\r\nWe-ell... It should be a no-brainer. But <em>Nisekoi: False Love</em> tries just a little too hard. It teeters the whole time on the brink of frantic and frenetic. It’s the kind of show (as in Naoshi Komi’s manga, which is frequently referenced in visual terms – nice touch) in which characters spurt drink, or food, or even saliva from their mouths whenever some outrageous or embarrassing suggestion is made. This happens a little too often to stay amusing. And the (by now) inevitable clichés of any anime/manga set in high school come crowding in, thick and fast: the swimming contest; the school trip; the hot springs... The story keeps tripping us, purposely misdirecting us, so that by the end of these first ten episodes, there’s been plenty of hinting, but no resolution is yet in sight. (Neither has the red-haired girl on the cover been introduced yet...)<br>\r\n\r\nMore nice touches: the yakuza v. gangster turf war and especially Claude, Bee Hive’s bespectacled no. 1 hitman who constantly watches over his beloved ‘Little Miss’ (Chitoge) and seems to be a genuine threat to Raku. Also, kudos to the creative team for managing to pull off a decent variation on the old ‘boy ends up accidentally in the girls’ bath’ chestnut. Also check out Raku’s <em>enka </em>performance at New Year to his adoring clan... and the game of ‘Old Maid’ on the school trip.<br>\r\n\r\nThere’s no English dub available; although there’s a neat French one, if your French is reasonably fluent. If not, the original Japanese cast are well worth following in the English subbed version. Raku is a likable and unassuming central character and he's played in a likable way by Kouki Uchiyama, with Yuuki Kaji as his annoying but energetic friend Shu. Nao Touyama presents both the raging <em>tsundere </em>side of Chitoge and her more vulnerable, more appealing side. And Kana Hanazawa delivers a very <em>moe </em>portrait of Kosaki, perfectly capturing her flustered stammering when face-to-face with her crush.<br>\r\n\r\nMusic-wise, the songs are J-poppy and in a catchy kind of a way – and with the female VAs each having an Ending Theme of their own, they bring to mind the ‘character songs’ that often accompany popular manga drama CDs. Lively Opening Theme “CLICK” by ClariS is first presented to us as the Ending Theme in Episode 1 but thereafter takes pride of place at the beginning, allowing Nao Touyama, the VA of Chitoge, to deliver “Heart Pattern” to some very <em>kawaii</em> visuals. Then we have "Order×Order" sung by Yumi Uchiyama who plays Ruri, which gives way to “Recover Decoration” which is sung by Kana Hanazawa. Members of MONACA seem to be responsible for the energized synthesized soundtrack.<br>\r\n\r\nWith the show in the capable hands of Chief Director Akiyuki Simbo (<em>Bakemonogatari</em> and <em>Madoka Magica</em>) the visuals are classy (especially the black-and-white sequence at the beginning) the backgrounds are attractively presented and the action moves along at a snappy pace.<br>\r\n\r\nThe only extras are textless Opening and Ending songs. <br>\r\n\r\n<strong>In Summary</strong><br>\r\n\r\nWith its likable high school protagonists and attractive visual style, this ‘Romeo and Juliet – NOT’ comedy has much to recommend it. If it just could stop trying so hard, it would be even better... Bring on Part 2! <br>\r\n
<b>Final score: 7 out of 10</b>
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2015-10-16vlcsnap-2015-10-16-18h28m23s235.png">
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2015-10-16vlcsnap-2015-10-16-18h19m03s253.png">
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2015-10-16vlcsnap-2015-10-16-18h34m48s238.png">
<b>topic_title by Sarah</b>
Episodes 1-10<br>\r\n\r\nAlthough high schooler Raku Ichijo is the son and heir to a yakuza clan, he’s happy to make breakfast for all his father’s men every day – he’s that kind of a guy. But his father has plans for him – of the marital kind! To keep the peace, Raku is forced into a relationship with the daughter and heiress of a rival gang, Bee Hive. And it’s mutual hate at first sight as blonde, half-American Chitoge Kirisaki not only becomes his fiancée but transfers into his class at school. The two ill-matched lovers are told they must keep up the act of being hopelessly in love for the next three years, which dashes Raku’s hopes of getting closer to shy, sweet-natured Kosaki Onodera, whom he’s been crushing on for ages. But there’s another reason Raku is not ready to give his heart to some<em> tsundere</em> daughter of the rival gang. Ten years ago, he met a little girl who stole his heart. All that he has left from this life-changing meeting is an ornate locket – she has the key. He can’t remember her face, her name... but he’s always searching, hoping that he will find his long-lost childhood love. And Kosaki, he discovers, has a key on a chain that she keeps close to her heart. Could she be the one...? <br>\r\n\r\nAttractive to look at, high production values, an ill-assorted pair in harem comedy <em>Romeo and Juliet-Not</em> situation with yakuzas versus gangsters, bubbly music, what’s not to love? <br>\r\n\r\nWe-ell... It should be a no-brainer. But <em>Nisekoi: False Love</em> tries just a little too hard. It teeters the whole time on the brink of frantic and frenetic. It’s the kind of show (as in Naoshi Komi’s manga, which is frequently referenced in visual terms – nice touch) in which characters spurt drink, or food, or even saliva from their mouths whenever some outrageous or embarrassing suggestion is made. This happens a little too often to stay amusing. And the (by now) inevitable clichés of any anime/manga set in high school come crowding in, thick and fast: the swimming contest; the school trip; the hot springs... The story keeps tripping us, purposely misdirecting us, so that by the end of these first ten episodes, there’s been plenty of hinting, but no resolution is yet in sight. (Neither has the red-haired girl on the cover been introduced yet...)<br>\r\n\r\nMore nice touches: the yakuza v. gangster turf war and especially Claude, Bee Hive’s bespectacled no. 1 hitman who constantly watches over his beloved ‘Little Miss’ (Chitoge) and seems to be a genuine threat to Raku. Also, kudos to the creative team for managing to pull off a decent variation on the old ‘boy ends up accidentally in the girls’ bath’ chestnut. Also check out Raku’s <em>enka </em>performance at New Year to his adoring clan... and the game of ‘Old Maid’ on the school trip.<br>\r\n\r\nThere’s no English dub available; although there’s a neat French one, if your French is reasonably fluent. If not, the original Japanese cast are well worth following in the English subbed version. Raku is a likable and unassuming central character and he's played in a likable way by Kouki Uchiyama, with Yuuki Kaji as his annoying but energetic friend Shu. Nao Touyama presents both the raging <em>tsundere </em>side of Chitoge and her more vulnerable, more appealing side. And Kana Hanazawa delivers a very <em>moe </em>portrait of Kosaki, perfectly capturing her flustered stammering when face-to-face with her crush.<br>\r\n\r\nMusic-wise, the songs are J-poppy and in a catchy kind of a way – and with the female VAs each having an Ending Theme of their own, they bring to mind the ‘character songs’ that often accompany popular manga drama CDs. Lively Opening Theme “CLICK” by ClariS is first presented to us as the Ending Theme in Episode 1 but thereafter takes pride of place at the beginning, allowing Nao Touyama, the VA of Chitoge, to deliver “Heart Pattern” to some very <em>kawaii</em> visuals. Then we have "Order×Order" sung by Yumi Uchiyama who plays Ruri, which gives way to “Recover Decoration” which is sung by Kana Hanazawa. Members of MONACA seem to be responsible for the energized synthesized soundtrack.<br>\r\n\r\nWith the show in the capable hands of Chief Director Akiyuki Simbo (<em>Bakemonogatari</em> and <em>Madoka Magica</em>) the visuals are classy (especially the black-and-white sequence at the beginning) the backgrounds are attractively presented and the action moves along at a snappy pace.<br>\r\n\r\nThe only extras are textless Opening and Ending songs. <br>\r\n\r\n<strong>In Summary</strong><br>\r\n\r\nWith its likable high school protagonists and attractive visual style, this ‘Romeo and Juliet – NOT’ comedy has much to recommend it. If it just could stop trying so hard, it would be even better... Bring on Part 2! <br>\r\n
<b>Final score: 7 out of 10</b>
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2015-10-16vlcsnap-2015-10-16-18h28m23s235.png">
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2015-10-16vlcsnap-2015-10-16-18h19m03s253.png">
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2015-10-16vlcsnap-2015-10-16-18h34m48s238.png">