Review of Nisekoi: False Love

Ok here is my in depth review on Nisekoi and why i love Nisekoi so much. Story Lets start with the story itself before we get into the art, direction, and other elements of the series. While many already know Nisekoi has squandered on its potential of becoming a great romance with harem elements. For some odd, or should i say predictable reasons, Komi felt the need to add fillers as well milk the story. Lets be honest here Komi is no where near Nisio where he can milk a product and make it good. Even some vols of gatari that was made out of whimare amazing. But lemme stop here before i go on a tangent, no cosine. But what the anime adapted was probably the strongest story arc of the series. Notice I used probably and not indefinitely. From the start we already get a love triangle from the get-go. Raku likes Onodera and vice verse, and Chitoge and Raku are forced into a fake relationship. From that point on people should have already knew that cock-blockings from both ends will occur. I mention this because that's one criticism of Nisekoi. The constant cock-blocking and tom foolery is what irritates people. Ima be honest while watching this from week to week i was getting mad as well. Only once they introduced the harem element is when I began to accept the cock-blocking tom foolery. But lemme discuss the characters of this show right now so i can show you what appeals to me.

Characters

I'll start with Chitoge last just because I know ur haterd for her. Lets start with Raku, It wont be long nor do i plan on summarizing the characters.. Raku is a pretty generic harem MC. While enjoyable then most pussies out there he doesn't fall to far from the tree. Shu is best friend is a good wing-man. He is always looking out from him plus he is a great comic relief character. His interaction with Ruri are funny and cute at the same time because of the subtle love interest between them. So basically we have 2 relationships forming. Which is entertaining enough to see. inb4thisshowisaboutshuandruri the whole time :mindfk:. Tsugumi can be irratating at times but her body makes up for all the bs she does. When she has love interest for Raku i guess some could have been slightly irratated. But to all honesty she hides her feelings well enough where it doesn't effect the show at all. Its all part of the harem train.

Now that i got rid of the side characters lets talk about the main three girls in the harem. This is what makes me really fall in [s]false[/s] LOVE with the show. Onodera Kosaki is absolutely the best character my eyes has ever laid on. Ill try to keep this short or else i can go on another huge essay about her. The fact that both Raku and Onodera like each other, the fact that they both have a key and a locket, the fact that they are probably the couple that would actually work out, is all the reasons why she is the strongest character in the series. By strongest i mean the one thats going to/should "win." Her cutesy shy charm is cute af. She isn't an annoying sub character that's just thrown in there. She actually has a lot of personality. In later episodes of the anime we see her getting a little bit more aggressive or should i say assertive with her attitude towards Raku. With Ruri always pushing her we finally see some character development. YES a character development in what many say is a plotless anime where nothing happens. If anything, if we really wanna look at it from a serious stand point, Onoderas character development with Raku alone is what makes this show soo good. We started with Onodera in episode one and we ended with Onodera in the last episode.

Now lets talk about your favorite character. Tachibana is a good character. When added to the harem this is where the doodoo hits the fan. Because it is clear that Tachibana is the promise girl from the picture (we are only talking bout the first season). Raku's clear choice would be to go with her. But the thing is when Tachibana is introduced and even after, Onodera and Chitoge has already made so much progression with Raku. As of now Raku already is showing interest in either Chitoge and Onodera. With Chitoge it seems like the classic "been together for so long u start to fall in love", wit Onodera he always liked her. So adding Tachibana only seems to be there for harem plot element and an entertaining character. Well Tachibana isn't the one i have to be defending here lemme get to Chitoge or as you like to call her [s]best girl[/s] Shitoge

So look I'm not here to convert atheists into believers,I'm just tryna say the way anime need Shaft Studio, the way Raku needed needs Chitoge, that's the way I need Kosaki. lel okay I'm done lemme chill before i turn this into a rap. The reason why you (and if this not the reason) why most people hate Chitoge is cause of the following. She is an annoying tsundere. At first she is extremely intolerable. She shows zero interest in Raku and she ruins the mood. But later on when you actually see slight jealously you begin to look at it in a cute way. Personally Chitoge grows on you. Out of every character in the series she has one of the most character development. The arc/scene where she was in the beach and all jealous and shit just proves that she is developing feelings for Raku. That's fucking character development. I mean if u were put into a position you don't want to be in of course you will be extremely intolerable at first. When it comes to love interest she has the biggest shot because Raku also shows somewhat same feelings back. It goes from obligation to actually want to be with each other. Ill give u the fact that she was horrible at first but it is extremely acceptable for her to behave that way. The fact that she eases up so much just shows us that Komi isn't a complete retard and he actually wants to push the story. This is me speaking from the anime stand point. I'm well aware of how the manga likes to diverge from the plot. As a main girl she isn't that bad. It shows a nice, overcoming of obstacles in order to achieve a love interest. Hate it or love it that's a fact and you know it. To tell you the truth I think i defended her well enough as a character. If you have any rebuttals please let me know so i can further expand on any issues you find.

Art/Direction/Ost

Oh boy, lets discuss the studio breh. So lets start with this. Nisekoi and shaft studio complement each other well. If this went to a different studio I feel i would have gotten a different show. Boring backgrounds, not enough exaggeration in motion and movement, and something different all together. With nisekoi shaft actually showed effort. Unlike MCA (but that's another story and im no story teller). Please don't discuss the industry and it isnt shaft's fault that it had a nice budget, I already know! But the art in nisekoi is nice. It gives u a warm feeling at the same not feeling overly complicated. My one complaint would be the BD's butchering some of the bgs for the sake of sparkles. But when we get shaft we expect nice sceneries (even in dance in the vampire bund which felt extremely low budgeted). The character designs are similar if not better than the manga design. Lastly, the overall atmosphere is far more richer than the manga. So if we are comparing the first 50 chapters of what shaft adapted i would honestly say this is an instance where anime exceeds the source material. Shaft, believe it or not adapted the manga pretty well. Aside from inserting their artistic flare from time to time it stayed pretty faithful.

While camera angels and cuts aren't as extreme as most of the gatari series Shaft still tends to use these methods. Also with changing animations for funny scenes this has the complete package. I really do enjoy their style and i can go on forever about it but honestly Nisekoi is shafty af but not toooo shafty. its the perfect balance. Its not too tame and not too wild. From time to time its nice to see them adapt something like this. So the reason i mention all this is to add why i enjoy this "seemingly generic harem" more than most harems i watch. It isn't because of the story but its because of the art, direction, and characters that draw me into this show. I cant see how one who likes their shows can dislike this show. I cant comprehend 1 character ruining the entire show.

Tbh im not the type of guy to pick up on the ost. I overlook it most of the time. But the music in Nisekoi lifts the overall mood of the series greatly. When I re-watched it in BD quality I picked up certain things and i found myself engrossed in the show. When hearing the ost play over certain scenes it just makes things fun for me. Shaft sure knows how to place the ost in scenes and make it work. It really is one of their strong suits and ill be sure to pick that up in more series.

So here is my ultimatum. Whatever you found wrong, flawed, weak, or needing further expansion on, please let me know. I believe i defended why I like Nisekoi well enough.