Review of Nisekoi: False Love

“It’s kind of similar, don’t you think? The play....and our own story. Our families feuding with each other...And the two respective heirs...Being in love...Well, the biggest difference is that we’re not really in love.” ~ Chitoge Kirisaki I've been pondering which anime I would write my first official review for, and I figured with the new decade beginning, I decided to bite the bullet and watch Nisekoi, an anime I've had my sights set on watching for a while. Given I have an inherent bias towards Shaft due to them animating my beloved Monogatari Series, I came in expecting big things from it. As someone whodidn't read Nisekoi's manga either, I wanted to experience it in action before I eventually read it.

And after finishing the anime's first season today, I come back from it having had it make quite the impact on me. Not only was it better than I expected, but I came out of it feeling truly satisfied with everything that happened.

Story (8)
I'm a sucker for forbidden love stories such as Romeo and Juliet, and Nisekoi brought a nice angle to the trope with the yakuza background and premise. To put things simply, the story's MC, Raku Ichijou, made a promise to marry a girl 10 years in the past, but he doesn't remember anything about her. Cue the main heroines of the show, who hold the keys to his heart, or, to put things literally, the key to his locket he gave the girl in the past - but the mystery surrounding them is simple: which of these girls have the key that fits? I may be in the minority in this, but despite this plotline not being the most original of plotlines, it doesn't affect me in the slightest - in fact, the motif worked perfectly with this type of show. There was a bit of missed potential because the yakuza/gangster background could have provided a lot of extra characterization which keeps me from rating this section higher, but for the most part I don't have a problem with the way the story is presented.

Art (10)
I would have given this series a score higher than 10 in this category if I could. Shaft is a studio that crafts a unique way to tell their stories through their borderline extreme art directions, and in Nisekoi's case, it was absolutely top-notch. Shaft went the whole nine yards in Nisekoi's art direction - you have the over-the-top dramatized facial expressions, abstract camera angles, close-ups out of the ass, and their signature neck tilts (I counted 33 of them), and there was no sign of bland shots or boring stills. The backgrounds were beautiful, the overusage of effects exaggerate all of the characters' emotions, and the colors were extremely vibrant and pleasant to look at. Nisekoi brought to me a ton of eye candy, and in the process showed me a ton of memorable shots I'll remember for a while.

Sound (9)
I'm not too much of an anime soundtracks kind of person unless it's absolutely memorable and standout, and while I can't recall any specific songs in Nisekoi's soundtrack, I felt that every piece of music in the background fit the vibe of the scenes perfectly. I can't ask for much more than that, and to top it off the OP and ED songs, which I didn't even know existed until like halfway through the series, were pretty decent but not very memorable.

The voice acting was absolutely excellent. Nao Touyama pulled off Chitoge extremely well, and the split between her "tsun" and "dere" was definitely the strong point of her acting. Kana Hanazawa voiced Onodera, and having recognized her from her more cutesy roles such as Nadeko from Monogatari and Chiaki from Danganronpa, she did just that - make Onodera a sensory overload of cuteness. I don't have much to comment on for Raku's voice actor, but he did a good job and his acting was very consistent with the character.

Character (9)
This was SO, SO CLOSE to being a 10, but a couple of personal gripes keep it from being a 10. Overall? I didn't find any of the characters unlikable, but rather that all the characters were actually made likable despite questionable first impressions.

Raku Ichijou, the main character, is a pretty decent take on the harem protagonist. He has the stereotypical density of a harem MC, but he has enough quirks in him to make him more than just a boring self-insert. He doesn't exactly have a spine, being too self-conscious at points, but at the same time, isn't a pushover who gets walked all over by the heroines. He's more along the lines of a male tsundere, and this allows for a lot of chemistry between practically every character he comes across. He's likable, but he's prone to making borderline infuriating mistakes, but what kinda human doesn't make mistakes? Personally, I felt like there was something "missing" from his character. Perhaps it's because his yakuza background was barely even explored or his quirk of being a really good cook is hardly utilized, but he isn't a standout main character by any means.

The main heroine of the series, Chitoge Kirisaki, is my personal favorite character in Nisekoi and despite feeling lukewarm upon first impression, she ended up skyrocketing in my personal favorite anime character rankings when she was given proper time to become a character. Normally I find tsunderes to be hit-or-miss, mostly because it's such a common trope that it's practically overdone, but as the series progressed and we got to know who Chitoge really is, she became a lot more likable and the way her actions and emotions changed throughout the story was nice to watch unfold. She's abrasive, violent, vulgar, and cold - but at the same time, it not only feels consistent with her backstory and background, being a rather disliked and lonely girl in the U.S. in the past because of it, but it makes the moments where she is genuinely nice and showing vulnerability to Raku shine even brighter. Chitoge comes off as likable because she's actually a compassionate and caring person when accepted by others, but that's if one puts in the effort to understand her.

Kosaki Onodera is the secondary main heroine, and unlike Chitoge's case where Raku has an extreme distaste for her initially, we find out early on that Onodera's the one he has his eyes on, making her the "main love interest". She serves as Chitoge's foil throughout the story and Raku's ideal woman, representing the polar opposite of her: Cute, kind, and shy. She shares the feeling with him, but her internal struggle stems from her inability to convey how she truly feels about him. While she comes off as likable and easy to root for, up to this point I haven't seen enough character from her other than my aforementioned overload of cuteness, and that hurts her in the end, which is a bit saddening because she can be a lot more than that.

Marika Tachibana, the third "main" girl in this clusterfuck of a lock-and-key plot, was introduced too late in the story to make a big splash, but her introductory episode made a big impact on me. Unlike the two main heroines, where she shines is how aggressive she is in pursuing love. She has enough boldness and dedication to create chaos at any given turn, and while we only see glimpses of it, she also seems to be a compelling character worth rooting for too. I can't really say much about her because of her lack of screentime, but she's one I'm looking forward to seeing develop in the second season.

The rest of the cast is likable enough with tropes that hit more than they miss. Tsugumi was but was relegated to mostly background duty, but she has a handful of cute moments and almost jarring character development; Ruri plays the role of Onodera's best friend, and spices up the plot enough to push things forward; Shu Maiko is the stereotypical perverted bro, and Chitoge's and Raku's respective families provide a nice comic relief. As I mentioned before, the cast is really likable, and all the girls have such good chemistry with Raku that I felt bad for rooting for only one of them to win.

Enjoyment (10)
There was never a dull moment throughout my experience watching Nisekoi, and that says a lot. Even the episodes where I thought it felt like filler and typical of the harem genre I found genuinely enjoyable, and it had no shortage of emotional scenes as well. Anime that make me experience genuine happiness, sadness, fear, laughter and anger usually end up my favorites, and while the harem genre itself is admittedly limited in terms of emotional prowess, Nisekoi is one of the most enjoyable harems I've ever watched.

Overall (9.5)
Every part of Nisekoi's whole comes together to create something I find truly special. The enjoyable story, fun interactions, the outstanding art, the fitting sound and great voice acting, a likable cast full of tropey-but-well-done characters, and an overall enjoyable experience makes this series one of my absolute favorites. While not a perfect 10, it comes pretty damn close; perhaps one day I might move it up to a 10 in the future?

Onward to the second season I go!