Review of Love Tyrant

*No spoiler review* TL;DR: A deconstructed school harem rom-com parody that is actually quite fun to watch if you are ready for a Love Octagon of epic proportion. The humour never dies, the seriousness never shines. The love comes and goes & the parody just flows. [Story: 5/10 , Characters: 7/10, Art: 7/10, Sound: 6/10, Enjoyment: 7/10] What do you get if you give the power of something serious as "Kiss Note" (similar to Death Note but kissing) to a clueless cupid who just wants to use it to make her wildest fantasies come true? You get a deconstructed rom-com parody that somehow keeps you watching formore. This show never takes itself seriously and frankly it's because of this that this show shines as a whole. In Renai Boukun aka Love Tyrant, a Kiss Note (parody of Death Note) is a powerful notebook that makes people who have their names written together instantly fall in love if they kiss each other, regardless of any circumstances. If they don't… they will remain a virgin forever and c'mon which person would want that? Enter Guri, a cupid clueless about Love, accidentally writes Seiji's (MC) name mistaking him for someone else. She shows up to his door, explains the concept to him, they kiss, and the problem begins from there. This whole show starts off from this tiny snowball of a problem that just keeps rolling down the hill and it gets just bigger and bigger. Quite a rollercoaster ride if you ask me.

Before I get into the plot, it's the characters that makes this show so enjoyable. You have Guri, a BL obsessed undere cupid who is clueless about love. Then, Akane, a psychotic beautiful yandere, that will kill anyone that touches her love. Cue in Yuzu, a tsundere wincestual stalker, in love with her step-sister. Next the cousin of Akane & Yuzu, Shikami, a sado-maso mayadere who gets off on pain, obsessed with stealing other's love. On the side, you have the MC's younger sister Akua, a kuudere with severe brother/sister complex hoping for her brother's love. Finally, you have the weak & pathetic yet kind MC, Seiji, who is "not handsome, quick to anger, stubborn, insensitive and just a really boring guy" wanting to find true love. Throw them all in one pot, thanks to the supernatural power of "Kiss Note", you have a chaotic mess that will deliver enough comedy to keep you watching for more. Seriously, the characters all feel unique and though the point isn't for viewers to identify themselves as one of the character in the show, you just can't help laughing at each of their hilarity. Even the Kami, aka God, and Maoh, aka Devil, are presented in such comedic manner that the only less outrageous character in this show is the MC himself. You really do start to pity him seeing the stuff he gets himself into. Despite all the chaos, each of the characters actually undergoes some form of character development to better their personality. Now that you have a better grasp of the characters and their "goals", let's dive into the plot.

Plot wise, the story sort of follows a linear pattern as the show is supposed to showcase Guri's coming of age story as she becomes a better Cupid who will succeed Kami in the future by truly understanding the concept of love. However, this show isn't about reaching that destination, it's about enjoying the messed up journey these characters gets themselves into. At its essence, this is a parody that deconstructs the rom-com genre by showing how obscure the concept of school love is by portraying it through a comedic lense. Each episode is a two part episode where the characters find themselves in stereotypical harem/rom-com messy situations that gets resolved by the end after poking much needed fun at its obscurities. The constant juxtaposition of presenting different deretype characters really adds to its comedic value, plus the dialogues go from corny to cheesy to somewhat deep at times. It's almost as if the director snaps their fingers at the viewers to tell them, "sssh, serious matters are being shown here… or so we think." Seriously, the best part about this show is that neither the plot nor the director takes the show seriously which allows for the "quit pro quo" comedic style to flourish so well.

Nevertheless, the animation team behind Renai Boukun did a great job. Each of the major characters stand out from one another and they made the MC a very relatable looking character that is both bland yet unique looking. The use of bold vibrant primary colours really shines throughout the anime. It is able to contrast the deep satirical emotions of love with the outrageous comedic elements of chaos. Though scattered if observed individually but seems cohesive when seen together. The OP song is quirky & catchy and the ED song is nice but its the OST that really shines as it helps the anime flow well with the story by constantly aiding in the creation and diffusion of tension. Definitely worth a listen as a standalone.

Overall, Renai Boukun is a fun show to watch, not just on a whim. It's a good parody and it never takes itself seriously so the comedy never dies. I enjoyed watching it despite not being a fan of rom-com because it is a deconstructed parody of this genre. If you are debating whether or not you want to watch the show, just ask yourself this. Do you want to watch a show that is utter madness due to hilarious characters? Do you enjoy good comedy? Do you like a bit of fan service? Regardless of yes or no, you should watch this show. Simple as that... joking. Anyways, give it a watch and let me know later how you like it.

P.S. Thank you for reading. I hope you found this short and supaishi review helpful!
P.P.S. "What is love? It's not about knowing what love is… being in love means whether you are happy or sad the heart always aches for that one special person"