Lovely Complex

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Lovely Complex


caption = Cover of volume 7
ja_name = ラブ★コン
ja_name_trans = Rabu★Kon
genre = Romantic comedyInfobox animanga/Manga
title =
author = Aya Nakahara
publisher = flagicon|Japan Shueisha
publisher_en = flagicon|USA Viz flagicon|Australia flagicon|New Zealand Madman Entertainment
publisher_other = flagicon|France Delcourt flagicon|Vietnam TVM Comics
flagicon|Italy Planet Manga flagicon|Mexico Grupo Editorial Vid
demographic = Shōjo
magazine = Bessatsu Margaret
first = September 2001
last = December 2006
volumes = 17Infobox animanga/Game
title =
developer = AQ Interactive
publisher =
genre = Adventure
ratings =
platforms = PlayStation 2
released = flagicon|Japan July 13, 2006Infobox animanga/Movie
live_action = yes
title =
director = Kitani Ishikawa
producer =
music =
studio = Tohokushinsha Film Corporation
released = flagicon|Japan July 15, 2006
runtime = 100 MinutesInfobox animanga/Anime
title =
director = Konosuke Uda
studio = Toei Animation
licensor =
network = flagicon|Japan TBS, CBC, MBS
first = April 7, 2007
last = September 29, 2007
episodes = 24
episode_list =

nihongo|"Lovely Complex"|ラブ★コン|Rabu★Kon, also known as "Love★Com", is a shōjo romantic comedy manga by Aya Nakahara. It was published by Shueisha in "Bessatsu Margaret" from 2001 to 2006 and collected in 17 tankobon volumes. The series is about the romance between a tall girl and a short boy who are treated as a comedy duo by their classmates. In 2004, it received the 49th Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo.cite web | url=http://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/mangasho/rist.html | title=小学館漫画賞：歴代受賞者 | publisher=Shogakukan | language=Japanese | accessdate=2007-08-19]

The story has been adapted as a live-action movie released in 2006, a 24-episode television anime series broadcast in 2007, and an adventure game released for PlayStation 2 released in 2006. Two drama CDs have also been produced. The manga and the live-action movie are licensed in the North America by Viz,cite web | url=http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?series_id=690 | title=Love★Com | publisher=Viz Media | accessdate=2007-06-17] cite web | url=http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?series_id=923 | title=Love Com The Movie | publisher=Viz Media | accessdate=2008-01-23] with eight volumes of the manga published as of September 2008.

Plot

"Lovely Complex" is a love story between a boy and a girl. The girl, Risa Koizumi, is 172 cm (5' 7") tall—much taller than the average Japanese girl. The boy, Atsushi Otani, is 156 cm (5'1 and a half") —way below the height of the average Japanese boy. Because of this, they are called the "All Hanshin Kyojin" after a popular comedy duo that has a similar height difference.

During summer school, a very tall student (from another class) shows up and Risa immediately falls for him, as she has had bad luck with boys in the past because she is tall. There is a girl that Atsushi likes as well, so Risa and Atsushi decide to put aside their differences and help each other get their love interests. But as they get to know each other better, Risa's feelings for Atsushi begin to blossom, and her love life gets complicated from there.

One notable fact about "Lovely Complex" is that instead of speaking standard Japanese, almost all characters speak in Kansai-ben (the story takes place in Osaka).cite web | url=http://www.popcultureshock.com/on-the-shojo-beat-high-school-debut/43131/ | title=Lovely Complex (TV) | publisher=Anime News Network | accessdate=2008-01-23] While having one or two characters speaking Kansai-ben is common in many anime shows, having all characters doing so is unusual.Fact|date=January 2008

Characters

;nihongo|Risa Koizumi|小泉リサ|Koizumi Risa:"Drama role by:" Ema Fujisawa, Anime voice|Akemi Okamura.: The protagonist of "Lovely Complex", Risa Koizumi is not your average Japanese high school student. Standing 172 cm tall (about 5' 8"), Risa's height is well above that of most Japanese girls her age; ironically, her name means 'little spring'. She and other characters compare her to a giraffe. Risa can be impulsive and strong-willed at times, and is rarely willing to display her softer side. She had a crush on Suzuki before he started dating Chiharu.

: Risa starts developing feelings for Ōtani and soon admits to herself that she likes him. She then starts trying to confess. Failing the first time, Nobuko and Nakao try to help, Nobuko often giving Risa advice on what to do. Finally she very directly tells him. She immediately regrets it, and tells Ōtani to pretend it never happenened, but in spite of herself she tells Ōtani once again that she likes him. Ōtani responds that he couldn't see her as a girlfriend yet, so her new goal is to make Ōtani regret that and make him like her as well. Eventually they start going out.

;nihongo|Atsushi Ōtani|大谷敦士|Ōtani Atsushi:"Drama role by:" Teppei Koike, anime voice|Akira Nagata, "Voice actor for game/drama CD:" Takahiro Sakurai: Atsushi Ōtani is one of the main characters of Lovely Complex. He is very short for a boy, standing 156 cm tall (about 5' 1"). Like Koizumi, Ōtani's name (roughly, "big valley") is a pun on his diminutive stature, and he can be thoughtless and rude; at heart, however, he is kind and a little silly. Ōtani is also the star player of the school basketball team.

: His ex-girlfriend is Mayu Kanzaki, the manager of his middle-school basketball team. She broke up with him for a much taller boyfriend, and this is one of the reasons Ōtani is sensitive about his height, but he later finds out that wasn't the reason she broke up with him, it was because she was in love with someone else already who just happened to be tall. He doesn't know quite yet how he feels about Risa, and only responds that he can't see her as a girlfriend (at the moment) when Risa confesses her feelings. But later, he realizes that he does care for her, and he kisses her. Later on in the series, Otani gets the wrong idea when Risa keep doing suspicious things with her co-worker Kohori, and then breaks up with her. However, after seeing how devoted she is to him, Otani reconsiders and they make up on Christmas Eve.

;nihongo|Nobuko Ishihara|石原信子|Ishihara Nobuko:"Drama role by:" Nami Tamaki, Anime voice|Saori Higashi:Fashionable and charming, Nobu is Risa's best friend. She is generally wiser than Risa or Chiharu in the ways of love, and is always ready to offer her advice. She's mostly the one who sets up all the 'alone time' moments with Risa and Ōtani, but it usually ends up failing and Risa goes back to her for comfort.

;nihongo|Heikichi Nakao|中尾平吉|Nakao Heikichi:"Drama role by:" Yusuke Yamazaki, Anime voice|Yasuhiko Tokuyama, "Voice actor for game/drama CD:" Kenjiro Tsuda:Nobu's boyfriend. Mild-mannered and easygoing. Nakao is absolutely dedicated to Nobu, and when he is not playing basketball with Ōtani, he can usually be found helping with her match-making schemes.

;nihongo|Chiharu Tanaka|田中千春|Tanaka Chiharu:"Drama role by:" Risa Kudo, Anime voice|Kazuko Kojima.:One of Risa's closest friends, Chiharu has such a shy, demure personality that she fears most boys her own age. Ōtani once harbored a crush on her (she resembles Kanzaki, his ex-girlfriend, or vice-versa), but Chiharu instead fell for the gentle Suzuki. The two are now a couple. When everybody starts making college plans, Suzuki and Chiharu applied for the same college, but Suzuki got rejected. He sadly tells Chiharu somebody else would be able to protect her. For the first time, Chiharu breaks out of her shy character and violently lifts up a desk and throws at him (narrowly missing), fustrated that Shizuki thinks he can be replaced. They later make up and Shizuki promises to join Chiharu in her new school the next year.

;nihongo|Ryoji Suzuki|鈴木涼二|Suzuki Ryoji:"Drama role by:" Hiro Mizushima, Anime voice|Kenjiro Tsuda, "Voice actor for game/drama CD:" Masaya Onosaka:Chiharu's boyfriend. Suzuki's cool demeanor is often mistaken for standoffishness, and so he has few friends. Oblivious to Risa's crush on him, he develops feelings for Chiharu, and eventually asks her out. Like Chiharu, Suzuki is shy and easily embarrassed. When failed to get into the same university as Chiharu, he promises to try again the year after.

;nihongo|Haruka Fukagawa|深川遥|Fukugawa Haruka:Anime voice|Masaya Onosaka, "Voice actor for game/drama CD:" Ryotaro Okiayu:A handsome, effeminate young man who developed a childhood crush on Risa when she defended him from a gang of bullies. Though he is popular with many of the other girls (dating seven at a time), he says it's all preparation for when he goes out with Risa, but she always rejects him. According to Risa his grandmother is English. It is also suggested that he might have a crush on Seiko.

;nihongo|Seiko Kotobuki|寿聖子|Kotobuki Seiko:Anime voice|Fujiko Takimoto:A blonde who has a large crush on Ōtani, although she is biologically male, stating that God placed her in a wrong body. Her given name is Seishirō, but she prefers to be called Seiko as it sounds more feminine. She kissed Otani, but he later found out she was biologically male when she took off her shirt when tending to his injury in the school infirmary. Seiko was afraid that Ōtani would think she was disgusting, but Ōtani stated that he didn't and they remained friends.

;Mayu Kanzaki:Anime voice|Yuki Matsuoka:She is the ex-girlfriend of Ōtani. She looks very similar to Chiharu (or Chiharu to her), which is one the most likely reasons that Ōtani had that crush on Chiharu. They started dating in middle-school, and she was the manager for the school basketball team. She broke up with him, leaving him completely heartbroken, because she was in love with someone else.:She invited Ōtani to the team Christmas party, and though Ōtani accepts, he ends up going with Risa to the Umibōzu concert instead. She then visited Ōtani's school to see him, but encountered Risa and Nobu. Risa is convinced that Ōtani is still in love with her, so she goes to clear up a misunderstanding. It is then that Mayu tells him that it was not because of his height that she broke up with him. However, she appears again later, after having broken up with her boyfriend. When she asks to meet up with again, he says "Sorry, I can't because if i do there'll be an idiot who'll cry."

;Umibōzu:"Drama role by:" Susumu Terajima:A popular rapper. Risa and Ōtani are both avid fans of Umibōzu, leading to Nobu's suggestion that the two are compatible. Risa and Ōtani accidentally cross paths with Umibōzu while on a class trip, and learn that he is actually a devoted family man, with a wife and son.

;nihongo|Kuniumi Maitake|舞竹国海|Maitake Kuniumi:"Drama role by:" Shosuke Tanihara, Anime voice|Junichi Suwabe: Student teacher at Risa and Ōtani's school. Maitake, who prefers the nickname "Maity" or "Mighty", is taller than Risa and extraordinarily good-looking. He bears a resemblance to "Cain-sama", a character in one of Risa's favorite visual novels, and soon acquires a legion of female fans. Gaining affection from Risa, Ōtani soon becomes jealous and quickly starts to realize his feelings for her. It is later revealed he has a fiance, to the disappointment of his fan club.

;Mimi Yoshioka:Anime voice|Kae Araki:Ōtani's next door neighbor. She is in love with Ōtani, and brings him milk every day so he could reach her height, about the same as Risa's. Since Ōtani does not not have feelings toward her but does have feelings for Risa (who is exactly the same height as Mimi), she becomes jealous of her. She acts accordingly two-faced between them both: acting sweet towards Ōtani, yet acting sour to Risa behind his back. Later she becomes friends with Risa and gives up on Otani, after seeing how "not cool" he was and that he is truly happy with Risa. She is also a model in a magazine.

;Risa's Senpai:"Drama role by:" Shugo Oshinari

;Dancing Yoshiko:"Drama role by:" Eiji Wentz

;Kohori Kazuki:Anime voice|Hiroki Shimowada:A young student who works part time with Risa in Ikebe. He is notably shorter than her, although slightly taller than Otani (158 cm.), and has distinctive black hair with a red streak. Risa soon discovers that he is also an avid Umibouzu fan. He very soon develops feelings for Risa, who admits to herself that she finds him 'cute'. Against her better judgment, Risa attends an Umibōzu concert with Kohori which leads to her temporary breakup with Ōtani.

;nihongo|Matsubara-san|松原さん|Matsubara san:The manager in charge at the restaurant where Risa works. She wears glasses and is quite nosy. When she is intoxicated, she turns wild, and does things that she won't remember the next day.

Creation and development

According to the afterward of volume 6, Ōtani ("big valley") was going to be named Nakatani ("middle valley"), but Aya Nakahara changed her mind because "naka" was "too middlin'."cite book | last=Nakahara | first=Aya | authorlink= | title=Love*Com, Volume 6 | publisher=Viz Media | location=San Francisco | language=English | date=2008-05-06 | isbn=978-1-4215-1739-1 | chapter=Special Report | pages=page 172 | quote=]

Reception

"Lovely Complex" received the 2004 Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo manga.

The English edition of "Lovely Complex" has been favorably reviewed, with praise especially for Nakahara's comedic timing,cite web | url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/right-turn-only/2008-01-22 | title=RIGHT TURN ONLY!! - Complex and Lovely | author=Carlo Santos | publisher=Anime News Network | date=2008-01-22 | accessdate=2008-01-25 | quote=Deftly navigating through these extremes of emotion—as well as the extremes of artwork (wacky comedy expressions vs. serious shōjo heartbreak)—is a display of talent that few can hope to match.] sympathetic characters,cite web | url=http://www.popcultureshock.com/on-the-shojo-beat-high-school-debut/43131/ | title=On the Shōjo Beat: Crimson Hero, High School Debut, and Love*Com | author=Katherine Dacey | publisher=Pop Culture Shock | date=2008-01-11 | accessdate=2008-01-25 | quote="Love*Com" remains one of the most consistently entertaining titles in the Shōjo Beat line, winning points for stylish, evocative artwork and sympathetic, vivid characters.] and deft depictions of emotions. The first volume was named by the Young Adult Library Services Association as among the best graphic novels for teens for 2007.cite web | url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-01-16/manga-named-to-librarians-great-graphic-novels-list | title=Manga Named to Librarians' Great Graphic Novels List | publisher=Anime News Network | date=2008-01-16 | accessdate=2008-08-26]

Media

Manga

The manga was originally published by Shueisha in the magazine "Bessatsu Margaret" from September 2001 to December 2006 and collected in 17 tankōbon volumes. The manga is being released in English in North America by Viz Media, with eight volumes of the manga published as of September 2008.cite web | url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=5447 | title=Lovely Complex (manga) | publisher=Anime News Network | accessdate=2007-10-03] The Viz edition is licensed for distribution in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment,cite web | url=http://www.madman.com.au/actions/news.do?method=view&newsId=1049 | title=Viz Media & Madman Entertainment Join Forces | publisher=Madman Entertainment | accessdate=2008-05-05] with volume one released in May 2008.cite web | url=http://www.madman.com.au/actions/catalogue.do?releaseId=10720&method=view | title=Love*com (Manga) V1 | publisher=Madman Entertainment | accessdate=2008-05-05]

Graphic novel list/header
Language = Japancite web | url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=5447&page=28 | title=Lovely Complex (manga) | publisher=Anime News Network | accessdate=2008-01-25]
SecondLanguage = North Americacite web | url=http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?series_id=690 | title=Love Com | publisher=Viz Media | accessdate=2008-01-25] Graphic novel list
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LicensedISBN =

Movie

"Lovely Complex" was adapted as a live-action movie directed by Kitaji Ishikawa with screenplay by Osamu Suzuki. It starred Ema Fujisawa as Risa Koizumi and Teppei Koike as Atsushi Otani. It was released in theaters on 2006-07-15, and on DVD on 2007-01-01.cite web | url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=7469 | title=Lovely Complex (live-action movie) | publisher=Anime News Network | accessdate=2008-05-05] A subtitled DVD was released in English in North America by Viz Media on 2008-02-19.cite web | url=http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?product_id=7617 | title=Love Com The Movie | publisher=Viz Media | accessdate=2008-09-06]

Anime

The television anime was produced by Toei Animation and directed by Konosuke Uda, with music by Hironosuke Sato and character designs by Hideaki Maniwa. The opening theme songs were nihongo|"Kimi + Boku Love?"|キミ+ボクLOVE? by Tegomass (episodes 1–13) and "Hey! Say!" by Hey! Say! 7 (episodes 14–24); the ending themes were nihongo|"Kiss ~ Kaerimichi no Love Song~"|キッス～帰り道のラブソング by Tegomass (episodes 1–13) and "Bon Bon" by Hey! Say! 7 (episodes 14–24). It was broadcast on TBS, CBC, and MBS from April 7, 2007 to September 29, 2007.

References

External links

* [http://annex.s-manga.net/lovecom Shueisha's manga website] ja icon
* [http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/lovecom Toei Animation's anime website] ja icon
* [http://www.lovecom-movie.com Official movie website] ja icon
* [http://www.aqi.co.jp/product/lovecom/index.html Official PS2 game website] ja icon
* [http://www.viz.com/products/products.php?series_id=690 Viz Media's manga website]
* [http://www.madman.com.au/actions/periodicals.do?method=home&periodicalId=338 Madman Entertainment's manga website]
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