#05 – Lovely Complex by Aya Nakahara
Posted on 01. Jul, 2007 by Khursten in Blog, Reviews
Lovely Complex by Aya Nakahara
Margaret Comics
Shueisha
A tall girl. A short boy. Both have a knack for words and together they make the manzai comedy pair of their school. However, our giantess, Risa Koizumi, finds herself caught in quite a pinch. After getting to know her unforeseen comedy partner, Atsushi Ootani, she eventually falls in love with him. How would she get by? How would she able to show this midget that she’s more than a funny girl? Aya Nakahara shows us a how a comedy combination turns into a love combi in Lovely Complex.
Edit : It seems that Viz / Shoujo Beat picked up Lovely Complex. So some things written down there might not be applicable.
Totally Complex. But not overly complex.
Do you know how overly dramatic some shoujo stories get? Some of them involve deep tragedies, quasi-suicidal plots and highly sexual tones. This is none of that. In fact, nothing of that. It takes love comedy to the next level by really trying to put a comedy act as the stars of the show. Plain and simple. They look cute together and they??????re funny together. To those from the western frame of mind, they’re like a happy bickering married couple. As much as they snark at each other, they all know it’s all for naught and in the end, they still love each other. But as simple as it may seem, the simplicity of things made it a lot difficult for our heroine to snag her partner’s heart.
Yes. It’s complex. So complex that I felt sorry for the poor girl! On the side of Koizumi, our darling giantess, it was indeed difficult to actually make her partner see that she’s more than just that casual funny Koizumi. She is, at the same time, a girl who has charm and who can seriously love and care for someone. But it was a hard route for her to even let her valentine’s chocolate be accepted by Ootani! Love was definitely difficult, nonetheless, she persevered.
And true enough to the shoujo formula, her hardwork (and with the help of her ever interfering friends and classmates) managed to snag Otani’s heart. The process was beautiful. Their romance was well paced and straightforward. Nakahara’s art is clean and totally captures their youthful expressions. The thing with her art and the story is that her art is very vibrant and energetic and totally provides a great setting for the story. I can totally imagine it in a real life setting. It wouldn’t help that a movie of the manga was already made and it just puts two and two together.
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I was wondering why not a single American publisher has set their eyes on this shoujo manga. This is great stuff compared to some out there. But then on my end, I wish they don’t because I think a lot will be lost and would sound so red neck if they tried to translate Lovely Complex.
LoveCon is set in Osaka, hence the manzai combi gets better with the Kansai accent. I was hesitant at first to really read the manga, but the anime has convinced me the comedy of Kansai ben. I have to give my thanks to my friend Rinrin for guiding me with all the Kansai ben. Once you do get the hang of it, it is leaps and bounds funnier. The language is colorful and emotional, hence words, short or long as they may be can mean and feel totally different, depending on the tone and the expression of the speaker.
The anime helps in trying to see this a bit. While reading the manga, I just have to remember their voices while reading and totally visualize them sparring. It’s such a treat. :3 I could read it over and over again and I’d still laugh and cry like I did the first time.
Honestly, I really thought that the world of shoujo has gone stale with the rabid invasion of the horny joushi kousei mangas. But occasionally, there are gems like these that are really outright fun. Can I say, a manga appropriate for teenage girls? Lol.
MangaBlog » Blog Archive » Eden: Not so endless?
Jul 2nd, 2007
[...] Gravitation and Miguel Douglas reads vol. 1 of Confidential Confessions. Samurai Champloo reviews Lovely Complex (released here as Love*Com). At Okazu, Erica Friedman reviews vol. 8 of High School Girls. [...]
zool
Jul 13th, 2007
Why the book cover not so good??
Dunno about this manga.. Has English version???
Khursten
Jul 14th, 2007
uhh… the book cover is actually from the Japanese version of the manga. I thought it was quite a good cover since it shows the relationship between Ootani and Koizumi – light-hearted and funny.
And yes, as it turns out, an english version is available soon via Viz. If you know your way around the net, you can also find some scanlations of this series.
yuzuna
Aug 11th, 2007
lovely complex is by far the best shoujo manga that I have read in a while. It is simply addicting. You can’t help but fall in love with koizumi and cheer for her and cry for her. Ootani is a lovable character that you just want to punch so he can get the point. Great manga and anime. I love Kansai-ben. It really helps the story.
nadh
Aug 21st, 2007
hey…i just want to told ya all..that u can’t leave any book stores without buying this manga… i’ve just read the 13th book. I collect them. So…i’m still looking for the next book. Aya nakahara arigato… for this nice book…..
Khursten
Aug 21st, 2007
Thanks yuzuna and nadh for the comments. And yes, this is a great shoujo manga indeed. Prolly a gem for our generation.
Dian
Sep 7th, 2007
I’ve read this manga from vol. 1-14. I (an trying to)collect all volumes. I really want to read next vol. Could somebody tell me in which volume this story ends???????
Has it been released? ‘Cause I’ve never seen it anywhere in Indonesia. Desperately curious about the next books.
Awesome comic, anyway.
Khursten
Sep 8th, 2007
@Dian
Thanks for visiting the website. The manga completes at 16, but I saw the recent Shueisha release and it seems that they are releasing probably an extra volume of Lovely Complex this September 25. Perhaps just some extra closure on what happened to them. More lovey-dovey stuff. :3
And yes, it’s an awesome comic!
Dian
Sep 9th, 2007
Wow…no idea about Shueisha is, but it sounds cool.Thanks a million, anyway. I’ve asked the bookstore where I bought those books, but it seemed that they haven’t got the 15 and 16 volume. POOR ME!!
It seems I have to wait!
arin
Feb 12th, 2009
i wanna buy for the comics.where can i get it?
Khursten
Feb 12th, 2009
Depends where you’re living. Nowadays, Lovely Complex (Love Com in its English Translation) is available in bookstores such as Powerbooks and Fully Booked in Metro Manila. I’m sure it’s widely available in the US too (if you’re from there.)
Err… I’m not so sure about other places, but if you have a Kinokuniya in your country, for sure, you’ll find this manga.
linda
May 5th, 2009
I liked the manga and anime but was disappointed with the live action version but still its a great love story
http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/lovely-complex-lovecom-anime-and-movie/