Koi to Uso | Worth Watching?

Is it worth? Who knows! I’ll let you decide, but first, you’ll need to give it a watch 🙂

Honestly, I can’t really say this show does an adequate job at developing its story. At its core, it puts emphasis on the theme of love. The show invites questions that makes us wonder what love actually is. What is romance? How do couples build on a love relationship? Why do we feel attracted to certain people and vice versa? For starters, the first few episodes makes it clear that romantic feelings is based on attraction. However, it does get into the emotional elements soon as we learn more about the characters. Human emotions are exposed such as happiness, jealousy, fear, hate, sadness, anger, pain, and pleasure. Yet at the same time, it often feels like this series tries to do too many things at once. Every episode dedicates a variety of human emotions at once that sometimes feel too much to take in. For instance, the first two episodes explores emotions of happiness, pleasure, but also fear. Koi to Uso translates to Love and Lies and that by itself draws the attention of romance. It’s a very complex subject that even to today, there’s no right answer.

By no shadow of a doubt, relationships is a very important focus in the show. The central focus is the love triangle between Nejima, Misaki, and Ririna. If we look at these characters individually, they are rather different. Nejima is the nice guy that tries this best to appeal others but sometimes makes himself look like a fool. He is what I’d label as the “Average Joe”. On the other hand, Misaki is portrayed as the ‘next door girl’ type that many guys dreams to date. However, she also has her own insecurities and often shows emotional moments when she is with Nejima. Finally, Ririna has the personality of an ice queen. She rarely opens herself to others but at the same time is fascinated by the idea of love. As Nejima’s marriage partner, it’s obvious that she also feels an attraction towards him. Yet, Ririna seems to support Nejima and Misaki’s relationship. However, I think the main problem falls onto the shoulder of main male protagonist Nejima.

He’s not just average but also lacks any dominate traits as a male. He is like a beta male that always struggles to keep up with the alpha pack. Although some people may argue that he carries a lot of responsibilities, Nejima still stands out as a weak character. The guy spends way too much thinking rather than acting on his instincts. Although he takes a more initiative in later episodes, it doesn’t change the fact that his character as a whole makes him underwhelming. Misaki and Ririna stands out better as characters on their own although the lack of characterization on them holds them back. Honestly, I wish the show capitalize more on their characters individually. Surprisingly, Ririna stands out as the most interesting character in the show for me. She may be a tsundere but it’s entertaining to see how she reacts to certain situations. Remember, this show explores the theme of love and Ririna is fascinated by it. That fascination leads her to get involved in many situations in this story.

Outside these three characters, we also have Nisaka, the mysterious bishounen that other girls seems to adore. His relationship with Misaki is a big question mark and it even provokes feelings of jealousy from Nejima. While I can’t really say this show has mystery, it does invite theories and questions about who he really is. Beyond that, it doesn’t seem like the show capitalizes on his character much and feels like he’s just there. That’s actually a big problem I have with the show. Every episode seems to build a bit more and more to connect the characters together but in reality, nothing really happens. It feels like a loop and nothing really is achieved in the end. We don’t really get a clear answer on who Nisaka really wants to marry in the end and to that, I can’t help but hit my head on a desk.

Despite Koi to Uso being a drama heavy show, it still finds room to add comedy. Unfortunately, I can’t really praise it as it’s pretty dry and feels the same almost every episode. Misunderstandings, sexual fantasies, lewd jokes, and awkward character interactions are what’ll often see. To be honest, I think this show can be enjoyable if you feel attached to certain characters. Luckily for me, I occasionally find Yukari and Ririna’s relationship to be memorable because of their conflicting personalities and the fact that they can connect more on a personal level. Beyond that, this show feels like reading some romance novel where the author isn’t even sure on who root for.

I have to admit, this show’s animation style is strange. It’s neither good nor bad but peculiar in the sense that it doesn’t look very realistic. Character eyes look abnormally big, fan service seems to happen randomly at times, and expressions seems forced. The character designs are acceptable enough with Misaki and Ririna standing out as the pretty girls at school. Nisaka also has the pretty boy look that makes him look irresistible to the ladies. Unfortunately, Nejima’s character design makes him feel out of place compared to these three. As a show with drama and romance, you can also expect kissing. Tons of it actually. By the time I finished this anime, I lost the count of times Nejima has kissed the main girls. Oh and of course, the show adds saliva and fan service during make out scenes to make them more “realistic”.

Soundtrack makes me wonder if the show knows what it’s doing. It’s pretty light-toned and make scenes more melancholic than they should be. The OP and ED theme songs has some noticeable lyrics and symbolism, in particular the red strings of fate.