Lovely Complex 17
Posted: January 31, 2010 Filed under: Lovely Complex 4 Comments »Aya Nakahara – Viz – 2010 – 17 volumes
Aw, crap. I figured this would be the finale, but that happened last volume and this is a collection of three short stories. In a way, I think I liked this better, though, since I can pretty well imagine how the end of this series went (school ended, Otani and Risa wound up where they needed to, everyone lived happily ever after). The first two stories in the volume were about Otani in his first year of junior high and Risa in her last year of junior high and stories about them meeting their mutual friend Yoshii. I liked the story of the two of them connecting to Yoshii despite his being difficult, connecting to him despite difficult friends, and making a connection through him that wasn’t realized fully until years later. These two stories wound up being the sweetest pair in what I’ve read of this series.
The last story was a bit lost on me. I’ve only read five of the seventeen volumes, and it was one of those final chapters that is like a huge side character reunion where you find out what everyone’s doing. Except there were a lot of side characters, only three or four of whom I recognized, and it sounded like they were all talking over each other about things I knew nothing about. That’s mostly my fault for not reading more of the series, though. The more important point of the chapter was about how people could grow apart and change, finding new interests, and yet still connect if they made an effort. There were only a handful of sad stories I’d run across in Lovely Complex, but they always ended so sweetly. This one only had a moment of sadness, but I still think it made quite a point with it.
And that was ultimately what I loved most about the series. It was a break from the usual back-and-forth high school drama, and it featured a steady couple that always managed to keep the mood silly and upbeat. I loved it for being positive. I’ll probably go back and start the series from the beginning sometime in the future, or at the very least pick up volume sixteen so I can read the conclusion. I wound up liking this quite a bit, though it makes me want to go back and pick up a little High School Debut to see how it compares to this one now. They’re similar upbeat series, but I liked High School Debut a bit better at first.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
Hello!
I just wanted to say I really like your reviews!
Do you think you could recommend any other manga like Lovely Complex? There’s just something about this manga that gives me a happy, fluffy feeling like I have some bunnies frolicking in my heart. Yeah.
Anyway, any manga like this, High School Debut, or Kimi ni Todoke? They all have the same kind of atmosphere that’s hard to describe.
THANKS MAN.
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoy my reviews!
I love to give reccomendations! Let’s see… I just did a big long list of shoujo recommendations over on another comment – http://slightlybiasedmanga.com/2010/02/25/skip-beat-20/#comment-14316 – some of those might apply, but most are a little more dramatic and soapy than High School Debut and Lovely Complex. You might want to check out Skip Beat and Itazura na Kiss, though. The latter is sugary sweet and a nice read, though a little slow and dated, and Skip Beat is pretty happy and upbeat, though it’s more humorous and it lacks a happy couple. Kimi ni Todoke is the ultimate queen of happy shoujo, though. It’s hard to top the waves of sheer adorable that that series gives off.
You might like Monkey High, which is along the same lines as the series you mention. It’s pretty darn upbeat and super-cute in the same way those are, and it seems to have a steady couple and a lack of serious drama. It’s not quite as good as the others, and relies on a lot of stereotypical shoujo plot devices like hot springs trips and school plays, but the main romance is a huge plus.
I’m completely addicted to Venus in Love at the moment. I’ve never read a series with characters as happy as those ones. There isn’t really a happy couple as far as I’ve read in it, but the characters are all really tight friends and super supportive of one another, even when they’re romantic rivals. The first volume was a little bland, but I was pretty impressed by the time I finished the second volume. I haven’t read very far (I’m only through volume three), but it’s still pretty adorable so far.
Otomen is more of a comedy than it is a feel-good adorable romance, but the main couple is steady and very happy together, and it’s hard not to crack a smile when things go right for them. It also makes me laugh really hard every time I read it.
V.B. Rose is another that’s not quite the same as the ones you like, but is pretty close. It’s about wedding dress designers and a high school girl who decides to apprentice with them and develops a crush on the shop’s owner. I had a lot of trouble getting into this series because I hated the idea of the age difference in the couple and I didn’t like the heroine very much either, but after I was a few volumes in it got ridiculously sappy and adorable. The main couple still isn’t together as of volume 7, but they are clearly into each other and there’s been lots and lots of cute romantic moments/misunderstandings between the two.
It’s aimed at a slightly younger audience, and is a magical girl series, but it’s incredibly hard not to smile and be charmed by Cardcaptor Sakura. It’s a nice mix of action, comedy, and adorable romance, and in addition to the main couple growing closer and closer as the series goes on, there are also a number of side characters in different kinds of relationships that are spotlighted as the series goes on. It’s also got one of the most teeth-rotting sweet endings in any manga ever. I think the older editions of it might be out of print, but Dark Horse will be issuing nice, new volumes of it beginning this spring.
There was one more really good one… hm. I’ll add it if I think of it again. CMX publishes a lot of light, non-dramatic shoujo manga, but they might be slightly more romantic than they are heart-melting cute. I just picked up a couple volumes of Venus Capriccio, which is so far about a boy trying to win over the girl he’s had a crush on since he was young in a series of cute one-shot chapters. I Hate You More Than Anyone is by the same author as V.B. Rose and kind of a light romance in the same way, but it’s way more abrasive in the beginning and has a lot of weird pound-your-friend humor and might have a bit more drama than the others I’ve mentioned. It is a light romance with a relatively steady couple and lots of cute moments, though. Oyayubihime Infinity is a short, strange, supernatural romance. There’s no dominant couple, but the characters all look for their soul mates from their past lives through strange tattoos they all have on their thumbs, and the romances range from tragic to sweet. It’s not nearly as upbeat as any of the others I’ve mentioned so far, but is a story about the main character coming out of her shell, making really good friends, and finally falling in love and following her heart. It may have a lot more drama and serious moments than I’m remembering, though. You might try Nari Kusakawa too, who writes really light, happy romantic series. I’ve only read Two Flowers for the Dragon, which is a romantic fantasy, but everyone also really seems to enjoy her Recipe for Gertrude and The Palette of 12 Secret Colors. CMX has a lot more light shoujo to choose from, most of which I still haven’t quite gotten to yet. You should check out their list: http://www.dccomics.com/cmx/?action=on_sale
And… I made another list that was way longer than I intended. ^_^; Let me know if you try any of those and wind up liking them!
I really enjoyed this series and if you liked from what you’ve read, I definitely suggest reading the earlier volumes as I thought the series took a little downward shift in quality from about 10 on or whenever the main couple hooked up.
I think one reason I didn’t really like the second half is unlike most manga where it usually deals with the main couple’s friends relationship problems during intermittent periods of time throughout the story and then focuses on the main couple getting together, LC does it the other way around and you end with the main couple getting together and then dealing with the problems of their friends for a couple of volumes and there some various filler-like situations.
I really liked LC for being such happy, drama free story for the most part. The female and male leads have friends who they get along with and it’s not a really drama filled, smutty shoujo series which is the type I really don’t care for.
I did notice that it focused a lot on side characters, but it did not occur to me that the earlier volumes might just be the main characters. I did like it a lot, and I think I will go back and pick it up. It’s especially encouraging to hear that the second half is not as enjoyable as the first since I liked what I read quite a bit.