Koi to Uso

Love relationships are inherent in our daily lives. Most of us have experienced and we know how difficult it can be to maintain this relationship for various reasons. Discord, differences of opinion, lack of confidence etc. Sometimes we question ourselves and we try to understand why the couple did not last. But in Koi to Uso couples are created from a database measuring the compatibility between two individuals. The logical question is: can we trust these statistics? Does not reality go beyond theories?
But... Koi to Uso doesn't seem to waste its time. And I find a melodramatic and insane triangle love (rectangle?) again.

(Light spoilers from there because there is almost impossible to talk about that show without mentioning some scenes - the big spoilers will be specified: *big spoiler*)

For synopsis, read MAL summary.
Koi to Uso is one of those drama series where I felt uncomfortable when I watched the characters talking, interacting, because the writing was bad. At times I persuaded myself that they would act differently, more maturely and that the characters would evolve in a logical way, at least. But, they didn't. I had fun with this series, I admit. I wanted to slap Yukari many times when I saw him blushing stupidly when a girl told him she loved him. It was a little insane since I found that this character had no really significant quality. Nice? Meh, a classic character as you could see with MCs in many harems and others.

For the other characters, I don't really want to participate in the fighting between #teamRirina and #teamMisaki because I don't see the interest. If I have to judge their beauty, they are quite equal. As for their personality, they are nice, yeah. One is a rather "tolerable" tsundere and the other a gentle mysterious girl who loves Yukari since childhood. (two clichés yeah !) There is no real rivalry between the two girls. Surprisingly none seems embarrassed to see Yukari flirting freely and indifferently. Each has accepted her position, one as a future bride (because the government says it) and the other as an "impossible" love. I find this aspect absolutely senseless and unrealistic. As if someone logical could accept that his boyfriend spends his time with another girl, as if nothing had happened.

I could possibly think that Misaki is a Samaritan and is so altruistic that she is willing to sacrifice her happiness for others. But... it seems so wrong. Since later she will cry again almost regretting having let Yukari go out with Ririna. And then I just wanted to shake up and tell her: "But why did you do this at first?" And we have no explanation, so I'm forced to tell myself that she's a masochist: she likes to suffer unnecessarily. Concerning Ririna, she is a tsundere. She wants comprehensive although it is always a little ridiculous. For example, when she suggests to Misaki and Yukari to kiss in her room to show her. Because this idiot has never seen two people kissing apparently, but in Koi to Uso world, this type of personality exists. After all, she agrees to go out with Yukari when she knows that Yukari loves Misaki. In a way, she is as masochistic as Misaki.

And Yukari?
Oh God, this character is absolutely horrible. But really! I don't know what I can say. He is nice but terribly silly, stupid, awkward and is only a mass of cliches. He has a mentality of a child and doesn't understand his responsibilities. He doesn't understand that he must choose (since his two lovers are masochists, let us not forget) but at no time does he take his courage with both hands. It is only a spectator who leaves (and kisses) one of the two girls. He is undecided and seems to have an emotional intelligence worthy of a four-year-old child. In addition, with the other two girls, there is another character named Nisaka, the other male protagonist. (I almost forgot it so transparent he's, excuse me)

Nisaka is a Yukari's classmate. He also seems to know Misaki. Hmm... he doesn't seem really interested in women and he is... hung-up? Yeah, surely and we also see that he seems to love Yukari. (But why is Yukari so beloved? It will remain a mystery.) Unfortunately or not, we don't have much information about this character. We don't know its true intentions and the anime doesn't try to make it more important. He made an impressive performance in the play, apparently, according to the audience, but that's all. It would have been interesting to know whether M-M relations were accepted in this society which married only men and women together. I'm not interested in yaoi or anything like that but mentioning homosexual relationships could have been relevant.

*Big spoiler*
Probably the worst scene I've seen in this series: the one where Yukari and Ririna are on the bed so they "train" to kiss each other. Before that, many couples (including them) had lessons about using condoms and different ways to have sex. They also watched a porn video. And so... the couples were able to be excited enough to engage in similar acts. But... but... Yukari and Ririna don't seem to have acquired the maturity necessary to understand the notion of marriage, couple or sexual relations. They are 16 but are still ignorant. And so Yukari seems to have great difficulty in having sex. It was so ridiculous when I saw him blushing and shaking. Ririna did not want either. And guess? Because they didn't want to betray Misaki. Yeah, the same girl who told them earlier to go out together anyway. Aaaah so cringe !
*End big spoiler*

Regarding the general context with these laws about the birthrate, we don't have much more information except: "Japan was a country known for low birthrates but thanks to the new directives, everything is arranged, meh. We know the people who are responsible for the changes in society but not more. Besides, when I watch Koi to Uso, I don't even feel that their society really differs from the current Japanese society. People don't really complain, everyone seems happy (eg Yukari's parents, Rrina's parents). Apparently a law (worthy of a dictatorship) doesn't seem to bother anyone (except our love triangle). And what a coincidence because there were no rebel groups or whatever.

On the technical aspects, the opening theme is quite refreshing and melancholic ending as well. I appreciate both of them. Regarding the OST, nothing memorable but I would gladly check if some can satisfy me. Animation is enough for a school-life/romance series. I didn't like the chara design with their huge eyes but after two episodes, I was no more disturbed. I even think that Misaki and Ririna are sublime. (I have weird tastes, don't be shocked). Some scenes were relatively mesmerizing, especially when our 4 protagonists look at the fireflies while thinking about their future prospects. (in their romantic relationships)

I'm really pleased to see this series come to an end. I don't plan to read the manga. Koi to Uso seemed to start with a more original plot with atypical arranged marriages... but nothing is explored. And add unbearable characters and you can't decently enjoy the series. Personally, their reactions were so stupid and inconsistent that I still found the show to be fun. Fun because stupid. I didn't get bored but it certainly wasn't for incredible romance or stereotyped characters.

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Love and Lies is a 12 episode anime where love takes the form of lies and each of the characters are like walking chalkboards, constantly scratching upon each other. Japan for some reason deemed it fit to pass on the torch of its current social crisis to the biggest intellectual heavyweight of a medium out there. By presenting a theoretical scenario in which society as a whole is shaped a certain way in order to entertain the idea of Japan's birth rates not being in the gutter, we are hence introduced to another run-of-the-mill-overdramatized-romance-love-triangle-rectangle-harem-cocktease. And impressively enough, its' atrocious and unexplained setup remarkably gives something like Eromanga a whole new level of credibility. While its' innovativity didn't didn't speak for much in the minds of the masses, at least it had the audacity to try and push forward a healthy agenda. "It might be grasping at straws, but she's still fertile". Meanwhile on the other end of the spectrum, we have an anime that is centered around this very same nuanced topic, yet fails to provide any substantial worth at all to the table in regards to social commentary, or much of anything, really. About midway through it crumbles down under the weight of its nonexistent ruleset and unexplored concept, but impale me with a cactus if these redundant melodramatic pieces need consistency within anything but MUH FEELS.

While some thought that resides strictly within the compounds of the show does delve into questioning the validity of a clearly-corrupt system via the characters, I find it extremely difficult to believe the writer herself put any while actually writing this story. In anything but an ideal world, the idea of these arranged marriages would be doomed from the get-go. And in an ideal world, there'd be no need for them in the first place. So in the end, all we're left with is a hypothetical scenario that is not and can not be founded in reality by any stretch of the imagination, ever. Thus the series is forced to revolve around this lofty joke of a scenario, and revolve around it, it does. Not only would it be a shitty situation on an emotional and mental basis for most young people, but for some reason it is able to reach the back ends of society as well. If you decide against being being a mindless drone (which is somehow a rare occurance, seeing as teenagers love losing their freedom of choice, being enslaved, etc), it is for some reason able to influence your academic standing for the worse, with no apparent reason anywhere in sight.

Imagine being on the short end of an abusive relationship. The person you're paired with treats you like dirt, and you might be in love with someone else. So what happens when you try turning your life around for the obvious better? You get shunned by society, your future put at risk and ironically enough get deemed a lesser human being than your peers. How or why rejecting an arranged marriage is the end all be all of a person's highschool life is beyond me. May as well write "SEX OFFENDER" on the entrance exam sheet in big, bald letters just so everyone is aware what a menace to society these rebellious teens really are. Case and point - Marriages are apparently all sunhshine and rainbows where nothing bad can ever occur, and likewise all people are inherently bound to accept the iron fist of free will.

Despite there being enough conveniences and unexplored scenarios relating to the story to where'd I'd call plotholes, the worst detractor evidently might just be how poorly the author invisioned this artifical caricurature of a modern society of hers to function. If anything, this red string of science would eventually end up bringing the country's mortality rate to new peaks entirely, as suicide is already enough of an epidemic currently as is. Therefore, not only does it serve as a weak ass plot, but it also contradicts the very nature of the idea that is combating low birth rate for which it initially set out to do. The only counter-argument ever provided against any of this is that it works cuz.. science, 'n stuff. Because we all damn well know scientists ought to seize and take notice of all of our behavoural patterns, personality traits and preferrable positions in bed. If we've come this far, Koi to Uso's neo-Japan should be an island paradise, barely short of eden. Technology, banzai.

Neji is either the biggest excuse for a human being I've had the displeasure of setting my eyes upon or the typical Japanese beta male, I really don't know anymore. This man trembles in fear and is required to turn the other cheek as the thought of looking another person into the eyes instills such immense dread into the very fiber of his being, especially when one such person happens to be a moderately cute girl who he ends up accidentally wooing by giving a slight demonstration of his immeasurable bravery. Neji knows no fear, ladies and gentlemen, as he only takes 3 full hours to hand over a chopped up piece of his eraser to this desperate damsel in distress. Upon recieving the rougher edge of said eraser, cute girl is suddenly transformed into the love of his life the moment she thanks him for being such an indecisive, although considerate, loser. This is what the main characters' infatuation for one another stems from, sadly enough. I can only assume that it is because of this, I, in recent memory oftentimes encounter myself subconsciously wandering off into the deepest and darkest recesses of my mind, only to spend endless hours upon hours wondering if our species was doomed from the very beginning. Cue the oversatured Nietzsche quote, please.

"𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.".. That's the one. Despite what the aformentioned may make you believe, make no mistake. Neji is quite the player. No, he is THE player. The aftermath of being such an immense pussy his entire life inevitably resulted in his very body transforming itself into a pussy magnet. But his savagery doesn't stop there. The pure sight of Neji's huge pussy makes him irresistable to guys as well, although that's another story entirely. I'm sure that by now most of HanaKana's characters would be able to compete in some sort of national women's marathon for constantly running away from their male counterparts in these drama series so much. What seperates her from Orange's Naho is the old saying about the shy ones being the kinkiest out the bunch, which surely ought to hold some truth this time around. Forest sex, anyone?

With this in mind, Erasergal is probably to be considered the story's main heroine. It's been an entire year since I rose above and beyond the wish-washy poetry of my collegues by writing an intellectual diatribe for last summer season's Orange, yet it remains as fresh as ever in my mind. As such, there are some paralells to be drawn between the two heroines from the overall feel of the shows to even matching haircuts. Evidently so, what makes Erasergal stand out as the superior/updated version of Naho is the fact that she actually gets shit done on her own accord. No Kakeru-kun is needed here, when she wants some good ol' forest sex, good ol' forest sex will be had. With every tool at her desposal and virtually very little competition, she takes Nejima by the balls and French-kisses him until they run dry. Quite commendably so, really. Apart from her subpar taste in men, HanaKana does this girl justice. She has no problem cucking her friend out of the relationship with her fiance and rocks some cute bangs while doing it. #HanaKanaPleaseGetSomeDiversityYourEntireCastingCatalogueIsBangs

Regardless of the heaps of praise I could give to her character in comparison, she is overall extremely willy-nilly in what she wants. It's like she's got severe bipolar disorder and gets caught up in the moment so heavily one episode, only for next week to flush it down the unkempt toilet like it's all bygones and make-believe, cus it'd make harem member #2 sad. Regardless of harem member #2 consciously going out of her way to get them to shag in front of her very eyes. Whatever, logic isn't this show's forte and it slowly devolves into an endurance test of how many mental flops Erasergal can do per 20 minutes, before breaking out into wishful tears full of regret and getting comforted by Nejima who is at this point having a mental breakdown over the overwhelming guilt and being an overall pansy who shouldn't be loved by anyone other than his own mother.

Ririna is the second most prominent member of the Nejima Fan Brigade. Despite of her shortcomings and lack of comprehension for her own feelings, she is cute. However, the shortcoming that serves to seperate her from the other members is the overwhelming fact that she is, in fact, a cuck. And I do not use this term lightly or as a form of internet slang in hopes of coming off as hip. Ririna is full-fledged Resident Cuckold in the flesh. The real thing. This girl literally goes out of her way to force her future husband into a make-out sesh with some girl she's known for a day's time. Her backstory is that of loneliness and sorrow, as she's never had any real friends to speak of. Yet when she does acquire the faintest signs of friendships, she successfully serves as a gap closer which would in turn make her the ultimate third wheel, essentially sending her back to square one. Because she admires their unadulterated romance. The irony is that the romance in this show is BAD. Anywhom, Nisaka does well to point this out before going on some completely idiotic tantrum about how the after-effects of cucking can harm Nejima's academic performance. But good on him for trying. #TeamCuck

Last and dead least in the race for Neji's heart, there is the sole male companion of the gang. Nisaka is sharp, easily embarrassed and full of angst. Why is he full of angst? Either because he's gay, or he's gay and his taste in men is subpar. While to some extent I want to applaud the writer for going this extra mile, is this really anything beyond a fan ship from a fujoshi's hidden locker? Surely, no one in their right mind thought this ship was ever setting sail. Perhaps after years of discrimination in Japan, being gay is the new blockbuster recipe after Yuri on Ice. His voice is good to the ears, but as a non-13 year old girl I sure was not hoping for any.. unforseen unpleasantries to occur between the two boys. #NejiDroppedTheSoap

Finally; Shuu Igarashi, being the only female cast member able to contain her overarching lust over Nejima's shallow manhood personally comes as a huge disappointment. While equipped with a design that reeks of Eromanga's Sagiri that suddenly started hanging out with the wrong crowd and recently got out of rehab with a whole new jaded outlook on life, she is also appointed as being the granddaughter of Lady Democracy from whom the red string of science originated AND Misaki's bff. Due to the extreme position she holds in the story you'd think she'd be able able to grant some clearance as to either of the afromentioned, but no. It's a blank state of mind in which this moody little snowflake operates, being the single biggest cocktease in existence. She is revealed a laughable 2 episodes before the finale and in that short time nothing but her backstory is provided. Oh, and that she orchestrated the entire fall of Nejima. I honestly wouldn't have known she was anything beyond Misaki's over-obsessive stalker had her MAL profile not been indicitive of something else. Thanks, MAL Re-Write!!!

SuMmArY

Boring series filled with plot and character inconsistency buzzword, buzzword, buzzword - IT SUCKS. Taking place in a twisted reality in which emotion and freedom of choice are exchanged with a lofty system that doesn't even work, and the goverment's tax money is spent to gather 16 year olds to mass porn sessions where they can beat off in unison. Devoid of logic, full of corny scenes and dialogue that does get a bit experimental and even overboard for the standard "By Fujoshi, For Fujoshi" formula. Which will sadly be all but lost on the vivid fandom consisting of 13-year old girls and a few other unfortunate souls. I would ironically request some alluring Nisaka fanart, but this anime will be long forgotten by the time its' fanbase learns to draw art more impressive than doodles of their cute elementary-school boy crushes.

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"This show was like a bad roller coaster. You love the first turn, the second turn isn't that amazing, and after more turns, you just want to get down and forget the experience."

The story was interesting at the beginning but then transformed into a mess to the point that it was unexplained and inconceivable possible that happens. The partners and couples are selected by "Japan's officials" at the age of 16, so you will need to marry with them because the law demands it.

The writers created a weird love square and combined with a failed character progression titled it "Koi to Uso." I can't lie that the story is average from the perspective of the characters. The main character Yuraki Nejima failed to express his feelings. He loved Misaki Takasaki since the middle school. When the government selected his partner, he couldn't fight for his hidden love even when she said to him that she loved him. Also, it is incomprehensible why Ririna tried several times to be the backer of Nejima and Takasaki's relationship under the wrong argument that she doesn't know the meaning of LOVE. Ironically, she ended loving Nejima. Well, that was expected so I am not spoiling anything. The other character Yuusuke Nisaka is Nejima's best friend and loves him in silence (love square design). In other words, you can see this as a harem where all the main characters love Nejima, and this one is just so silly that doesn't decide about his life and his feelings. One day he loves Takasaki and after some hours is worried why the other girl didn't send him a message. Maybe he just loves all them.

About the characters, they lack a creative background. The love started with an eraser, literally. A failed progression and a failed character background in progress. Characters that are a pool of mixed feelings and don't take any coherent decision. For example, I love you but will love another person in 3, 2, 1. You will say that these actions are because are young but not. It is because the script created shallow characters and not insecure ones so we could mistake insecurity sometimes with silliness.

The art. it is weird. From some angles it is good, but then you look another angle, and that big puppies eyes aren't that cute as we believed.

The sound was normal, but it didn't help. Both the OP and ED weren't that bad.

The ending was average, and it didn't conclude the story. The lace of the destiny is hooked to ... ALL them. We didn't get an appropriate conclusion to this story. We got an ending that will add a message like "for more information, please buy the manga."

Finally, the story isn't great and needs lots of work to keep us entertained. It is unconcluded and is the reflection that this show was very average.

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Drama series with love as a central theme tends to draw a variety of audiences. When I seek one of these shows, relationship dynamics is something I trust for the series to capitalize. Koi to Uso (Love and Lies) is one of those series that define love more than just holding hands, dating, or kissing. It’s an anime that dances around the idea of love and drawing the audience into a world of drama.

Getting into this show was actually quite easy. The premise is simple to understand and as a manga reader, I went into this show with tolerable expectations. The first few episodes easily establishes the principle character cast – Nejima, Nisaka, Ririna, and Misaki. These four characters have distinctive personalities that makes them different from one and other. The story interconnects their lives as the setting takes place in the future. Government created the Yukari Law in which young people after 16-years old would be assigned marriage partners. So you’re probably asking thinking “hmm, a show that builds relationship through a system. Where’s the love in that?” On the surface, that logic would makes sense but it’s obvious that certain characters have real feelings for each other. For instance, Nejima has a strong attraction towards Misaki. However, his actual marriage partner is a girl named Ririna who is also interested in the idea of love. The three art part of love triangle that explores human emotions, growth, and emotional relationships.

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. I’ll be honest here…he is a very uninteresting character. 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 (as a guy that chosen by the Yukari system), 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. However, what does really stand out is the character voice acting. From all the characters, Misaki probably stands out the most as her character displays the most emotions in her voice. At times, Ririna also stands out especially during tense moments between her and Nejima. Still, the other character voice mannerisms aren’t anything to write home about. Shu sounds like an emotionless doll while Nejima’s voice is just as average as his character.

Koi to Uso is a watchable drama show at best and an trashy romance at worst. The show tries to get the audience invested into the characters but it doesn’t succeed with all its goals. It exposes the weakness of the story when it puts way too much emphasis into the love triangle of the main characters. Hardly anything actually happens! Not to mention, the main male protagonist doesn’t step it up to deliver a strong performance. Nejima holds the show back and is really feels disappointing after watching his role throughout every episode. Up to a certain point, I think this series’ drama is really aimed at specific audience. It's still a fine anime in general but far from perfection. By the time I finished the anime, it feels like a show that couldn’t connect its dots.

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What does it mean to love someone?
Well...
I don't know, let us watch Koi to Uso about that, for this anime literally shows about it.

It first started as a lie and sometimes, long held lies will soon become truths.
Then the story goes:

STORY: 7/10
*It focuses on a social economic real life situation where Japan is situated with its problems of low birth rates.
*How the government solves the crisis with arranged marriage and stipulating it with the problems of society.
*Well when you finish the story it feels like its incomplete, like: wheres the Nisaka path, The continuation of the story and their progress as lovers.

At first a foreshadowing of the first scene will give us an idea on what will the outcome be.
The first episode will fell like it will be a cliche. For the development of the relationship will feel like it was fast, but will
be on a constant pace after that "scene".
The incomplete ending ruined the anime.
Maybe the producer is planning on a second season which will develop the story.

You will understand along the way why it is called love and lies which plays an enormous part in the plot.

ART: 8/10
*Its that time of that century where bright colorful animation strikes.
*The scenery of the art was good.
*Though the eyes were very emphasized it seemed like they were a bit overdone.

SOUND: 8/10
*The effects were used timely in some aspects some were ideally timed in and some were not.
*The background music blended well, but I feel like on chapter 3 it had a non relevant BGM.

At least the OP was Subarashi.
Well I understand that only some studio's do the traditional effects but it is worth the effort for doing so.

CHARACTER: 7/10
*The characters were well engaged, each of them had a role which was very nice.
*The MC was typically a "normal" (dingleberry) student but deep inside there is that burning passion (which is constant sexual harrassment).
*Well after the ending I cant come to my senses because the MC haven't either threesome? or foursome with Nisaka in it. I JUST DONT KNOW. Well we all wanna know
*Well at least we got a MC who had the guts to do it.

ENJOYMENT: 8/10
*Felt an emotion of sudden emergence.
*That my KoKoRo was DoKiDoKi a little bit.
*The climax of the story and its rising action deteriorated BIGTIME.
*The plot was focused on trivial things like developing underdeveloped plots.

_________
Fun fact:
Misaki Takasaki looks like Kana Hanazawa
Kana Hanazawa voiced Misaki Takasaki

"Telling lies to protect someone you love will only destroy them in the end"

This was based on a Manga so there is no harm in checking it out.
__________

Overall: 7/10
Nevertheless this anime was Full of love mouthful of Lies.

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Just after watching the first episode, the first thing you will notice is a very soggy art which was quite irritating. The concept is very different and different doesn't always mean good.

Pace is high, WAY TOO HIGH in the beginning, but it becomes stagnant in later section. The production managed to showcase big fraction of story which was supposed to be.

Comic timings were average enough. Depends on the mood you are watching.

Sound is pretty good.

The story could have been very good. There are few incomplete parts and few plot holes which have been filled, but I think it's not getting any sequel. Some unnecessary kissing is there....

Climax is going to be the key. As story ignites in a good way and there are few turns too. But depending upon the climax, which can be unique to someone and weird to someone. Totally a matter of perception.

Final note, Pretty average anime with an above average story.

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Please note this review assumed that you have already watching Koi to Uso and while care has been taken to minimize story related spoilers there may be some spoilers in character analysis.

Based off the popular manga of the same name Koi to Uso which translates literally into love and lies makes use of a theme that’s not often seen in animes which is marriage. The premise of this story is that in this world that the anime is set in Lies are forbidden and Love is doubly forbidden which sets the stage for the story. In this world as a result of population decline the government in an effort to control this crisis comes up with a complicated plan that it hopes will solve this problem.

In this plan when you turn sixteen you are assigned a marriage partner by the government thus eliminating all the work involved for a marriage as this will be taken care off. Thus, the premise here is that of a governmental marriage that is arranged by them that matches a boy and girl that reaches the age of 16 that is paired according to the compatibility of their genes.

The overall plot follows the life of 15-year-old Yukari Nejima as he faces this requirement of society as he comes to age and faces the choice of whether to confess his love to his childhood crush and establish a relationship with her and break the law or agree to his arranged marriage and marry a stranger that was chosen for him.

Yukari

Yukari Nejima portrayed by veteran voice actor Ryota Osaka of Tales of Zestiria the x fame is one of the main characters of the series and serves as the main protagonist of the show. A 16-year-old high school boy that is just entering the age where he knows and understands what love is this is also the age where he dreads the most due to the law. Personality wise Yukari was a calm, kind and honest person that was shown to be very loyal to his friends. In the beginning of the series Yukari was also on the bit of a quiet side and had a tendency of becoming nervous when he is talking with people. Like most teenagers of his age Yukari views love with something akin to disdain and like most people dreads the fact that he will be assigned a random partner to him that he will eventually be married too. Though Yukari understands the necessity of the law and the background behind It Yukari is someone that should have the choice of choosing the person that they will spend the rest of their lives with and as a result he doesn’t hide his disdain about the law.

In the beginning of the series Yukari was someone that got nervous and scared rather easily and did not like being put into situations where he will be forced to make a heavy decision that will have long lasting impacts. Indeed, when Yukari does get nervous in this early stage of his personality Yukari falls back into one of his hobbies which is making elaborate objects like funeral mounds that for some reason he has a deep interest in. These objects that he creates I feel were quite interesting to see as they are very detailed which from the level of a high school student is impressive. A peculiar trait of Yukari’s that I find interesting is that when he’s in production mode Yukari also goes into explanation mode as well and the long winded but detailed explanations that he gives on the most random of subjects was pretty interesting and funny. As the series goes on however Yukari notably gets braver as a result of not just confronting his feelings for Misaki but also develop feelings for his assigned partner Ririna as well. He also become more responsible and less of a scatterbrain and willing to shoulder the many responsibilities that he has until now been trying to escape from. This is a result of the friendships and bonds that he has been able to forge with his friends and also his assigned partner Ririna. As a character, I was impressed by Yukari’s growth and development and I was quite surprised that the weak willed and indecisive Yukari that we see in the beginning would later develop into someone that was willing to confront his feelings and be much braver than he was before. I felt that his voice actor Ryota Osaka really did a great job portraying the character of Yukari.

Misaki

Misaki voiced by veteran seiyuu singer Kana Hanazawa of the irregular at magic high school and Psycho pass fame is one of the main characters of the series and acts as one of the two heroines of the show. A high school student that is similar in age to Yukari and is also in the same class as him Misaki is considered to be the class idol as she is both pretty and kind that only serves to enhance her position within the class. A childhood friend of Yukari Misaki is a kind, honest and caring person that as a result makes it easy for her to make friends and bond with people. Apart from her base traits Misaki has also been shown to be rather perceptive and understanding of other people’s feelings especially the main character of Yukari. This I feel is a result of her being a childhood friend of Yukari’s. In the beginning of the series it is shown that Misaki while trying to remain distant is well aware of the fact that Yukari has feelings for her something that she too also has but is reluctant to commit due to the law that acts as the centerpiece of this anime. When it became apparent that their love for each other will not be able to work due to the law however Misaki’s personality starts to gradually change. Initially Misaki opted to squash the feelings of love and desire that she had for Yukari due to the friendship that she establishes with Yukari’s partner Ririna and also because she was reluctant to break the law as well content with just looking at Yukari and being with him when they are in class. However, as the series progresses however and as Yukari and Ririna’s marriage plan gets ever closer Misaki’s feelings and actions soon begin to change as she starts to resent Ririna and starts taking actions that run contrary to her earlier personality.

A surprising relationship that Misaki managed to establish in the series was the friendship and bond that she managed to establish with Ririna Yukari’s assigned wife. In the beginning of the series after they met each other for the first time Misaki was shown to be friendly to Ririna but not completely hating her for being Yukari’s assigned wife instead of her. Indeed, the two of them were able to hit it off pretty well in their first meeting and gradually become good friends trading secrets and gossip whenever possible. As the series goes on this changes as Misaki’s bottled up feelings soon turn to resentment which causes her to start to take actions that will please her but trample on the relationship that she has with Ririna. This however is conflicted with Misaki’s desire to maintain the friendship between the three of them thus causing a struggle inside Misaki. The character of Misaki I felt was an interesting one mainly because Misaki herself isn’t a simple one-sided character and instead has different sides to her character that depend heavily on the kinds of feelings that she is feeling. The development of her character and the emergence of the many sides to her character I felt was done pretty well as you can never tell what she will be doing next thus adding unpredictability to her character. Kana Hanazawa I felt did an excellent job portraying the many different sides of her Misaki.

Ririna

Ririna Sanada played by veteran seiyuu Yui Makino of Sakurada reset fame is one of the main characters of the series and is one of the main heroines of the series. A 15-year-old high school girl of a rather rich household Ririna is the girl that was assigned as Yukari’s assigned wife as part of the selections that the red string of fate law determined. A modest, kind and intelligent young girl that as benefit of someone from a rich household also radiates a sense of elegance and nobility. Ririna is someone that can be best described as a true maiden as like Yukari she has no experience of love at all. However unlike Yukari she also doesn’t even have a crush that she longed for in the past either. In the beginning of the series Ririna like Yukari didn’t have a high opinion on the law that will bind her and Yukari together as husband and wife and indeed didn’t actually have a high opinion of Yukari either. However, as the series progresses Ririna’s impression of Yukari gradually changes as a result of seeing Yukari become braver and more willing to challenge the law that governs them and indeed by the end of the series it has become apparent that she indeed has fallen for him as well.

Though Ririna’s initial personality was quiet and composed and had the elements that you will normally see in a rich girl it’s interesting to note that she has none of the usual traits of one as she is neither arrogant or haughty but is rather kind and understanding to others and always willing to listen to them. In the beginning while quiet and composed Ririna was considered by many to be hard to approach and did not really laugh much and the fact that she had a habit of speaking her mind despite the situation only served to reinforce this. As a result of meeting not just Yukari but also Misaki as well however Ririna’s personality begins to change and she gradually becomes more cheerful, happy and positive which also allows her to break out of the nickname that her school friends gave her and allow her to make her first friend. The reaction that Ririna made as she made her first friend which was Misaki I felt was actually pretty funny but also heartwarming to see. Within her personality Ririna has a number of prominent traits that serve to enhance her personality and character. One of the first prominent traits that Ririna has is the fact that despite not knowing what will happen in the future Ririna is someone that when set on a path that she is determined to follow she will follow it to the very end demonstrating how brave and determined she is. Ririna has also been shown to be a very dutiful person and willing to take responsibility for actions that she has caused something that I think is admirable for someone her age. Of Ririna’s character naturally the most prominent thing about her is the manner of how she sees Yukari and Misaki’s relationship that stems from her interest in romance novels and media. It was actually quite funny in seeing Ririna learn about what love is by trying to cause the two of them to match up. As a character, I thought that Ririna was an interesting character whose development I thought was done pretty well. Her views on love itself while unusual I felt matched pretty well with the theme of this show. I felt that her seiyuu Yui Makino really did a great job in portraying her.

Arts and animation

The arts and animation for the series I felt was pretty good and I especially loved the settings of the school and the various areas that the cast go to in the series. The school during the culture festival for the school I felt was done pretty well. with regards to the culture festival I felt that the costumes that Nisaka and Misaki wore during their little play was designed pretty well and were actually pretty nice. The designs for the characters I felt were pretty good though in this regard I felt that Misaki and Ririna were the only ones that were done well. Animation wise I felt that it was pretty smooth and clear with a good balance of colors for the outfits that the characters wore.

Music

The music for the series I felt was pretty good with regards to both the scene music and the opening and ending themes. The opening theme for the series which was Kanashii Ureshii by Fredrick and Can’t you say I felt was especially well done and matched well with the series.

Voice acting

The voice acting for the series I felt was actually pretty strong and easily one of the series best points. Kana Hanazawa who voiced the character of Misaki and Yui Makino who voiced the character of Ririna I felt deserve particular praise as I felt that they did an excellent job of portraying their characters. The character of Misaki I felt was a complex character that was easy to portray but I felt that Kana really did a great job in her portrayal of her.

Overall conclusion

In overall Koi to Uso was an anime that I really enjoyed watching and I felt that its main strong points that made it so was its interesting premise, story, excellent voice acting and character development and its ability to provoke questions for the audience. The premise for the show naturally is the complex system that the government in the anime created and implemented. While the law itself is fictional the problem that it seeks to address with it which is population decline is not and is rather a serious problem that several countries in the real-world face including Japan. The usage of a real-world problem into an anime that was solved by a fictional law itself was an interesting premise and one that I applaud. In addition to addressing the problem of a declining population this premise also created an interesting theme of whether marriage should be happiness for only yourself or should your happiness be also to benefit the country that you live in as well. Very few animes are able to provoke such deep questions which is another thing that I like about this anime as it provokes the audience to think and look beyond the story.

The overall story for the series I felt was done pretty well and I felt it was anything but simple as it was full of revelations and unexpected events. Key to this is the struggles that the characters of Yukari, Misaki and Ririna experience for the love that the three have. In particular the complex character and ever-changing attitudes of Misaki only served to make the story more and more interesting as it kept the audience engaged in trying to guess what will happen next. The friendship and bonds that Yukari establishes with Misaki and Ririna I felt was also one of the strong points of the story and seeing it evolve over the series was interesting. The central concept of the series is love and lies and in this I felt that it was done rather well though in this regard the character that best displayed it was Misaki. The ending itself I felt was interesting and served well to show the results of the culmination of the bonds that Yukari managed to establish with both Ririna and Misaki and helped highlight the fact that love itself is not as simple as people think it is. Sometimes a lie is necessary if you want to remain happy.

However, while I really enjoyed the anime and the story for it there are some things that I felt could have been done better. The character of Nisaka who is the main characters best friend within the series though a main character in his own right wasn’t given much development and indeed his relationship with Misaki and their mutual hatred for each other wasn’t explained really well. But despite such blemishes Koi to Uso was one anime that I really enjoyed thanks to the excellent premise, story and top-notch voice acting from Kana Hanazawa and Yui Makino so I would say that my final score will be a 9/10.

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-This review has spoilers. You have been warned.-

Japan has a declining birthrate. To combat this, the Japanese Government thought it'd be a BRILLIANT idea to create a law that forcefully marries two 16 year old kids in hopes that they'd make kids. No mention of riots, arguments about the law, no characters even seem to question the law in general, they just all accept it as it is. So, we're off to a rocky start already.

Our main character, who I will refer to as Paste because he's just a copy/paste character from every other anime, is your average teenager and anime protagonist. Boring as hell and no redeeming qualities. Paste somehow fell in love with one of the two main love interests because he shared an eraser with her...i'm not kidding they fall in love because of an eraser. Speaking of this eraser, FOR SOME REASON, they both have treasured this eraser for their remainder of their lives. All the way from Elementary School to High School. This eraser is basically God's wingman. It just has to exist for people to love each other.

Anyway, Paste liked Eraser (the girl) a lot. Before he gets his notice, he confesses his feelings. Turns out they both have the hots for each other. This is when the show reveals its true colors. Eraser MOUNTS Paste on a park bench at night and just starts tongue sucking him in public.

UH OH, it's Paste's birthday, he gets his marriage notice via text. And would ya lookie there, it's Eraser's name! They can straddle each other all they want from now on. But wait, the text for some reason glitched, and suddenly shows another girls name, who will be referred to as Wafer because I could go for a KitKat or something right now.

Reasonably, Paste and Eraser are like "What the heck, this can't be right, what happened to the text message!" (which even if the data got corrupted, hacked, or displayed wrong it would be logged in the phone but the characters aren't gonna question it like everything else in this show.) Next thing you know, you have the Ministry of Hormonal Teens popping up at 12AM at night as Eraser straddles Paste and gives him an official confirmation. Not sure how they found him randomly in the middle of the night, but OKAY, we're gonna move forward and not question it.

Thus begins the "Love and Lie" shenanigans. From this point on it is nothing but Wafer, who is cute as heck but dumb as bricks, putting Eraser and Paste together and watching them kiss/grope each other because it's interesting or something. The show also tries to complicate it by saying Wafer actually likes Paste, and doesn't want to admit she wants to stop making them kiss. Which if you are like me, you probably think that it is stupid.

To make matters worse they introduce a gay character, who is Paste's friend, but also like's Paste. This gay character (who will now be referred to as Bae) is unfortunately the BEST character in the ENTIRE show. He actually has a personality! And he never gets the limelight. This guy actually had to tell Wafer that she liked Paste and maybe forcing him and Eraser to kiss is the reason why she feels bad...

Really, the show just suffers from poor writing. Despite all the characters being on screen, I don't feel like I know any of them. That's probably why i'm using nicknames because I can't remember their names. They just aren't memorable. The show is just a vanilla porn without the porn. I'm not even sure if it classifies as ecchi. I've said this before but the show is just overly hormonal kids getting overly hormonal in sexual situations. It's more awkward to watch than it is entertaining.

For the positives...well, there just aren't a lot. It has a unique visual style. Nothing that i'd probably remember, but something I could maybe recognize.

I'm probably being way too harsh on the show as many other people seem to be enjoying it, but I am finding hard to suspend my disbelief and revel in the world the creators put me in. It's just bad. Go watch Clannad if you want good bug-eyed romance.

If you do watch. Remember, Bae is best character.

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Never read the manga. Just watching the anime-

Welcome to the waifu war anime of the season. Don't believe me just check the online forums and anime sites comment sections.

Pros-
1) Has different approach to the story. Meaning the story isn't all generic
2) Waifu's
3) Has some twists you might not expect

Cons-
1) The art is kinda weird. The eyes are way too big
2) Forced drama
3) The pacing is way too fast
4) Pretty sure won't have a proper ending. Since it is going to have only 12 episodes
5) Has plot holes. And the government system is fcking hilarious

For a verdict : I won't say I'm not enjoying the show but have to say it has a lot of problems.

So should you watch it ? : I would suggest giving it a try if you have time. If your going to watch it watch at least 3 episodes before dropping it.

Thanks for reading will update after watching 4 more episodes.

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** Minor Spoilers throughout**


Koi to Uso is the worst show I have ever watched. It is a romance anime without the romance. It is worse than shitcom. Worse than any other 5 minute "WTF" show. It was physically and mentally painful to get through this show, and I continued watching only because I am a masochist. However I would urge others to watch this show so they can have a solid basis concerning what a "Bad" anime is- the worst of the worst- an absolutely shit show.

The first episode introduces us to the absolute worst MC of any show, let alone anime, in existence. It is almost as if the show is self-aware because the MC openly admits how shitty he is. However instead of normal shows where the MC is being hard on himself for little to no actual reasons- he is fully deserving of the "Worst Main Character" award. He has no personality. He has no interests. The only times we see him on screen is when he is interacting with other characters. He has a gimmick interest to make him "quirky" but in reality he is 1 dimensional, boring, and totally undeserving of having very character fall in love with him. Do you want a drinking game for this show? Every time the MC makes a stupid face and gets nervous take a shot. You will die 5 minutes into any given episode (including the OP). It is the most annoying thing I have ever experienced. "Oh no my assigned wife is in a bathing suit let me blush and make a wacky face and say *Japanese um* a lot". "Oh no I see my crush let me act like a little bitch and make a weird face". "Oh no my crush is wearing a new shirt let me make a stupid face and laugh like an idiot". "Oh no my crush is 50 feet away from me let me start shaking and having an internal meltdown". UGH


Speaking about love, you should know prior to watching this show that the main romance in this show has blossomed and was kept secret because one time the MC gave his eraser to this girl because she forgot hers at home. I shit you not. This girl tells the MC that she has loved him for the past 5 years or so because of that moment. It is not as if they really interacted prior to their feelings being known. This concept is totally ridiculous. The show (poorly) sets up a setting where people are assigned who they are supposed to marry. Instead of having some intimate romance and in-depth internal struggles related to societal pressure and consequences in this made-up world: They decide to pick some cheesy interaction to make two young teens fall in love and then create a melodramatic show out of it.


The setting is barely utilized and is used as a gimmick premise to create a generic harem love triangle/rectangle "romance". For instance, there is one character in the show who is either gay or bi. Instead of looking at what happens to gay people in this society or their internal struggles (since society would seemingly pair them with a member of the opposite sex to increase the birth rate)- they are just used as an addition to the harem cause ooh you weren't expecting a gay person to enter the situation did you. Another instance is in the first episode there is a message sent to a cell-phone that contradicts the married "match" that the MC receives. Instead of maybe using this as an opportunity to explore internal politics within this marriage assignment system they just use it to force conflict and more melodrama. Instead of exploring how society actually functions with these assigned marriages they just leave it at "its good" and don't actually show how this society operates or the major issues within it (apart from the OP and his little harem).


This only briefly highlights a major writing error in this show: Tell don't show. See usually when you write a piece like an essay or script for a show- you want to show ideas and concepts through actions rather than just telling about it. This show feels like it was written by a middle schooler while daydreaming and the result is the characters sounding like robots. They always have monologues that assume the audience is stupid. Instead of showing a character is mad at you through them avoiding you or through failed actions to get their attention they will have the MC talking to himself saying stuff like "Girl #2 has not spoken to me in a week. This makes me very upset because I want to talk to Girl #2. I wonder if she is mad at me. I hope I can fix this".


Apart from the writing, the directing is like its from a hentai. There will be lots of kissing in this show. And it is very cringy. Apart from the massive cringe you will experience due to the MC not having a personality and not knowing how to interact with anyone (though they still fall in love with him because... well the writers wanted a romance ok), the kissing scenes are just... extra. They make it a purpose to show the tongues moving on each other, and they add these "realistic" sound effects, and they try and show the spit that hangs from the lips when they break away. Its like some form of weird form of softcore porn... but anime version.


I can go on and on about all the faults in the show, but to prevent myself from writing a book on this show I will outline them here:


- Generic MC to the point of being unlikable and not possessing a personality. He makes watching the show really difficult and I have never disliked a character in any book/movie/show as much as I hate him
- Generic side-characters used for the purpose of having cute designs so that people can "choose" which character they want to win
- Terrible Plot Development and uninspiring story given the premise
- Unrealistic character motivations and actions- people falling in love with each other for no reason at all, at least none that we can see on screen. If anything, the show gives us reasons to hate the MC not love him.
- Overly cringe-worthy scenes, directing, writing.
- Boring melodrama with the plot making little progress towards the end of the show
- No real conclusion at the end of the final episode
- Setting and premise are not utilized to any form of their potential, instead being used as gimmicks.
- No intelligent social commentary on a show that can relate to modern Japan with their birth rate crisis
- Subjective opinion, but I thought the art style was... bad
- Concepts are brought in to produce conflict and then forgotten about
- Even without the cringe this show produces, it is just boring and meant to be watched in the background while doing something more meaningful with your time.

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TL;DR: Japan establishes futuristic e-Harmony & forces 16 year olds to marry who they are assigned. 4 people find themselves entangled in a four way love rhombus. Will Arrange Marriage or Love Marriage win? Find out next time in KTU.
[Story: 5/10 , Characters: 3/10, Art: 6/10, Sound: 8/10, Enjoyment: 5/10]

What do you get when you want to deal with a serious issue like Japan's decline in child birth & marriage but still want to attract people from various age groups to explore Love? You get Love and Lies. A show where you end up lying to others telling them how much you love it when in reality you don't.

The premise of the show is futuristic Japan adopts the arrange marriage policy labelling it "The Red Thread of Science". Where the government chooses your partner, based on "hard-core algorithm." The public has no clue how the math works but at age 16, you are paired up with your "one calculated love" and you meet up and starting sexing it up right away. They even have sexual concentration camp to facilitate the process. If you don't follow it you are punished with unimaginable torture. However, enter MC, Nejima, an idiot infatuated with his school crush, Misaki, who gets paired of with a tsun chick, Ririna, and thus begins the game of Love and Lies. Will the boy end up with the girl he loves or the girl he got assigned?

The way the show started, it had an interesting premise. They want to explore what love really is and can one really calculate it. Even today, no one really knows the concrete answer to that despite all the online matchmaking websites with their take on different algorithms. With the central theme being love and relationships, people are easily hooked on to the show. So in the beginning the plot was interesting. They introduced the dilemma pretty early and each episode they explore different emotions associated with love, like Happiness, Confusion, Jealousy, Sadness and so on. However mid-way the show takes a huge nose dive. They introduced another character, Nisaka (a boy) who has a crush on the MC, Nejima. Now you had a 4 way love rhombus with a hint of Harem mixed in. It was really unnecessary. If they just kept the dilemma to the love triangle and explored the caveats of love it would've been better imo. As the show goes on, the characters try to unearth the science behind the algorithm while figuring out who to choose in the end. Each episode ends with a bit of twist so viewers still remain motivated to watch the next episode.

If the story didn't have enough bumps and cracks, the characters with their lack of personality and substance definitely did. The MC, Nejima, makes you viciously angry. He is too nice and too dumb who just panics at every trivial matter that makes it hard for viewers to really connect with. Then you have Mikasa & Ririna, a sappy confused girl who just loves to tease vs a tsun confused girl who just loves to be teased. Then you have Nisaka, the token closeted homosexual, to cover the void in "Japan's Hard-core Algorithm" that didn't account for same gender love. Overall, the characters are just too flat and hard to sympathize, with their daily struggle in finding whatever love they desire.

Despite the failure in story and characters, the OP and ED songs are one of the best in this season. The background score is wonderful to listen to on its own. Although the animation at first will throw you off. I mean, we all know anime characters have big eyes, but this show takes big eyes to the next level. They almost look like aliens but I think the show creator did this to emphasize how much emotion people can show through their eyes. Regardless, the show is animated well with great CGI blending and the blue filter effect is maintained throughout the anime. The show had great cinematography and intense kissing animations that almost made it borderline hentai. Altogether, It fit the anime and gave it a soul that the story and characters lacked.

Overall, despite its wonderful premise, the anime just didn't fully tackle what's better, arrange marriage or love marriage. It was sort of fun to watch each week and mid way through I wanted to drop it but glad I didn't because near the end it picked up once again. The characters are a bit bland and the love rhombus was sort of intriguing. However, maybe sticking to the core of the anime and exploring the emotions behind love in a more in-depth manner would've done justice to this anime. Anyways, give it a watch and let me know later how you like it. Also, tell me, do you believe in love marriage or arranged marriage?

P.S. Thank you for reading. I hope you found this short and supaishi review helpful!

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I am a big fan of romance but I’ll be the first to admit that it can easily become stale after awhile due to the fact that most stories are predictable and filled with clichés. However, Koi to Uso is a romance show that is different from most in the best possible ways.

What makes it exciting and enjoyable to watch is the unique plot and that it is impossible to tell what will happen next and how it will end. In addition, the show doesn’t shy away from sexual matters. In fact, what tends to take a typical romance show at least an entire season to portray, happens between the MC and a female character in the very first episode. I knew after finishing the first episode that this show is unique.

After 8 episodes, I am not disappointed with any aspects of the show. The characters are just as engaging as the storyline. They all have their personal burdens, and the show makes me feel invested in their struggles.

Other shows this season seem to overshadow Koi to Uso because it isn’t getting the attention and praise it deserves. I decided to watch it on a whim, and I am enraptured. I’m so glad that I gave this hidden gem a chance. I highly recommend Koi to Uso if you are looking for a romance that deviates from the norm.

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Spoiller free section:

If you like Romance and Drama, ignore the reviews and scores for this show and watch it. It's good.

SPOILLERS BELLOW

I usually do not write reviews.

But what MAL community did to this show is ridiculous and a reflection of a broken system and, honestly, mediocre people.

I take MAL way more serious than I should. I actually use data from this website for my Master's thesis. So when shit like this happens I get really mad.

The first thing I wanna discuss is: Is this show as bad as its score and some reviews would suggest?

The answer is no. This show is a perfectly good Drama. It's not flawless. But under any circustance ever this show should be ranked bellow Gakusen Toshi Asterisk, for example.

When this was recommended to me, Alongside Aho Girl, I almost shrugged it away. Why would I watch a show with a bellow 7 score? Romance and Drama on MAL are usually naturally low scored because it's basically a teenage sausage fest here. But this was way too low, even for a Romance.
One day I was bored and decided to give a few episodes a try. And boy, apart from a few gratuitious fanservice and a little bit of lazy infodump, this show was not that bad.

I can give you several hypothesis for why this was not well received:
It's a Romance and HEAVY on the Drama side;
It has a gay character;
It sorta has a love triangle;

Anyway, about the show:

The characters are interesting. They actually have a personality.
The plot moves forward in most events.
The soundtrack is very good, with a very good OP and ED.
Hanazawa Kana and Shinnosuke did a very good job on the acting side, as one would expect from them. The other actors were also not bad.
The art is good.
The premise is interesting and forms a good setting.

That's it.

Bellow I will talk about most things I read in previous reviews:

"The writting (dialogue) is bad"

Mate, I watched this in Japanese (with english subtitles and later with portuguese subtitles), and there is nothing wrong with the writing on this show. I understand quite a bit of Japanese as well btw. Nothing felt contrived or forced.

"The premise (matchmaking based on machine learning) is unexplored/ The premisse is dumb"

Again, my topic of research is Machine Learning, and with enough data, this is not impossible. Then again, this is fiction. There are several impossible em ridiculous things in Steins Gate, for example, but no one would give that good show a low rating because of that.

Some people brought up that "People would kill themselves", "People would riot". How many fucking times the show need to shovel into your goddamed face that the system works. We see a billion happy couples in the fucking screen.

And honestly, for a ROMANCE/DRAMA this show explored too much of how things work. This is not Scifi.

"Neji is weak/cuck/beta / Neji is a copypaste from every other harem show"

If you use the words "cuck and "beta" inironically you can honestly go fuck yourself. But to the anyone who are tired of seeing "weak" protagonists that can't make a decision or get nervous/anxious: Why are you watching a fucking drama? Shouldn't you be outside being a socially successful extrovert? Neji honestly felt very real.

"Characters can't make decisions/ characters are poorly written"

Have you ever loved someone who is in a relationship? Have you ever loved your best friend? Have you ever loved your bestfriend's spouse? Relationships are complicated. Specially when you are young. I see adults who I think are pretty smart making bad decisions or even not making decisions at all. All the fucking time. Do you wanna see some random normal weak ass dudes punching each other on your action shows? Then why do you want Romance and Drama to not use exageration? That's how the Genre works you fucking moron.

"This is a harem show"

Dude, do you think harem is every show where more than one person likes the protagonist? That's a ridiculous and shallow definition. What defines a Harem is SEVERAL characters loving the protagonist FOR NO REASON and also a SHALLOW DEVELOPMENT of most of the love interests. Is Onegai Twins a harem? Vampire Knight? Yeah...

"The show consists almost entirely of misunderstandings and coincidences"

Everyone hates Gokai(misunderstanding) driven plot. It's annoying and it's why I gave up on Gamers. This show is not like that. Again, people with no/shallow experience with the genre thinking Drama = Gokai.

"The art is kinda weird/The eyes annoy me"

Yet the same people rate Clannad higher than most shows. I liked it. But this is a matter of preference. When you are judging the art of an anime you are supposed to judge detail level, pallet choice, animation... stuff like that. That's why even though Clannad has aliens as characters the score is still high.

FINALLY

This is not a great show. It's a good show at best.But it really pisses me off. I really take this site seriously and I almost skipped a perfectly enjoyable show because people are mediocre.

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Very interested in stories about government matchmaking, At the beginning of the concept I was very interested to watch, after the first kiss scene, oohh looks good, well but character after the first episode is over, the next kiss again make triggered. shitty strory
i dont like The main character Its over shitty nervous

The main character so kimochiwarui stupidy

[ The good side, maybe when choosing a couple to get married is to be observant in all aspects, maybe the government is very concerned about the part of the ideal partner, I really appreciate
so agreed ]

Story: 3/10
Oh look, they cant have a romance what a pity! Like the states do everything for them and HA there you go, a really awesome drama gonna unfold with love rivals/love triangle whatsoever. And yes, I definitely will fall in love with someone who lend me his eraser in elementary school and when someone calls me out, I would definitely dress myself up to meet the one "I love" (a meeting 4 hours late, I love him indeed and I wonder who will wait for 4 hours). HAHA ERASER XDDDDDDDDDDDD, ARIGATO, HAPPY BIRTHDAY THE PLOT IS SO DEEP INDEED, SO REALISTIC YEA ^_^

Sound: 8/10
Nice ost. Female mc voiced by Hanazawa Kana, probably the only reason I am watching this.

Art: 7/10
Okayish art. Nothing wrong here. A big fan of shoujo so the big eyes arent affecting me much.


Character: 2/10
Your typical shit ass male mc that blushes 24/7, 60min per hour, 60sec per min. Hi is that you Ichika? >_<

Enjoyment: 3/10
Seriously, if I am new to the community I may have actually tolerated this . But this has so much cliche with a stupi- sorry I meant BEAUTIFUL story.

Overall: 2/10
Wew, I will recommend people to watch this , if you are into torturing yourself like me, or listening to Hanazawa Kana's voice, or just in for the animation ^__^. Watching this series with poor internet and watching the first minute of the series three times make me feel so guud ^_^. Amazing show depicting what's happening to the industry lately with the introduce of masterpiece such as Masou, Cerberus, Masamune etc. Simply amazing. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS SHOW :D Hope you find my review useful

(Kotone_neko's)

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Holy damn was this a mess I did not see coming.
What was looking to be a decent drama about fighting an imposed marriage law for a 5 year old love's sake turned out to be really poor polygamy propaganda.

Story: 3
Started out strong but slowly devolved into a really bad attempt at not hurting anyone, followed by the most predictable open and inconclusive ending I've ever seen in my life.

Art: 5
While the big ol' eyes look cute in most girls they certainly look very uncanny in male characters such as MC himself, backgrounds didn't make me go crazy and overall animation wasn't great either.

Sound: 6
The one good thing about this series is its soundtrack, but other aspects of the sound design were lackluster at times.

Character: 3
While I absolutely loved Misaki and Yukari's relationship at the beggining as well as Lilina's blind support for them, they quickly threw all of that out of the window and by the end they all feel like totally different people, skipping steps of their development between episodes. Yusuke was cool almost all along though.

Enjoyment: 4
I admit I was digging this up A LOT at the beggining, but wonder turned into stress and annoyance the further into the rabbit hole I went, concluding in absolute disappointment.

Overall: 4
This is NOT a good series on the long run, if you're a romance sucker (like I am), you might dig the many kisses there are here, but don't expect nothing beyond the 2 episode mark.

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Since everyone is hating on Koi to Uso because of the ending I thought I would write a review to show that it's really not that bad.

First off, I found the story very interesting I have read a book series before with a similar plot of government arranged marriages so I was excited to see that played out again in a different setting. This story is all about Nejima Yukari and how he deals with his feelings for his 5 year long love and his new assigned future wife who everyone says he now has to love. If you are a fan of romance and drama then you should definitely give Koi to Uso a try.

I thought their love story was pretty different in the good way. I mean growing up in a society where loving whoever you want is forbidden and you are told to marry someone you have never even seen before? It's like arranged marriage backed by the science they use on online dating sites. The science part saying "Don't worry you will fall in love with this person because all the data says you are perfect for each other!" We live in a society where being able to love who you want is a big deal so this story shows you what it's like if that wasn't the case. Would you prefer to love whoever you want or fall in love with the person assigned to you?

I don't understand why so many people are disappointed in the ending. Yes, it has an open ending with nothing totally figured out but this story is coming from an on-going manga so of course the story isn't going to end there. But does that make the show bad? No. It was still interesting. And in my opinion a good anime should make you want to read the source material to know more and this ending was a good way to make that happen.

So all in all give it a try! It's an interesting take on what love really is.

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Before going in, this show is a satire towards real life issues in japan and their decreasing population...or at least i hope it is. But you make see it as a bite off of the Scum's Wish anime that aired recently and they are trying to take some of its fans. made obvious as one of the characters looks like the main character from scums wish. also it has the plot of a forbidden relationship.

the plot is about a world where in order to help japans decreasing population, its government decides to pair people up with each other for marriage when they turn 16 via some form of science called the red string of fate. this sounds ok when you first enter the show as it works but our main character falls in love before this point and the pairing up causes issues for him. he see his 16th birthday coming soon and takes the opportunity to tell her how he feels.
so if you havent watched this yet the plot sounds fairly good but the execution is a little bit off for me and i will go into that with the characters.

the art can be a little off for some people as its kinda combining the scums wish and generic anime art. (im gonna compare this to kuzo no honkai alot.) i not a fan but its tolerable compared to the yuri on ice bite this season (ballroom) that has the xxxholic art combined with a more outdated style. the art for this show is average at best for me.

the music in this show is amazing. i love hearing it every episode and might enjoy it on its own. the opening has great art and symbolism also. if you dont like anything about this show you have to admit its pretty good.

we have 3 characters this show follows with nejima being our main character. he fell in love with girl after sharing a eraser with her when they were kids which is a little creepy as he treasures that same eraser but that girl does the same thing. her name is misaki btw. he is later assigned to ririna (his forced wife). because this show kinda falls under harem pretenses you couldve probably guessed hes a beta and its really annoying. misaki only like for his looks and you can say vice versa for him but they treat it as love thats why this show is called love and lies (lust). ririna i guess is a normal person compared to others as she rightfully calls our beta of a main character out on his shit and test their false relationship.
overall i dont care for this shows characters but put it off as this show is literally a joke.

overall the show is meh. the characters really pull it down for me. i know its a joke but it doesnt make me hate them any less. the music is a huge plus but music alone is enough to get around the writting. it has a great concept but the motivations of the characters and the fact im a freedom loving American doesnt help it. 6/10, i wonder what it would be like if it was satire.

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What is love? a question that changes depending on who you are.

SPOILERS

Story 7/10
The anime is placed in a world where the government assigned you with your "destined partner" and basically eliminating all the work involved for a marriage.

The story follows the life of a 15-year-old boy named Yukari Nejima as he is going through a really difficult time to pick with waifu does he prefer more. From episode to episode there were no plot progress the story only adds more conflict and drama so the audience would sit and watch to see if they solve the revolving issue that just continues to grow and grow as the more and more episodes go by...
spoilers: they don't

Art 5/10
The character design and school uniforms were really cute but the eyes were just sometimes a little too big and distracting until they just kinda look dead inside? the cinematics was decent but nothing spectacular happened.

Sound 8/10

Probably the best thing about this anime is the soundtrack. It was very fitted with the different scenarios throughout the entire series. The voice acting was also very good and suited the characters well.

Characters 6/10
Most of the characters in the anime were enjoyable but had zero development and very little backstory towards them. The only character that showed change was Ririna who in the end became happier and caring towards her friends/.


Enjoyment 5/10
There were moments in the show that made me wanna watch the next episode and there were times I got teary-eyed and related to the characters emotions and choices in life but in the end, the anime gave me mixed feelings and I'm not even sure if I enjoyed the anime.

Overall 6/10

There was no problem resolved in this anime and that's what makes the audience to this show not satisfied but I understand the intention to show that love is a mess and is very complicated. I really hope to see a season 2 of this anime so that we can at least get a conclusion.

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Koi to Uso deserves this rating of 3 because of the only three points that make it bearable - 1 point for the fact that its drama level was enough to keep me watching despite the vapid plot, 1 point for Ririna who is a very good character in a very poor anime, and 1 point for a truly fantastic OP which is the sole reason I started watching the show (this system is not actually the way I rate shows, but it seemed too fitting that the rating matched the scant number of redeeming points).

Besides these saving graces, Koi to Uso was nothing short of a waste of time. From the very beginning, the show relies heavily on cliched tropes which makes everything a else feel a bit tasteless. From this unoriginal start, the series devolves into blatant wish-fulfillment surrounding a main character, Nejima, who is completely worthless. He has no traits that make him stand out, and this mediocrity is even pointed out several times by other characters.

Sadly the disaster doesn't end there. The ending is inconclusive and is doubtlessly the worst cop-out I have ever seen in anime. It absolutely tarnished anything the show might have had going for it up to that point.

Visually, the art was not bad, just pretty average; however I was put off by the design of the characters' eyes. Even for anime eyes, they were a bit too large and had a buggy feel. Also the kissing scenes were atrocious (i.e. way too much tongue).

As I mentioned earlier Ririna, unlike our hapless protagonist, is a quality character who really grew on me. She is adorable and made everything else tolerable. And the OP ("Kanashii Ureshii" by Frederic) is wonderful and deserves a better show to back it up. Unfortunately, neither of these good points can save this train wreck, and you would do best to look up the song on YouTube and spend your time watching a better anime.

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this anime high key feels like a hentai visual novel without hentai and where you just pick the most retarded actions in the game.

the characters actions are so stupid and unreasonable, it makes the anime hard to watch but at the same time i find the anime to be unpredictable because of this. there are moments in this anime where i get so confused at the actions and reactions of the characters it becomes really frustrating. a big thing that affected my satisfaction in this anime is the ending... there isnt one. maybe if i read the manga it would fix this, but im reviewing this after i watch the anime and the fact that it left me in the middle and just said "the end" feels god awful.

somehow i quite enjoyed watching this anime even tho nothing makes sense, or maybe it was that nothing made sense was i be able to enjoy it.

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