Koi to Uso

In a futuristic society, Japan has implemented a complex system referred to as "The Red Threads of Science" to encourage successful marriages and combat increasingly low birthrates. Based on a compatibility calculation, young people at the age of 16 are assigned marriage partners by the government, with severe repercussions awaiting those who disobey the arrangement. For Yukari Nejima, a teen that considers himself average in every way, this system might be his best shot at living a fulfilling life.

However, spurred by his infatuation for his classmate and long-time crush, Misaki Takasaki, Yukari defies the system and confesses his love. After some initial reluctance, Misaki reciprocates his feelings in a moment of passion. Unfortunately, before the two can further their relationship, Yukari receives his marriage notice. He is then thrown into a confusing web of love and lies when his less-than-thrilled assigned partner, Ririna Sanada, becomes fascinated with his illicit romance.

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Adaptation:	Koi to Uso
Other:	Koi to Uso: Isshou no Koi/Koi no Kimochi

Ishida, Akira
Japanese

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Furukawa, Shin

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Itou, Hirofumi

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Satomi, Tetsurou

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Tateishi, Kensuke

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Opening Theme

"Kanashii Ureshii (かなしいうれしい)" by Frederic (フレデリック)

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Ending Theme

"Can't you say" by Roys

Reviews

May 20, 2018

makotohadou

Recommended

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

Anyway, about the show:

The characters are interesting. They actually have a personality.
The plot moves forward in most events.
...

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Sep 18, 2017

Stark700

Mixed Feelings

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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Sep 18, 2017

Captain220

Not Recommended

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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What the is the concept of Koi to Uso (Spoilers) Darth_InVader - Feb 23, 2019	10 replies	by Hashiriya_weeb87 »» Apr 5, 9:36 AM
Poll: Koi to Uso Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Aug 28, 2017	90 replies	by Giolbat »» Mar 18, 6:57 PM
Poll: Koi to Uso Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jul 3, 2017	306 replies	by Ak2005 »» Dec 9, 2023 1:35 PM
Koi to uso -About Anime, Manga and my feelings for Sanada Ririna [and the fact that i think I've come to genuinely develop love feelings for her even though shes not real] ScaryNightmare - Jul 14, 2023	5 replies	by ScaryNightmare »» Jul 16, 2023 9:53 AM
Poll: Koi to Uso Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Jul 10, 2017	171 replies	by 1_Mikay_1 »» Jun 26, 2023 5:47 AM

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Takasaki, Misaki

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Nisaka, Yuusuke

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