Koi wa Futago de Warikirenai

I haven't bothered to write reviews about things I've seen yet, but I'm so flabbergasted at the reception to this show that I felt compelled to do so. After trying out the show on a whim, I found it so well-crafted and compelling that I was certain it was some sort of sleeper hit, and when I checked MAL, I found this dismal rating for it. I guess it's one of those cases where I just don't get what other people are thinking.

What I love the most about this show is that the characters have deeply-developed personalities. You don't get--wait, let me amend that, because ... apparently my view is somehow a minority one. I, personally, don't get the sense that the characters are just there to serve one-note roles. They can't be described with a summary one-liner. They often start going on about things they're interested in, when those things aren't there simply for the sake of moving the plot forward. Like even with the background family characters--you just find yourself in the middle of a scene where they're talking about the WW2 aircraft they appreciate. Why? It has nothing to do with the plot, and that particular discussion is never referenced again. It's there to give you a sense that these are people living their lives, with their own things going on, not just performing a scene for the sake of the viewer. And I love that. It makes the world as it's presented feel so rich. It's exactly the sort of thing that I see in real life, that makes me feel like I'm with people I can get along with. People who have passion, and opinions, and just find joy in expressing themselves through their interests.

And that's something that permeates this show. It's not once or twice, it's simply how every scene is presented. Naori can hardly have a conversation without talking in terms she's used to--references to the stuff she's read or watched. And that just feels like...a real person to me. The interplay between her and Jun reminds me so much of how I was growing up, talking to my friends in terms of Star Wars or whatnot. That stuff was what we oriented our lives around. Usually, characters like that in anime are handled as one-dimensional otaku, obsessed with one particular made up thing and having it be played off for laughs. But instead, here, it's just integrated into who the characters are; everything flows naturally as a result, and you actually see why people are friends. Instead of merely being told that they are and accepting it as a conceit of a TV show. Normally, characters are some platonic ideal, or at the heart of some unimaginable struggle, but here we have characters grounded in the mere complexity of human experience. I just love that sense that they have lives beyond what we see on screen.

Even Jun's friend, who basically is there to be a sounding board or point out how we the viewer might feel about the situations Jun finds himself in, nevertheless feels like a developed person with his own values and wants and personality. A lot of this is handled by the realistic and rapid pacing of the dialogue. TV shows usually take the approach of giving each line its own space to breathe, so everything is easily digested. But the conversations in this show are paced more like you'd expect from high school kids--they're excitable, they want to get their words out, they nearly talk over each other. It again makes things feel more real and engaging, and less like a performance being put on for an audience. I love this aspect of the show so much, and wish it were more common. But back to the character of "the Professor", his inclusion is pretty critical to lampshade some of the things the audience is thinking, and give Jun a chance to explain why the situation isn't so rosy from his point of view. I've seen in a lot of the reviews that people get "annoyed" at the conflict in the show and don't get why it isn't resolved simply. And I just don't get how you can actually watch the show, which gives the characters a chance to explain why they can't, and come away with that impression. But nevertheless, people seem to.

I also love all the references in the show; I feel like I get around 70% of them myself, and they're again not played up for the audience--the characters just make them and move on, because that's what people do. No background splashes to drive the point home. One of the few examples of non-diegetic presentation for a reference was in the last episode with the Close Encounters notes sounding when Naori does the accompanying hand signals, but it was pretty subtle. It's never in your face; the references are there because people like these characters would make them. Not to try to simply grab the attention of fans of the referenced works. I honestly get a better sense of "these people are actual geeks" than I do from, say, Genshiken. And I feel that's saying a lot.

The plot starts out the way it does in a lot of romance shows, where there's a romantic conflict. I've seen reviewers tear down Rumi for the actions she takes, not understanding why she would do "stupid" things and bring on a world of hardship for herself. And again...I don't get why people have that takeaway, when the show lets her explain it in great detail. To me, it seems like something that could happen. They don't have simple, black-and-white relationships. Everything is realistically complex. Siblings have love for each other, and also conflict with one another. They seek to back each other up as family, but can tick each other off simply by how they approach situations differently. This is, again, a realistic thing. I feel like the audience seems to be upset that the characters don't fit conveniently into little boxes. But people don't fit into little boxes. They have conflicting feelings all the time. And sometimes they do a bit of self-sabotage as a result. And sometimes they don't realize what impact inaction can have until it's too late. This show gets that, and it gets that in a way few other anime do. Perhaps in a way few anime fans do, going by the score.

The main minus to me, which I can't go into much detail about, is the rather inconclusive ending. I don't know if the LN goes beyond what we've seen; I don't know if we're to expect another season. If the story is continued, then that's not even much of a downside. But it's also unclear where it would go; the choices the characters have made give them few options for resolution, and the sort of non-ending we get is the only thing that clearly follows. Not to say there's nothing else that could be said; all kinds of developments could occur, relationships with other people and so on, which could really shake up the status quo. It just doesn't have a clear vector of momentum at the end, so further developments would be completely up in the air, or in fact this might be the best ending we could get.

On the technical side, I love all the visuals in this show. The characters are drawn and animated with a lot of detail. The opening animation is very engaging. I love the ending theme (and especially, that the song is presented in two versions to best accompany the mood). The voice direction is top-notch, as implied by my prior comments on the conversational pacing. I really feel that everyone involved put their heart into this show, and I really enjoyed it.

Maybe this just isn't a show for a lot of people. But for the people who get it, it's fantastic. And I'm just tired of seeing the dogpile that happened here by people who, I guess, were expecting more of a typical lighthearted romcom full of tropes and stock characters.

First thing first. Naori over Rumi any time of the day.
Yet this dense MC just can’t choose one of the sisters.

Let me explain why i hate Rumi.
The whole drama came about it’s because of Rumi. At first she confessed to the MC and won the battle. After 1 year of dating, she decided to break up with him cos she felt "pity" towards Naori. Just so u know Naori dgaf when they are dating. But this Rumi decided to break up and ask the MC to get together with Naori. Without even thinking how the MC would feel, she just like "Oh ... let’s break up, it’s on me, not you" LOL

When Naori wanted to go after the MC, Rumi suddenly felt jealous and wanted to take him back. WHAT?! U had him but decided to break up and now u chasing after him again after knowing Naori decided to take the MC. What a retard.

I can’t explain how i hate the MC too for being so stupid. Imagine still chasing after a girl that dumped you without a valid reason. Naori love the MC so bad that she willing to do anything for him yet this dumb MC be like "I like you but i like Rumi too" smhhh

Every season, there's always gonna be an anime which is absolutely underwhelming, probably even worse than garbage. And that anime, my fellow readers, is none other than Koi wa Futago de Warikirenai, or Love is Indivisible by Twins.


Let's talk briefly about the plot - it's dull, confusing and stressful. This anime is about twins' love rivalry towards a boy (which is the main character), and oh boy... what am I even watching? The male MC can't even decide which girl he wants to date, despite liking them both. The twins' characteristics are very devastating, too. We have a girl who had dated him for a ... year and saying that she doesn't deserve to be his girlfriend; we also have a girl who likes him, but keeps on denying their relationship, stated that they're not dating despite kissing him every episode, and seducing him. Honestly speaking, most of the episodes are literally fillers, which is unsuitable for a 12-episode anime. Thus, it made this anime very mundane as it turned to a slice-of-life high school anime (with dramas), which undoubtedly distorted the genre/plot of the anime. You might be wondering, why can't he just date both of them, right? Well, if he does that, then the drama of this horrendous anime won't even happen.


Speaking of drama, ...


This anime's genre is rated as a rom-com - which clearly stands for romantic comedy. To be fairly speaking, I can't even count how many times I've laid out a chuckle, or even a smile. Why? Because I didn't even laugh on their "funny moments". And speaking of "funny moments", there aren't any 🙃. This anime has a crap ton of unnecessary dramas which can make you question life.



And the worst part is? There is zero progression. The male MC did not even date any of the twins, despite saying "I love you both." to both of them, in front of their faces. This would actually make you question the existence of this poorly-written anime.



To conclude, please DO NOT watch this anime. Don't even bother checking this anime out. There are better, actual rom-com animes available out there. That's all from me. Thanks for reading this!




Reviewer: "In the trash bin, you go!"
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                    📺 <-------------------------------------- (Love is Indivisible by Twins)
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