Lovely Complex Vol. 9

ラブ★コン [Love Com] #9

by Aya Nakahara

La fin de l'année approche et nos deux amoureux doivent penser à leur avenir. Alors que Risa est perdue et n'a pas la moindre idée de ce qu'elle voudrait faire, Atsushi, lui, est décidé à aller à la fac malgré ses mauvais résultats. Mais qu'est-ce qui le pousse à faire ce choix ? Et, surtout, comment s'organiseront-ils malgré leurs orientations différentes ?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, Graphic Novels, Comics, Comedy, Young Adult

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 2004

About the author

Aya Nakahara is an award-winning Japanese comic book author who made her debut in 1995. She is most famous for her Kansai-dialect romantic comedy series Lovely Complex (also known as ラブ★コン or Love★Com) which as well as spawning a feature film and a 24-episode animated television series has been translated into many different languages and has been published across the world.

She primarily writes in the romance and romantic comedy genres. Her most recent work is Dame no Watashi Koishite kudasai R (ダメな私に恋してくださいR).

See also 中原アヤ.

Reviews

[Emi.acg · Rating 4 out of 5]

En realidad este volumen me gustó menos que el anterior porque hubieron nuevamente problemas entre Risa y Otani, un chico que apareció y que casi logra que la pareja termine. Y el tema de los estudios, que Risa toma tan a la ligera y luego todos en general poniendo una relación por sobre el futuro.
Pero a su vez me provoca tantas emociones que no puedo ponerle menos de 4 estrellas. Si básicamente me pasé todo este volumen llorando y no en plan enojada :'v

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a rather predictable rival plot, we've moved on to the central cast figuring out what they intend to do after high school graduation. Risa is looking at vocational school, though she hasn't decided what the vocation will be. Ōtani, despite his mediocre-at-best record in high school, wants to become a teacher, which requires a bachelor's (as I understand it) and certification.

While the rest of Risa's friendship group is studying hard, she's working part-time to earn money to split the cost of vocational school with her parents. That's admirable of her! While her boss seems hard-nosed at first, she's been pretty understanding of Risa's gaffes, and Risa is gradually getting better at being wait staff at the café across the way from Ōtani's cram school.

My ratings for these volumes wobble between three and four stars, and you know what? that's a good thing. It's far more pleasant to be into a manga's vibe than feeling compelled to nitpick on it. Another rival's come on the scene, who feels pretty much in line with the previous rival, only gender-flipped. This time the guy's short like Ōtani is, behaves really cutely (for a boy), and also likes Umibōzu.

[tahaslibrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

occasional short king wins i guess

[Mariana Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vuelvo a leer manga en Kindle :D
Pues realmente me sorprendió el progreso de Otani, pero me hacían enojar sus amigos que sólo lo desmotivaban. ¿Qué clase de amigos y pareja son esas?
Aunque la inseguridad de Risa a veces me desespera. Sigamos a ver ahora qué pasa.

[Ady Weasley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Risa quiere que Otani sea más tierno y romántico con ella, pero él es un poco tímido y eso no va a pasar.
El último festival como estudiantes de preparatoria ha llegado y con ciertas dificultades pero la parejitas logra pasar el tiempo juntos.
Sin embargo una nueva dificultad se viene ya que parece que los chicos tomarán un camino diferente uno quiere ir a la universidad y otro quiere una carrera técnica que pasara en su futuro?

[Shani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread - College woes! My lovelies are growing up :'(

[Jesus Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aprendiendo a ser novios
Tiene varias partes que me hicieron reir.
Y por la parte seria, Otani quiere ir a la Universidad y Risa no.
4 stars

[marii's booklist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otani Atsushi es el verdadero estándar 😭😭😭

[Vanessa Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rabu★Kon or which is popularly known as Lovely Complex (Love*Com) is a fun shojo manga that I’m sure every shojo and YA lovers would love and enjoy. This is by far the most entertaining and cutest shojo manga I’ve read this year. Definitely a must read!

*This review is for the series as a whole with 4 out of 5 stars*

I’ve been meaning to read Rabu★Kon or most commonly known as Lovely Complex after watching the anime one or was that two years ago? Oh well, I don’t remember the exact date but I can still clearly remember why I loved it. It was one of the funniest anime I’ve watched that time and I love the concept of the story. Imagine falling in love with a guy who is shorter than you. Kind of weird right? Well, it’s possible ofcourse (I have a neighbor in our province who’s husband is shorter than her) but it seldom happens. I haven’t read anything like this one before and most shojo manga/anime doesn’t have this kind of idea too so it was really something new for me.

Lovely Complex revolved around a tall girl named Risa and a short guy named Ootani. Risa is taller than her age and Ootani shorter than his age. They doesn’t get along well and keeps on bantering like little kids whenever they see each other, and with both having height problems, they were then dubbed as Hanjin Kyojin comedic duo at school.

Unlike book reviews, I always do my hardest not to drop some spoilers, but with manga, I wouldn’t mind. So read on your own risk *wink.

I always enjoys love and hate romance and Lovely Complex is definitely perfect for me. Risa and Ootani started their friendship (I’m not even sure if you can call that friendship as they keep fighting each other, lol) as enemies. I think that wouldn’t be a surprise as they both have height problems – Risa being tall than normal in her age and Ootani the shortest, thus making them like a clown at school. They keep on getting on each other’s nerves until Summer break came in. Risa and Ootani along with some of their close friends attends Summer class and that’s how the miracle happened. And when I said miracle, it’s the two of them getting along well. They become closer since they are in agreement, and guess on what? It’s about their love interest. Ofcourse they don’t have the same crushes, although that would have been fun, but they are on agreement to work together since both of them are friends of each other’s crushes. But something unexpected happen, haha, both of their crushes likes each other instead. And guess what? Their crushes ended up together thus leaving Ootani and Risa heartbroken. I would have expected both of them consoling each other eh? Sure they did but in an unromantic way which includes a lot of hitting and punching, haha. Really, it’s true. Risa, since she’s taller always treated like one of the guys and Ootani as a girl because of his height too. So it should be normal that the two of them understands each other aight? But I guess even with that knowledge, they still end up fighting and irritating each other as they are somewhat the same; both have the same favorite singer and both of them acts like a kid.

Lovely Complex is composed of 17 volumes with 68 chapters thus making it longer compared to your usual 400-600 words book, so to refrain from making a very long review (I know how troublesome to read it), I decided to categorize my review on what I like and didn’t like in this story as well as introducing some of my characters.



What I Liked:

1. I love the idea, a tall girl falling in love with a short guy. Not impossible to happen in real life but the idea is fresh as it’s uncommon to romance stories.
2. It’s setting is in High School and you know how I love YA.
3. The love and hate romance. It could get a little too much sometimes especially when they finally became a couple but it’s still very entertaining to read and the illustrations were so on point!
4. The facial expressions. Haha, I love how the creator drew the facial expressions especially one from Risa. It’s no different in anime too, the expressions was way too funny.

5. The kissing scenes. My! It was just wonderfully drawn and soooo romantic.

6. The “stair” kissing scene. My! That would have been funny, but dang!

7. I hate to admit it (know why in my What I Liked The Least section) but Ootani is just so cute especially if he ties his hair. Sometimes he could look hot too, haha. My! I think I have a little crush on Ootani now.

8. Ootani is not into mushy stuffs let alone say something romantic to Risa, but whenever he did, it’s just way too sweet I can hardly bear it without combusting.
9. I love that even if Lovely Complex is originally about Risa and Ootani’s height differences, it also includes conflicts between other characters in this story which gave other character to shine.
10. When I think about it again, most problems the main characters encountered we’re what we normally read in YA and any other shojo manga but I have to say that some of them makes sense that even younger sweethearts can gain some lessons out of it.
11. Even if it includes some “slightly” annoying conflicts, I was happy that on the next day, Risa and Ootani both gave each other a chance to explain whenever there’s some misunderstanding.
12. And lots of good looking and supportive characters. Special mention, Nakao and Nobu-chan. My! This couple is the cutest, funniest, and supportive character ever. And obviously, they’re added to my favorite list so is Ootani and Risa *wink.


What I Liked The Least

1. I really really hate the part of Ootani where he’s so stubborn and so unexpressive and refused to say some romantic lines to Risa. I understand that they started as a comedic duo so it would be a little weird but dang! Can’t he be a little considerate sometimes?
2. Ootani’s very very very dense. I really pitied the part where Risa did her best to tell Ootani what she feels about him but ended up being laugh at.
3. Ootani not being an ideal boyfriend to Risa. Ofcourse he can’t be a complete boyfriend material but sometimes this guy can be so irritating, like forgetting her birthday (who’s boyfriend would even forget his girlfriend’s birthday?!), not believing in Risa and a lot more I dare not to mention or I’ll deduct another star again.
4. Both of them having third party problem. That setup is common in every romance stories but I have to say that I was still entertained because of the illustrations lol.


Main Characters

Koizumi, Risa – I always adore her character. Aside from making me laugh my heart out every single moment, she’s really nice too. One example was when Ootani’s tall beautiful neighbor trying to steal him away from Risa. If that was me, I will really cut her head off, but wow, the way Risa handled her was amazing. Another amazing thing about her is being caring, even if Ootani can be a bit irritating, she’s still trying her best to support him and take care of him.
Ootani, Atsushi – I love and hate his character at the same time. He could be cute yet dumb at the same time and it was irritating to read how he treats Risa. But when once in a while drop some sweet lines to Risa, my heart goes gaga. I guess you could say I love him more than I hate him, haha sucker.


Favorite Characters

Ishihara, Nobuko and Nakao, Heikichi – These two is absolutely one of the cutest and funniest couple ever. I love how responsible Nobuko is and is very supportive to Risa especially when those times that Risa almost wants to give up Ootani. Nakao on the other hand is a very funny guy but I really adore his love for Nobuko. They’re just perfect for each other.
Tanaka, Chiharu and Suzuki, Ryouji – they used to be Risa and Ootani’s crushes and right now they’re one of their very good friends. They’re a very cute couple too. I don’t have anything bad to say about them as they’re always there to support Risa and Ootani with their relationship.
Fukagawa, Haruka – Risa’s childhood friend and Ootani’s rival for Risa. He’s one good looking guy and sometimes I want to give Risa to him. He can be sweet and charming yet very stupid at the same time haha. He’s very funny too and sometimes I pitied him because he’s really doing his best to get Risa’s attention but with no use. But atleast in the end, he respects Risa’s relationship with Ootani and that’s really good.
Kuniumi, Maitake – the hottest and coolest teacher assistant you could ever have. I thought at first that he’s going to be in a love triangle for Risa and Ootani’s relationship but it turned out that his participation made it possible for the Risa and Ootani to make it official.
Yoshi – He wasn’t mentioned until on the extra part where we’ve got to see how Risa and Ootani really first met each other. But he’s one of the main reason why the two of them got to meet each other and has the huge impact to both Risa and Ootani so I guess it’s just right to add him to this short list.


My plan was to make this a short review but still ended up making it a long one, haha. Oh well, it can’t be helped *wink.

Overall, I really enjoyed Lovely Complex. It was romantic and was very very very entertaining. If you like shojo anime and YA, then Lovely Complex is highly recommended. While at it, you may want to consider watching the anime too. Enjoy!

*browse some of my favorite parts of this manga here.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Read my full review post

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[Leila ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

[03/11/2024] ~ Bueno, en esta segunda relectura este tomo no me gustó tanto como la primera vez que lo leí. No me pareció mala, pero simplemente pasan muchas cosas medio meh. De todas formas, amo lovely complex y los amo a Risa y a Otani y a su dinámica, entonces nunca un volumen va a ser malo xd nevertheless, le voy a bajar una estrellita porque quiero que se refleje que no está a la altura de otros tomos (como por ej: el 7).

3.5 de 5 estrellas.

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[21/10/2021] ~ Ok amé este volumen porque 3/4 de las cosas que pasan no están en el anime like el concierto Omibozu ???? el festival del colegio ???? Riza explicando cómo y por qué decidió trabajar (en vez de simplemente decirlo en un capítulo sin ningún background) ???? todo el mundo boludeándolo a Otani porque quiere ir a la facultad, y él dejándolos pillos a todos ????

#Amé.

4 de 5 estrellas.

[Usagi Tsukino · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for the Italian edition.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m currently having the same feelings as Risa right now considering my future. And I haven’t been in high school for years now… I really relate to her right now in feeling lost, not seeming like I have a plan or hoping that thinking and planning as I go will be an okay plan.
I still don’t like how she and Ôtani talk to each other, it’s kind of a toxic relationship. But I guess they can be open and honest enough to communicate. I just don’t appreciate that they have to yell at each other to get their true feelings, thoughts, and worries out.

[So3li · Rating 3 out of 5]

Avis global :
Un manga marrant qui se lit bien.

J'ai bien aimé suivre l'évolution des sentiments des personnages et des réflexions autour.

Par contre pas top l'amitié / amour avec des piques, des critiques, des engueulades et des coups à longueur de journée.
En fait, ça crie un peu trop tout au long du manga.

C'est aussi pas assez féministe à mon goût et ça banalise du sexisme ou des agressions sexuelles... Notamment avec le grand-père insupportable.

Et à la fin ça traîne trop en longueur. Je pense que ça aurait pu s'arrêter avant.

[Natalia Hincapié · Rating 5 out of 5]

Risa y Otani son tan tiernos, su relación me encanta porque sus personalidades son como cuando eran amigos, a veces risa quiere una relación más cariñosa pero se da cuenta que él Otani del que se enamoró no es asi.
Ahora los protagonistas se enfrentan a las decisiones del futuro y Risa se siente mal porque no tiene ni idea de lo que hará.
Otani está bien decidido a estudiar en la U y está sorprendiendo a sus amigos, pues estos creen que no lo lograra, pero se está esforzando por eso.

[Michela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divertente, ironico e leggero. Mi è stata regalata l’intera serie per Natale.
Ho visto l’anime ispirato a questo manga non so quante volte durante il periodo delle superiori. Poterlo finalmente leggere è una vera emozione per me.
Pur trattando tematiche adolescenziali, l’autrice affronta anche argomenti più complessi: emerge, per esempio, il tema transgender, il che lo rende un manga assolutamente adatto alla nostra contemporaneità pur essendo stato realizzato a partire dal 2001.

[Rin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aku mulai lost sparks baca ini. Hubungan mereka tuh... apa ya, agak tidak seimbang? Haha, mungkin ini hanya perasaan tidak enakku saja, tapi aku makin suka dengan Otani.

Terus akhirnya mulai ada perkembangan dikit mengenai kehidupan sekolah, nggak cuma love line dan senang-senang saja.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kind of at this point don't really like how they, especially otani, keep going on really insulting each other and being unnecessarily mean. Like generally I like nagging and stuff like that in romance but it bothers me sometimes how actually unnecessarily mean otani is.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay. A little frustrating since Otani still refuses to really tell Risa that he loves her, but other then that I'm still interested to see what happens next in volume 10.

[Em Mirra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pending.

[B. Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her dilemma is very real.

[Doremili · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conciencia: Ya en serio, ¿No vas a ver tu lista?
Yo: Lo terminaré hoy, lo prometo.

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable, Beautiful Manga, Really great Shoujo! Great art art and amazing story I didn’t want to end 😻👌😁💕💕

[Patri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como siempre, algo light con lo que pasar el rato y reírse mucho.

[Róka · Rating 4 out of 5]

5/4,5

[Hadeel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[asli · Rating 5 out of 5]

mmmh tres tres interressan le nv ses ongl ma mmmh

[Nayli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otani sensei.

[zara (Taylor's version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Justo así, siempre. Correría contigo a cualquier lugar."

[zey · Rating 4 out of 5]

risa's just like me fr

[Daniela Gómez · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️