JVAnimeReviews's avatar

JVAnimeReviews

  • Belgium
  • Joined Oct 16, 2014
  • 30 / M

Love and Lies

Oct 26, 2017

JV's Anime of the Season: Summer 2017

Positive

*The first thing that I liked in KtU was the comedy-drama balance which I found to be very well done. In this anime very serious and dramatic moments were alternated with light comical ones. And that is what a series like this needs, you can’t make it all dark and serious all the time. It’s the alternation between serious and silly that makes the drama shine. Also the comedy was pretty good in KtU and it made that when the drama kicked in, it kicked in hard.

For a video review, check out my Youtube channel. Link on my profile page. 

*Talking about the drama. The drama in this anime was of a high level, I really enjoyed it. All the characters in this anime are between a rock and a hard place. They stand for choices where there is no correct answer. No matter what they choose, someone is going to get hurt and you can see that the characters are tormented by this. They are getting ripped apart by these dilemmas. Let’s take Yukari as an example. On one hand he has his eternal love for Misaki, he loves her since elementary school, so he wants to be with her. But than on the other hand, he has Ririna. First of all, you can see that during the anime, Yukari starts to develop some feelings for Ririna as well, as I expected would happen, but he also doesn’t want to hurt her. Because when they break of their engagement, their future in terms of careers and dreams will become a lot more difficult. So Yukari stands before an impossible decision. And that’s the case for everyone of our main characters, also Misaki, Ririna and Nisaka stand before these dilemmas.

And to answer the question who I think was best girl, I would have to go with Misaki. Now I also really liked Ririna, this anime gave us 2 very lovable and cute and adorable female leads. But if I have to choose than I give it to Misaki.

*Another thing which I found was implemented very well was the pressure on young couples. This is shown brilliantly midway through the anime where Yukari and Ririna are almost forced to have sex. And that reflected today’s society quite well. The pressure on young couples is real, if today you’re a virgin above the age of 20, society looks at you like a weirdo. So that pressure on young people and young couples was very well portrayed in KtU.

*And my final positive point is the opening song. Kanashii Ureshii was one of the best OPs of this season together with the ones from Ballroom and Princess Principal. It is so catchy but it has also has meaning if you take a look at the english lyrics. I can’t figure out from whose perspective this is sung but it shows this collision of emotions in our characters. Sadness and happiness go hand in hand in KtU.

Negative

*Now if you have seen KtU than, for sure, like me, you felt it coming. The more this anime progressed, the more obvious that it became that this anime would have an open ending. So the question arises if there will be a second season of KtU. Well there are arguments on both sides. Reviews of this anime were quite positive until the ending and the best news for a second season is that the final episode with the wedding dresses is completely anime original. That scene does not happen in the manga so they specifically made the anime end this way which hopefully is a precursor to a next season.

*Speaking of that, I found the final shot that we got very symbolic. Not only do we see both girls wearing a wedding dress, showing the choice that Yukari has to make but if you look at the red strings, than you see that only one of the girls’s strings can be connected to Yukari. So this showed again the romantic drama that is incoming in this anime. It’s going to be or Misaki or Ririna. So that final shot was very symbolic and again hopefully a preview for season 2.

*But we’re going to have to wait a while since the manga is currently at chapter 142 and the hot spring scene happens in chapters 116 to 118. So if KtU is going to get a second season to solve all these questions and issues that are left open, it’s going to need some time to get more source material.

Conclusion

*So as a conclusion, I really enjoyed KtU, it was a very good romance-drama and I honestly hope that we will get a second season. The true battle of Yukari, Ririna and Misaki against the system has only just begun and Yukari and Ririna are now standing before a very difficult task. So overall I going to rate Koi to Uso at 4 stars with the anticipation of a season 2. Also I giving KtU my stamp of Anime of the Season: Summer 2017. It was close with another anime that I watched but KtU had that little bit more and spoke more to my romance-drama soul than the other one.

8.5/10 story
7.5/10 animation
8/10 sound
8.5/10 characters
8.1/10 overall

You must be logged in to leave comments. or

There are no comments - leave one to be the first!