Release Date: January 11, 2014
Studio: Shaft
Genre: Romantic Comedy, School Life, Yakuza
Synopsis: Raku Ichijou, the high school-age heir of a yakuza clan, finds his life thrown into turmoil when he buts heads with a blonde-haired, short-tempered transfer student named Chitoge Kirisaki. Matters are further complicated when he discovers that she is the heir of a rival gang and that they must pretend to be in love to prevent an all-out war.
Verdict: I can honestly count on one hand the number of anime relationships that I have actually cared about: Ashitaka and San from Princess Mononoke, Spike and Faye from Cowboy Bebop, Ai Tanabe and Hachimaki from Planetes, and Renton and Eureka from Eureka Seven (honorable mention to Makoto and Chiaki from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time). So my first inclination was to write this show off as another moeblob rom com. But. What this series lacks in originality, it more than makes up for in presentation. The combined talents of studio Shaft and director Akiyuki Shinbo (both of whom are responsible for the instant classic Puella Magi Madoka Magika) make for a series of slickly animated and beautifully arranged moments that are impossible to dislike. And it doesn't hurt that Raku's observations of and interactions with his crazy mafia world are often gut-bustingly funny. Although serious romances usually have me rolling my eyes, I don't mind keeping up with a show this pretty.
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