Love Com, Vol. 1, 1

by Aya Nakahara

Book Overview

The Long and the Short of First Love

Risa Koizumi is the tallest girl in class, and the last thing she wants is the humiliation of standing next to Atsushi tani, the shortest guy. Fate and the whole school have other ideas, and the two find themselves cast as the unwilling stars of a bizarre romantic comedy duo.

Rather than bow to the inevitable, Risa and Atsushi join forces to pursue their true objects of affection. But will...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1421513439
• ISBN13: 9781421513430
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Viz Media
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.6" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

My daughter loved this series

I have a twelve year old daughter who enjoys reading. We bought her a boxed set of this series (vol 1-9), and she loved them, reading them all in one weekend. For those not familiar with ainime/manga, they are not written like a typical "novel". Instead they have a series of illustrated comics, but with real life situations and comedy. The books are formated in Japanese fashion, where the front cover is on the right side of the book, and the "pages" are read from right to left, which made it fun and interesting. I should point out the "sentences" are written in english and are read from left to right.

Can't Get Enough of Risa and Otani!

A couple of months ago, quite by accident, I ran across a mention on the internet of the Japanese manga, "Love*Com" (AKA "Lovely*Complex") by Aya Nakahara. I'm fascinated by anything, that has to do Japanese youth culture and the premise of this teenage comedy/drama/soap opera for some reason left me quite intrigued. I gave it a try and absolutely loved it! In the first book we meet 15 year old Risa Koizumi, who at 5'7" is rather tall for a Japanese, female, high school student. She is constantly at odds with her school mate, Atsushi Otani, who is a small guy standing only 5'1". The two are constantly (and hilariously) at each other's throats using insults like "Jumbo-Gal" and "Little Shrimp". The two argue so much, that the whole school refers to them as "All Hanshin-Kyojin", a popular, two person stand-up comedy act with a height difference. The two are constantly getting stuck together. So much so, that many people at school just assume they are a bickering romantic couple. Eventually an epithany occurs to Risa. What if she really is in love with the diminutive, Otani? Risa, wrestles with her feelings and over the next seventeen volumes tries to make the oblivious Otani understand how she feels about him. To be honest, I'm pretty much a novice, when it comes to Japanese manga. But I know a good story when I see one. From the start, I was instantly hooked on this teenage soap opera, which is both equal parts comedy and drama. The story line keeps you constantly interested in finding out the next plot developement and the characters are endearing and fun to spend time with. Aya Nakahara's fine line artwork is simply beautful and I can't get enough of it. One thing I love is that throughout the book, Nakahara writes in the margins and gives the reader various short asides about her personal life. It almost reads like an internet blog. Also helpful are explanations to the reader about Japanese cultural references, that are found throughout the story. They talk about everything from Japanese music to school traditions to holidays. It's fun and my interest in Japanese youth culture makes me a total sucker for this sort of thing! As of this writing, I'm up to just starting book 6 (out of 17). I've had such a good time reading about Risa, Otani and their friends. Their story is almost addictive and I can't wait for more! Highly recommended!

works even for a non-fan

As an opening confession: I don't like anime/manga very much. Most of what I've watched, I didn't enjoy, with the exception of Black Lagoon - but I think that's about as opposite to Love*Com as you can get. But I live with a guy whose true love is Japanese romance comedies, and he got me started on fan translations of the Lovely Complex anime. From there, he bought the books - and yes, I sort of stole them. I don't have much experience with manga, but I thought the artwork was great and really suited the feel of the series. I've heard it compared to Ally McBeal, in that the down-to-earth storyline is interspersed with occasional brief fantasy sequences (usually when a character is shocked or upset). But I hated that TV show and love this series, so I can't really comment. The characterization here is marvellous, and the two protagonists are both unusual and very sympathetic. Risa is gangly, awkward and humorous, but her feelings are given weight - and Otani, even with his bravado and forced over-confidence, is engaging and good-natured. They spend most of the overall storyline antagonizing each other, but it's a love-hate thing that develops realistically and rather sweetly into a deeper relationship. The supporting characters are also well-developed, and a few of them might be even more engaging than Risa and Otani. Not sure if the anime is ever going to be officially translated, but these books are well worth picking up. If you have seen the anime, you won't be disappointed with this. As for the live-action TV drama...well, can't win them all.

one of the most hilarious series ever

Love*Com, also known as Lovely Complex is one of the most hilarious manga series you'll ever pick up. Many shoujo series out there that are labled as comedies are really not funny. Love*Com is an exception with each chapter filled with those laugh-out-loud moments. The manga starts out with Risa and Otani as friends. However their teacher and classmates see them as a comedy duo since they are always arguing with each other and for stupid reasons. They decide to help each other out in their love lives and make a bet on who can find a boyfriend/girlfriend first. However as time goes by, Risa sees that she begins to like Otani. How will their realtionship become in the future? The charatcers in the manga are lovable and you will find that you will love Risa's best friend Nobu for her silly remarks and ideas. The story is a standard shoujo story set at a high-school. The charcter interactions and the art is what truly makes the story hilarious. I've never seen a series with so many funny facial expressions! XD The manga was extremely popular in Japan that it was made into a live-action movie and anime series that is being shown in Japan right now. Both adaptions are also very funny and enjoyable. So go ahead and give volume 1 a go. I'm sure you will be laughing all the way till the end (volume 16).

Wonderful Love Action!

I've long been a fan of manga featuring love-hate relationships. When I saw that "Love Com" was one such manga, I knew I had to give it a try. I had my doubts about it, though. As much as I love arguing couples, I'm easily bored with characters who are always at each others' throats and relationships that don't mature. At first, I didn't see much that set "Love Com" apart. There was the usual pairing of quarreling and unexpected friendship, not bad, but nothing new, either. I kept reading, though, and before I knew it, I'd fallen completely in love with this wonderful little series. First of all, the plot is pretty original. Risa Koizumi is unusually tall for a girl, and Atsushi Otani is unusually short for a boy. Because their heights are accentuated when they stand together, they hate each other and end up arguing a lot. However, their classmates think their fighting is hilarious, so they end up getting compared to famous Japanese comedic duo All Hanshin Kyojin. The story begins when both Risa and Otani get crushes on other people, and they team up despite their differences to help each other attain the objects of their affection. Some elements are traditional shojo, but I thought the height difference and comparison to a comedy duo were original. As the story goes on, you see some old cliches get some completely new spins. But it's the characters that really make the story. Risa is a totally believable heroine. She wants to be in love, but she feels awkward and unfeminine because of her height. She's neither shy nor exceptionally strong; she's just a typical girl trying to deal with high school. Even when she's embarrassing herself, her feelings are very easy to understand. One thing I love is the spectrum of emotions she goes through, from joy to disappointment to heartbreak. Although Risa herself can be overly dramatic, the manga handles it all in a realistic and sympathetic way. Ootani makes a great love interest, too. He's embarrassed about being short, and he's got just a bit of an attitude. He's really a nice guy, though, which Risa soon discovers. Though their attitudes make them bump heads and they argue throughout the manga, Risa and Ootani can relate to each others' height woes. It doesn't take long for them to become friends. And how about this: a relationship that actually changes and grows? What a great concept! Really, it's rare to find such a thing in manga, but "Love Com" has it down. Risa and Ootani start out supporting each other as friends, but it starts to turn to something more for Risa. One thing I really appreciate about "Love Com" is the realistic way it handles the romance. It's not all sparkles and flowers. Even when there is a romantic moment, it's handled in an understated way. I love how it shows the awkwardness that can occur between friends who may be something more. Instead of taking away from it, this makes it much sweeter and more realistic. The romance never takes itself too seriously or gets too mushy.