Lovely Complex Is A Messy Realistic Romance That Gets First Love Right

Lovely Complex anime review discussions always split the room in half. You've got people calling it the greatest shoujo rom-com ever animated, and others who want to reach through the screen and shake Atsushi Otani for being a dense jerk to Risa Koizumi for twelve straight episodes. Both sides have a point, which is exactly what makes this 2007 Toei Animation production so frustrating and so watchable at the same time. It isn't a clean fairy tale where love magically fixes everything. It's a depiction of two awkward teenagers, one 172cm and one 156cm, bumbling through the realization that they might actually like each other while their entire high school laughs at their height difference from the sidelines.

The show doesn't waste time setting up some elaborate premise. Risa is tall. Otani is short. They're both loud, competitive, and share weirdly specific interests like a Japanese rapper named Umibozu. Their friends nickname them "All-Hanshin Kyojin" after a comedy duo because they bicker constantly and look ridiculous standing next to each other. That's the hook. But the real substance comes from watching Risa fall for Otani first and having to deal with the fact that he's either too stupid to notice or too scared to acknowledge it. It's messy, it's repetitive, and it captures the feeling of being seventeen and having no idea what you're doing with your feelings.

The Height Complex That Drives Everything

The central gimmick of Lovely Complex isn't just that Risa is tall and Otani is short. It's how that physical difference warps their self-esteem and social interactions in ways that feel painfully real. Risa isn't just "tall for a girl" in the way anime usually depicts it with a slightly longer leg model. She's 172cm in a Japanese high school, which means she towers over most of her classmates and has spent her entire adolescence feeling like an unlovable giant. Meanwhile Otani at 156cm gets treated like a child or a mascot by everyone around him, and he compensates by being loud, aggressive, and weirdly good at basketball despite his stature.

Their height difference creates the "complex" in the title. They're both hyper-aware of how they look standing next to each other, which fuels their initial hostility and their later hesitation about dating. When Risa realizes she likes Otani, her first thought isn't "does he like me back" but "can I even date someone shorter without looking weird." Otani has the inverse problem where admitting he likes the tall girl means accepting that he isn't the "man" in the relationship by traditional standards. The show explores this without getting preachy about gender roles. It just shows two kids who are insecure about their bodies trying to figure out if attraction can override social embarrassment.

In Japan, height differences carry different cultural weight than in the West. A tall girl dating a short guy breaks unwritten rules about couples looking "balanced" together in public. The anime doesn't shy away from showing classmates laughing at them when they stand together, or strangers making comments about how they look like a comedy act rather than a potential couple. This external pressure makes their eventual relationship feel like a small act of rebellion against social expectations, which adds weight to their romantic moments that wouldn't exist if they were a standard height-matched pair.

Risa Koizumi Breaks The Shoujo Mold

Risa breaks the shoujo heroine mold in ways that still feel refreshing nearly twenty years later. She isn't clumsy in a cute way, she isn't academically perfect, and she definitely isn't waiting around for a prince to save her. She's loud, she gets angry fast, she cries constantly, and she pursues Otani with a persistence that borders on stubbornness. Some viewers find her crying annoying, especially since she bursts into tears roughly every three episodes after Otani says something thoughtless, but that's exactly what makes her feel like a real sixteen-year-old girl having her first real crush rather than a fictional construct designed to be marketable.

Her characterization stays consistent throughout the 24 episodes. She doesn't suddenly become a demure traditional girlfriend once she starts dating Otani. She keeps her temper, she keeps her weird hobbies like collecting Umibozu merchandise, and she keeps standing tall even when it makes her self-conscious. The anime gives her a full wardrobe of different outfits instead of the standard "one school uniform and one casual outfit" that anime characters usually get, which adds to the realism of her daily life. She's a complete person with flaws that aren't there just to be cute, like being bad at cooking or tripping over nothing. Her flaws are real and sometimes ugly, like her inability to take a hint when Otani isn't ready to reciprocate her feelings, or her tendency to scream at him in public when she gets frustrated.

What makes Risa work as a protagonist is that she doesn't change herself to win the guy. She doesn't start wearing flats instead of her platform shoes to make Otani feel taller. She doesn't stop eating huge portions of food to seem more feminine. She pursues him as her authentic self, temper and all, and the show treats this as a positive trait rather than something she needs to fix. In a genre full of heroines who have to become smaller and quieter to deserve love, Risa's refusal to shrink herself is genuinely inspiring.

The Problem With Atsushi Otani

Here's where Lovely Complex loses some people. Otani is dense. Not just "anime protagonist dense" where he misses obvious signals because the plot requires it. He actively rejects Risa multiple times, calls her an idiot to her face regularly, and spends a solid third of the series treating her feelings like a joke or an inconvenience. There's a fine line between "tsundere" and "guy who is kind of a jerk," and Otani tap-dances right over that line until the final episodes when he finally gets his head out of his rear.

Some reviewers have called his behavior abusive, pointing out that he verbally puts Risa down constantly and only seems to value her when she's making him laugh or boosting his ego. One detailed analysis argues that the show accidentally glorifies a toxic dynamic by rewarding Risa's persistence with eventual romance, sending the message that if you just endure enough mean comments from your crush, he'll eventually come around. Others defend him as a realistic portrayal of a teenage boy who is terrified of intimacy and uses humor and insults as a defense mechanism against vulnerability.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Otani isn't evil, but he is frustrating to watch, and the anime doesn't do enough to show his internal thought process until very late in the story. You're stuck watching Risa chase a guy who keeps calling her ugly and weird, which can feel like watching a friend make the same bad dating choice over and over again. The manga apparently does a better job of showing his perspective and his own insecurities about being short, which makes his reluctance to date the tall girl more sympathetic. In the anime, he just comes off as obtuse and mean-spirited for too many episodes in a row.

Why The All Hanshin Kyojin Dynamic Works

The nickname their classmates give them, All-Hanshin Kyojin, refers to a real comedy duo from Japan, and it fits because Risa and Otani are genuinely funny together. Their banter is fast, mean in a playful way, and based on real shared interests rather than forced romantic tension. They both like the same music, they both act like competitive children about grades and sports, and they both hate being pitied for their heights. The chemistry between them works because they feel like friends first and romantic interests second, which is rare in a genre where couples often have nothing in common except physical attraction.

This is where Lovely Complex succeeds where other rom-coms fail. The romance develops from a foundation of actual compatibility rather than accidental physical contact or magical fate. You believe these two would hang out even if they weren't trying to date each other. Their friendship feels lived-in, with in-jokes about past events and a comfortable rhythm of insults that only makes sense to them. When the show focuses on them just being stupid teenagers together, going to water parks or obsessing over concert tickets, it's at its best. When it forces artificial drama through misunderstandings or temporary love rivals, it drags.

Their dynamic also subverts the usual gender roles in interesting ways. Risa is physically dominant and emotionally aggressive, while Otani is smaller and more emotionally closed off. She pursues him actively rather than waiting to be chosen. He has to learn to be vulnerable rather than rescuing her from anything. It's a refreshing change from the standard "weak girl needs strong boy" template that dominated shoujo anime for decades.

First Love Insecurities Done Right

The most accurate thing about Lovely Complex is how it portrays the paralyzing fear of first relationships. Risa doesn't know how to confess without screaming. Otani doesn't know how to accept affection without deflecting with a joke. They both worry constantly about what their friends will think, whether they're being too forward or too distant, and if they're "dating wrong." There's a scene where they finally get together and just sit there awkwardly because neither knows what couples are supposed to do with their hands, or if they're allowed to touch each other in public, or how to say goodbye at the train station.

This realism extends to their physical relationship. They kiss a few times, but mostly they just stand next to each other looking uncomfortable and happy. The show doesn't pretend that teenagers are confident seduction experts. It shows them fumbling through emotional conversations, crying in bathrooms, and asking their friends for advice that they immediately ignore because it requires too much courage. Several Reddit users have noted that the series accurately captures the specific anxiety of first love, where every text message feels like a life or death situation and every glance is analyzed for hidden meaning.

Anyone who remembers their first high school relationship will recognize the specific brand of awkwardness that Risa and Otani exude. The way they overthink everything, the way they assume the worst possible interpretation of every interaction, and the way they can't just use their words to communicate simple feelings because that would be too vulnerable. It's painful to watch because it's real.

The Repetitive Structure That Kills The Momentum

For all its strengths, Lovely Complex has a serious pacing problem in the middle episodes that drives some viewers away. The story follows a loop that gets predictable fast: Risa realizes she still likes Otani, she tries to show him through some grand gesture or confession, he doesn't get it or rejects her outright, she cries for an episode while her friends comfort her, then she decides to try again with renewed determination. This happens at least three times over the course of the series, and by the third cycle you start wondering why she doesn't just give up on the short idiot and find someone who can use their words like an adult.

The anime also has a habit of introducing side characters specifically to create temporary drama and then discarding them immediately without proper resolution. There's a substitute teacher named Maity who shows up, creates a weird love triangle for two episodes, threatens to derail the main relationship, and then vanishes without his plotline really resolving anything meaningful about the main characters. Haruka, Risa's childhood friend, gets built up as a serious rival who could treat Risa better than Otani does, and then gets shuffled off-screen once his purpose as an obstacle is served. These plot threads feel like filler, and they interrupt the main romance that viewers are actually there to see.

Some reviewers on MyAnimeList have pointed out that this repetitive structure is the show's biggest weakness, creating a mid-season slump where you're just waiting for Otani to stop being stupid so the story can move forward. The pacing picks up again in the final third, but the damage to the viewing experience is already done for some people.

Animation That Looks Older Than It Is

Lovely Complex came out in 2007, but it looks like it was animated in 1997. The art style is simple, the backgrounds are bland and static, and the character designs are basic in a way that some people find charmingly retro but others find cheap and lazy. Toei Animation clearly didn't throw a huge budget at this production, and it shows in the crowd scenes that are just static drawings, the frequent use of flashbacks to pad runtime, and the limited movement during dialogue scenes.

However, the simplicity works for the comedy in ways that flashy animation might not. The animators use a lot of super-deformed chibi faces and exaggerated physical reactions that wouldn't work with a more realistic or detailed art style. When Risa gets angry, her face contorts into a cartoonish mask of rage with sharp teeth and blank eyes. When Otani is confused, his entire body shrinks down to toddler size. These visual gags carry a lot of the humor, and they fit the messy, loud tone of the series. THEM Anime Reviews specifically praised these SD renderings as a perfect complement to the script's verbal wit.

Just don't go in expecting fluid animation or detailed backgrounds. This is a series that cares more about facial expressions than it does about making the school look realistic or giving the characters fancy hair that moves in the wind. It's functional animation that serves the comedy and the emotional beats, but it's never going to win awards for visual spectacle.

The Kansai Dialect Choice

One weird detail that adds authenticity is that almost the entire cast speaks in Kansai dialect, which is unusual for anime where everyone usually speaks standard Tokyo Japanese regardless of where the story is set. Lovely Complex takes place in Osaka, and the voice actors commit to the accent fully, which adds a layer of regional flavor that makes the setting feel specific rather than generic. For non-Japanese speakers, this just sounds like everyone is talking fast and with slightly different inflections than other anime. For native speakers, it grounds the show in a real place with real cultural attitudes.

The voice acting itself is solid across the board. Akemi Okamura, who you might know as Nami from One Piece, plays Risa with the right amount of energy and vulnerability, making her crying scenes feel genuine rather than manipulative. Akira Nagata captures Otani's mix of bravado and insecurity without making him sound like a complete lost cause. The banter between them feels natural and improvisational, like two real friends roasting each other rather than actors reading lines.

The side cast is fine, though nobody stands out as exceptional except maybe for Risa's friend Nobuko, voiced by Saori Goto, who gets some genuinely emotional scenes despite being a secondary character. The consistent use of the Kansai dialect helps create a cohesive soundscape that separates this show from other high school rom-coms that all blend together with their standard Tokyo accents.

When Comedy Becomes Uncomfortable

There's an ongoing debate in fan communities about whether Otani's treatment of Risa crosses the line from "teasing" into "verbal abuse" that the show doesn't adequately address. He calls her an idiot constantly, he dismisses her feelings repeatedly with comments about how she's not his type, he humiliates her in front of their friends when she tries to be romantic, and he generally acts like her wanting to date him is an inconvenience until the very end of the series. Some viewers find this realistic, arguing that teenage boys often act like defensive jerks when they're scared of intimacy. Others find it toxic, arguing that the show romanticizes the "if he's mean to you he likes you" trope that keeps people in bad relationships in real life.

The anime doesn't really address this dynamic critically or show Otani facing consequences for his meaner moments. It presents his behavior as something Risa just has to endure to get her happy ending, which is a problematic message if you think about it too hard. If you can accept that Otani is a flawed kid who is slowly learning to be vulnerable and that Risa is choosing to pursue him despite his flaws, the romance works as a story about persistence. If you need your romantic leads to be respectful from day one, you're going to hate this guy by episode twelve and wonder why Risa doesn't just date Haruka instead.

The show also flirts with emotional abuse in the way Otani keeps Risa on the hook, accepting her friendship and her help with homework and her emotional support while repeatedly rejecting her romantic advances and then getting jealous when she tries to move on. It's messy and realistic, but it's not always comfortable to watch.

Side Characters Who Deserved Better

Nobuko is great. She's Risa's best friend, she's supportive without being perfect, she gets her own small romantic subplot, and she provides the emotional support that keeps Risa from completely falling apart. Everyone else is pretty forgettable. The other classmates exist mainly to react to Risa and Otani's height difference with comments like "you guys look like a comedy duo." The love rivals show up, cause trouble for two or three episodes, and leave without any real resolution or character growth.

Even the teacher who helps them get together, Maity, feels more like a plot device than a person, existing solely to make Otani jealous enough to realize his feelings. This weakness is apparently fixed in the manga, where side characters get more development, backstory, and closure. The anime rushes through the final arcs and doesn't give anyone except the main couple a satisfying ending. If you find yourself attached to the supporting cast, you'll probably be disappointed by how quickly the series wraps up their stories in the final episode.

The anime tries to give Nobuko and the other friends a conclusion in the last episode, but it feels tacked on rather than earned, like the writers suddenly remembered they had other characters who needed closure. The manga apparently spends more time on the friend group's dynamics and their own romantic troubles, making the world feel fuller and more lived-in.

Music That Fits But Won't Change Your Life

The soundtrack by Hironosuke Sato does its job without being particularly memorable or innovative. There are upbeat tracks for the comedy scenes and piano melodies for the crying scenes, but nothing you'll be humming later or adding to your playlist. The opening themes by Hey! Say! 7 are catchy pop songs that fit the shoujo vibe, though some viewers find the second opening's rap-pop mix jarring and inappropriate for the show's tone. The ending themes are mellow ballads that work better for the show's emotional moments.

Where the sound design shines is in the use of silence. There are moments where the background music drops out completely and you just hear the characters breathing or crying, which makes those scenes hit harder than they would with constant musical manipulation telling you how to feel. It's a subtle choice that shows the sound designers understood when to get out of the way of the voice actors and let the emotions speak for themselves.

The background music during the emotional climaxes is effective enough, swelling at the right moments to make your heart hurt when Risa gets rejected again or when Otani finally confesses. It's competent work that supports the narrative without drawing attention to itself, which is honestly all you can ask for from a mid-budget romantic comedy from 2007.

Why This Still Works Despite Its Mess

Lovely Complex survives its repetitive plot, dated animation, and frustrating male lead because the core relationship feels genuine in a way that polished but hollow rom-coms don't. Risa and Otani act like real teenagers who don't know what they're doing. They mess up, they apologize, they get back together, and they slowly figure out how to be a couple through trial and error. The height difference never stops being a source of anxiety for them, but they learn to prioritize their feelings over their fear of looking weird to outsiders.

The anime captures that specific feeling of first love where everything is terrifying and exhilarating at the same time, where holding hands feels like a major milestone and a misunderstood text message can ruin your entire week. When they finally get together, it feels earned because you've watched them struggle through miscommunication and insecurity to get there. It's not a perfect romance, and it's definitely not a healthy relationship model for the first two-thirds of the series, but it is a realistic one that acknowledges how hard it is to be vulnerable when you're seventeen and terrified of rejection.

The show also benefits from its specificity. It knows it's about these two specific weird kids in this specific place, and it doesn't try to be a universal story about all love or all teenagers. It's just about Risa and Otani, their height difference, their shared love of Umibozu, and their slow realization that they don't want to be just friends. That focus keeps it grounded even when the plot gets repetitive.

Who Should Watch This And Who Should Skip It

If you want a romance where the characters communicate like adults from the start and treat each other with constant respect, skip this show because you'll just get angry at Otani. If you want fluid animation and a tight plot without filler episodes or repetitive confession cycles, skip this because the production values aren't there and the pacing drags in the middle. But if you want to watch two awkward kids fumble through their feelings while making you laugh with their stupid faces and their competitive bickering, Lovely Complex delivers exactly that experience.

It's particularly good for people who are tired of shoujo heroines who are perfect except for being clumsy or needing rescue. Risa is a mess, and that's what makes her great. She's loud, she's emotional, she doesn't fit the mold of the quiet feminine ideal, and she doesn't apologize for taking up space. If you want to see a tall girl get the guy without shrinking herself to make him feel bigger, this is the show for you.

The show works best when viewed as a time capsule of mid-2000s shoujo anime, before the genre got dominated by isekai and life-or-death supernatural premises. It's not trying to be revolutionary or deconstruct the genre. It's trying to tell a simple love story between two weird kids who look funny standing together, and it succeeds at that even when the pacing drags or the animation gets choppy.

Lovely Complex isn't a perfect anime by any stretch. The plot loops in circles for too long, the main boy takes too many episodes to get his act together and stop being mean, and the side characters vanish into the background without proper goodbyes. But as any honest lovely complex anime review will tell you, the chemistry between the leads and the honest portrayal of teenage insecurity make it worth watching anyway. You might want to strangle Otani halfway through season one, and you might get tired of Risa's crying jags every time he says something thoughtless, but you'll probably still root for them to figure it out by the final episode because they feel like real people who deserve happiness even when they're being idiots.

If you can handle the messy reality of two teenagers who don't know how to date and who hurt each other's feelings while learning to communicate, you'll find something real and funny here. Just don't expect a smooth ride, and maybe keep the manga on standby if you want to know what happens to everyone else after the credits roll because the anime leaves a lot of threads hanging. It's a solid seven out of ten that could have been a nine with better pacing and a less verbally abusive male lead, but it's still one of the better romantic comedies from that era of anime and worth your time if you like your romance with a side of realism and awkward laughter.