Nisekoi: First Impression (with synopsis)

Contains spoiler for first episode…

Nisekoi  was one of the much hyped anime show of 2014 winter lineup. Personally, I was also looking for some comedic/romance anime to watch this winter…Nisekoi was the first thing that came to mind. So, does it live up to the vibe its receiving?

Lets start with a brief story discussion. So what is this anime all about? Where does it start? The base foundation of this anime is about a “promise” Ichijou Raku and a girl made, during their childhood years, that is to get married. Raku is our main male character, a son of Yakuza family, which is a  renowned gangster in the town. With a blue hair and blue eyes, he definitely got the looks, but it seems like he is not a good fighter (at least so far on the first episode). Maybe that is one of the reason he doesn’t want to be the next gang heir. So Raku and this girl (who he made promise) have this childhood memento (a pendant with a lock). Raku has the pendant and the girl has the key to unlock it. They, in their childhood years, had decided that when they grow up this will be a way to find each other. The anime uses this “concept” as a mystique theme for the story as both these character who hold mutual feeling for each other aren’t aware about each other existence… Alright! Now we are done with the past story of these character…Let’s move on!

In the start of this episode we are introduced with another character: Kirisaki Chitoge. One hell of a transfer girl from America with good fighting skills, athletic abilities, and pretty face. You won’t be mistaken if you label her as tsundere character. She is a daughter of another famous gang in town which you will find out later in the episode. Raku and Chitoge meet each other in quite a romantic manner…that is Chitoge gives a flying kick to Raku’s face as she jumps over the fence. Isn’t that sweet?  Anyway, these two characters don’t get along with each other on this first episode, but call it sweet twist of fate…they end up as boyfriend and girlfriend. Wait! What? Now hear me out  before you start labeling me as a liar since I said they don’t get along. Yes like I said before, they don’t get along, but this boyfriend/girlfriend relationship is a fake one…or you can call it a forced one. Why you may ask? Well, Chitoge happened to be the daughter of the rival gang of Raku’s father. To cool down the feud relationship of these two rival gang, these two character (Raku and Chitoge) end up as a scapegoat.  They are forced to be couple to settle the rivalry that exist between the two gangs.

Now here is where it gets interesting. Later in the story it is shown that the girl Raku promised with ((at least that is what anime wants us to think so far) is also in the same school, and is close friend of his. This girl name is Onodera Kosaki: She got the looks and nice body structure. She is caring and friendly character. Also note that Raku currently has crush on her, but he has no clue that she is the same girl that he made promise with. I won’t go into details, but due to certain circumstances Onodera finds out that the guy she made promise with is none other than Raku. But Raku is still unaware of this fact.

After this long boring story I wrote, you might have already guessed where this story is heading. Personally, I think there will be love triangle with these three characters…whoa! Wait a second, I almost forgot. There is one more character who hasn’t been introduce yet (Tachibana Marika). I am pretty sure she will also want some piece of this romance story. So there you have it: a love rectangle with these four characters, but the one with Marika might be used as a comedic relief for serious romance atmosphere…or there may be even more characters then these four! Heck if I know, but without a doubt the romance plot is going to a huge one.

But this anime is not just about romance. We got a lot of stuff going on here. The gangster theme, the mystery of the pendant, past love story line, and surfacing relationship with new transfer girl Chitoge.  This whole episode is full of interesting plots which will live you hanging, and make you want to watch more of Nisekoi. Even though it has all these different story plots they all fill the dots. One way or the other everything seems connected.

The Art: Stunning; The Sound: Wonderful…There is nothing to complain about in this department. All the character have their own unique aura to differentiate from other folks around. The voice over for Raku is done by the guy who did voice over for Orimura Ichika from Infinite Stratos, and also for Takigawa Yoshino from Zetsuen no Tempest. His name is Uchiyama Kouki, and if you have seen the anime I mentioned above you know his voice over is impressive.

To shorten what I have to say: the story is creates lots of anticipation, the characters are dazzling, arts/sounds are imposing, and most of all the excitement is infinite. It’s unquestionably a must watch show of 2014 lineup!