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This Week in Anime - How Did Love and Lies Become So Boring?


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zrnzle500



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 3767
PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:09 pm Reply with quote
I don't feel the same way about Love and Lies, but I must admit the "Don't Put It in Your Mouth" video was pretty funny, both in and out of context.

It's definitely not Vanilla Scum's Wish like it so wants to be, but I think it has more going on than Convenience Store Boy Friends. At least I don't feel my attention drifting away when I watch Love and Lies.
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Cetais



Joined: 02 Feb 2012
Posts: 507
PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:41 pm Reply with quote
I'm still sick about seeing that scene where Nisaka kiss the MC.

Like... Why? The shock value? For fujoshi? It was just a tease that had absolutely no impact or whatsoever on the rest of the show (so far)

I expected to see development because of that, I expected to at least see something related to it, not this snoozefest.

I was honestly ectazic of the probability of seeing a queer view in this surreally-homophobic world.
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2165
PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:41 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
of a romantic dramedy that absolutely nobody remembers: A Town Where You Live

On the contrary, I wish I could forget. I want those years of my life back, that manga was trash.

Stupid Seo Trainwreck Kouji can't even be assed to mention video chat software before breaking up a long-distance relationship. Ugh, what a farce of a series that was.

The final straw was when the Fuuka anime failed entirely and didn't even give me hilarious gifs.

I WANTED ONE THING KOUJI

ONE THING

WAS THAT SO HARD
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LoriasGS



Joined: 24 Jan 2015
Posts: 89
PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:01 pm Reply with quote
I've got to agree with Nick on this Mysterious Girlfriend X IS different. I think the difference comes with the intention of it. The spit swap/trail of spit kisses that sometimes pop up in anime always seems like the animator thinks it's somehow sexy or alluring and it certainly isn't.

Mysterious Girlfriend X doesn't feel that way. It's certainly very personal to the characters and they find it alluring or sexy or whatever but it's not meant for us to feel the same way. For us it's meant to feel a little weird and uncomfortable.

Both are pretty fetishy (admittedly MGX is more so) but one of them feels like it's trying to draw us in and convince us that it's also our fetish, while the other sometimes seems deliberately off putting while also telling us that even if it's not our cup of tea it works for them and that's ok.

Then again I am a little bias Mysterious Girlfriend X is one of my top 3 anime romcoms.
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jtron



Joined: 03 May 2012
Posts: 183
Location: Chicago
PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 3:32 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, Mysterious Girlfriend X is doing its own weird thing, which it succeeds at (I thought)
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Calico



Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 383
PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:14 pm Reply with quote
Love and Lies' premise is exactly that of a third-rate American YA novel, so I'm not surprised that it turned out bad. Though as ever, my biggest question with these kinds of novels is what exactly happens to the people that are unable to have children? Are they shipped off to remote islands in exile? Forbidden to marry? Killed? If a "government mandates who you marry" plot is to succeed, I think it has to focus on the people who would be screwed over the most by these systems: people who are sterile, people who were born with some kind of disability, and gay people. Not bland protagonists stuck in a stupid love triangle.
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animefan1238



Joined: 28 Nov 2006
Posts: 298
Location: Ma
PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 9:37 pm Reply with quote
LoriasGS wrote:

Then again I am a little bias Mysterious Girlfriend X is one of my top 3 anime romcoms.


Myst GF X is a different show and weirdly, spit is a main part of the characters and how they build their relationship. It is one of my top romcoms.
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Agent355



Joined: 12 Dec 2008
Posts: 5113
Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready...
PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:59 am Reply with quote
Calico wrote:
Love and Lies' premise is exactly that of a third-rate American YA novel, so I'm not surprised that it turned out bad. Though as ever, my biggest question with these kinds of novels is what exactly happens to the people that are unable to have children? Are they shipped off to remote islands in exile? Forbidden to marry? Killed? If a "government mandates who you marry" plot is to succeed, I think it has to focus on the people who would be screwed over the most by these systems: people who are sterile, people who were born with some kind of disability, and gay people. Not bland protagonists stuck in a stupid love triangle.

I dropped this show after the first episode (& subsequent episodes didn't get positive feedback), but this idea would be a lot better with some decent worldbuilding. Does anyone leave the country to get out of the arranged marriage? Are they allowed to? What if a couple gets married as prescribed, but one spouse dies--does the surviving spouse get a back up mate? Here's a basic question--does the government forbid people from divorcing? There are just way too many questions that the show ignores in favor of bland love triangle hijinks. If the author wanted to do a bland harem, he could have used the old "my parents want me to marry this person, but I'm in love with that person" plot devise everyone else uses. Ask Rumiko Takahashi how to set that up.
Although, I did like that scene in the first episode in which the protagonist's classmate was loudly complaining about the system, and getting a bunch of other boys to vow breaking it with him. It was framed as comedic melodramatic teenage complaining rather than a serious call to revolution, and it struck me as humorously realistic.

Off-topic: when is This Week in Anime going to get its own page? I keep missing the column and its hard to find the old ones because it doesn't have a dedicated page yet.
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ice_tea



Joined: 15 Oct 2009
Posts: 74
PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 5:02 am Reply with quote
"Bland protagonists stuck in a stupid love triangle" is exactly the theme of this anime (as well as lots of other shounen romance titles). Don't know why, this is such as popular theme.

The premise of this show is that "love is forbidden". That's why the characters don't know what is love and don't know when they fall in love, otherwise there's no story to write. I agree, it's obviously trying attract a pre-teen audience.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 6:29 am Reply with quote
Perhaps the Love & Lies manga ripped off the Scum's Wish manga. Maybe. But there's no way that the Love & Lies anime ripped off the Scum's Wish anime as the timing between the two shows is too short. The Love & Lies anime would have already left the planning/pre-production stage and started animation when Scum's Wish began airing back in January. I am disappointed that two anime professionals would have overlooked this crucial detail when making comparisons between the two franchises.

Oh, and Mysterious Girlfriend X is an extremely good show. It's wrong to pass it off as schlock or a sleazefest. Too many viewers focus on the drool but ignore everything else. Like how boundary issues are understood and dealt with. Or the way the teenage characters experiment and explore their kinks and find out what turns them (and their partner) on. It's not sleazy behaviour at all, instead perfectly natural and healthy.
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Usagi-kun



Joined: 03 Jul 2013
Posts: 877
Location: Nashville, TN
PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 4:28 pm Reply with quote
dtm42 wrote:


Oh, and Mysterious Girlfriend X is an extremely good show. It's wrong to pass it off as schlock or a sleazefest. Too many viewers focus on the drool but ignore everything else. Like how boundary issues are understood and dealt with. Or the way the teenage characters experiment and explore their kinks and find out what turns them (and their partner) on. It's not sleazy behaviour at all, instead perfectly natural and healthy.


I was the kid in the lunchroom who became grossed out by the boys taking their peach fruit cups and spitting in a couple to see if any of the others could tell. THANK GOD they have the 'in juice' option now.

I have heard positive things about Girlfriend X. Overlooking surface features can lead to tasty peaches and accepting that we all have the freedom to be as weird as possible are both important acts of maturity. Focusing on surface limitations alone is confining and boring. Enjoying your peaches is always a better option.
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Agent355



Joined: 12 Dec 2008
Posts: 5113
Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready...
PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 4:59 pm Reply with quote
dtm42 wrote:
Perhaps the Love & Lies manga ripped off the Scum's Wish manga. Maybe. But there's no way that the Love & Lies anime ripped off the Scum's Wish anime as the timing between the two shows is too short. The Love & Lies anime would have already left the planning/pre-production stage and started animation when Scum's Wish began airing back in January. I am disappointed that two anime professionals would have overlooked this crucial detail when making comparisons between the two franchises.

The writers were not necessarily implying that the similarities were done on purpose, they were just comparing two works with similar ideas & themes that came out within the same year. But now that you mention it, I looked it up and the Scum's Wish manga came out in 2012 and the Love and Lies manga came out in 2014, which means the former may have influenced the latter in some ways, even if it was not intentional.
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jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 4369
Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 9:17 pm Reply with quote
LoriasGS wrote:
I've got to agree with Nick on this Mysterious Girlfriend X IS different. I think the difference comes with the intention of it. The spit swap/trail of spit kisses that sometimes pop up in anime always seems like the animator thinks it's somehow sexy or alluring and it certainly isn't.

Mysterious Girlfriend X doesn't feel that way. It's certainly very personal to the characters and they find it alluring or sexy or whatever but it's not meant for us to feel the same way. For us it's meant to feel a little weird and uncomfortable.

Both are pretty fetishy (admittedly MGX is more so) but one of them feels like it's trying to draw us in and convince us that it's also our fetish, while the other sometimes seems deliberately off putting while also telling us that even if it's not our cup of tea it works for them and that's ok.

Then again I am a little bias Mysterious Girlfriend X is one of my top 3 anime romcoms.


I beg to differ. that series is on the same level as L&L and NTR: to be avoided like the plague. if romcoms are your thing. then watch nisekoi or even Koi Kaze. at least those two are definitely is anything but boring unlike L&L, and its not as outrageous as NTR.

Quote:
My tip: just go watch Sankarea or Yosuga no Sora instead. All of the shame but none of the boredom


I beg to differ. sankarea is in the same level as this series. though L&L is by far worse. yousuga no sora on the other hand is another story. at least that series have zero boredom and is better than L&L , NTR & Sankarea combined. though I might be on the minority side since on this since #1) the series is 100% harem , #2) its near or BL ero and #3) the main romcom of the series is 100% blood related incest involving twins which is similar to Angel Sanctuary which is a massive turn off for a majority of romcom fans. especially after the oreimo debacle.
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lossthief
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 14 Dec 2012
Posts: 1380
PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 10:00 pm Reply with quote
Agent355 wrote:

I dropped this show after the first episode (& subsequent episodes didn't get positive feedback), but this idea would be a lot better with some decent worldbuilding. Does anyone leave the country to get out of the arranged marriage? Are they allowed to? What if a couple gets married as prescribed, but one spouse dies--does the surviving spouse get a back up mate? Here's a basic question--does the government forbid people from divorcing?


The show hasn't done much to extrapolate on how/if the marriages are strictly enforced (which is just one of its many problems) but it's implied that while they aren't necessarily legally enforced, there's a good deal of social stigma to rejecting your assigned marriage. Nisaka mentions that if Yukari - who wants to go to an esteemed university to be an archaeologist - rejects his marriage, it could endanger his chances at being accepted since it's on his record. Granted, that's the only time repercussions are mentioned seriously and it's still hearsay, but that's basically all the show's given us for context.
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lebrel



Joined: 16 Oct 2009
Posts: 374
PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2017 8:48 am Reply with quote
I suspect that at least part of the problem with Love and Lies is that it seems to be the author's first ongoing series, and they hadn't adequately planned out what would happen plotwise if it hit the "this is popular, keep it going forever" threshold. It feels like it's stalling for time while the author tries to think up something to do.

Jacob wrote:
Scum's Wish is pretty firmly for older teen girls, while Love and Lies plays more to a male-leaning but gender-neutral-ish preteen crowd. I think.


I find it pretty obvious that they're both primarily male-oriented (Scum ran in a seinen magazine aimed at roughly 18-25ish guys, Love ran in an online shonen mag that seems to lean older-teen). Girls don't have a monopoly on "overwrought relationship drama with possible angsty sex"; one of the things I like about Japanese media is that it makes fewer assumptions about what the audience is supposed to like, so it is willing to do, for instance, bloody action for girls or melodramatic romance for boys. And then Westerners try to shove the works into the boxes we expect them to fit, leading to hilarious things like Domestic Girlfriend being labeled shoujo (DID YOU NOT SEE ALL THE BOOBIES), or people arguing that Requiem of the Rose King "isn't really shoujo" because it's too bloody (DID YOU NOT SEE ALL THE GENDER ANXIETY AND ROSES).
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