Kari’s Manga Corner: First Impressions of ‘Nisekoi: False Love’
Remember you first crush? How old were you? Did you make a promise to your special someone? Well, that is what Raku Ichijo did in Nisekoi (False Love) by Naoshi Komi. He is the heir of a yakuza clan and ten years ago he made a promise to his childhood sweetheart. She gave him a lock pendent, she kept the key, and they promised to get married when they meet again as grownups. Now, Raku is in high school and still believes he will meet her again but he has forgotten her name and what she looks like! Things get complicated when a new girl, Chitoge Kirisaki, transfers to Raku’s school. Immediately the two fight over EVERYTHING! It turns out she is the daughter to a rival gang and in order to keep the peace, Raku’s father and Chitoge’s father implore the two to date. Both kids can think of nothing worse but soon realize that their fake love might really be the only way to stop the gangs from fighting each other.
Volume 1 is full of action, extreme emotions (it is high school after all) and the romance is fun to read. Will Raku fall for the brute Chitoge? Will Onodera (the girl Raku actually has a crush on) turn out to be the locket girl? I am actually kind of torn between the two girls and who I want to end up with Raku which goes to show how well written the love story is. The art style shows off the emotions and action sequences well with expressive facial expressions and lots of lines to show the tension and movement.
At first, I thought the potential love plot line between Raku and Chitoge would be cliché, but Komi has pulled me in. The characters have depth and you really want to know what happens to them. You will have to check out volume 1 to find out what happens! I will be on the look out for volume 2!
Volume 1 is currently available for $9.99.
Nisekoi, Volumes 1-6 are also available for digital download for $6.99 each on VIZManga.com and through the VIZ MANGA App for the Apple iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® touch, Android-powered smart phones, and also for NOOK, KOBO, and KINDLE tablets and devices.
