Lovely Complex is a love story between a boy and a girl. The girl, Risa Koizumi, is 172 cm tall—much taller than the average Japanese girl. The boy, Atsushi Otani, is 156 cm—way below the height of the average Japanese boy. Because of this, they are called the "All Hanshin Kyojin" after a popular comedy duo that has a similar height difference.
During summer school, a very tall student (from another class) shows up and Risa immediately falls for him, as she has had bad luck with boys in the past because she is tall. There is a girl that Atsushi likes as well, so Risa and Atsushi decide to put aside their differences and help each other get their love interests. But as they get to know each other better, Risa's feelings for Atsushi begin to blossom, and her love life gets complicated from there.
Characters
Risa Koizumi (小泉リサ, Koizumi Risa?)
Drama role by: Ema Fujisawa, Voiced by: Akemi Okamura.
The protagonist of Lovely Complex, Risa Koizumi is not your average Japanese high school student. Standing 172 cm tall (about 5' 7"), Risa's height is well above that of most Japanese girls her age; ironically, her name means 'little spring'. She compares herself and is compared by others to a giraffe. Risa can be impulsive and strong-willed at times, and is rarely willing to display her softer side. She had a crush on Suzuki before he started dating Chiharu.
Risa starts developing feelings for Ōtani and soon admits to herself that she likes him. She then starts trying to confess. Failing the first time, Nobuko and Nakao try to help, Nobuko often giving Risa advice on what to do. Finally she very directly tells him. She immediately regrets it, and tells Ōtani to pretend it never happenened, but in spite of herself she tells Ōtani once again that she likes him. Ōtani responds that he couldn't see her as a girlfriend yet, so her new goal is to make Ōtani regret that and make him like her as well. Eventually they start going out.
Atsushi Ōtani (大谷敦士, Ōtani Atsushi?)
Drama role by: Teppei Koike, Voiced by: Akira Nagata, Voice actor for game/drama CD: Takahiro Sakurai
Atsushi Ōtani is one of the main characters of Lovely Complex. He is very short for a boy, standing 156 cm tall (about 5' 1"). Like Koizumi, Ōtani's name (roughly, "big valley") is a pun on his diminutive stature, and he can be thoughtless and rude; at heart, however, he is kind and a little silly. Ōtani is also the star player of the school basketball team.
His ex-girlfriend is Mayu Kanzaki, the manager of his middle-school basketball team. She broke up with him for a much taller boyfriend, and this is one of the reasons Ōtani is sensitive about his height, but he later finds out that wasn't the reason she broke up with him, it was because she was in love with someone else already who just happened to be tall. He doesn't know quite yet how he feels about Risa, and only responds that he can't see her as a girlfriend (at the moment) when Risa confesses her feelings. But later, he realizes that he does care for her, and he kisses her. Later on in the series, Otani gets the wrong idea when Risa keep doing suspicious things with her co-worker Kohori, and then breaks up with her. However, after seeing how devoted she is to him, Otani reconsiders and they make up on Christmas Eve.
Nobuko Ishihara (石原信子, Ishihara Nobuko?)
Drama role by: Nami Tamaki, Voiced by: Saori Higashi
Fashionable and charming, Nobu is Risa's best friend. She is generally wiser than Risa or Chiharu in the ways of love, and is always ready to offer her advice. She's mostly the one who sets up all the 'alone time' moments with Risa and Ōtani, but it usually ends up failing and Risa goes back to her for comfort.
Heikichi Nakao (中尾平吉, Nakao Heikichi?)
Drama role by: Yusuke Yamazaki, Voiced by: Yasuhiko Tokuyama, Voice actor for game/drama CD: Kenjiro Tsuda
Nobu's boyfriend. Mild-mannered and easygoing. Nakao is absolutely dedicated to Nobu, and when he is not playing basketball with Ōtani, he can usually be found helping with her match-making schemes.
Chiharu Tanaka (田中千春, Tanaka Chiharu?)
Drama role by: Risa Kudo, Voiced by: Kazuko Kojima.
One of Risa's closest friends, Chiharu has such a shy, demure personality that she fears most boys her own age. Ōtani once harbored a crush on her (she resembles Kanzaki, his ex-girlfriend), but Chiharu instead fell for the gentle Suzuki. The two are now a couple.
Ryoji Suzuki (鈴木涼二, Suzuki Ryoji?)
Drama role by: Hiro Mizushima, Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda, Voice actor for game/drama CD: Masaya Onosaka
Chiharu's boyfriend. Suzuki's cool demeanor is often mistaken for standoffishness, and so he has few friends. Oblivious to Risa's crush on him, he develops feelings for Chiharu, and eventually asks her out. The two are now a couple.
Haruka Fukagawa (深川遥, Fukugawa Haruka?)
Voiced by: Masaya Onosaka, Voice actor for game/drama CD: Ryotaro Okiayu
A handsome, effeminate young man who developed a childhood crush on Risa when she defended him from a gang of bullies. Though he is popular with many of the other girls (dating seven at a time), he says it's all preparation for when he goes out with Risa, but she always rejects him. According to Risa his grandmother is English. It is also suggested that he might have a crush on Seiko.
Seiko Kotobuki (寿聖子, Kotobuki Seiko?)
Voiced by: Fujiko Takimoto
A blonde who has a large crush on Ōtani, although she is genetically male, stating that God placed her in a wrong body. Her official name is Seishirō, however she prefers to be called Seiko as it sounds more feminine. She kissed Otani, but he later found out she was genetically male when she took off her shirt when tending to his injury in the school infirmary. She was afraid that Ōtani would think she was disgusting, but Ōtani stated that he didn't think such a thing and they remained friends.
Mayu Kanzaki
Voiced by: Yuki Matsuoka
She is the ex-girlfriend of Ōtani. She looks very similar to Chiharu (or Chiharu to her), which is one the most likely reasons that Ōtani had that crush on Chiharu. They started dating in middle-school, and she was the manager for the school basketball team. She broke up with him, leaving him completely heartbroken, because she was in love with someone else.
She invited Ōtani to the team Christmas party, and though Ōtani accepts, he ends up going with Risa to the Umibōzu concert instead. She then broke up with her boyfriend, and visited Ōtani's school to see him, but encountered Risa and Nobu. She then invited Risa and Nobu to a basketball party, in which Ōtani found out by Nakao and went also. She then tried to get together with him again, saying she wanted to discuss something with him, but Ōtani declined; saying if he did, he would make a certain someone cry if she saw him with her. Kanzaki eventually reunites with the boyfriend she had broken up with.
Umibōzu
Drama role by: Susumu Terajima
A popular rap group. Risa and Ōtani are both avid fans of the eponymous lead singer, Umibōzu, leading to Nobu's suggestion that the two are compatible. Risa and Ōtani accidentally cross paths with Umibōzu while on a class trip, and learn that he is actually a devoted family man.
Kuniumi Maitake (舞竹国海, Maitake Kuniumi?)
Drama role by: Shosuke Tanihara, Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe.
Student teacher at Risa and Ōtani's school. Maitake, who prefers the nickname "Maity", is taller than Risa and extraordinarily good-looking. He soon acquires a legion of female fans. Gaining affection from Risa, Ōtani soon becomes jealous and quickly starts to realize his feelings for her.
Interestingly, he bears a resemblance to "Cain-sama", a character in one of Risa's favorite visual novels.
Mimi Yoshioka
Voiced by: Kae Araki
Ōtani's next door neighbor. She is in love with Ōtani, and brings him milk every day so he could reach her height, about the same as Risa's. Since Ōtani does not not have feelings toward her but he does have feelings for Risa, Mimi becomes jealous of her. She acts accordingly two-faced between them both: acting sweet towards Ōtani, yet acting sour to Risa behind his back. She is also a model in a magazine.
Risa's Senpai
Drama role by: Shugo Oshinari
Dancing Yoshiko
Drama role by: Eiji Wentz
Kohori Kazuki
Voiced by: Hiroki Shimowada
A young student who works part time with Risa in Ikebe. He is notably shorter than her, although slightly taller than Otani (158 cm.), and has distinctive black hair with a red streak. Risa soon discovers that he is also an avid Umibouzu fan. He very soon develops feelings for Risa, who admits to herself that she finds him 'cute'. Against her better judgment, Risa attends an Umibōzu concert with Kohori which leads to her temporary breakup with Ōtani.
Matsubara-san (松原さん, Matsubara san?)
The manager in charge at the restaurant where Risa works. She wears glasses and is quite nosy. When she is intoxicated, she turns wild, and does things that she won't remember the next day.
this anime gets a three out of five
way to sappy..and its about a girl going after a boy that turned her down
on some points she just wante to quit but she couldnt...this anime made me cry
warning may get you in touch with your girly side
but its good..anyway
this anime is available on www.veoh.com
