Love's highs and lows
Lovely Complex - manga and DVD available soon
There are enough complexes in the new high school romantic comedy Lovely Complex to open up a new psychiatric ward at Castle Peak Hospital.
Risa is the tallest girl (172cm) in school, and Otani is the shortest guy (156cm), and they both have height complexes. Their form teacher doesn't help when she nicknames them the 'All Hanshin-Kyojin' pair after a Japanese comedy duo in which one comedian is tall and the other short.
Lovely Complex was originally a manga series created by Aya Nakahara, which ran from 2001 to 2006 in the anthology comic book Margaret.
It has been made into a live-action movie as well as a PlayStation 2 game.
VIZ have acquired the US publishing rights, so look out for an English comic in the near future.
The first episode of the anime aired on the Japanese TBS television channel on April 7.
Production company Toei Animation was responsible for bringing the anime version to the small screen. Toei has over three decades of experience in the anime industry and has produced some of the greatest anime.
Their shows include Dragonball/Z/GT , Candy Candy, Captain Tsubasa, Voltes V, Dr Slump, Galaxy Express and Getta Robo. More recent productions include the Digimon series, Konjiki no Gash Bell, and the world famous Yu-Gi-Oh!
Lovely Complex is a sweet and funny romantic comedy. Risa and Otani enjoy many of the same things, the most entertaining of which is an idolisation of bald singer Umibozu. (Otaku will recognise this is the same name as City Hunter's bald friend).
Risa and Otani make a goofy pair that stumble over their relationship hurdles as if they were running a three-legged race.
The DVD will be available in the next few months, and look out for the manga which should be available soon.
