The complexity of feelings.
Creative Staff:
Story/Art: Naoshi Komi
What They Say:
It’s hate at first sight… rather a knee-to-the-head at first sight when Raku meets Chitoge! Unfortunately, his gangster father arranges a false love match with their rival gang leader’s daughter, Chitoge! However, Raku’s searching for his childhood sweetheart, with a pendant around his neck as a memento, and is surprised to discover three candidates with keyes: Chitoge, Onodera (his current crush), and Tachibana (the police chief’s daughter)!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The way Nisekoi has worked the core romantic triangle has been a familiar enough one over the several years that the series has run but it’s become a lot more engaging with the wrapping up of subplots and then the shift to really figuring things out with where it wants to go from here. Naoshi Komi may be wrapping a lot of things up in a neat little bow when you get down to it, but the core trio is the area where he’ll be putting in the most work because it deserves it and warrants it. So as we had the whole meteor shower party that turned into a typhoon scare, which in turn resulted in a quiet confession that Raku didn’t get to hear, watching the fallout from it is really engaging because it does feel pretty real.
Chitoge overhearing that certainly puts her in a position of being unsure what to do about her own feelings, especially since she indicates to Kosaki that she didn’t hear what was said, instead taking time to process it herself. The driving force behind a lot of what we get here is that we have Chitoge truly caring about both of these people in her life. She’s thinking it clearly that she loves Raku in a way she’s never loved before and really wants to explore more of that with him. At the same time she’s learned that the woman she likes the most in Japan is in love with Raku as well. And a complicated eavesdropping moment with only half the information leads her to believing that Raku is very much in love with Kosaki as well. It’s a brutal string of events over the course of a day for Chitoge and you can very easily imagine the attempt at holding off going into a downward spiral is like for her.
Which is why it makes so much sense that she does what she does, again earning a feeling of being real. Knowing this and knowing that her feelings won’t be reciprocated, she has a few options ahead of her – some that could be pretty stark and cruel. Seeing her take the approach of trying to help the two people she cares about get closer is what makes the most sense, though the more she learns the more she pulls back herself. Which is why those final panels where she does her best to be happy around Raku after school while knowing that she’s done with it and never coming back is all the more painful. She hides the hurt so well, giving away just little flashes of it that Raku almost picks up on, and she sets things in motion so that she can cope with her hurt while allowing those she cares for to get closer. Of course, it’s unlikely to play out that easily for any of them but damn if it doesn’t make me like Chitoge even more. And to wonder what Raku and Kosaki’s reactions will be once they figure out the truth of it as well.
In Summary:
Nisekoi is doing some fantastic work and this chapter is no exception. There’s been a strong run of chapters for a few months now and even the weaker character pieces are doing some great things for the readers. Komi’s material may be kind of standard in a way but it’s built upon two hundred chapters of material with this cast of characters and the bonds that have formed with the readers. There’s a whole lot to like here as it keeps its focus on Chitoge and Raku for the most part and that means some good scenes at school, a few fun moments here and there, and an under the surface pain that you can almost taste with how it’s coming across from Chitoge. Good stuff that has me very eager for each chapter right now.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media via Weekly Shonen Jump from ComiXology
Release Date: April 4th, 2016
MSRP: $0.99
