Manga Review: Nisekoi: False Love, Volume 25, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 2018

Volumes: 25.

Spoilers?: Yes, to the girl chosen.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 24.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?!

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?! You won’t want to miss out on Shonen Jump's laugh-out-loud feel-good manga series! It's hate at first sight when Raku Ichijo first meets Chitoge Kirisaki. But much to their chagrin, the two are forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families.

When Chitoge heads to Tenku Meadowland, Raku, Kosaki, Marika, and Tsugumi all show up to look for her. Little by little, they begin to remember the past… Will they finally get to the bottom of the mysterious promise? Whose love will become real in the end between Raku, Kosaki, and Chitoge?

Review:

And so it all draws to a close.

I think it was pretty obvious who was going to win, who Raku was going to end up with. And it was who I wanted, so I'm happy with that. I'm also glad that it wasn't such a cookie-cutter ending, either—that the girl who had the key, and who Raku liked from the beginning and as a little kid, wasn't who he chose for himself later. Those two waited so long, that I think it was more an ideal than an actual possibility, and instead Chitoge moved her way in.

I'm happy with the way everything wrapped up with the rest of the characters, as well. Ruri and Shu finally cleared things up, and there was finally a misunderstanding cleared between Tsugumi and Claude. We get to see what really happened when they were all kids, and it honestly makes a lot of sense. The friendship between the girls, and particularly Chitoge and Kosaki, really shine here.

I will admit that the only thing about the ending that makes no sense to me, is how long Raku and Chitoge apparently wait. I understand it was long distance, but given how much time has passed, I don't think they should be so embarrassed with each other still.

Aside from that, I'm really happy with the ending. This was a very long, but fun series. A very good harem, with a likable main guy character; I love most of the girls, and I really appreciated their friendship with each other—it was almost more important, honestly.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Nisekoi. False Love, Volume 24, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 2017

Volumes: 25.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 23. 25.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?!

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?! You won’t want to miss out on Shonen Jump's laugh-out-loud feel-good manga series! It's hate at first sight when Raku Ichijo first meets Chitoge Kirisaki. But much to their chagrin, the two are forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families.

A meteor shower that comes only once in 50 years is said to bring lovers together, so both Chitoge and Kosaki want to declare their love to Raku when they all gather to watch the night sky! Meanwhile, Raku still hasn’t come to terms with his own feelings… What truth will shine on this starry evening?

Review:

At the beginning of the volume, we get a realization from Ruri regarding her feelings. It's a bit cheesy, but expected. Nothing is quite done about it yet, though.

While there are no confessions quite yet, we get several revelations in this volume, regarding their own and their friends' feelings. The main triangle gets rather tangled, annoyingly so. Chitoge decides to make a big move to let her friends be happy, and it's just not great. It's not a great decision, it's frustrating, but it's also quite cheesy. It does make sense, though.

After all this, we get a couple of reveals of information, both for the book they read as kids and for the keys and the place it happened. It's all leading up to the cliffhanger, going into the finale for the next book. Not a whole lot is actually said yet, so it should be interesting to see how it all wraps up. I know who I want, and I think it's leaning that way.

We'll see.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Nisekoi: False Love, Volume 23, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 2017

Volumes: 25.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 22. 24.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?!
Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?! You won t want to miss out on Shonen Jump's laugh-out-loud feel-good manga series!
It's hate at first sight when Raku Ichijo first meets Chitoge Kirisaki. But much to their chagrin, the two are forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families.
On Marika s wedding day, Raku bursts in just before the couple seals their vows. Will Raku and the gang manage to rescue Marika from her mother s minions? And when they return to their ordinary lives, how will the whole adventure affect Kosaki and Chitoge s feelings for Raku?"

Review:

This series is very clearly nearing it's end, as two characters get some kind of closure for their crushes. I've liked most of the characters in this series, but some of the romantic feelings never worked for me. Quite a few of them, actually—particularly the ones in this volume.

(Aside from the end of the date between Raku and Chitoge, of course. That was rather adorable.)

Haru has particularly been very meh to me, both as a character and a romantic option. She's just seemed like a younger version of her sister, who is better and got more character development.

The main things that's bothered me about Tsugumi, on the other hand, is how strong she's always portrayed (supposedly, at least—but let's not get into that), and yet she's always embarrassing and hurting herself around Raku, being “forced” to rely on him. It's just unnecessary and annoying.

On the bright side of this, we also got a bit of time between Ruri and Shu, whom I actually like together. I really like when Shu gets serious, since it barely happens and it's always done so pointedly and so well, like at the end here.

This was a good volume for side-romance endings. I'm looking forward to getting to the more important ones and seeing what happens there.

Manga Review: Nisekoi: False Love, Volume 22, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: July 2017

Volumes: 25.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 21. 23.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?!
Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?! You won t want to miss out on Shonen Jump's laugh-out-loud feel-good manga series!
It's hate at first sight when Raku Ichijo first meets Chitoge Kirisaki. But much to their chagrin, the two are forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families.
Marika has been too sick to come to school lately, but on Valentine s Day she shows up to gift Raku with chocolate and once again declare her love! She presses Raku to reciprocate, but before he can respond, she is whisked away to her family s home in Kyushu because of her failing health. But Raku and the gang won't let her disappear from their lives without a fight!"

Review:

And we get the big blow up over Tachibana. We get to see her rescue, there's a ton of fighting and craziness. Her fiance has a subtle reveal, and it was an odd choice on my part. I think that it seemed to say that even her mother didn't think it was going to go through. (Though part of me really wanted it to be a guy that Tachibana would like. I just want to see her romance work out. Can she get her own spin-off romance, please?)

After the conclusion to that, which is rather sweet, Raku is being pushed to make a choice. Now there are two people urging him to acknowledge his feelings, accept them, and then decide for himself which is better. Kirisaki or Onodera? It definitely seems like Kirisaki to me, and that seems to be where everything is pointing. But, we still have a few volumes until we find out for sure.

This volume was fun. All of the Tachibana craziness was good, and I liked seeing all the sweet moments with her. I liked seeing how everyone was actually on her side. Then, afterward, I liked the overdone date with Chitoge. The cliffhanger is probably leading to a cute scene with them next? We'll see, I suppose.

Manga Review: Nisekoi: False Love, Volume 21, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: May 2, 2017

Volumes: 25.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 1. 20. 22.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?!

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?! You won’t want to miss out on Shonen Jump’s laugh-out-loud feel-good manga series!

It’s hate at first sight when Raku Ichijo first meets Chitoge Kirisaki. But much to their chagrin, the two are forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families.

Marika is ill but comes to school on Valentine’s Day just to bring Raku a gift of chocolate! Once again, she presses him to respond to her feelings… When her illness reaches a limit, she is forced to return to her family’s home in Kyushu. Unwilling to accept the loss of their friend, Raku and the gang take action!

Review:

This volume is full of Marika drama. We finally get to see what is going on with Marika, why she's been acting so weird.

We don't actually get to find out what's wrong with her, if she's really sick—that's still only hinted at. But we find out what her family situation is like. What her mother expects of her, and how un-moving she is in that. We also find out what is behind Marika's bodyguards actions, as well.

One thing of note with this volume, though: the humor seemed a little off. At times it felt more forced to break up the seriousness of the plot, and I don't feel that was necessary. I understand why, because it is a comedy series and it doesn't want to get sad and realistic, but it still broke up a few moments that I thought didn't need it.

I like how close the whole group is. When Marika leaves without telling anyone, they all freak out, and they work together to figure out what to do, how to save Marika from what's happening. Even though Raku isn't interested in her romantically, he still loves her like a best friend or like family. I love their relationship, and all of the girls friendships with each other, even if they all love the same guy.

Marika is one of my favorites. Marika is unapologetic in her love, in her affection and her feelings, and yet she hides her own weaknesses. I really like her as a character.

This volume ends on a cliffhanger, with the gang going out on their mission to save Marika. I quite enjoy this plot line so far, and am interested to see what the conclusion is. I'm wary of how cheesy it might be, though, and if Marika's big secret is going to be a letdown or not. Either way, I'm looking forward to the next one.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Nisekoi: False Love, Volume 20, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: March 2017

Volumes: 25.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 1. 19. 21.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?!

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?! You won’t want to miss out on Shonen Jump’s laugh-out-loud feel-good manga series!

It’s hate at first sight when Raku Ichijo first meets Chitoge Kirisaki. But much to their chagrin, the two are forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families.

When Marika’s plan to watch the first sunrise of the year with Raku goes awry, they find themselves stranded on an uninhabited island! As Marika’s health begins to fail, will they find a way to see the sunrise? Plus, when Yui turns 20, Night comes to her with a shocking pronouncement: it is time for Yui to get married!

Review:

The series is getting closer to the end, and it's obvious by the way that a couple of the girl contenders are starting to get checked off. In this volume, we see the resolution to Yui's plot, which is surprisingly sweet, honestly. I hadn't been a very big fan of her character, but I do like how she cares for everyone, and how she even has a friendship forming with Chitoge.

Then we're growing toward the conclusion with Marika. It's obvious that she's sick, that something more is wrong than she's letting anyone know. Raku has also been made aware that he needs to be honest with her about his feelings, once and for all, though he feels bad because of how much he really does like her, just as friends not romantically.

There isn't much of a conclusion yet for Chitoge or Onodera yet, but Raku is finally starting to reconsider his feelings, and now he's having a hard time figuring himself out. He's conflicted, and it's driving him crazy. None of the others are particularly as present of contenders—they have crushes, but it's obvious none of them have a chance.

Of course, amongst all this seriousness, there's a lot of comedy and crazy antics. New years comes and goes, and everyone makes a wish at the shrine; the girls also get drunk, again, and attack Raku (Ruri captures and lectures Shu, which is fantastic). I quite liked the moment of their wishes, and seeing everyone side-by-side. Other than that, and the conclusion of the island plot with Marika, there's a lot of Yui.

Of course, I'm enjoying this series a ton. I'm rather excited for the next one.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Nisekoi: False Love, Volume 19, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: January 2017

Volumes: 25.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 1. 18. 20.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A laugh-out-loud story that features a fake love relationship between two heirs of rival gangs...plus, a mission to find out which girl actually holds the key to Raku's pendant—and his heart!

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?! You won’t want to miss out on Shonen Jump's laugh-out-loud feel-good manga series! It's hate at first sight when Raku Ichijo first meets Chitoge Kirisaki. But much to their chagrin, the two are forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families.

When the missing pages from the storybook that explain the origin of the keys and pendant surface, it seems like Kosaki might be the girl Raku made a promise with…but is that a sure thing? The answer is still unclear when Haru tricks Raku and Kosaki into going on a Christmas Eve date. And just when things are going well, Raku’s pendant goes missing!

Review:

Of course, we get a happy ending for Chitoge and the group. This was never in doubt, for anyone, I'm sure. It's still nice to see that her trying so hard got her father's attention, and that he also noticed how horrible Claude was being.

We get a tiny clue about the key storybook from when they were kids, and Raku even attempts to fix his lock and find out if Kosaki's key is a match. It's small, but at least they're trying to figure it out.

Kosaki and Raku are forced on a date together, and honestly I'm kind of over them as a possibility. I like Kosaki, but I'm not for them, and so having so many people pushing her to go for him is bothering me. After that, Marika kidnaps Raku to a deserted island with her, though we're finding out that she might be really sick. I will admit that, while I'm not on Marika's side, either, I do really like her. Her devotion and unashamed way of going after Raku is nice.

This series has finally ended in Japan, so I'm interested to see how the main plot finally starts moving forward. Aside from that, it's still a fun series.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Nisekoi: False Love, Volume 18, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: November 2016

Volumes: 25.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 1. 17. 19.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A laugh-out-loud story that features a fake love relationship between two heirs of rival gangs...plus, a mission to find out which girl actually holds the key to Raku's pendant—and his heart!

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?! You won’t want to miss out on Shonen Jump's laugh-out-loud feel-good manga series! It's hate at first sight when Raku Ichijo first meets Chitoge Kirisaki. But much to their chagrin, the two are forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families.

It's day three of the school trip, and Raku visits a temple known to be a power spot. Little does he know that it’s a place famous for magical bows and arrows that have romance-fulfilling properties! With all the girls determined to shoot him down, which huntress will bring down her prey?!

Review:

Much of this volume continues the school trip arc, in which there are a lot of antics for all of the characters. Roku gets dragged into a lot of schemes, and he gets hit by several of the girls.

And then we get the news that Chitoge is moving away, and thus her and Roku don't need to pretend dating anymore. This brings about a lot of sadness for everyone, including Tsugumi. The surprising part is when Chitoge starts trying to barter with her family/Claude to get them to let her stay, and when instead they lock her up.

I don't have many doubts about her staying in Japan, especially with what Roku is even doing to try to help, but it should be interesting to see how it's wrapped up in the next one.

This is fun, harem-y goodness. Will be reading the next one soon.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Nisekoi: False Love, Volume 17, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: September 6, 2016

Volumes: 24.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble.

Volume: 1. 16.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?! You won t want to miss out on Shonen Jump's laugh-out-loud feel-good manga series! It's hate at first sight when Raku Ichijo first meets Chitoge Kirisaki. But much to their chagrin, the two are forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families.
Raku's childhood friend Yui declares her love for Raku! When Chitoge overhears, she freaks out! Raku's left to spend the day alone with Yui after everyone in the house leaves for vacation. When Chitoge and the others catch wind of it, they'll do anything to stop the two from being alone!"

Review:

There’s some hinting for Onodera here, and then even more hinting for Yui and her feelings for Raku. She especially tries pushing him, showing him that she does actually like him and she has an advantage since they live together, but then that plot kind of gets pushed into the background for comedy reasons.

There’s also a sports festival mixed in, and then the class goes on a school trip where poor Raku is the only one in a different group. There’s lots of comedy, lots of odd situations, lots of fun. We see a lot of Yui in this volume, whom I don’t really care about, but there’s a good mix of all of the other girls as well.

This series is always fun to read, and I’m always looking forward to reading more.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: Nisekoi: False Love, Volume 16, by Naoshi Komi

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: July 5, 2016

Volumes: 24+

Spoilers?: Some.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 15. 17.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love triangle! Comedic antics!! Gang warfare?! You won't want to miss out on Shonen Jump's laugh-out-loud feel-good manga series! It's hate at first sight when Raku Ichijo first meets Chitoge Kirisaki. But much to their chagrin, the two are forced into a false love relationship to keep the peace between their feuding gangster families.

English teacher Yui has been assigned to take over as...the school music teacher?! She's so tone deaf her singing makes the students faint, and yet she's been designated to sing in front of the whole school! Later, Raku and Chitoge are in for a surprise when they meet the princess from a foreign kingdom—she looks exactly like Chitoge! What’s in store when the princess and Chitoge switch places?

Review:

In the middle of this volume, we meet a doppelganger of Chitoge. And she’s a princess, who just wants to get away from her guards and have a good time. She’s a very sweet girl, and Raku gets to show her around the sites and experience some of Japan, while Chitoge gets to pretend to be a princess. It’s quite fun for everyone.

Aside from that, there are of course a bunch of fun chapters. We get to see what Yui’s one flaw is, Tsugumi finds another experimental drug, Marika tries to get along with the animals that Raku loves. There’s also a moment of truth with Ruri, as she observes Shu when another girl wants to confess to him. And lastly the potential of something more happening between Raku and Onodera, though I don’t think anything is ever going to happen there, even if it feels like everyone but them knows.

This series is always fun to read. The art is so pretty, and the characters are so fun.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!