History Manga / LovelyComplex

* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Otaniu and Koizumi are such a good fir for each other, all of their friends ship them together from the start of high school.

At 172 cm (about 5'7"), high school student Risa Koizumi is way taller than most other girls. This makes her very self-conscious, which she tries to cover up by acting strong-willed and sarcastic, rarely showing her more sensitive side in public. That her name means "Little Spring"[[labelnote]]As in hot springs, not spring weather[[/labelnote]] adds to her problem.

At 172 cm (about 5'7"), high school student Risa Koizumi is way taller than most other girls. This makes her very self-conscious, which she tries to cover up by acting strong-willed and sarcastic, rarely showing her more sensitive side in public. That her name means "Little Spring" adds to her problem.

* InstantFanClub: Koizumi starts one for [[HotTeacher Maitake]] as soon as he comes to the school.

* {{Transsexual}}: [[spoiler:Seiko]] is an ''epic'' version of this trope. Notable in that all the characters are very unbothered by it, after the initial surprise. However, the character themselves is an [[TransEqualsGay extremely unrealistic portrayal]].

* VocalDissonance: When crossdresser [[spoiler:Seiko]]'s voice changes at the end of his second year, he becomes despondent and refuses to wear girls' clothes because his new deep voice doesn't match with a cute appearance. [[spoiler:Lucky for him, it was just a cold and his voice went back to its usual higher tone.]]

* WholesomeCrossdresser: [[spoiler:Seiko]] again. He's good enough to fool most of the characters for a while.

''Lovely Complex'' is a [[{{Shojo}} shojo]] manga by Aya Nakahara that was published by ''Bessatsu Margaret'' from 2001 to 2006. It has been adapted as a anime and a live-action movie, starring Ema Fujisawa as Koizumi, and Teppei Koike as Otani. The manga also counts with a compilation of extra stories that was published a few years after the original ending of the manga, ''Love Com D''.

%%* CornerOfWoe: Haruka is a frequent occupant.

%%* GetAholdOfYourselfMan: Koizumi's famous [[MegatonPunch "Ahou Punch"]].

%%* InstantFanClub: Koizumi starts one for Maitake.

%%* RomanticFalseLead: Chiharu for Otani and Suzuki for Koizumi.

%%* WholesomeCrossdresser: [[spoiler:Seiko]] again.

* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: Otani and Koizumi are mostly known in their class as a manzai duo (the "All Hanshin-Kyoujin") because they always argue and point out their respective idiocies, even in front of the class. Frequently, Otani acts more like the Boke, with Koizumi as the Tsukkomi.

[[quoteright:325:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lovelycomplex.png]]
[[caption-width-right:325:Otani & Koizumi in the anime.]]

* MeaningfulName: This gets lampshaded a few times since it applies (in the inverted sense) to Koizumi and Otani. "Koizumi" means "Little Spring" (when she is actually taller), and "Otani" means "Big Valley" (when he is actually short).

''Lovely Complex'' is a [[{{Shojo}} shojo]] manga by Aya Nakahara that was published by ''Bessatsu Margaret'' from 2001 to 2006. It has been adapted as a anime and a live-action movie, starring Ema Fujisawa as Koizumi, and Teppei Koike as Otani. The manga also counts with a compilation of extra stories named as ''Love Com D''.

* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: Otani and Koizumi are mostly known in their class as a manzai duo (the All Hanshin-Kyoujin) because they always argue and point their respective idiocies, even in front of the class. Frequently, Otani acts more like the Boke, with Koizumi as the Tsukkomi.

* CompressedAdaptation: The anime series compressed all of the manga up until after Otani's entrance exam into 24 episodes, leaving out or changing some events that happened in the manga, fortunately not affecting the story too much.

* HeightAngst: A large part of the series focus on this premise, with the male and female protagonists being very short and very tall respectively. It doesn't help that several characters are a ShipperOnDeck for them.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Generally, the narration boxes in the manga belong solely to Koizumi's thoughts. Once in a while, some pop up that seem to belong to Otani... except the "camera" then pulls back to reveal that one of their friends is holding up a sign and a marker.

* ACupAngst: After meeting Hitomi, a rather buxom woman who flirts with Otani, Koizumi comments that she has no breasts with a rather dejected look on her face.

%%* BaldOfAwesome: Umibouzu.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Mimi acts very nice and feminine in front of Otani... but in her first encounter with Koizumi, she was plainly wanting to ''kill'' her. She later improves her personality and attitude towards her.

* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: Otani and Koizumi are mostly known in their class as a manzai duo (the All Hanshin-Kyoujin) because they always argue and point their respective idiocies, even in front of the class.
%%* BookDumb: Both Koizumi and Otani

%%* ClingyJealousGirl: Mimi towards Otani at first, though she gets better. Otani and Koizumi towards ''each other'', and Haruka towards Koizumi, though he later gets better too.

%%* TheDandy: Haruka
%%* [[DoggedNiceGuy Dogged Nice Girl]]: Koizumi

* FaceOfAThug: Umibouzu. His wife even says that, despite his angry appearance, he's actually a very kind person.

* GetAholdOfYourselfMan: Koizumi's famous [[MegatonPunch "Ahou Punch"]].
%%* GenkiGirl: Seiko
* {{Gonk}}: Koizumi is normally very good-looking, but she can make some rather... ''strange'' faces if she's in a bad mood or is trying to be more [[YamatoNadeshiko "traditionally" cute]].
* GratuitousEnglish: Once Otani proclaims that he [[spoiler:is breaking with Koizumi, he punctuates that it's ''FOLEVER'']]

* HeightAngst: A large part of the series, with the male and female protagonists being very short and very tall respectively. It doesn't help that several characters are a ShipperOnDeck for them.
%%* HotTeacher: Maitake, in ''spades''.
%%* HugeSchoolGirl

%%* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Otani, and later Mimi.

* MistakenForCheating: [[spoiler:Koizumi, during several events involving her coworker, Kohori. Later thought of Otani when he spends the night with a gold digger]]
%%* NoGuyWantsAnAmazon

%%* PatientChildhoodLoveInterest: Mimi

%%* TheRival: Mimi, for a time anyway.

* SecondYearProtagonist: The series starts with Koizumi and Otani being in their second year of high school. Not long after they must deal with their future studies.
* SexyManInstantHarem: Maitake, who looks like he comes straight from an [[RomanceGame otome game]] as the main character's love interest. Naturally, he becomes the crush of many of his students, Risa included.

%%* UnsettlingGenderReveal: [[spoiler:Seiko]]

%%* {{Yandere}}: Mimi, though she gets better.

''Lovely Complex'' is a [[{{Shojo}} shojo]] manga by Aya Nakahara that was published by ''Bessatsu Margaret'' from 2001 to 2006. It has been adapted as a anime and a live-action movie, starring Ema Fujisawa as Koizumi and Teppei Koike as Otani. The manga also counts with a compilation of extra stories named as ''Love Com D''.

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: While Otani surely isn't Mr. Sweet most of the time, he is the main target of a variety of girls who fall for him... that including Koizumi, who is hardly Miss Sunshine, either.

** Happens twice in the manga with [[spoiler:koizumi and Otani. The first time, they're interrupted by Mimi in Otani's room and the second time they are interrupted by Nobu and Nakao while the two are on the bridge after Otani found out he passed his exam.]]

* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: Otani and koizumi are mostly known in their class as a manzai duo (the All Hanshin-Kyoujin) because they always argue and point their respective idiocies, even in front of the class.

* KansaiRegionalAccent: It's noticeable that the series not only plays the dialect completely straight (as an aspect of the region rather than the characters in general), but that it also plays the [[TheIdiotFromOsaka character trope]] completely to the hilt. Aside from the "manzai duo" that the main couple are seen as by their peers, they go to ''Maido'' Academy.

* ObliviousToLove: It's truly frightening how hard Otani has to be clubbed across the head with Koizumi's interest. She confesses to him, and he thinks it's a joke. A friend says that, yes, she ''really'' meant it, when he responds with "Don't lie." When he wants to know how the guy she loves is like, she describes him perfectly, and [[ObliviousToHisOwnDescription he guesses she means another member of the basketball club]]. [[spoiler:It takes her repeating that description and saying, "He's in here," when they're ''in a room alone together'', and he still doesn't get it until he's had a good long think about what she's said.]]

* SexyManInstantHarem: Maitake, who looks like he comes straight from an otome game. Naturally, he becomes the crush of many of his students, Risa included.

''Lovely★Complex'' started as a [[{{Shojo}} shojo]] manga by Aya Nakahara, and has been adapted as an anime and live-action movie. The anime preserves much of the snark and energy of the original. The rollercoaster-ride of Koizumi's and Otani's relationship gains a lot of depth by way of a cast of lovable characters, which makes the series a pleasurable watch till the very end.

Creator/DiscotekMedia released the anime series as sub-only in the U.S., in 2012.

* FunTShirt: In the prequel[=/=]WhereAreTheyNow collection of stories called ''Lovely Complex Plus'', Yoshi is seen wearing a shirt with a very interesting NSFW phrase on it. Needless to say, it was removed by Viz for English-speaking readers.

* LuckyCharmsTitle: The series is officially titled as ''Lovely★Complex'' or ''Love★Com''.

Started as a [[{{Shojo}} shojo]] manga by Aya Nakahara, and adapted as an anime and live-action movie. The anime preserves much of the snark and energy of the original. The rollercoaster-ride of Koizumi's and Otani's relationship gains a lot of depth by way of a cast of lovable characters, which makes the series a pleasurable watch till the very end.

Creator/DiscotekMedia has announced a sub-only release of the anime series in North America.

!!Tropes:

* AccidentalKiss: [[spoiler:Otani passes out from his fever and falls on Risa's lips while trying to get a piece of rice out of her hair.]]
* ACupAngst: After meeting Hitomi, a rather buxom woman who flirts with Atsushi, Risa comments that she has no breasts with a rather dejected look on her face.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Otani surely isn't Mr. Sweet most of the time
** To be fair, Koizumi is hardly Miss Sunshine either...
* AlmostKiss: [[spoiler:Koizumi and Kohori]]
** [[spoiler: Happens twice in the manga with Risa and Otani. The first time, they're interrupted by Mimi in Otani's room and the second time they are interrupted by Nobu and Nakao while the two are on the bridge after Otani found out he passed his exam.]]
* {{Angrish}}: Koizumi slips into this occasionally.
* [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!]]: Otani and Koizumi can instantly drop angst, romance, or anything they were doing at the moment they see swimming pools, rickshaws, or Umibouzu.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Otani/Koizumi
* BaldOfAwesome: Umibozu.
* {{Beauty Brains And Brawn}}:
** Ishihara Nobuko: Beauty; {{Team Mom}}, TheFashionista
** Tanaka Chiharu: Brains; {{Brainy Brunette}}, {{The Smart Girl}}
** Koizumi Risa: Brawn; {{Fiery Redhead}}, {{Tsundere}}
* BetaCouple: The matchmaker friends.

* BigLittleBrother: Risa's younger brother is significantly taller than her.
* {{Bishonen}}: Suzuki, Otani, Haruka, Kohori, but especially Maitake and Seiko.
* BishieSparkle: Maitake's "magic".
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Mimi. She gets better.
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Nobu (blonde), Chiharu (brunette), and Risa (redhead).
** Suzuki (blond), Nakao (brown hair), and Otani (redhead).
* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: Otani/Koizumi obviously employ this trope, but it also comes up in casual conversation almost constantly, with Koizumi usually acting as the Tsukkomi. See also KansaiRegionalAccent, below.
* BookDumb: Both Koizumi and Otani

* ButtMonkey: Poor Kohori

* ClassTrip: with a very central role to the plot
* ClingyJealousGirl: Mimi towards Otani at first, though she gets better. Otani and Risa towards ''eachother'', and Haruka towards Risa, though he later gets better too.
* CompletelyMissingThePoint: Happens ''far'' too often with Otani. (See ObliviousToLove)

* CornerOfWoe: Haruka is a frequent occupant.
* CreatorCameo: The stylist who works with Mimi and helps Risa dress up in the final episode is called Nakahara-san. ''Lovely Complex'''s mangaka is Aya Nakahara.
* TheDandy: Haruka
* [[DoggedNiceGuy Dogged Nice Girl]]: Koizumi
* DynamicEntry: Nobu-chan frequently does this to Koizumi, usually involving a knee to the ''kidneys''. Ouch.

* {{Engrish}}: A few characters speak it well.

* FallingInLoveMontage: Koizumi imagines this would've happened, had she and Otani been of 'normal' height.
* {{Forceful Kiss}} : Koizumi does this to Otani.
** And Otani does this to Koizumi when confessing to her.
* FunTShirt: In the prequel/WhereAreTheyNow collection of stories called ''Lovely Complex Plus'', Yoshi is seen wearing a shirt with a very interesting NSFW phrase on it. Needless to say, it was removed by Viz for English-speaking readers.

* GenkiGirl: Seiko
* {{Gonk}}: Risa is normally pretty good-looking, but she can make some rather...strange faces if she's in a bad mood or is trying to be more [[YamatoNadeshiko "traditionally" cute.]]
* GratuitousEnglish: [[spoiler: Otani: "I'm breaking up with Koizumi...''FOLEVER!'' "]]

** Koizumi's not actually going out with someone else but [[spoiler: Maity-sensei takes it upon himself to make Otani jealous, getting him to ''finally'' realize he likes Risa. It's the OperationJealousy variation. Though in a twist of it, it is the rival and not the object of affection implanting it.]]
** Similarly, after [[spoiler: Seiko starts flirting with Otani, Risa starts getting jealous as well, which leads her to start admitting she likes Otani.]]
* HeadbuttOfLove: Koizumi and Otani do this after Otani [[spoiler: passes his entrance exam.]]

* HotTeacher: Maitake, in ''spades''.
* HugeSchoolGirl
* ImagineSpot: Used to great effect in the anime.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Chiharu and Suzuki to Otani and Risa. They both start talking about how comfortable they are with the main characters, but they accidentally offend them. They both state that since Otani and Risa are about the same height as their RomanticFalseLead, they don't see them as a boy /girl. These comments almost cause them to a HeroicBSOD.
* InsultOfEndearment: [[HugeSchoolgirl Koizumi]] and [[TheNapoleon Otani]] refer to each other as "midget" and "amazon" or "totem pole" respectively. Later, after the [[spoiler:RelationshipUpgrade]], they still occasionally call each other this, though in a considerably softer manner than before.
* InstantFanClub: Koizumi starts one for Maitake.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Abe is in love with Kohori who is in love with Koizumi. Rather than being happy that her rival is preoccupied with Otani, Abe tries to convince Koizumi to date Kohori [[spoiler:by trying to start a fight so that she'll break up with Otani and be free.]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Otani, and later Mimi.
* KansaiRegionalAccent: Most of the cast. Most noticeable when Otani and Koizumi are bantering, as the staple FangirlJapanese word "baka" is replaced with "ahou".
** The series is interesting for both playing the dialect completely straight (as an aspect of the region rather than the characters in general), but also playing the [[TheIdiotFromOsaka character trope]] completely to the hilt. Aside from the "manzai duo" of the main couple, they go to freaking ''Maido Academy''. ''Maido''... really.
* KaraokeBox
* {{Kimodameshi}}

-->'''Nakao:''' (''holding up a marker and a sign next to Otani's head that says "I'm sorry for being mean to you."'') Your true feelings.
* LoveDodecahedron
* LuckyCharmsTitle: ''Lovely?Complex'' or ''Love?Com''.
* MatchmakerCrush: The 'matchmaker' part takes place in the first episode when both of them try to fix each other up with two of their friends (said friends end up together at the end of the episode). The crush part comes later.

* MeaningfulName: Inverted with Koizumi and Otani.
* MistakenForCheating: [[spoiler:Koizumi, during several events involving her coworker Kohori. Later thought of Otani when he spends the night with a gold digger]]
* NoGuyWantsAnAmazon:
* NoodlePeople: Even Otani looks noodly sometimes.
* {{Nosebleed}}: A RunningGag with Suzuki in the movie.
* NotWhatItLooksLike: [[spoiler:Otani and Koizumi's first 'kiss' was a result of him passing out and falling on her face.]]
** Also, Otani coincidentally spotting [[spoiler:Kohori attempting to kiss Koizumi in her sleep.]] It's one of the first events to ''seriously'' test their relationship.
* ObliviousToLove: It's truly frightening how hard Otani has to be clubbed across the head with Koizumi's interest. She confesses to him, and he thinks it's a joke. A friend says that, yes, she meant him. He says, "Don't lie." When he asks what the guy she loves is like, she describes him perfectly, and [[ObliviousToHisOwnDescription he guesses she means another member of the basketball club]]. [[spoiler:It takes her repeating that description and saying, "He's in here," when they're ''in a room alone together'', and he still doesn't get it until he's had a good long think about what she's said.]] WhatAnIdiot.
* OneHeadTaller: Koizumi and Otani, though in this case it's the girl who's taller.
* PatientChildhoodLoveInterest: Mimi

* TheRival: Mimi, for a time anyway.
* RomanticFalseLead: Chiharu for Otani and Suzuki for Risa.
* SchoolFestival
* SecondYearProtagonist
* SexyManInstantHarem: Maitake.
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Both Otani and Koizumi say this, [[spoiler: even ''after'' the former has kissed her of his own accord.]]
** There's more! [[spoiler: After they get the RelationshipUpgrade, when Koizumi is asked if Otani is her boyfriend, she says he isn't, ''because he didn't say they were a couple!!'']]
* ShipSinking: Done quite literally in the first episode with Risa's and Otani's crushes.
* ShoujoDemographic: Though it tends to make fun of itself more often than most
* SickEpisode: Otani gets sick, Risa helps him out.
* SickeninglySweethearts: Nakao and Ishihara.
* SlapSlapKiss: Otani and Koizumi, of course, but [[spoiler:Maity's fiancee Jody]] and her father take the cake for this one. They beat each other senseless right before her wedding, as he didn't approve of the man she chose, but treat it as a perfectly normal occurrence and take it more as an expression of their deep love.

* StringyHairedGhostGirl: Koizumi plays one in the haunted house during the culture fest episode, and is so incredibly good at it (due to channeling her resentment at Otani) that nobody wants to come unless she's there.

* TinyGuyHugeGirl: Much to both Koizumi and Otani's irritation. One interesting twist on the trope is that short Otani is an athletic basketball player (and later team captain), while tall Risa is rather gangly and awkward, and not very good at sports.
* TotallyRadical: The official translation of the manga by Viz Media. Includes copious amounts of the word, "dude."
* {{Transsexual}}: [[spoiler:Seiko]] is an EPIC version of this trope. Notable in that all the characters are pretty unbothered by it, after the initial surprise.
** TransEqualsGay: The character themselves, however, is an EXTREMELY unrealistic portrayal.
* {{Tsundere}}: Risa and Otani for each other. HilarityEnsues.

* UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo: Played with, as [[spoiler: Otani starts realizing he has feelings for Risa just when she's deciding to give up on him for the last time.]]
* UnsettlingGenderReveal: [[spoiler:Seiko]]
* ViewersAreGoldfish: The anime suffers from this. ''Badly.'' In episode 13, when Risa goes to Otani's house when he's sick, [[spoiler:his fever spikes and he passes out, falling on her face and accidentally kissing her.]] Twenty seconds later, she has a flashback about what just happened.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Koizumi and Otani, ''so much'', before either even begins [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther thinking of the other as potentially date-worthy.]] They actually fit every single aspect of this trope, up to Otani freaking out because Koizumi thanked him for a drink instead of snarking back at him.
** Haruka and Seiko probably also qualify.

* WholesomeCrossdresser: [[spoiler:Seiko]] again.
* {{Yandere}}: Mimi, though she gets better.

** Koizumi's not actually going out with someone else but [[spoiler: Maity-sensei takes it upon himself to make Otani jealous, getting him to ''finally'' realize he likes Risa. It's the OperationJealousy variation.]]

* {{Tsundere}}: Koizumi comes pretty close at times
** Otani is much more so. A rare male example.

* FunTShirt: In the prequel/WhereAreTheyNow collection of stories called ''Lovely Complex Plus'', Yoshi is seen wearing a shirt with a [[http://anymanga.com/lovely-complex-plus/001/002/006/ very interesting phrase]] on it. (NSFW) Needless to say, it was removed by Viz for English-speaking readers.

* LuckyCharmsTitle: ''[[LovelyComplex Lovely]]?[[LovelyComplex Complex]]'' or ''Love?Com''.

Despite all this they become good friends, since they share the same musical obsessions and zany sense of humor and promise to help each other out with their crushes. It is only a matter of time then before Koizumi discovers she might feel more for Otani than just friendship. But does he feel the same for her too, since she is way taller than he is?

* {{Shojo}}: Though it tends to make fun of itself more often than most

[[quoteright:256:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lovelycomplex1.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:256:Otani & Koizumi in the anime.]]

At 172 cm (about 5'7"), high school student Risa Koizumi is way taller than most other girls. This makes her very self-conscious, which she tries to cover up by acting strong-willed and sarcastic, rarely showing her more sensitive side in public. That her name means "Little Spring" doesn't help much either.

* DawsonCasting: In the live-action movie, all the main cast ''except'' the actress playing Koizumi is clearly much older than their supposed age. Averted with her, as she just as clearly is playing almost her own age.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Otani.

* TheRival: Mimi .