Koi to Uso, literally “Love and Lies”, is a 12 episode anime based upon the manga series. It is set in a world where a law was passed that once a person turns 16, the government will pair them with their life partner. They’ll have no choice in the matter and will have to marry each other. This was a way to combat the decreasing birth rate and was apparently a success given that the birth rate stabilized, and people produced smarter children. It’s not a random pairing since there is some sort of logic and science behind it, called the red strings of science (playing off the red strings of fate).
Nejima Yukari is a high school student who is just about to turn 16. He has a crush on Takasaki Misaki, where they had been in the same classes since childhood. Given the impending deadline, Yukari throws caution to the wind and tells Misaki about his feelings for her, even though logically there is no chance that they can be together (if they are not matched by the government that is).
Now enter Sanada Ririna, who ends up being the one matched to Yukari. As you’d expect, it’s completely awkward, having to meet a stranger knowing that they will be your married partner. Although it’s a bit of a stretch when the anime shows off Ririna’s personality as being completely socially awkward, even though she’s so pretty and cute. For some reason, she shows a keen interest in Yukari’s crush and supports the pair. This completes the setup of the anime, where Ririna kind of helps Yukari, encouraging his love with Misaki.
If you think about it, the arranged marriage concept has a lot of issues with it. From people’s free will to not allowing to love someone else that wasn’t assigned to you, to even just whether you are attracted to the opposite gender or not. Ignoring those issues and accepting the situation for what it is, it is interesting in what the characters have gotten themselves in. They not deliberately rebelling, but they are still in a way rebelling against society and the expectations that are placed upon them.
Surprisingly, the anime does make you think about how such a society with this type of restriction could function. The positives and negatives are both portrayed in the anime and some of the more interesting stories relate to the support characters. In particular, the pair who had given up on their first love to follow the government’s choice instead held a lot of potential but unfortunately wasn’t explored at all beyond recalling their fond memories of the past.
Regardless of how unique the situation is, it’s tough to imagine what sort of plot arcs can occur to keep the anime interesting. Obviously, the relationship between Yukari, Misaki and Ririna takes front and centre as they go through various obstacles. Yukari and Misaki clearly has feelings for each other and while Ririna’s detached at first, when she realises the impact that this may have on everyone’s futures, that gives her second feels. The feelings for Yukari that she slowly gains doesn’t help matters.
The characters are teenagers and so they are going through puberty. Of course, they become attracted to each other, however, they are still inexperienced. The anime doesn’t shy away from this fact, rather, it puts that front and centre so that at times, it may surprise you with its forwardness. The characters go through sexual education, with the government hilariously pushing the two together.
Yukari ends up at a crossroads, given that he has to make a choice between Misaki and Ririna. This causes a lot of good tension in the anime. The anime puts a lot of emphasis on the innocence of the characters and the moral dilemma that they are experiencing. Although objectively, it’s unfair for Yukari to string along the other two like this. This eventual love triangle has no winners as you’d end up caring about all of them.
The whole season revolves around Yukari not being able to decide what to do. Should he follow his heart or follow the social norm? Then again, it’s harder for him given that he does eventually develop feelings for Ririna. The great thing is that the anime resists the urge to make jealousy a big thing. Neither of the two heroines get jealous to the point of causing a lot of painful drama. They display just the right amount so that they’re both still likeable.
As the manga is still ongoing, naturally the season finale isn’t going to be satisfying at all and will just leave it at status quo. The season had constantly hint at something deeper happening in the background and that there is something fishy going on with Yukari and Ririna’s pairing. The characters are all “lying” to themselves so their motivations aren’t completely clear yet. Unfortunately, all this does is make Yukari seem selfish for being so indecisive and dragging the two heroines along with him on this painful path, both of whom deserves more clarity.
The OVA has two additional scenarios, which naturally doesn’t further the plot. Nevertheless, it’s a side event that adds a nice touch to the season. The music is also surprising good, you’d notice a few tracks playing in the background in various scenes and enhances the emotions felt in them.
Overall, Koi to Uso has a somewhat exaggerated premise but manages to make it work, as long as you ignore the many issues such a situation might cause. The chemistry between the characters are the highlight of the anime and it makes it much more enjoyable that it has any right to be. It lightly touches upon the innocence and sweetness of one’s first love so you may experience a blast of nostalgia, so it’s a shame that there isn’t a second season.
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