LOVE♥ LOVE? - A thorough dissection of the ultimate romantic comedy!

All-round evaluation and recommendation of LOVE♥ LOVE? - Love Love? -

■ Public Media

TV anime series

■ Original Media

Anime Original

■ Broadcast period

May 3, 2004 - June 28, 2004
tvk May 3, 2004 to June 28, 2004 (Episodes 1 to 9) Every Monday 24:05 to 24:20

■Broadcasting station

TVK

■Frequencies

half an hour

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 9

■Original Story

moe, IMAGIN, studio live

■ Director

・Director: Tsuyoshi Takahashi ・Assistant Director: Jun Shishido

■ Production

Animation production: IMAGIN, Studio Live Production: moe

■Works

©moe・IMAGIN・Studio Live

■ Story

pure×poison=(love)2?

Naoto Oizumi is a high school student who has a complex about his bad eyes. He also has a secret that he doesn't want anyone to know. Then, beautiful girls suddenly appear in front of him. Just when you think this is a classic romantic comedy... Who is the one who smiles in the end...?

*Quoted from Bandai Channel

■Explanation

This is the final installment of the "Transformation Trilogy," and depicts the special effects TV program "Super Transformation Cosplay Players" from the perspective of the actors who played the roles of Cosplay Players.

*Quoted from Bandai Channel

■Cast

Naoto Oizumi/Mamoru Miyano/Natsumi Yagami/Miyu Matsuki/Yoko Katsuragi/Sanae Kobayashi/Hikaru Jogasaki/Sayaka Ohara/Sayaka Imamura/Mayumi Yoshida/Miku Hayasaka/Kiyomi Asai/Mizuki Ikuta/Mamiko Noto

■ Main staff

・Planning, original story: moe, IMAGIN, Studio Live ・Original story: Kenji Kume, Toshihisa Arakawa, Miwa Oshima, Yasuhiro Matsumura ・Director: Tsuyoshi Takahashi ・Series composition: Toshihisa Arakawa ・Character design, chief animation director: Miwa Oshima (Studio Live)
・Art design / Yoshihiro Nakamura・Color design / Chikayo Nakamura・Director of photography / Nobuhiro Tenkaji・Editing / Jun Taguma・Music / Toshihiko Sahashi・Music directors / Tomoko Shibuya, Keiichi Ogawa・Music production / Sightron・Digital Content・Sound director / Hajime Takakuwa・Sound production / Jinnan Studio・Producers / Akio Sakai, Toyoo Ashida, Masanobu Arakawa・Executive producer / Kenji Kume・Animation production / IMAGIN, Studio Live・Production / moe

■ Main Characters

Naoto Oizumi is a third-year student at Horioki Gakuen High School. He is the real author of the new show "Super Transformation Cosplay Infinity Player." He has a complex about his bad eyes. The fact that he is the author is a secret only known to a few people, including producer Mizuki.
・Yagami Natsumi Horioki Gakuen High School third grader. An idol who plays "Hoshino Koto (Mikolayer)". She became popular on a children's variety show and is active as a gravure idol. Perhaps because of her long career, she can be a bit headstrong and selfish.
Yoko Katsuragi is a third-year student at Horioki Gakuen High School. She is an idol who plays "Scarlet Church (Sister Layer)". She has been a member of a theater company since she was young and has been in famous plays. She is worried about whether she can continue acting after this.
・Jougasaki Hikaru A third-year student at Horioki Gakuen Junior High School. An idol who plays "Priscilla Shyamalan (Sally Layer)". She is tall and elegant, but for some reason she can't speak well in front of Oizumi, and she has a surprisingly small presence.
・Imamura Sayaka A third-year student at Horioki Gakuen Junior High School. She is an idol who plays "Remuria Sharia (Labian Layer)". She is good at voice imitations. She hates being given only child roles, and perhaps as a reaction, she has many romantic relationships in her private life. In reality, she is a grown-up who only talks about her experience.
・Miku Hayasaka A 6th grader at Horioki Gakuen Elementary School. She is the idol who plays "Iko Sue (Dian Layer)". She has been active as a fashion model since she was young, but she is actually a full-fledged otaku girl. Her agency's policy prohibits otaku-related jokes.
Mizuki Ikuta is a new female producer at Takatake, a program production company. She is 25 years old and a virgin. She has such a "childish" figure that even the elementary school kids in the neighborhood tease her. She is given a big promotion as the producer of the new program "Super Transformation Cosplay Infinity Player".

■Subtitle

・#1/Wet Sand in March (2004/05/03)
#2/June - Dreamland (2004/05/10)
#3 / August not in the schoolyard (2004/05/17)
・#4／September Sky (2004/05/24)
#5/Men can't stand it (2004/05/31)
#6/The Man Who Was Too Well Known (2004/06/07)
#7/Days of Love and Memories (2004/06/14)
・#8/No regrets about my youth(2004/06/21)
・#9／Shining in the Storm (2004/06/28)

■ Related works

・Aim for a hit!
・Super Transformation Cosplay Infinity Player

■ Theme songs and music

・OP1
・(LOVE)∞
Lyrics by Toshihisa Arakawa; Music by Toshihiko Sahashi; Singers by Miyu Matsuki, Sanae Kobayashi, Sayaka Ohara, Mayumi Yoshida, and Kiyomi Asai

・ED1
・ONLY YOU
Lyrics: Momo Watanabe; Composition: Takehiko Maruyama; Arrangement: Mitsuhiro Arisaka; Singer: Ayano Abane

All-round evaluation and recommendation of LOVE♥ LOVE? - Love Love? -

The TV anime series "LOVE♥LOVE? - Love Love? -" aired in 2004 as an original anime work produced by moe, IMAGIN, and Studio Live. This work is the final part of the "transformation trilogy" depicted from the actor's side, with the special effects TV program "Super Transformation Cosplay Infinity Player" as the background. The nine episodes were broadcast on tvk every Monday from 24:05 to 24:20 from May 3rd to June 28th, 2004.

The protagonist of this work is a high school student, Naoto Oizumi, who has a complex about his bad eyes. He is the real author of the new program "Super Transformation Cosplay Infinity Player", a fact that only a few people, such as producer Mizuki Ikuta, know. Then, beautiful girls suddenly appear in front of him, and while it seems like a classic romantic comedy, the story takes an unexpected turn. Who is the one who smiles at the end? The story unfolds in a fascinating way that draws the viewer in.

The main characters are actors from "Super Transformation Cosplay Infinity Player" including Oizumi Naoto. Yagami Natsumi is an idol who plays Hoshino Koto (Mikolayer), and is popular on children's variety shows and active as a gravure idol. Katsuragi Yoko is a talented idol who plays Scarlet Church (Sisterlayer), and is worried about her future as an actress. Jougasaki Hikaru is an idol who plays Priscilla Shyamalan (Sallylayer), and has a side to her that makes it hard to speak in front of Oizumi. Imamura Sayaka is an idol who plays Lemuria Sharia (Labianlayer), and is good at voice imitations, but has many romantic relationships in her private life. Hayasaka Miku is an idol who plays Iko Sue (Dianlayer), and is a full-fledged otaku girl, but her agency's policy prohibits her from talking about otaku topics. Ikuta Mizuki is the producer of a new show, and is unique in that she is a 25-year-old virgin.

The director was Takahashi Tsuyoshi, the assistant director was Shishido Jun, and the series composition was by Arakawa Toshihisa. The character design and chief animation director was Oshima Miwa, the art design was Nakamura Yoshihiro, the color design was Nakamura Kinsei, the cinematography was Tenkaji Nobuhiro, the editor was Taguma Jun, and the music was Sahashi Toshihiko. The sound director was Takakuwa Hajime, the sound production was by Jinnan Studio, the producers were Sakai Akio, Ashida Toyoo, and Arakawa Masanobu, and the executive producer was Kume Kenji. The animation was produced by IMAGIN and Studio Live, and produced by moe.

The opening theme "(LOVE)∞" is sung by Miyu Matsuki, Sanae Kobayashi, Sayaka Ohara, Mayumi Yoshida, and Kiyomi Asai, with lyrics by Toshihisa Arakawa and music by Toshihiko Sahashi. The ending theme "ONLY YOU" is sung by Ayano Abane, with lyrics by Momo Watanabe, music by Takehiko Maruyama, and arrangement by Mitsuhiro Arisaka.

"LOVE♥LOVE? - Love Love? -" is a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of a special effects TV show, but it also depicts the human drama of the actors. Each character's personality stands out, and the story unfolds in an unpredictable way. In particular, Naoto Oizumi's complexes and secrets are at the center of the story, and his growth as he works to resolve them is a highlight. His relationships with the beautiful girls are also appealing, and are an element that draws viewers in.

This work is recommended not only for romantic comedy fans, but also for those who are interested in special effects and idols. Although it is a short series of only 9 episodes, it is packed with a rich story and charm of characters. Please give it a watch.