DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyLove Lab

REVIEWS

• 

  Flightismylife

  80/100
  A surprisingly entertaining 13-episode blitz of love, friendship, and guilt.

  _This review does not contain spoilers._

  Love Lab is the kind of show that could easily slide under anyone's radar. At the time of writing this, AniList reports an average rating of 71% with a ranking of 45th overall for the year 2013. Looking at the summary and tags it would be easy to assume this show is no different from the plethora of mediocre anime in the CGDCT genre.

  __But Lo! I am here to say that _Love Lab_ is indeed an exception!__ Let me introduce our two main characters: Riko and Maki

  We are introduced to Riko, AKA "The Wild Kid", as she walks to the all-girls school we spend most of our time. Her nickname comes from her boyish, rowdy personality which makes her popular among her classmates.

  

  Maki, AKA "The Fuji Princess", is seemingly nothing like Riko. Her nickname comes from her reputation as a highly respected, mature, and dependable student which in turn also makes her popular among her classmates.

  

  Our show starts when Riko is asked to deliver something to Maki where she discovers the well-respected princess is actually not who she seems to be -- she's a pillow-kissing loner desperate for love!

  

  Maki soon comes to believe Riko has a ton of experience with love which she does not deny. Unfortunately for Riko, she's no different than Maki when it comes to love and her lying will have consequences.

  Now coined the "master of love", Riko is roped into the student council by Maki to help her research love with her "expertise". Along the way we are introduced to new characters and plot developments that gradually increase the pressure on Riko to maintain her façade. What happens next is left for you to discover.

  What makes Love Lab so memorable to me is the interactions between characters. Each episode features fast-paced slapstick skits that contrast very well with the underlying themes of guilt and friendship. Characters can be overly-expressive one moment and then reserved the next which leads to interesting dynamics as the show progresses.

  

  I also found the pacing of the show to be very good. Oftentimes I find 13 episode shows fall victim to rushed endings or filler being stretched longer than acceptable to compensate for a lack of content. Love Lab manages to naturally build on its premise with new characters, plot developments, and dialogue that ultimately concludes in a satisfying and natural ending.

  

  Love Lab does not standout as a uniquely innovative show, however it shines as an anime well-written with memorable characters and dialogue. If you're looking for something to watch that offers relatively high entertainment value, I hope you'll consider this review.

  Continue on AniList
• 

  Murilowsky

  90/100
  An underrated view on CGDCT shows, full of great characters and awesome comedy.

  _This review does not contain spoilers_ ═════════⋆✧☆✧⋆════════════ ═════════⋆✧☆✧⋆════════════

  Love Lab is a show that in addition to its genre don't being that famous,
  K-on don't count even among its genre it doesn't get what it really deserves. Moreover it's a show that could very easily be unnoticed even by some hardcore fans of the genre itself and isn't very appreciated.
  It's a show posted on Summer 2013 and is the #43 highest rated in 2013 and the #45 most popular with a score of 71% with thereabout 330 favorites.
  Its tags consists of generally School, Primarily Female Cast, Slapstick and CGDCT with Female Protagonists.

                                          </div>

  Everything began with the introduction of the two main characters:

  

  
  

  • Kurahashi Riko - AKA "The Wild One"

    

    • Her introduction is made when she is walking in the anime normal scenes happen in, the all-girls school Fujisaki Girls Academy.

    • Her nickname is because of her boyish looks , rowdy personality and her skills with sports made her gain popularity, although she thinks otherwise, is in fact one of the most popular girls alongside with the other main character of the stories.

  • Maki Natsuo - AKA "The Fuji Princess"

    
    • Maki has perfect grades, comes from a rich family, is adored by students and teachers alike, keep in touch with every clubs and is pretty, however even she has a side that doesn't show to anyone.

  The Love Lab starts when Riko is asked by a teacher to deliver some papers to the student council where she discovers her most deep and dark secret -- she's a pillow-kissing who has delusions and fantasies with it in order to tough it out the desire for love!

  • 

  After talking and bribing Riko with tea and cookies, Maki comes to an one-sided understanding that Riko is an love expert, that becomes a real problem to Riko in the future lol.

  Now after being named the "master of love", Riko becomes the student president aide and helps her study love with her "expertise".
  Their studies comprises of funny cliches of the genre like bumping in the corridor, the helpless damsel, being carried as a princess, dropping hardkerchiefs but it always ends with it going a little sideways because of maki preferences and riko getting angry on her making the pair the gag of the show.

  ══════════*⋆✧☆✧⋆*══════════

  ══════════*⋆✧☆✧⋆*══════════

  This shows connects well its subplots and new characters introductions by making them originally "enemies" of the student council, building some tension and making the characters more likeable as you can clearly see their constant struggles .
  The good thing though is that despite it being a comedy show and its main carrier of the story, it actually is coehesive - and not just random gags with no goal whatsoever, what made me don't really like this type of show inicially - with the main monologue of riko and her "lies" and develops well the friendship of the Wild Kid and Fuji Princess delivering a masterpiece final episode

  Artwork

  This anime artwork is crazy cute and combines very well with its wholesome aura.
  Tis artwork is near god-level. The way they express their complexes emotions like guilt and friendship and its overly-expressiveness is magnificent.

  

  In other Words: Summary

  • Story: 7.8/10

    • Great story with a nice level of slice of life and good combination with its main genre comedy connecting everything like a lace.

  • Animation: 8.9/10

    • Great animation but for me what makes it fantastic is the way they made it into a really cute show and put in it deep themes without taking its aura of cuteness.

    • Characters: 10/10 (if possible 11)

    • Maki waifu category, Riko is perfect, even the side characters are really great like Eno and Suzu, just perfection.

    • Music and Opening: 7/10

    • They are good, pair up well with the show but they aren't anything special.

    • Enjoyment: 10/10

  • If you are searching for a show to pass time, give some good laughs, an easygoing type of comedy with good players and you might still get touched about along the way this is the right thing

  Thanks for reading this review and let's hope that Maki clean Huggy sometimes...

  Continue on AniList

SIMILAR ANIMES YOU MAY LIKE

• ANIME

  ComedyYuru Yuri
• ANIME

  ComedyAsobi Asobase
• ANIME

  ComedyD-Frag!
• ANIME

  ComedyAzumanga Daiou THE ANIMATION
• ANIME

  ComedyNEW GAME!
• ANIME

  ComedyGabriel Dropout
• ANIME

  ActionSabagebu!
• ANIME

  ComedyKono Bijutsu-bu ni wa Mondai ga Aru!
• ONA

  ComedyRikei ga Koi ni Ochita no de Shoumei shitemita.
• ANIME

  ComedyDanshi Koukousei no Nichijou
• ANIME

  ComedyAraburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo.
• ANIME

  ComedyJoshiraku