Nisekoi: False Love (Japanese: ニセコイ, Hepburn: Nisekoi; lit. "Fake Love") is a Japanese romantic comedy manga created and drawn by Naoshi Komi. The series first appeared as a single manga story in Shueisha's Jump Next! magazine. Later, it was published regularly in the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from November 2011 to August 2016. These stories were collected into 25 book volumes. The manga was also released in English by Viz Media in their Weekly Shonen Jump digital magazine and in printed and digital book formats. A three-part novel series called Nisekoi: Urabana, written by Hajime Tanaka, was published from June 2013 to April 2015.
A 20-episode anime television series made by Shaft aired from January to May 2014. A second season with 12 episodes, titled Nisekoi:, was shown from April to June 2015. Aniplex of America has made the series available for streaming and home video in North America. A live-action movie version of the story was released in December 2018.
Plot
Nisekoi is a story about high school students Raku Ichijo, the son of a leader in the Yakuza faction Shuei-gumi, and Chitoge Kirisaki, the daughter of a boss in a rival gang called Beehive. They meet when Chitoge jumps over a wall and kicks Raku in the face. After she leaves, Raku finds that he has lost a locket given to him by his childhood sweetheart, with whom he made a secret promise. Later, he learns that Chitoge is a new student in his class and forces her to help him find the locket. As they search together, they come to hate each other very much.
When Raku returns home, he discovers that the Shuei-gumi and Beehive gangs have agreed to end their conflict by pairing their leaders’ children. He is shocked to learn that his arranged girlfriend is Chitoge. For the next three years, they must pretend to be in a relationship to keep peace between the gangs. This is difficult not only because they dislike each other but also because Raku has feelings for another classmate, Kosaki Onodera, who he secretly believes holds the key to his locket. Kosaki also secretly has feelings for Raku. While trying to maintain their fake relationship, challenges arise, such as Chitoge’s bodyguard, Claude, who tries to prove their relationship is not real.
During their school years, new characters and events make the situation more complicated. Tsugumi Seishiro, Chitoge’s childhood friend and a hitman from Beehive, joins Raku’s class. At first, she causes problems for him, but later becomes a friend and unknowingly develops feelings for Raku. Marika Tachibana, the daughter of a police captain, transfers to the school and claims to be Raku’s fiancée, having liked him for over ten years. Haru Onodera, Kosaki’s younger sister, tries to stop Raku from getting closer to her sister but eventually develops feelings for him herself. Yui Kanakura, the leader of the Char Siu Mafia and Raku’s childhood friend, becomes their new teacher and also has feelings for him.
Throughout the story, secrets and truths about the characters’ relationships, the locket, and their promises are revealed. It is discovered that Chitoge, Kosaki, Marika, and Yui each have keys, and they all knew each other ten years ago. One of them is Raku’s “promise girl.”
After many events and confessions, Raku realizes he has feelings for both Chitoge and Kosaki and must choose between them. A final confrontation leads the group to uncover the truth about the keys and what happened ten years ago, resulting in the final confessions.
Media
Nisekoi was written and illustrated by Naoshi Komi. It began as a single story, called a one-shot, published in Shueisha's Jump Next! magazine on January 8, 2011. Later, it was published in a series of issues in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from November 7, 2011, to August 8, 2016. The series had 229 chapters, which were collected into 25 book volumes by Shueisha. These books were published between May 2, 2012, and October 4, 2016, under the Jump Comics imprint.
A 14-volume reprint of the series, including an epilogue set ten years after the story ended, was published from June 16 to December 18, 2023.
In December 2011, Shueisha published the first chapter online in English. The manga was licensed by Viz Media and appeared in their digital magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump, starting November 26, 2012. Viz also released the 25 volumes in print between January 7, 2014, and January 2, 2018.
A spin-off manga, titled Magical Pâtissier Kosaki-chan!!, was created by Taishi Tsutsui. This story features the character Kosaki Onodera as a magical girl. It was published online on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ platform from December 1, 2014, to September 22, 2016. The chapters were collected into four book volumes, released between June 4, 2015, and October 4, 2016.
In May 2013, an anime adaptation of Nisekoi was announced. The 20-episode series was produced by Aniplex, Shaft, Shueisha, and Mainichi Broadcasting System. It was directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, with Shinbo and Shaft staff (credited as Fuyashi Tō) writing the story. Nobuhiro Sugiyama designed the characters, and Naoki "naotyu" Chiba, Kakeru Ishihama, and Tomoki Kikuya composed the music. The anime aired from January 11 to May 24, 2014. The first opening theme was "Click" by ClariS. The first ending theme for episode 1 was "Heart Pattern" by Nao Toyama, and the second ending theme for episode 8 was "Recover Decoration" by Kana Hanazawa. Other ending themes included "Step" by ClariS (used as an opening from episode 15), "Trick Box" by Mikako Komatsu, and "Hanagonomi" by Kana Asumi. The final episode's ending theme was "Sōzō Diary" by Toyama, Hanazawa, Komatsu, and Asumi. The Japanese Blu-ray version included "Order×Order" by Yumi Uchiyama as the fourth ending theme.
Four original video animations (OVAs) were released with manga volumes 14, 16, 17, and 21.
A second season of the anime, titled Nisekoi:, aired from April 10 to June 26, 2015. The first opening theme was "Rally Go Round" by Lisa, and the opening theme for episode 8 was "Magical ☆ styling" by Kana Hanazawa. Ending themes included "Aimai Hertz" by Toyama, Hanazawa, Komatsu, and Asumi for episodes 1, 3, and 6; "TrIGgER" by Komatsu for episode 2; "Sleep Zzz" by Toyama for episode 4; "Matadō Rabu" by Asumi for episode 5; "marchen ticktack" by Ayane Sakura for episode 7; and "Tooriame Drop" by Yumi Uchiyama for episode 10.
Aniplex of America licensed the series for streaming and home video in North America.
A live-action version of Nisekoi premiered in Japanese theaters on December 21, 2018. Directed by Hayato Kawai, it starred Kento Nakajima as Raku Ichijo and Ayami Nakajo as Chitoge Kirisaki. It was distributed by Toho.
A three-volume novel series titled Nisekoi: Urabana was published by Shueisha under their Jump J-Books imprint. Written by Hajime Tanaka and illustrated by Naoshi Komi, the first volume was released on June 4, 2013. Stories included Kosaki Onodera growing cat ears from a virus and Marika Tachibana as a hit-woman. The second volume, released on December 28, 2013, included stories about the gang working at a maid café. The third volume was published on April 3, 2015.
A voice comic (vomic) was released on June 1, 2012. It featured Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Raku Ichijo, Haruka Tomatsu as Chitoge Kirisaki, Hisako Kanemoto as Kosaki Onodera, and Daichi Kanbara as Shu Maiko.
A special edition of the ninth manga volume was bundled with a drama CD, released on November 1, 2013.
A visual novel titled Nisekoi: Yomeiri!? was developed by Konami and released for the PlayStation Vita on November 27, 2014. Konami also released a mobile game called Nisekoi: Majikore from January 2014 until its closure on December 26, 2015. Chitoge Kirisaki appeared as a support character in the fighting game J-Stars Victory VS, developed by Bandai Namco Games. The game was released in Japan in March 2014 and in North America and Europe in June 2015. Two Super Mario Maker Event Courses designed by Naoshi Komi, along with an unlockable Mystery Mushroom costume of Chitoge, were released on February 18, 2016.
Reception
Nisekoi was ranked number 30 out of Oricon's top 30 manga series sold in 2013, with 1,542,417 copies sold. In 2014, it was ranked number 16 out of the top 30 manga series sold that year, with 3,816,372 copies sold. This number is more than twice the sales of 2013. As of April 2018, the manga had 12 million copies in print.
Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network wrote that the Nisekoi manga lacks originality, as many plot points are similar to those in other shounen series, particularly Sumomomo, Momomo in terms of Raku's home life. She also noted that experienced readers of shounen romance may recognize elements from at least three other series. However, she praised the art and the overall fun tone of the manga.
Andy Hanley of UK Anime Network described Nisekoi: False Love as filled with clichés but enjoyable due to its light-hearted and fun storytelling. He noted that the character designs are traditional, and the author effectively chooses when to detail backgrounds or keep them simple. He also mentioned that the translations were good and the dialogue was smooth.
In reviewing the anime, Theron Martin of Anime News Network stated that the plot twist was easy to predict but noted that the beginning of the story had potential. Hope Chapman criticized the pacing, saying that telling a simple story in a complex way slowed the story. She explained that events and character moments that could be shown in one minute took three minutes, which did not add value to the story. Carl Kimlinger found the "unlikely romantic fantasy" done well and considered the story relatively enjoyable after reviewing No-Rin.
In his review of the first five episodes, Andy Hanley of UK Anime Network described the series as an exercise in checking off elements but noted that it successfully polished old ideas until they were shiny and perfect. He mentioned that Shaft's animation style was initially overwhelming but became effective in highlighting important parts of the show. He also praised the voice cast for capturing the characters well and noted that the overall presentation was excellent.