Love Lab Review

Now that the summer anime season has finished I'm going to be reviewing all the shows I had been watching for the past few months. I've enjoyed them all a lot for different reasons, but I thought I'd start with Love Lab. A shoujo comedy with a sparkle of romance, this show was a lot of fun to watch and had me chuckling on multiple occasions. This is a spoiler free review, so if you're interested in checking this anime out, I'll be going over the good and the bad so continue reading!


To summarize this show quickly, it's the story about the Student Council at Fujisaki Girls Academy who makes an effort to study love and romance to help themselves find love successfully, as well as advise their fellow student body. Maki the Student Council President is a bit naive and ropes in the edgy wild one, Riko, to advise the girls on what they should do to find love. Hesitant to accept, Riko gets pulled in while lying to all the girls that she has copious amount of boy suitors and her popularity outside of the high school. Luckily for her the girls don't catch on, and antics ensue with the girls struggling to keep Love Lab a secret from the faculty while also aiding their fellow classmates. The dangers aren't too serious though, as this show is mostly light and fun, with serious moments being on the back burner for the duration of most of the episodes.

The Characters

The show is very good at roping you into the student council as Maki, (the secondary protagonist) has an infectious personality. You sympathize more with Riko, (the main protagonist) as she is a bit more level headed, but you still enjoy the banter between the two of them. They are the two main drivers of the plot, but intermixed is the gentle yet clumsy Suzu, the stubborn but convicted Enomoto and the cunning yet well-intentioned Mizushima. Each character has qualities to like about them, and none of them are people you couldn't consider yourself getting along with. They're probably too perfect but that's ok. The show is pretty idealized and not too serious so it's ok that the characters are idealized as well. I give this aspect of the show a 7.5 out of 10 as the characters although not riddled with too many flaws for a dynamic show, are still likeable and feel very real as people, especially when interacting together.

The Story

As summarized earlier, the story is pretty simple. It's mostly about young girls having fun, and it accomplishes that fun aspect very well. It attempts to bring in conflicts if you can call it that, but it doesn't surprise the audience as we know of course things will be resolved in no time. Although this makes it pretty predictable, we shouldn't expect a show directed towards a younger demographic to do much beyond that. At least the conflicts are interesting and explore new ideas that young girls have to face. Contrasting that is the funny moments in the show which were executed perfectly. I was laughing along with them, and the comedy succeeds because of the strength they accomplish with developing the characters. We learn to like every character because it delves into each characters' back story, even if just for a little bit. Getting to know what to expect from each character makes the comedy that much funnier as we see the dynamics between the girls play out with their contrasting personalities. And that's all and good, but the question is, and I mean obviously it would be on your mind since this show is called Love Lab, how's the romance? And I would answer you... underdeveloped. The show pushes forward friendship first, with love much farther on the list. This short season just gives you a taste for all that Love Lab has to offer, so anyone wanting more from it has to turn to the manga. So with all those elements put together I give the story a 7.0 out of 10. Its comedy is bang on, but it lacks in most other regards to make it shy of a higher score. But for young girls, this show is a must see for sure. For women my age however? (I'm 22) It's more a nostalgic revisit to the easy times when you were first learning about love.

The Message

Now, one thing I did not expect from a shoujo comedy series was just how deep this show got at times (Refer to image above from episode 9, it's an artistic metaphor). There were a lot of moments where I thought damn, these girls are really just amazing people, they try to be nice to everyone and help each other grow and mature in a constructive way. This isn't one of those mean girls episodics, the girls learn from each other in a positive way. And as I mentioned before, there's never any real dangers because the girls are such a together group, and their hard work pays off for them. The show demonstrates what real friendship is, that what it takes to be a good person isn't always easy, and that being confident in yourself will gravitate others towards you. Just a lot of fuzzy nice messages that are often overlooked in animes, especially those geared towards a younger audience. The message of this show is what kept me watching, because easily a young adult woman would have nothing to relate to this show otherwise. If you're curious and you're a little older, maybe give this title a try, if not for this reason. I give the message a 9.0 out of 10. For obvious reasons mentioned above, it made the show stand out this season. 

The Verdict

This show is complex for the overthinker and simple for those just looking for a sweet laugh. But did I enjoy it? Yes! I'm not eager to admit that I liked a fluffy shoujo anime but I believe it accomplished a little more than most shoujos tend to. It was pleasant returning week after week to watch the latest episode as it was continually giving a new experience instead of boring me.  Although it ended just as new ideas were developing, it's only 13 episodes long and I intend to look into the manga to get my Love Lab fix. Compiling my score it gets a solid 7.8 out of 10. Not perfect, but probably a bit more perfect for young girls, especially those in their tweens to early teens.
I hope you enjoyed this review, and that it gave you an insight into this lovely anime!