First Impression: Love Lab

Ah, it says romance as one of it's genre. I see no guy in the character list which mean this is going to be a shoujo-ai anime. Not really my thing and I'm sure after this episode, I will drop this. Or maybe it's so good that it can turn me into a yuri fan. Who knows right?

(c) Hao

The animation is definitely one of the strongest point for this show. The character designs especially are very appealing. When they revealed Riko, she was quick to get my attention because the studio managed to capture her personality when they created her. Her clothes, hair and the way she strutted around school, it was flawless. Same goes when it comes to the comedic part of the show; the chibi-fied characters and their facial expressions were on the spot.

This is one of those anime that is character-driven. Lucky for us the studio managed to create two female protagonists without one character out-balance the other. Though the relationship formed between them is somewhat forceful in the plot, the interaction and the chemistry between them weren't so that it becomes comedy seamlessly.

And since we talked about plot, lets get into it right away. Riko is the 'tomboy' and Maki is the 'damsel'. Both are admired by the students. One thing led to another and suddenly Riko has to teach Maki about love. Sounds cliche but it wasn't. I thought it was fresh (maybe because I have never seen any shoujo-ai anime). Most importantly, it wasn't pretentious which is a good thing otherwise I would have hated it.

There's this part where Riko's male friends said that she is just like one of the guys so that they don't have to worry about falling for her because it won't happen. Well, during my school years, I experienced just that. To be honest, I was worried. But then, after high school is over, the guys kinda wanna date me. This included the guys I met during college years. All of my four exs were my best friends. I have no freaking idea what happened... they might have a sudden revelation that I'm awesome as fuck but yeah... what I'm trying to say is, Riko actually still has hope to have a heterosexual relationship.

It's not often (more like, never) that I laughed my ass off watching two females of who I know going to have feelings for each other. Love Lab managed to do so which is somehow a feat in it's own right.

What I'm going to say is, I'm glad that I checked this out. Though it didn't turn me into a yuri fan (yet), it does makes me wanna see more of the series. I enjoyed the comedy a lot. Recommended!

Episode: 13
Aired: Summer 2013
Producers: Dogakobo

arts & animation 8/10
story 7/10
characters 8/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 8/10
overall 7.8/10

Posted in: aniplex, comedy, dogakobo, first impression, love lab, romance, school