Love Lab

At Fujisaki Girl’s Academy, there are two opposing girls that stand out from the rest: Natsuo Maki, the calm and collected Student Council President, and Riko Kurahashi, the boyish “Wild Child” (or so she has been called). But things get complicated (and downright weird), when Riko walks into the Student Council Office to see Maki making out with a body pillow (with a crudely, and I do mean crudely drawn face on it). Mortified that someone knows her secret, Maki confesses that she actually is obsessed with romance and uses the pillow (she affectionately named it Huggy) to practice. She then enlists Riko to help her, figuring the “Wild Child” must have plenty of experience. Well, Riko doesn’t (and hates the nickname, btw!), but to keep up appearences, claims that she does and to try and soften her image, joins Maki to discovery more about love! That is, if they can survive the inanity that is Maki and Riko’s combined lack of romantic knowledge (and the fact that Riko gets embarrassed by anything girly). This one is going to be weird! Love Lab is a delightful, inane show that regularly leans into its weirdness. More often than not, when Maki has something she wants to try that is romance related, you can bet it will be overboard (like the classic running into someone with food in your mouth, only she is going full speed ahead). Plus the animation is so fluid, which adds to the great comedy at play. The weirdest thing about this show, though, is that, although it is about love, there is no romance at play with the main characters. There is a hint of something between Riko and one of her friends (like he confessed to her and she shot him down, but doesn’t remember the incident), but besides that there is nothing. More, this show, since it focuses on love and romance as the subject matter, technically qualifies it as a romcom! In the end, I put it at #28/57 on the RCA list. No romance in the show, but tons of comedy and shenanigans that will keep you smiling for a while! So go ahead, and let’s do some experiments in the Love Lab! Though I swear, we will probably need to just burn Huggy at this point….