Kawai Complex (僕らはみんな河合荘) is a 12 episode comedic romance based on the manga of the same name by Miyahara Ruri. The series originally aired in Japan during the Spring of 2014.
Usa Kazunari has gone to extreme lengths to change his life. He has transferred to a high school far from home and will be living in a boarding house, the Kawai Complex. His entire life, at school and home, he has been surrounded by odd people. His caring and helpful nature doesn't help his problem, but he feels a fresh start will make things better. Little does he know that his housemates at the complex are nothing but weird. The only other guy living there is a deviant masochist. One woman is a drunk with self esteem and relationship issues and the other uses her looks to make men do whatever she wants. The manager of the complex is kind and unassuming, but she controls the residents with an iron fist of love. Not only does Usa NOT escape a life filled with odd ball people he feels compelled to help; but the daughter of the buildings owner also lives there and happens to be an upperclassman Usa wants to date. Kawai Ritsu is quiet, shy and always absorbed in a novel. Usa is drawn to her mysterious air and sees his current living arrangement as a way to get closer to her and a way to ruin his chances with her. Everyone is aware of his feelings and does their best to both taunt and support him in his efforts.
This was a fun series, but my initial idea of it being a modern version of Maison Ikkoku falls slightly flat, especially considering the show ends abruptly with the 12th episode. The artwork is glossy and slick, the character designs are interesting, if not detailed for this style of anime. The humor is well done and rampant, sometimes reminding me of Sayonara Zetsubo-sensei. I enjoyed it though and wish there was more...I may have to read the manga and see what was left out. Yet there was something about it that seemed a bit hollow...perhaps it was the artwork, but there just didn't seem to be the sort of depth in the characters as I would have liked to have seen. Perhaps that was due to the length but I can't say for sure until I have gone over the source material. The comparison with Maison Ikkoku seems shoddy. On the outside there is some similarities, but in reality Kawai Complex was not as developed, even for its short run. Many of the characters are just not that convincing in regards to their convictions and mostly seem to be there for comic relief. There was just so much more room for improvement with the series. It could have been done better, even if it remained this short. I would have liked to have seen more, the final episode doesn't really put any sort of conclusion to anything...so I wonder if the series was canceled.
The series is available on Crunchroll in North America and Sentai Filmworks has the license for it so we may see a disc release in the future. There is an un-aired episode to be released in the near future with the Japanese DVD. No word on the manga being licensed in North America however.
This was a fun series, but my initial idea of it being a modern version of Maison Ikkoku falls slightly flat, especially considering the show ends abruptly with the 12th episode. The artwork is glossy and slick, the character designs are interesting, if not detailed for this style of anime. The humor is well done and rampant, sometimes reminding me of Sayonara Zetsubo-sensei. I enjoyed it though and wish there was more...I may have to read the manga and see what was left out. Yet there was something about it that seemed a bit hollow...perhaps it was the artwork, but there just didn't seem to be the sort of depth in the characters as I would have liked to have seen. Perhaps that was due to the length but I can't say for sure until I have gone over the source material. The comparison with Maison Ikkoku seems shoddy. On the outside there is some similarities, but in reality Kawai Complex was not as developed, even for its short run. Many of the characters are just not that convincing in regards to their convictions and mostly seem to be there for comic relief. There was just so much more room for improvement with the series. It could have been done better, even if it remained this short. I would have liked to have seen more, the final episode doesn't really put any sort of conclusion to anything...so I wonder if the series was canceled.
The series is available on Crunchroll in North America and Sentai Filmworks has the license for it so we may see a disc release in the future. There is an un-aired episode to be released in the near future with the Japanese DVD. No word on the manga being licensed in North America however.
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