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C-quel — Lovely Complex Fanart
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Published: 2009-02-23 03:54:52 +0000 UTC; Views: 29018; Favourites: 208; Downloads: 15441
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Description
The first in my series of "ITSATRAP" fanart images, this installment features my favorite characters in one of my favorite Anime series of all times: Lovely Complex . While not exactly the likeliest boy-girl pairing in the series, I've always wanted to see Risa Koizumi and Seiko Kotobuki interact a little more often. Given the lack of such images, I figured I'd follow the age-old adage: "if you want something done right, just do it yourself". ^______^Being my first TRUE Anime fanart since as far back as the Canalfriend Era, I was initially quite anxious to see how well I could style-match the original Love★Com cel art. That process was slow and lumbering, and while I did eventually succeed I was neither comfortable nor impressed by the results. So I removed the limiter and just drew them with as much "C-quelism"'s as I could afford given the impending biweekly deadline.
Ironically, I think the results are a lot closer to the Love★Com style than the original imitation work, and I had thrice as much fun drawing it! ^___^
Not much else to say about the characters -- fans of the series will surely know them inside out. The one bit of improvisation done was on Seiko-chan's height. Only Risa and Ootani had any listed heights, so I used Ootani's 156cm frame as a template for a highly logical assumption....
Despite his short stature, he's WAY bigger than Risa's friend Nobuko-chan, who in turn is WAY bigger than Seiko-chan; ergo, 144cm.... Makes perfect sense, right? ^____^'
*ducks at the sight of rocks and food items being tossed at him*
Admittedly, some artistic license is in effect, but hopefully it will make the image as enjoyable to view as it was for me to draw. ^v^
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Love★com © 2001 by Aya Nakahara
TV Anime version produced in 2007 by Toei Animation.
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Comments: 111
risa is cute!!! an seiko is, is... how i can say it... like this www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbi0hT… XD
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Haha... thanks, I think. [Seiko-chan can't catch a break] XD
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This is one of the best fan arts. I was shocked at her height conversion, she is only 5ft 7, In comparison to me, she is tiny haha.
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Why thank you! I drew this in my golden age of vector art, so not sure if I'd have it in me anymore to create something like this again, but I'm glad the image is still appreciated even after all these years. I really loved Risa and Seiko, and I wish more had been done with their [brief] dynamic.
And yes, I was too, although given the practice in Anime to exaggerate dimensions, it's not too surprising. Risa and Otaru are but a few inches apart, but in the anime they almost seem to make him 4 ft tall and her 7ft tall. Even worse, she's not even the tallest anime girl character, but simply reaches the limit to what is traditionally-considered tall for a woman in her culture. >.<
Still, it's not an entirely small size either, so I imagine from what you say that you're a pretty decent height yourself.
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Yeah, I love the storyline. It is really different. I love Risa, I swear if I have a kid/little girl, She will be called Risa. Risa is a badass ^^
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Different yes, sadly. I wish it were cliche, but not in this day and age. Maybe its a show too far ahead of its time.
Risa would be a great name, unless you live near a large Spanish population (in which case, her name would mean "laughter", not quite as badass, heh). XD
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No, its defiantly not a head of its time, its about time we started having taller women in Anime. It's easy for tall women to relate to as we find it hard to get partners when we are young. I have also dated someone who was really short (5 ft).
Lol, I will mainly be in the UK, Japan and the US when I am fully qualified haha.
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Amen to that.
Speaking from the boy's side, it's also good some of us have a character like Otaru to relate to, as some of us growing up may WANT to approach taller girls/women, but ultimately hold back due to societal pressures (at the risk of death by bullying XD ). This just worsens the situation you described, and unnecessarily so. ^^
To your point, my tallest date was a good 7 inches taller than I was, and I absolutely loved it; sadly, she never did feel comfortable in public, so it was not a sustainable relationship. Some of the episodes in Lovely Complex felt vaguely nostalgic... >.<
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Yeah, I agree.
Personally I don't mind dating shorter guys. My ex was 5ft0. It was really awkward though when it came to hugging, I will admit that it made me feel a lot butcher rather than fem. Most guys I date are shorter than me though 
I understand that it must be hard for short guys to approach taller women, but who cares if the short dude dates a taller chick, she is more likely to be a model or do something interesting with her life
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Hey hey. ^^
Well, at least hugging was the only problem, typically there'd be something a lot crazier to call attention to. And the butch vs. feminine thing is purely cultural, and definitely something I've heard before on a number of occasions. How interesting that that might be the first thing to come to mind, and not simply, say, "motherly". One could say its a consequence of having strength attributes be culturally-monopolized by men, to the point a woman can't possibly be perceived as having any unless she is "manly".
That's why I loved that scene in Lovely Complex where Risa hugs Otani, savors his easily-huggable physique, then proceeds to carry him effortlessly over to the gym. It only happens once in the whole series, but in that one scene she gives a massive "F U!" to cultural norms, and positively LOVES it!
As for your last question, if you're someone like Nicolas Sarkozy, then apparently a whole nation's media cares, to the point of pretty much meddling in marital affairs.
One date is fine, but said "dude" simply isn't authorized to take it any further than that (even for successful model knockouts), thus making the whole relationship more like a trophy achievement than any serious affection. You are right that people don't care about that, for the wrong reasons, and I argue they should care about it for the right ones.
And its no coincidence that LoveCom care about it for the right reasons, even if it stands alone among other series that don't quite get it.
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Hey,
Yeah, I will admit I did cry when she got rejected. I could feel her pain
From what I have learned, taller women are actually in higher demand, especially for working in the media behind the camera. My camera operation lecturer loves the fact that I am tall because it means I can do things without getting in the way, I can also carry a lot more weight/items than your average woman.
But I do agree with you on the relationships, sometimes it does feel like more of an achievement. Hence why I have stopped looking. I never said that people don't care for the wrong reasons. What I meant was they should not care at all, they should just leave others alone and keep their opinions and eyes to themselves. Last thing a tall woman wants is people either thinking "A tall girl and short dude, freaks" or "A tall girl and a short dude, how cute!!" because both are just as insulting as a each other, why? Because they are still looking at the height difference.
I think more tall anime/characters need to be introduced, as the population is getting taller.
Science has shown that in 1000 years (thanks to people like me) the average height will be 7ft.
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Hey there. ^^
Oh yes, I wouldn't even begin to describe how I was yelling at my computer monitor during that scene. There were times the series irritated me some... but I guess the absence of angst would have made it dull and boring, so so be it... -v-
hehe, 1000 years? Surely thanks to the wonders of the oh-so-safe-and-totally-non-impacting BSE hormones, we can accelerate that achievement of reaching the 7ft average in 1000 weeks! Though I'm pretty sure the clothing industry will still refuse to adjust to that new reality, so there's still lots more work to do.
I've always admired admissions of practical appreciation for height in women, as it's not something that I see (or feel) gets much recognition at all. To treat your physique as an asset rather than a liability is a good solid foundation for self-respect. ^^
And I fully, 100% understand what you mean, as of course we do as a Western society pride ourselves in [presumably] not judging or making a scene from other couple arrangements that may seem unorthodox... from differences in body weight, to differences in race, to of course same-gender relations. Height discrimination seems to be the only things that's apparently given free-range to target for public scrutiny, both by men and women sadly. If it is rare sight for people AND there is not social queue that admonishes them for scrutinizing the relationship between a tall girl/short dude (quite the contrary, they are often instructed on queue to laugh at it, based on tv and movies), then of course it will happen. Until we have advocates that can challenge this unfair double-standard, scrutinizing as a positive is probably the lesser of two evils... even though, to your point, its still potentially just as insultingly (because not everyone wants to be called cute, or even be called anything at all).
It's an uphill battle, but I hope it too will be overcome at some point, and people will be truly free to love whoever they want (within boundaries of the law at least). Hopefully it won't take us said 1000 years to achieve that feat.
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Hey sorry I took so long to reply, I have been bogged down with assessments,
How are you?
I just look forward to the day where I can walk down a street without being called "That Tall Girl" lol
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Hello there. Sorry, I'm technically on indefinite hiatus, so I only come to check this site out on occasion.
I've been pretty happy IRL, so I guess that means I've been doing okay. ^^
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Awesome
I am glad your doing well
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Aww, their Schoolgirl Outfits make them extra super adorable and snuggly!
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oh, nice to see comments still coming in for an old piece like this one. Thank you!
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Ah thank you! This is an oldie, but I love how it turned out... great size difference. ^3^
Oh, and sorry to hear about your PC... hopefully it's not just that Windows on it died or something. For the latter, that's why I always keep a Linux LiveCD handy, to revive dead PCs (assuming they can be saved).. XD
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well i destroyed my old pc xD
i had to build a frankenstein while i save some money to buy a new one
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haha, make sure it's a cheap one this time.
I can get by on really cheap computers and tablets, none of that crazy over-priced stuff for me. XD
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hahah i'll try xD
but usualy i dont use the pc only for doing my stuff...i play a lot sooooo... that means i need a good pc...and ofc that means a expensive pc...
life is not fair xD
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Oh hey, thanks. I'm still impressed this old picture still attracts visitors every so often. ^^
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Yeah, I love this picture. Nice work! ^w^
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Yep, this was a beauty of an anime! ^_^
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Me encanta como te quedo 
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Muchas gracias. ^^
Aunque claro que este trabajo ya esta algo viejo, pero me agrada mucho saber que sigue muy apreciado. ^___^b
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yeah!! es que el anime lo vi en abril del año pasado... y hace poco me hice la cuenta, y voy descubriendo trabajos nuevos y viejos jeje
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perfecto perfecto. ^^
Si, a mi no me gusto que hay relativamente poco fanart de Seiko-chan, y menos el la presencia de Risa. Entonces trataba de remediar eso con este dibujo. ^^b
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sii!! y te quedo bastante bien
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Thank you. It's an older piece, but glad you like it. ^^
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No problem! And thanks for the Llama!
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Also, as an afterthought, Mara+Holic is great. And awful. But mostly great. But mostly awful. I also recommend, in no particular order, Hourou Musuko (okay I lied, that's on top for a reason), Princess Jellyfish and perhaps Princess Princess as well, so far as shows with a fun gender-bending angle are concerned.
Yes, I'm a little obsessed. C'est la vie.
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HAHA! Well true M+H didn't have much of a storyline or plot or anything really.... But I still love it for its quirkiness, and actually just finished watching M+H: Alive (the 2nd season). ^^
Hourou Musuko sounds great! Prioritizing it on my watch list! (even bumping off AnoHana to make room, lol) ^^
Kuragehime I just finished watching recently... wouldn't favor it over the others, but it is a cute series with lovable characters so I liked it. ^^b
Princess Princess I had heard mentioned from my friends, but not sure if it's my cup of tea. Still might check it out some day for the sake of critiquing. ^^
Three more I might comfortably mention are Sasameki Koto (although if you hated Seiko's brush-off in the Lovely Complex story, you'll definitely seethe at what they do to poor Akemi/Akemiya 
Vandread gets only an honorable mention since it's really more of a contextual gender-bending (although coincidentally, it's another series where the male lead is shorter than all the females).
And I'll only refer Kämpfer and Kanokon with a 50m pole, since both of those shows are... er... NSFW.
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And the rundown:
Hourou Musuko is FANTASTIC. Very, very different, though. Don't go into it expecting a comedy. I mean, there are moments in it that are funny and it's not like it's crazy dark angst angst bleed angst goat (?) angst or anything, but it's... very sophisticated and nuanced.
Watching Kuragehime convinced me that I want to read the manga, because there were some brilliant storylines in there (just the fact that they were willing to touch on the idea of adultery the way they did, as well as Kuranosuke's brother's, err, indiscretion, really sold me on it) but NO meaningful resolution whatsoever outside of 'yay we get to keep our house!' Sigh. Also, Kuranosuke is one of the gaudiest transvestites I've ever seen, my God. I ADORE about half of his outfits, by which I mean I will like half the elements of any given outfit on average. Still, he's charming and Tsukimi is an adorable doof (and my but she cleans up nice: it's a very different aesthetic than one usually sees and I like it).
Princess Princess... well. Uhm. It's kinda unapologetically what it is, which is romcom yaoi for the sake of romcom yaoi, and this means that my own tolerance for it can vary wildly from moment to moment. But it's fun and features a hilarious discussion on what it means to be manly on at least one occasion.
Bakatest! Good lord, how could I forget that. I will make no bones about it: that show is dumb. D U M B dumb. Which is not to say bad in the slightest: no lie, I fell out of my chair laughing at least twice watching that show. Hideyoshi is great, though I'll admit that it's the trials of Yuuji that really had me on that show. (Seriously though, Hideyoshi IS great.) I THINK I've heard of Sasameki but I haven't seen it.
I saw an ep or two of Vandread: not bad. Not amazing, but nod bad. Although funn you should say, because part of what I LIKE about Lov*Com is that it does deal, at least peripherally, with cultural expectations of gender without (with the exception of the lovely and charming Seiko) just being a matter of simple gender-bending. My favorite moment in the show is the bit with Risa running through the halls, princess-carrying Akihisa. So sweet!
And Kampfer was the series that made me break my stated goal of seeing everything that anime and manga have to offer in the way of gender-craziness. Could NOT get into it. I also forgot, manga-wise, Family Compo (which I'm a little surprised hasn't gotten an anime take yet) and... man, now I can't remember the name of it, but there's one about a high school student who gets dragged into business as a ghost exterminator by a kid in elementary. Very minor gender-bending element (the kid dresses like a girl), but a fine read.
...okay, this was a bit long. But seriously, love your work.
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Yo! Well you're definitely enthusiastic about the genre.
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Ah yes, just saw a small snippet of ep. 1 of Hourou Musuko. It's definitely a more slow-paced and delicate narrative, like a Studio Ghibli film from the mid-1990's. I think I will like it very much.
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Indeed the anime did end with half-a-million loose ends untied, a fault of the new trend towards 11-episode series. More than likely though it is meant as a hook-and-sink for the manga. ^__^
I also liked it for many of the reasons you described. ^^
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haha, that's what I thought about PP. Well, but I reckon if anyone can make it through X or Fist of the North Star, they can probably make it through this too (at least PP is more honest).
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The one thing that did annoy me about BakaTest is that tall women apparently don't exist in that world. But otherwise, agreed it was a hilarious series!
[and classifying "Hideyoshi" as its own gender was too much] >v<
Also, I really loved the final battle tactics of wearing Class A down like that, it was definitely a thing of genius!
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Queue up Sasameki Koto then, cause I almost guarantee it will be interesting in more ways than one. ^^
It's kind of like Lovely Complex, but the tall girl is attracted to another girl rather than a short boy (even though there is one in the series).
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Vandread has some pretty fun and natural gender-bending moments, if only because both cultures evolved separate from each other, so there is no clear distinction between the race of Men and Women on how they should act towards each other (besides as mortal enemies). But this leads to plenty of missed opportunities too, which is kind of my pet peeve with the series (aside from its 1,000,000 kph ending which feels cheap and rushed).
And yes, I LOVED that scene in Lovely Complex too! But again, too bad that sudden burst of confidence from Risa-san was short-lived. ><
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Haha! I hated Kampfer too, but it's my job as a self-proclaimed Anime critic to slug through these things no matter how bad. That's the reason why I'm forcing myself to finish Macademi Wasshoi! in lieu of jumping straight to Hourou Musuko or at least AnoHana,.. otherwise, I'd have thrown the series out the window after Ep3 ><
But at least Kampfer has some pretty slick character designs, though. I liken it to Koi Koi 7 and or Asobi ni Ikuyo!... massively perverted series with cheap thrills and cliché plot devices, but with enough great character designs (and tall women) to keep my interest from tanking... completely.... =.=
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Oh, and thank you. ^^
Might also point out that despite all the best efforts of these anime and manga titles, I still have yet to see a series with my ideal gender-bending interaction... so I took it upon myself to incorporate one in the upcoming chapters of our visual novel.
So hopefully one day you'll be able to enjoy the adorable (but socially awkward) relationship between Reina and Kai... [link]
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Now I'm curious as to what your ideal is. I have a story that's currently VERY MUCH up in the air called 'Gumdrop', which centers on a gender change rather than cross-dressing, but you seem like someone it might be good to discuss it with. I've hit a bit of a wall with the planning, y'see.
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Alrighty, well note me and I can help you brainstorm if you want.
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This is a really fantastic piece of work: you've captured the style of the series and yet this is clearly an original piece. And, well, it doesn't hurt that I adore the subject matter. Seiko-chan is such a sweetheart, and I was a little miffed that she (used deliberately) didn't get more screentime. Well, I can always hope that the sequel manga will have more of her in it, no?
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hehe, thank you very much. This is an older piece and one of the few fanarts I've ever drawn, but glad to know it's still appreciated. ^^b
Was pretty miffed by that too, especially since there was so many opportunities in the story where Seiko could have really spiced things up. Heck, even with the height theme if you think about it! (e.g., Otani has no right complaining about being short, when Seiko is way shorter than he is!) ;D
Somehow I suspect that our hopes will fall on deaf ears,... but oh well, guess that's why they call them "hopes". ^^
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Thank you. ^^
I tired of waiting for someone to draw my idle pairing, so figured I'd do it myself, lol.
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