A tomboy called Riko discovers the horrifying secret the student council president Maki uses the student council for in the first episode of Love Lab. That secret just happens to be that she uses the student council room as a location in which she can practice all things love related. Riko quickly agrees not to tell anyone about Maki’s secret and she’s quickly appointed as an assistant to the student council president. They then go about testing all manners of love cliches.
Again this was another surprisingly good show in my view since it looks like another show with a club who does nothing. Actually, I’d say this show is endearing just for how naive it all is. The characters of Maki and Riko are pretty much hopeless when it comes to love. Because the latter hangs around with boys, she’s seen as the experienced one and has to try to pass that on, but really she’s just there for the friendship with Maki. That is quite simply how this managed to work for me. Much like Yuyushiki last season, there is outstanding chemistry between this pair. However, there’s the fact that they have to cram in the rest of the cast in next week’s episode that could potentially wreak havoc on that chemistry.
As far as production goes, this is right in line with GJ-bu, the studio’s previous work. I think there will be more venues in this one though since this is more about friends learning about love and each other more than just being humorous in the same room for two years. That’s still a high bar to hit though since the OP here is nowhere near as good as GJ-bu‘s. Visually, it’s got the makings of a solid production.
Reasons to Continue Watching
- Chemistry between Maki and Riko
- Completely self-aware of how dumb school romance tropes are, but willing to use it for comedic effect.
- Hopelessly naive in a good way
Reasons to Drop
- There’s not much beyond messing about with inaccurate romantic tropes
- The other new characters could ruin what chemistry there is in the student council
- Advocates embezzling club funds to buy game consoles (shouldn’t this be above?)
My Verdict: It’s just about charming enough to get another episode from me. When I first watched it I felt much better about it than I do now. That’s not a very encouraging sign.
Lower Mid-Table 