| Love Flops | |
 Key visual | |
| 恋愛フロップス (Ren'ai Furoppusu) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Created by | Love Flops Project |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Love Flops Project |
| Illustrated by | Ryūdai Ishizaka |
| Published by | Hakusensha |
| Magazine | Young Animal |
| Original run | June 24, 2022 – July 28, 2023 |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Nobuyoshi Nagayama |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Ryō Yasumoto |
| Music by | Kenichiro Suehiro |
| Studio | Passione |
| Licensed by | Sentai Filmworks |
| Original network | AT-X, Tokyo MX, KBS Kyoto, SUN, BS11, TVA |
| Original run | October 12, 2022 – December 28, 2022 |
| Episodes | 12 |
Love Flops (Japanese: 恋愛フロップス, Hepburn: Ren'ai Furoppusu) is an original Japanese anime television series produced by Kadokawa Corporation, animated by Passione, and directed by Nobuyoshi Nagayama. It follows a high school student whose life is turned upside down after he has a fateful encounter with five girls on his way to school.
The series aired from October to December 2022 on AT-X and other networks. Sentai Filmworks the licensed the series for English-speaking regions, streaming it on its Hidive platform with an English dub that premiered in November 2023.
A manga adaptation by Ryūdai Ishizaka was serialized in Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine from June 2022 to July 2023.
Plot
One day before going to school, Asahi Kashiwagi watches a fortune telling program on television. Every prediction turns out to be true when he encounters five girls along the way, with each one eventually giving him a love confession. Asahi now has to find a way to deal with this unexpected situation.
Characters
Main characters
- Asahi Kashiwagi (柏樹 朝, Kashiwagi Asahi)
- Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka,[2] Mayu Minami[5] (young) (Japanese); Jeremy Gee[6] (English)
- A high school boy who receives five love confessions on a first day of school after seeing a fortune telling program on television. It is later revealed that he was recruited for a virtual reality program to experience a computer generated world with simulated characters.
- Aoi Izumisawa (和泉沢 愛生, Izumisawa Aoi)
- Voiced by: Miku Itō[2] (Japanese); Natalie Rial[6] (English)
- A Japanese student and one of Asahi's classmates. She wears glasses, and has a bright and cheerful personality. She is also a talented cook for her housemates. It is later revealed that she is actually a simulated character and that she was the first among the artificial intelligence girls to be created. Because of this, she is said to be the most similar to the AI girls' base, Asahi's childhood friend, Ai Izawa.
- Amelia Irving (アメリア・アーヴィング, Ameria Āvingu)
- Voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu[2] (Japanese); Brittney Karbowski[6] (English)
- An American student and one of Asahi's classmates. She is always seen wearing headphones with cat ears. She wants to be good at Japanese by studying kanji. It is later revealed that she is actually a simulated character. Later in the series, she is a magical girl.
- Irina Ilyukhina[a] (イリーナ・イリューヒナ, Irīna Iryūhina)
- Voiced by: Rie Takahashi[2] (Japanese); Juliet Simmons[6] (English)
- A shy Bulgarian student and one of Asahi's classmates. She is actually a cross-dressing girl who has been forced to live like a boy under the name Ilya Ilyukhin[b] (イリヤ・イリューヒン, Iriya Iryūhin) by her late father. It is later revealed that she is actually a simulated character. She is also a magical girl.
- Bai Mongfa (白 夢華, Bai Monfa)
- Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto[2] (Japanese); Maggie Flecknoe[6] (English)
- The class' teacher who comes from China. Because she is still young, her relationship with her students is more like that of an older sister. She has a clumsy personality, particularly at home. She is a former tai chi assassin of an underground organization and has the codename "Bloody Tiger". It is later revealed that she is actually a simulated character.
- Karin Istel (カリン・イステル, Karin Isuteru)
- Voiced by: Marika Kōno[2] (Japanese); Cate Smyth[6] (English)
- A self-conscious German student and one of Asahi's classmates. She is also active as a model whose billboards are a common sight in Tokyo. She is also a magical girl, becoming one after an encounter with an alien familiar. It is later revealed that she is actually a simulated character.
Supporting characters
- Yoshio Ijūin (伊集院 好雄, Ijūin Yoshio)
- Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama[2] (Japanese); Blake Shepard[6] (English)
- Asahi's classmate and self-proclaimed best friend. He comes from a rich family which owns a beach house. It is later revealed that he is actually a simulated character and an alter-ego of scientist Yoshino Feynman.
- Loverin (ラブリン, Raburin)
- Voiced by: Shiori Izawa[7] (Japanese); Kira Vincent-Davis[6] (English)
- A rabbit-shaped alarm clock which says things to Asahi and the others. She has a screen that can display both time and other information.
- Ai Izawa (井澤 愛, Izawa Ai)
- Voiced by: Miku Itō[8] (Japanese); Natalie Rial[6] (English)
- Asahi's childhood friend. She died from a brain tumor two years prior to Asahi entering the VR program, but her consciousness formed the basis of a new AI model. Additionally, her memories were implanted into the five simulated characters created by the international VR companies.
- Yoshino Feynman (好乃・ファインマン, Yoshino Fainman)
- Voiced by: Yukiyo Fujii[9] (Japanese); Molly Searcy[6] (English)
- A strange scientist who works on AI in a technological company called Cavenish. She informs Asahi that the girls he was living with were all part of a VR simulation. She is also investigating what led the simulation to prematurely end. She appears in the simulated world in the form of Yoshio Ijūin.
Media
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Ryūdai Ishizaka was serialized in Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine from June 24, 2022,[10] to July 28, 2023.[11] The first tankōbon volume was released on September 29, 2022.[12]
Volumes
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 29, 2022[13] | 978-4-592-16616-0 |
| 2 | December 27, 2022[14] | 978-4-592-16617-7 |
| 3 | September 29, 2023[15] | 978-4-592-16618-4 |
Anime
The original anime television series produced by Kadokawa Corporation and animated by Passione was announced on March 25, 2022.[2] The series was directed by Nobuyoshi Nagayama, with assistant direction by Midori Yui and Fujiaki Asari, scripts written by Ryō Yasumoto, character designs handled by Kazuyuki Ueda, who also serves as chief animation director, and music composed by Kenichiro Suehiro.[7] It aired from October 12 to December 28, 2022, on AT-X and other networks.[16] Konomi Suzuki performed the opening theme song "Love? Reason why!!", while Miku Itō, Ayana Taketatsu, Rie Takahashi, Hisako Kanemoto and Marika Kōno performed the first ending theme song "Flop Around".[7][17] Itō performed the second ending theme song "Lost in the white" and the insert song for episode 12, "With You".[8] Kadokawa collected its episodes on two Blu-ray box sets, released on January 25 and March 24, 2023.[18]
In North America, British Isles and Australia, Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series, who streamed it on Hidive.[19] An English dub produced by Sentai Studios, under ADR director John Swasey, premiered on November 28, 2023.[6] It was released on a Blu-ray set on January 16, 2024.[20]
Episodes
 | This section needs a plot summary. (December 2025) |
| No. | Title [21][c] | Directed by [d] | Storyboarded by [d] | Original release date [23] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Don't Get So Grabby, You Clumsy Oaf!" Transliteration: "Gattsuku na yo, Hetakuso ka yo" (Japanese: ガッツくなよ、ヘタクソかよ) | Asari Fujiaki & Yui Midori | Nobuyoshi Nagayama | October 12, 2022[24] |
| 2 | "I Figure We All Have Our Own Pleasures and Predilections" Transliteration: "Shumi toka Seiheki toka Hito Sorezore da to Omoushi" (Japanese: 趣味とか性癖とか人それぞれだと思うし) | Mika Komatsu | Nobuyoshi Nagayama | October 19, 2022[25] |
| 3 | "No! Not There! Not Like That!" Transliteration: "Dame! Sonna Tokoro, Sonna Fūni" (Japanese: ダメ！そんなところ、そんな風に) | Hiroki Moritomo | Naruyo Takahashi | October 26, 2022[26] |
| 4 | "Wow! It's Huge!" Transliteration: "Sugēn da yo, Dekēn da!" (Japanese: すげーんだよ、でけーんだ！) | Daiki Takemoto | Takeo Takahashi | November 2, 2022[27] |
| 5 | "A Bone-Shakingly Fine Woman" Transliteration: "Dōburui Suru Yōna Ii Onna da ze" (Japanese: 胴震いするようなイイ女だぜ) | Hito Tadano | Ikuo Morimoto | November 9, 2022[28] |
| 6 | "No Balls! N-No Dick Either..." Transliteration: "Tama ga nē...!! Chi... Chin mo..." (Japanese: タマがねえ…！！チ…チンも…) | Hiroki Moritomo | Ikuo Morimoto | November 16, 2022[29] |
| 7 | "I'll Charge a Snooze Fee" Transliteration: "Enchō Ryōkin Toraren zo" (Japanese: 延長料金とられんぞ) | Yūta Kida | Nobuyoshi Nagayama | November 23, 2022[30] |
| 8 | "People Don't Like It If You're Early, But They Hate It If You're Late Too" Transliteration: "Hayai no mo Kirawareru Kedo, Ososugiru no mo Iyagararen zo" (Japanese: 早いのも嫌われるけど、遅過ぎるのも嫌がられんぞ) | Tarō Kubo | Tatsuya Ishiguro | November 30, 2022[31] |
| 9 | "Your Mom's Inviting You For Some Baby Roleplay" Transliteration: "Mama kara Akachan Purei no Osasoi da zo" (Japanese: ママから赤ちゃんプレイのお誘いだぞ) | Tarō Kubo | Hiroaki Yoshikawa | December 7, 2022[32] |
| 10 | "Yup, It's Risky to Go in Raw, Rubber" Transliteration: "Yappari Nama wa Kikengomu" (Japanese: やっぱりナマはキケンゴム) | Satoshi Saga | Hiroaki Yoshikawa | December 14, 2022[33] |
| 11 | "I'm Glad I Got to Meet You" Transliteration: "Anata ni Aete Yokatta" (Japanese: あなたに会えてよかった) | Daiki Takemoto | Shinji Itadaki | December 21, 2022[34] |
| 12 | "Could You At Least Put Some Undies On?" Transliteration: "Semete Pantsu Kurai Haitara Dōdai" (Japanese: せめてパンツくらいはいたらどうだい) | Fujiaki Asari | Ikuo Morimoto | December 28, 2022[35] |
Reception
Previews
The series' first episode received negative reviews from Anime News Network's staff during the Fall 2022 season previews. James Beckett critiqued that the series failed to replicate the tightrope concept of "nonsensical shenanigans" and sincere relationships that Wet Hot American Summer captured, saying the premise had "no clever commentary on those hacky clichés, no subversion of expectations, nor anything else of merit or interest". Richard Eisenbeis felt the series did not go further with its deconstruction of the lucky pervert trope in romantic comedy anime and had a "compelling mystery" regarding Asahi's surroundings being a dream or virtual reality, but concluded that "it's not enough to bring me back for week two—and neither is anything else in the show for that matter." Nicholas Dupree was put off by the "escalation of bad taste" following the episode's elongated take on the first two minutes of A Sister's All You Need's opening episode, saying "if somebody wanted to make a parody of lazy dating sim games and the ridiculously contrived ways they deliver cheap fanservice of flat characters to an increasingly desensitized audience, it would certainly look like Love Flops."[36]
Series
Julian Malerman, writing for THEM Anime Reviews, heavily panned the series for not fully committing to its "wildly trashy premise" and ecchi harem clichés in the first half, and failed to accomplish being a "genre subversion or satire" akin to Doki Doki Literature Club in the second half, calling it "a case study in misplaced writing priorities" that's recommended to "the morbidly curious and, preferably, thoroughly inebriated."[1]
See also
- Iwa-Kakeru! Climbing Girls, a manga series also illustrated by Ryūdai Ishizaka
Notes
References
- ^ a b Malerman, Julian (July 10, 2023). "Love Flops". THEM Anime Reviews. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 25, 2022). "Kadokawa Unveils Original Romantic Comedy TV Anime Renai Flops". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ Chapman, Paul (September 25, 2022). "Heroines Gather in New Key Visual for Love Flops TV Anime". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ "Love Flops". Sentai Filmworks. Archived from the original on December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ Minami, Mayu [@33373wind] (December 14, 2022). TVアニメ『#恋愛フロップス 』第10話 幼少期の朝役で出演させていただきました。 本当に、良い意味で期待を裏切ってくるというか…すごい作品だ... このサブタイで、観終わったあとこんな感情になるなんて... ご視聴ありがとうございました...🥲🎀 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved December 15, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cayanan, Joanna (November 22, 2023). "HIDIVE Announces Love Flops Anime's English Dub Cast". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c Mateo, Alex (July 26, 2022). "Love Flops Anime's 1st Promo Video Reveals October Debut". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
- ^ a b Mateo, Alex (November 23, 2022). "Miku Itō Voices Additional Character, Performs New Ending Theme Song for Love Flops Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
- ^ Fujii, Yukiyo [@yukiyofujii0508] (December 1, 2022). #恋愛フロップス 大きく物語が動いた8話に好乃・ファインマン役で出演しています どうなるどうなるー！？ (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved December 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 13, 2022). "Iwa-Kakeru! -Climbing Girls- Creator Ryūdai Ishizaka Launches Renai Flops Manga Based on Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (July 28, 2023). "Love Flops Original Rom-com Anime's Manga Ends". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ アニメ「恋愛フロップス」マンガ版1巻、5人のお嫁さん候補との同棲ラブコメ. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 29, 2022. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ 恋愛フロップス 1 (in Japanese). Hakusensha. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ 恋愛フロップス 2 (in Japanese). Hakusensha. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
- ^ 恋愛フロップス 3 (in Japanese). Hakusensha. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 8, 2022). "Love Flops Anime Reveals October 12 Premiere". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
- ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (August 10, 2022). "Love Flops Anime's 5 Main Voice Actresses Perform Ending Song". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ Beveridge, Chris (November 10, 2022). "Kadokawa Schedules 'Love Flops' Anime Blu-ray Box Sets". The Fandom Post. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
- ^ Mateo, Alex (September 19, 2022). "HIDIVE to Stream Love Flops Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ Mateo, Alex (January 18, 2024). "North American Anime, Manga Releases, January 14—20". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 20, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ ストーリー [Story]. Love Flops (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ "Stream Love Flops on Hidive". Hidive. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ オンエア [On Air]. Love Flops Official Website (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ 週間番組表(2022/10/10～2022/10/16). AT-X (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ 週間番組表(2022/10/17～2022/10/23). AT-X (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 16, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ 週間番組表(2022/10/24～2022/10/30). AT-X (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ 週間番組表(2022/10/31～2022/11/06). AT-X (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ 週間番組表(2022/11/07～2022/11/13). AT-X (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ 週間番組表(2022/11/14～2022/11/20). AT-X (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ 週間番組表(2022/11/21～2022/11/27). AT-X (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ 週間番組表(2022/11/28～2022/12/04). AT-X (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ 週間番組表(2022/12/05～2022/12/11). AT-X (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
- ^ 週間番組表(2022/12/12～2022/12/18). AT-X (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ 週間番組表(2022/12/19～2022/12/25). AT-X (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 14, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
- ^ 週間番組表(2022/12/26～2023/01/01). AT-X (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ "Love Flops - The Fall 2022 Preview Guide". Anime News Network. October 12, 2022. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Official manga website at Young Animal (in Japanese)
- Love Flops (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Manga series
- 2022 manga
- 2022 anime television series debuts
- Anime and manga set in schools
- Anime with original screenplays
- AT-X (TV network) original programming
- Cross-dressing in anime and manga
- Hakusensha manga
- Harem anime and manga
- Passione (company)
- Romantic comedy anime and manga
- Science fiction anime and manga
- Seinen manga
- Sentai Filmworks
- Television series about artificial intelligence
- Television shows about virtual reality
