The Summer 2024 anime season was a banger when it came to romance stories. With everything from fluffy shows like Psuedo Harem (Giji Harem) to serious slow-burn romances like Days with My Stepsister (Gimai Seikatsu) and steamy shows like The Cafe Terrace and Its Goddesses (Megami no Café Terrace), it had something for everyone. However, a romance show that unfortunately slipped under the radar is Love Is Indivisible By Twins (Koi wa Futago de Warikirenai). This is a shame because the show skillfully handles the topic of indecision far better than most others.
What’s Koi wa Futago de Warikirenai about?
A true childhood friend romance, Love Is Indivisible By Twins centers on the trio of Jun Shirosaki (CV Shougo Sakata), Naori “Best Girl” Jinguuji (Maaya Uchida), and Rumi Jinguuji (Moeha Nochimoto). Having spent most of their childhood together, to say they’re close is the mother of all understatements. And expectedly, when the trio enters adolescence, love blooms. However, instead of a one-on-one romance, both sisters develop crushes on Jun, who is also romantically interested in them.
While Rumi takes the initiative and dates Jun for a few months, her conscience gets the best of her. So she calls off the relationship due to the guilt of stealing her sister’s first love. But when she reveals to Jun that Naori also loves him and asks him to date her, a clear-cut romance story becomes quite a messy affair.
Why You Should Watch Love Is Indivisible By Twins
If you’re a rom-com fan like myself, chances are you’ve punched your laptop over the indecisiveness of MCs in the past. In my teenage years and now, when a favorable opportunity comes my way, I jump on it like Attack on Titan jumps on final seasons. So seeing someone be afraid of making a choice or hand-holding gives me testicular torsion, especially when there’s already a clear preference in the MC’s mind.
But in Koi wa Futago de Warikirenai, Jun’s decision isn’t that clear cut. He’s known Naori and Rumi for most of his life and has deep-rooted connections with both. There’s no right or wrong choice. Both sisters may offer a different relationship, but their love for him is genuine. So, with any choice he makes, the odds are in their favor of having a long-lasting and amorous relationship.
Yet the future isn’t utopian. Jun is painfully aware that he won’t be able to backtrack after he makes a firm choice. With his choice comes the possible end of one of his closest friendships and the dynamic he and his family have with the Jinguuji family. And while he dated Rumi for over a year without considering this, one’s considerations heavily depend on one’s understanding of the situation they find themselves in. At that time, while he loved Naori, he had no idea that Naori loved him. Now that he knows both twins love him, the situation has become complicated. And, as the show progresses and it becomes obvious that both his first and his current love want him, things get more complicated. What seemed to be a clear-cut decision becomes a pretty devious one.
The Show Is Strikingly Believable
I tend to keep an open mind when it comes to anime. By now I’ve learned that no matter how outlandish an anime’s plot may be, someone’s living it. And the situation in Koi wa Futago de Warikirenai is a daily occurrence. I know people in Jun-kun’s position.
Likewise, Naori and Rumi come off as the quintessential girls next door. Rumi’s concerns are believable; she wants to be the older sister and wants Naori to be happy. And she’s willing to sacrifice her own happiness to do that. But when she does, she immediately realizes her mistake, but there’s no turning back. Naori wants to earn Jun’s love; she doesn’t want to get it out of pity. So she uses everything she has to get his attention. When they inevitably butt heads, the sisters air longstanding gripes about each other’s behavior that go deeper than the situation with Jun.
The Production Value Gets a Pass
Anime fans tend to be perfectionists. I blame this on shortening attention spans. Back in the day options were limited, so you watched what you had, despite the production values. You were forced to focus on the story. Once people recognized that the story was entertaining, even with its production flaws, word began to spread, and now we have shows with pretty bad production values that are heralded as masterpieces.
Now with 40+ shows a season and months’ of content on streaming sites, small attention spans decry even the smallest issues. Roll2 does a commendable job with the art style in this show; it’s soft and inviting. And I firmly believe it doesn’t deserve the blowback it gets for its animation style. If you’re looking for a slow-burn but gripping drama bound to ruffle your feathers and remind you that in life, many things never get to a proper conclusion, this show is for you.
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