Adorakable but Somewhat Lacking: Nenene

Synopsis

Koyuki is a 16-year-old girl who for the sake of their families, is married off to 36-year-old Shin. Despite the large age gap, both are highly inexperienced in love. What’s more under the demand of Koyuki’s father, Shin agrees to not to be physically involved with Koyuki until she is 20. The question now is, will these two be able to become a proper married couple?

The Good

The series has a lot of charm to it in how it portrays Koyuki and Shin’s relationship. There are all kinds of stories involving people learning what it’s like to be in a relationship. A marital relationship though? You don’t see that often without a touch of tension being slipped in. Honestly, “adorkable” really is the best way to describe the two. The way that they blush at the simplest of things always leaves a smile and laugh.

The cuteness of the couple aside, the series does touch on some interesting aspects, specifically on Shin’s side. The fact that the series brought up fantasy and mystery to the plot was a pleasant surprise. Added to the mystery that seems to be touching on Shin’s past, the story has some great layers to it. On a smaller note, the comedy that occurs throughout the series; the most endearing being when the couple gets embarrassed about something.

The Bad

Character and story-wise, the series has presented something that is rather cute. The biggest problem often series, however, is that there are more than a few moments that just seemed lacking from the overall story. For the most part, the series touches on some interesting things such as Shin’s past but it seems to have dropped in favor of developing Shin and Koyuki as a married couple. It’s not a bad thing but a lot of potential points of the sorry seem to have just dropped in favor of the comedy and romance.

Conclusion

Koyuki and Shin are a unique couple who hold a charm in how awkward they are in their relationship. More than this, they are simply enjoyable characters in how earnest they are and work the comedy well with their reactions. The main flaw of the series as stated is that it has some potential with Shin’s past and the fantasy aspect, but the focus wasn’t on it so it seemed almost as if it was dropped. Overall, this a series t5hat features an adorkable couple, could have been stretched out more, but leaves the reader happy in the end.

Rating: 7.5/10