Mention the name "Raku Ichijo" to any Shonen Jump fan, and chances are you'll get an agonizingly visceral reaction. By far and away, the top two comments go like this: "Raku, you lucky dog!" and "Raku, what in tarnation's wrong with you?!" But, does he really lead a charmed life? Is it really lucky to have an entourage of hot babes after you? After long hours of deliberation and research, I have come to a conclusion about the Nisekoi phenomenon, and it can be summed up in one simple sentence: "Raku, you lucky dog, what in tarnation's wrong with you?!"

Keyed In

In an ideal world, the young girl Raku made a promise with ten years ago all of a sudden appears with key in hand, hair shimmering in the sunlight. The two discover that the key unlocks the pendant around his neck and their love is rekindled. But the reality of the situation is Raku is stuck in a false relationship with Chitoge Kirisaki, the daughter of a rival gang's boss, and she's the very opposite of his idyllic image of his past childhood love. He has to keep up the charade so that no blood is shed between their two feuding families. Not only that, but he now must hold himself back from asking his current crush, Kosaki Onodera, to go out with him. Doesn't sound like the best situation, right? BUT...

Raku finds out that two girls he currently knows have keys from a childhood promise they made with a boy! And the two girls are...Chitoge and Kosaki! Who woulda thunk it?! Now all that's left is to try out their keys to see which one works. A simple task made extremely difficult when Chitoge's key accidentally breaks in two and is stuck inside the pendant!

Photographic Memory

For reasons unknown to man (or perhaps it's simply to torture our poor readers into sudden fits of jealousy, rage and disbelief), Raku is unable to remember the name or face of the young girl from his past. However, things are looking up for Raku as his father tells him that there's an old photograph somewhere that should give him a clue to the girl's identity. But all that crashes when his father recalls another promise he made to another scary man concerning their kids. To Raku's surprise, he's currently betrothed to the police chief's daughter—Marika Tachibana! But at least he can find out the identity of the girl, right? The clue is in the old photo!

But when Raku finally finds the photo, he finds out that he doesn't even recognize the girl at all! And in another strange twist of fate, it turns out the girl in the photo is none other than Marika herself, whom he has completely forgotten!

Just who is the promised girl? And will poor hapless (or lucky, depending on your viewpoint) Raku ever find true love amidst the chaos of his false love life?

Nisekoi volumes 1–4 are available at VIZmanga.com!

by John Bae