Ranked #662

Kimi-kiss ~ pure rouge

Wow. Just wow. After watching the last episode of Kimikiss, I can say that this was one of the best romance animes I've seen in a long while.

Story
The story is so simple ... it's about true love. We all chase it, but not all catch it. And that's what our two main guys are doing as well. Revolving around the typical high-school environment, two events of the first episode put a whole romance story in motion, a romance story you probably won't forget that easy. It seems so simple and human that you easy forget about this world and live the feelings of the characters involved in this story. As in all romance animes, the drama can't miss out, and you'll find many moments when you'll actually feel like crying if you put yourself in a certain character's situation (like I do, usually). One thing I didn't like was the ending, since I hoped I could see a bit of a "1 year later" story but it ended kind of abruptly. Well, nevertheless, the story is probably the greatest thing about Kimikiss.

Art
I've heard some people don't like the artwork from Kimikiss and I certainly don't know why, because I consider it pretty good. The characters are drawn good (even though it has a different style than other animes), the background scenery is pretty good as well so I see no reason why I shouldn't give it an 8. Plus, in episode 20, when they changed the art for the Kazuki-Eriko scene, it was very interesting to see that depth in the eyes, that facial expression that few animations can give, even for one episode.

Sound
Not much to say about this part. The OST is very good and the background music fits the anime like a glove. Not to mention the great OP/ED songs that can really make you sing along with 'em. "Aozora Loop" is one of my top 5 songs since the anime started airing due to the exciting feeling it gives you if you're actually in love. It's one of those songs that make being in love a happy, cheerful and awesome thing, like you forget all the bad parts.

Character
Character was one of the things that caught me from the first episode. The variety of girls fits a harem anime, yet one of the main elements here are the guys. It's the first romance shows I've seen that actually has 2 main guys, so two main stories at the same time. You can see them throughout the anime how they become from the inexperienced, lonely bums to guys that know how to face the facts and have the guts to get past the obstacles in their way. They fall in love, and that's what makes them stronger. I really think the characters made this show more worthwhile.

Enjoyment
I loved it. From the first episode that aired in the autumn of 2007 to the last episode in spring 2008, I loved this anime. Back then, when I saw the first episode, it captured me and didn't let me go. I still love it even now and I'll keep it because I'll surely watch it again someday, probably when love strikes me. Here's one anime that deserves a hats off. Good job, Lantis, Bandai, J.C. ... good job.


Final Overall Grade: 8.6, rounded up to 9 read more

A satisfying Rom/Com that focuses not only on a main boy & girl but on all the stars of the show. This series has a very casual feel to it, with a typical level of teenage angst.

KimiKiss ~ Pure Rouge is a Slice of Life, Romance anime about the daily lives of high school students. Unlike most of the “visual novels” – to – “anime adaptations”, this one does not carry an overall theme or concept but it’s just about normal daily lives of the characters. The story itself is very casual so some may get bored of it but as a person who’s seen numerous romance anime, I enjoyed the lack of comedy and intense drama. Seeing how there’s not too many relationship dilemmas that make it feel overbearing, all that is left to do is relax and enjoy the flow of the steadily paced story.

With no real emphasis put on the story, it's the characters that bring it all to life. Instead of being focused on the protagonist and heroine(s), like most shows tend to do, we get a bunch of teenage boys and girls that get a fair bit of time and development each. Of course there will be certain characters you’ll favor over others; it just feels good to have a choice.

The animation both had its good and bad points. The environments and backgrounds had a painted watercolor look, which made the superbly drawn characters stand out. Yet due to the lack of detail in the backgrounds, the bits of CG used really stood out but these are only minimal issues. The music was alright, I guess, but it felt uninspiring and the OP or ED themes aren’t something you’d really want to listen to either, until we get to the 2nd ED.

Overall KimiKiss ~ Pure Rouge is a surprisingly enjoyable Rom/Com to watch with its best merit being that it develops each of the different characters well and also their different relationships are also quite refreshing to watch. Being a Rom/Com there are bound to be some typical clichés but it still manages to do a good job in focusing on the various romances without getting too dramatic. So in the end this series has enough for romance lovers enjoy or feel content with but it isn’t good enough to convert non-romance anime fans.

^_^ read more

Yosha! My newest addiction: Writing reviews! =D Let's start with this one, people!

Story
Well, the ones with brains already saw that this is a romantic gerne. If you don't like romance at all then I think that this anime is nothing for you. I'm really the romance type so of course I like the story from Kimi-Kiss ~Pure Rouge~. So for the ones that also are into romance, you should really watch this. I give the story a 9! <3

Art
Mmm.. what can I say about the art. Well, you can see that this anime is kinda new but it isn't the best art that I've seen so far for a 2007 anime. Let's be honest, there are better ones. But the colors and stuff are good and it's about the story, isn't it? Don't get me wrong now, I don't say that the art is bad, I say that it isn't the best that I've seen.

Sound
With animes from 2006/2007 you mostly just don't have something to complain. I give it a 9 as always.

Character
Yes, we coming to the good part! I JUST LOVE THE CHARACTERS! My favorite is Mao, but I like everyone from Kimi-Kiss ~Pure Rouge~. We have her (Mao) to start with, she moved to France and suddenly came back. She's like a big sister for the rest who seem to have a crush on Kai. She's telling everyone what to do, lol! Yuumi, the innocent who loves books and has a crush on Kouichi (he also has a crush on her!). Eriko, the genius who does very weird expiriments. Watch it yourself if you wanna find out. Let's see, Asuka the soccer-girl. Nana, the little childish sister from Kazuki and her friend Narumi. And last Kazuki and Kouichi, the male leads. I'm sure you gonna love all of them because they really have their own personality.

Enjoyment
You could really enjoy this! At least, I do! There are some very very funny moments and it's just the romance where I was looking for. Like I said already, if you don't like romance I won't think that you would really enjoy this so I won't try to watch it in the first place. But romance-lovers you're really gonna enjoy this!

Overall
Well, I have only one 7 so I'm just gonna give this anime a 9! =D All the romance-lovers, I wish you a great time watching this series!

Thanks for reading my review! read more

The reason why I started to watch Kimikiss was because I heard that Kehichi Kasai and the rest of the team that did Nodame and Honey and Clover were working on this. That and some very well known voice actresses were playing key roles. Oh, and I’m a romance junkie…ahem anyway.

Almost immediately Kimikiss reminded me of Boys Be, another ensemble style HS romance with a slice of life feel. This can be attributed to Kasai splitting the main character from the game into 2. Because of this he was able to follow multiple stories lines and cause controversy with game fans. However, I applaud his gutsy move as it solves the problems with the narrative structure associated with typical visual novel conversions (ie episode 1 girl 1, episode 2 girl 2, etc). The story follows a more realistic slice of life path where we see the life of these high schooler’s and their romances. In addition, the story is very much character driven and fairly typical of the romance genre. So if you don’t like romance stories then you won’t like this and why the hell are you reading this anyway?

As I said, Kimikiss is purely character driven; here is where the meat of this anime lays. I found all the characters very likable and charming. Most of the fun of Kimikiss comes from watching these characters interact and watch their lives unfold. Also, due to the story structure all the characters get plenty of screen time and development. I’ll have to admit most the characters aren’t exactly the deepest or most complex. In addition, many of the characters feel a bit too idealized. However, Kimikiss is a light romance/drama so I can forgive this aspect, as I don’t think Kimikiss was ever meant to be very complex. Kimikiss also lacks the extremes in terms of drama and comedy. It stays at a very comfortable level between those 2 things, neither extremely dramatic nor extremely comedic. Ok it does get a bit dramatic in the end but that’s to be expected.

Kimikiss features a soft, water color like animation/art, similar to Kasai previous works and the original game art. For the most part the animation/art was fairly consistent however, there were a few episodes where there were noticeable differences in characters faces. Its not on the same level as their previous works in terms of animation quality nevertheless above average.

In terms of sound there isn’t anything to really note. The OP gave me a bad impression the first time I heard it however, it did grow on me. I particularly liked how they changed the ED theme in the 2nd half to represent the more dramatic tone. Once again nothing really note worthy.

For a show that took several risks the ending felt too conventional. I was in a bit of shock as I watched one of the most clique endings I seen in anime. In addition, the ending felt a bit off in terms of overall consistency. They seem to be going in one direction and ignore that go in another at the very end. No, this isn’t necessary a related to who the main character picks. However, I’m only talking about one of the love triangles, the other was very consistent and focused.

Kimikiss is a charming and enjoyable character driven romance anime. It is strongly character driven and takes a slice of life approach. Hell most of what they do is walk to school, come back from school, and various other ‘normal’ things. However, for a series that took chances and very slice of life, I was let down by the extremely conventional romantic ending. Also, I was annoyed by the slight inconsistency in one of the love triangles. read more

Kimikiss Pure Rouge was one of the first anime I ever watched. Knowing it was from the same director as Honey and Clover and Nodame Cantabile – two brilliant anime in their own right – I had to watch it. But after I finished, I refrained from doing a review for it, simply because I didn’t want readers to think I just gave perfect scores to everything. Needless to say, Kasai is simply a mastermind that makes the cogs spin to perfect time, but I didn’t know what I had stumbled upon at the time.

However, recently I have been watching an anime strikingly similar to Kimikiss’s style called Hatsukoi Limited and when I realized how utterly pale it was in comparison to Kimikiss Pure Rouge, I had to try to realize why. Hatsukoi is a 13 episode disaster waiting to happen and I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t end in a burning crash. There’s almost two dozen characters, nearly all of whom have a crush on someone who likes someone else. It’s littered with pointless dialogue and fanservice. Now, don’t get me wrong – I enjoy my share of fanservice, but it doesn’t belong in an anime with a complex story crippled by a 13 episode timeframe.

And so Hatsukoi shows just what it was that Kimikiss did to get it right. Essentially the story surrounds the love stories of two friends, Kouichi and Kazuki. Kazuki is an outgoing boy who happens to fall for the perfectionist, seemingly emotionless deredere queen (you know… a total hottie with a broken heart underneathe her tough 180 IQ exterior.) and Kouichi is a shy boy with an old childhood friend who happens to come stay with him after being “overseas” for the last few years. It’s A-standard stuff, but Kimikiss takes these typical plot-lines with a potential for disaster and turns it into megawatt, emotional stuff simply by sticking to what Hatsukoi and many other anime refuse to do: make sense. For example in “Anime A” when a boy trips over something… usually air… what happens? He does a face plant into his love interest’s chest right? Well, let’s just say that in Kimikiss Pure Rouge, if a character trips… he just takes an extra half-step and continues on as if nothing happened. So in the same breath, when a typical plot device we all know comes along in Kimikiss, the most common thing that should happen actually happens, and it’s amazing, because it’s a totally new experience! Everything makes sense and it allows the watcher to both sympathize with the characters while predicting what’s eventually going to happen. And it makes it that much better when it takes a turn and surprises you, because you can’t help but want more.

It’s surprising how much you’ll end up rooting for all of these characters. The creators of this anime get romance right in so many ways (including the ending – by far the best I’ve ever experienced in any romance anime.) that every episode is an experience that ramps you up and calms you down at the same time. And it doesn’t hurt that Futami Eriko is one of the greatest characters ever conceived. (Once you watch episode 20, you’ll sneer at other characters in different anime that are similar to her simply because they can’t compete.)

Watch this anime if you like romance in any form. I won’t say it’s the absolute best there is (for me that’s Nodame) but it definitely gets things right. And when you’re looking for something new to watch, isn’t that the first true requisite?
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1st impression:
Hmm? another harem anime nuuuuu! but wait!

Selling point(s):
pure romance of high schoolers, light and warm hearted scenes, various lovable characters, music with the right mood

Reason(s) of liking the anime:

Most of the time i would skip this sort of anime, but then i found out it wasnt another harem anime. It is so pure and lovely . What's rare is that, the anime doesnt have one of those used-and-used-all over again ecchiness, not to mention it has 0 playboys - it's just so plain and simple , but yet the romance scenes will not stop from making you heart throbbing! ( even i , as a male ^^). Nice and soothing music copped well with every pace of the anime. With that, i decided to have a go for this anime and yes it was definitely a worthy one.


What I Dislike:
Story might be weak for it's slice of life.

Advice(s)
1) For all ages of viewers, for those who still love pure romance w/o exaggerated ecchi scenes or playboy-type mainchars. read more

I really want to put this out there first: This is my first review that i have ever done so im really sorry for any inconvenience i may have caused with this.
Kimikiss is a very well scripted high school romance i believe. In this the romance is between not the main character's mao and kouichi but there's still romance between them, anyways Futami and Aihara really did the job for me. The love between the two makes you angry and sad and happy and in love at the same time. It was really frustrating to watch them, but its all worth it. This high school romance shows really strong passion between the pairs a bit like romeo and juliet if you have seen it. The art in kimikiss really helps bring out the emotion from the characters. This is one of the very few high school romance that i've seen that has made me believe in love. This is quite heavily packed there a really great episode, this doesn't mean that the other ones are crap because each episode leaves you hanging. i've seen this a lot of time and i mean a lot and each time it gets me. read more

This is the first time I have ever written a review, and I thought I wouldn't need to. But after watching Kimi-kiss, it just stuck to my head so I had to write what I feel about the series.

First thoughts on the series even before watching it: typical harem, ecchi type of anime. So I started watching it only after I really ran out of options for anime to watch. Man, I was blown away.

The story of Kimi-kiss is very simple and short. Spreading the short story over 24-episodes, it would make the series feel that it is moving at a rather slow pace, which could put some viewers off. I personally enjoyed the slow pacing of the story, it helped to build the tension up slowly, slowly drawing the viewer into the drama. But probably because the story was build up over that many episodes, the end felt sudden and made me desperately want to know how the relationship with the characters went, with their friends or their 'other half'.

The art in Kimi-kiss is also very nice. I loved the way the characters looked and move, seeing little bits of detail they put into the movement that you would not often see in anime of this genre. The frogs, Iwao and Juliet, were very detailed as well. Being frogs, and stuffed, I was surprised that they put that much detail into them, instead of making them into a ball and calling them frogs. Overall the art was very consistent, except for once or twice, when they inject a bit of humour into the story and chibi appears. This happens very rarely in the series, so it is still OK.

The sound is one of the strong points of Kimi-kiss. The music and sound used in the series did not distract the viewer from the anime. They fit into the anime very well and they all sounded great. I did not like the Opening song as much compared to the two Ending songs. The two Ending songs were basically part of the BGM for when each episode ends. I loved the way it when something happens and the music plays 'kowaresou de...' , then the episode ends into somewhat like a fade away. It further builds the drama and emotions in the anime if you understand the lyrics when it plays. It made me feel a little 'teary eyed' when it plays like that then listening to the meaningful lyrics of both Ending songs, it's almost perfect.

Character development is the main thing they want to highlight in the series. As the simple story of the series is spread out over 24-episodes, it was made possible for very detailed and beautiful character development. How the characters changed and grows or how their feelings change, it is as though you could connect personally with the characters throughout the series.

Overall, I enjoyed the series a lot. The story used in Kimi-kiss was one of the more fequently used scenarios but the people who worked on the series managed to make it different and a level that many of the other romance anime failed to achieve. read more

"Kimikiss ~Pure Rouge~" turned out to be a fairly good romance series.

I say fairly good since while it started off strong with excellent episodes I do feel the series had a significant dip in the middle, luckily the final episodes picked up the pace again in a positive direction.
What I enjoyed most was although the series had comedic elements and is based on an eroge, it's not a real harem series as most harem series go, since the "Kimikiss ~Pure Rouge~" anime series focused on multiple males, females and their different pairings (not all the female characters are pursuing the same male character).

The most interesting characters in the series were undoubtably the supporting characters. While the main characters Kouichi, Mao and Yuumi were nice and likeable, especially Kouichi and Mao got stuck in stereotype character writing and didn't see much significant development.
I can fathom it's possible -perhaps likely- for people to be in a more retracted, nearly depressed state for quite some time while in a relationship, it didn't help the overall plot arc that both Mao and Kouichi were in this state for nearly 10 episodes, just so they could resolve their story arc in the final episode. It felt as if it dragged on too long.

By far the most interesting characters and pairing for me in "Kimikiss ~Pure Rouge~" were Kazuki and Futami, their characterizations seemed more realistic and their development, both individually and as a couple was more involving. I quickly developed a personal preference for their plot arc and pairing and was glad to see it come to fruition.
I thoroughly enjoyed many scenes involving Kazuki and Futami, especially the one where Kazuki showed up at Futami's door, her reactions were so endearing. Not only was it a good scene but several such scenes between them showed how they both changed throughout the series, how they grew as individuals and also grew towards each other.
Futami may certainly be a genius with a very high IQ, even though she's highly intelligent, she hardly knows herself and her own emotions, seeing her discovering them, acknowledging them and finally accept them was nice. Kazuki often said he's just dumb but he was mostly half-hearted, not really motivated or focused, realizing his feelings and what Futami meant for him caused him to change in a positive way.

The other girl vying for Kazuki's affection, Asuka, didn't get to be with him but at least her character did see some development as she was able to move on and grow from the experience, the same goes for Yuumi, who seems to be the only one who really evolved from the plot arc with Kouichi and Mao.

Megumi and Hiiragi's final episode pairing did seem a bit thrown in and sudden, with the 24 episode run of "Kimikiss ~Pure Rouge~" I'm sure there was time to introduce that plot arc earlier and flesh it out a bit more.

A few characters ended up not involved in any romantic or other significant plot arc so one could wonder why they were introduced and given so much screen time, since for some their impact on the main plot arcs was insignificant. This goes especially for Narumi and Nana, who seemed to only provide the cast with another location through the udon restaurant run by Narumi's uncle and as comedic relief with their mascot frogs (which should really have been scratched as they got annoying quite fast).

Throughout the series the animation by JC Staff was good (it suffered here and there but this happens with most series), all the characters were well rendered, recognizable and realistically drawn, especially the hairstyles and -colours were well done (realistic shades of brown, black, red ).
Striking for "Kimikiss ~Pure Rouge~" was how feminine all the girls looked, whether the more attractive, cute or sensual type, they always looked very feminine without the designers resorting to impossibly proportioned character artistry.

I'm glad I picked up this series, it quickly grew on me and was a welcome change from the more generic harem comedies we see each season (which can still be enjoyable as well).

To people looking for a more serious romantic series that isn't too stereotypical nor overly dramatic, I will certainly recommend they watch "Kimikiss ~Pure Rouge~". read more

This anime is your basic love/romance and harem genre with that classic touch of drama. Unlike other anime, this anime doesn't attempt to make the plot hilariously funny with sex reference jokes. No this anime bares the scent of drama as it relates to real life, there's no crazy plot, just a relaxing teenage life that also delves into something we can relate to.
The comedy in here is menial without much, unless this is one of the first 20 anime you ever watch.
As for the drama, it is pretty good with some solid plot twists that don't throw you out of the loop. Especially the ending, pretty cliche, but I'm not complaining.

Overall 8/10, for the experienced viewers, don't get too hyped up. read more