Paradise Kiss

Painfully and beautifully realistic.
It's a great blend between search of what you want from live, about love, hard work, dreams and patterns of life.

I'm more fan of classic anime drawing style, but after first episode I loved it.

The characters are very classic, but easy to fall for. The art is inspiring, and the story it self leads to think about your own life choices, why we do what we do, and, in my opinion, it's the definitions of great anime, if in the end, you not only enjoy watching it, but also it stirs questions about yourself.

The love story is not the ... main object of all anime, which is great. And, like i said in the begging, it's painfully realistic, it shows how relationships aren't just about romance, it's also how they help grow and how they change person inside.
The ending killed me little bit, but hey, that's life, and any how you look at it, it's beautiful.

I'm still heartbroken, but I'm also in love with this anime.

I’ve always been interested in fashion and music so Parakiss kinda fulfills a lot of things for me in the manga department actually. I actually feel that this anime adaptation was the strongest between Nana and Gokinjo Monohatari to be quite honest.

Comparisons aside, I find that this anime was the most enjoyable to watch not only because it’s the artistically faithful but because the ambience was sooo appealing. Music direction is so top tier in this anime and really instills a cool vibe throughout the show with the sound design and reverberation of Arashis songs in the background. I wasn’t expecting a kind of ... laid back sound from Arashis punk band but It’s ridiculously addicting, cannot recommend the original band ‘THE BABYS’ enough.

Every character is so charming and has their own ways of following their own ambitions and it’s refreshing to see a protagonist actually navigate her life in a realistic organic way as a teenager. I’ve never actually stayed on Ai Yazawas work for the actual Shoujo aspect, because I’m more intrigued by how realistic and flawed she makes her characters and act in adult ways. I felt like seeing these kids work hard and take themselves seriously as artists really inspiring. This is just one of those animes I rewatch to reinvigorate myself to keep making art I think haha.

*Don't expect plot summary from this review!*
(Note: I was way too harsh on this when I first reviewed it. I've since re-watched it and really found it to be considerably better the second time around--so this review may get re-written at some point!)

Not really my cup of tea. It does have a lot of redeeming values--the background art is frequently lovely, and the clothing designs for the characters (and how often they are changed) is to be admired--oftentimes anime characters are only given an outfit or two and just cycle through them, much to the relief of the animators, no doubt. That said, some of ... the more extravagant outfits here are barely animated at all--annoyingly enough, this includes the ornate dress the characters have spent the entire series hand-crafting. When we finally see it it's mostly only in still frames, or with the model wearing it being shown simply bobbing up and down as she walks. Granted, I know essentially nothing about runway fashion, but it seems to me that part of the appeal about an outfit like this would be the way it behaves as it's actually being worn and moved in, so it's disappointing to lose that dimension of the experience.

That aside, the characters are fine for the most part, though they largely remain pretty firmly rooted in anime stereotypes. There are some exceptions, which are especially noticeable in the minor characters--all of whom are more interesting than the primary protagonist, whom I actively disliked. By and large she's a typical anime heroine--klutzy, lovesick, unsure of herself, etc.--this is made up for eventually when she manages to grow a bit of a spine, but the fact that she occasionally goes into complete bitch mode doesn't really make me any more invested in her ultimate fate. Unfortunately, the side characters aren't explored to the same level of detail that she is, and the writers cheat a bit by making at least two of them very wealthy--which explains how they can get away with everything that they do without suffering much in the way of personal or social consequences.

The series also doesn't quite know when to end--the denouement stretches on for at least a full episode longer than it should, though at least it works hard to wrap up pretty much any questions fans should have about the fates of the characters they've spent so much time with up to this point. All in all, it's a fine coming-of-age story, and its frank (well, PG-13 frank) explorations of teenage lust are worthy of praise. I was ultimately underwhelmed by it on the whole, but I could see it having a stronger effect on others, particularly young women. This is a series I would not hesitate to recommend to a 13-year old girl, which is something I rarely find myself unable to say about many anime series I watch.

I decided to watch Paradise Kiss due to its similarity with Nana- one of my personal favorites for a long time. The story follows the main lead Yukari Hayasaka who’s your typical: type A, devout, hardworking high school student. She’s approached by group of students to model for their high school fashion competition. The story follows her internal, family, and friendship struggle in choosing her own future rather than following what her parents laid out for her. Ai Yazawa, as always, outstands with her beautiful artwork and exceptionally wonderful characters. Each character’s life struggle is reflected in our own, which allows us to deeply bond ... with the characters. What I love even more about Ai Yazawa is the fact she shed light on the lgbtq community through her beautiful characters. I was really disappointed with the animation—there were many parts where the animation seemed out of focus or too slow, which is a shame since the artwork was extremely well done. Overall, it was a lovely anime with realistic view on life decisions and relationships.

I think at the point of our lives when after high school ends, you’re going to ask yourselves, “What am I going to do with the rest of my life?”, that is if you always think of that a numerous amount of times and you become less of the person you wanted to be and you start to question your way of life.


That’s what Yukari Hayasaki (later being nicknamed “Caroline”) is being described as and it’s no contest about that, especially since it’s beginning to become repetitive and she needed to experience something new and that is when she is encountered with these eccentric ... fashion design students and they wanted to scout her to become a model for their clothing line Paradise Kiss.



The group consists of Jōji "George" Koizumi, the charismatic student who has a talented gift for fashion design with his extravagant ideas, even if he’s cold at some times, since some of his ideas may not be accepted by the public. Miwako Sakurada is the pink-haired student who works with George and is exceptionally cute and sweet and tends to act child-like manner, either by the dress of the Lolita style and engaging personality. Arashi Nagase is the student with a taste for punk style, piercings (especially around the oral area) and alternative music. He is Miwako’s boyfriend and despite that they seem really unmatched for each other, they have known each other since childhood. Although one of the subplot in the series is that Miwako had feelings for Hiroyuki Tokumori, an prodigy who goes to Yukari’s school and was the object of her affections, and Arashi is known of that, which is why he’s insecure of that. Isabelle Yamamoto is the mother figure of Paradise Kiss and is the epitome of high class and femininity and also inspired George’s first dress during their childhood and often encourages Yukari when she needs it the most, whether it’s George or her studies. I don’t know if this is spoiler territory or not, but she happens to be a transgender woman.



If you already know, this is based off the manga series by AI Yazawa and it’s a stand-alone sequel to her previous work, Gokinjo Monogatari, although that manga or the anime isn’t in English. There is also the point that a 5-volume manga is only squashed into 12 episodes. I’m not complaining about that but it seemed like some parts of the anime may have either been rushed or forgotten.


The plot of the show isn’t what most people call ‘original’ but it’s not the same rehash of any other story you ever heard. The themes of the story are very realistic, along with the characters, and you feel like you actually know some characteristics of people in real life pursuing their dreams of doing (insert whatever you can think of, I wasn’t really interested in just the fashion part of the series).



The animation of the show is done by Madhouse (9th times the charm, isn’t it?) and it does show a lot of quality brand of animation around the time of 2005 and even if it’s been over 7 years since the release, the animation still holds up today and the one thing that does weird me out is the deformed looks of the characters once it’s shown and it is me, or does Yukari in her deformed mode looks like if Olive Oyl was an anime character? I’m serious about that.



The music really holds up well during the show, especially the opening and ending music. The opening theme, “Lonely in Gorgeous” by Tommy february6 has this funky vibe of J-Pop mixed in with ‘80s Madonna vogue music. “Do You Want to” by well-known British pop-band Franz Ferdinand, originally from their album You Could Have It So Much Better, and I like it how it always played off during the end of an episode that isn’t a clean cut to the end credits, plus, it’s an fairly awesome song to listen to. The background music is not really that noticeable throughout the show but it doesn’t stick out awkwardly.


FINAL VERDICT: Despite that I really don’t know much in the fashion world, I did enjoy this series in it’s entirely. The story is very compelling and doesn’t stray away for only one character as it covers basically all of them. This is the type of anime that focuses on realistic characters in realistic situations and do you know how people always say ‘we need a break of the norm’? Well, Paradise Kiss is the break of the anime norm.

It is obviously not the idea to compare animes with each other but ParaKiss was a little bit of a disappointment. Don't get me wrong I still loved it and thought about it a lot when I was not watching. It even kept me from other work that I needed to do.

However with a series like Nana I expected a little more. They could have done so much if they only changed the amount of episodes there were available. Twelve is not enough for a series like Paradise Kiss. They needed at least 24 and even if they covered the same amount of this ... story it would have still be enough. A little more flashbacks was something that would make me love the characters a little more and understand them a little bit better. For example I loved Isabella/Izabella, and it was a bit weird to get the flashback or the background of her story so late and at one point that it didn't make sense. Why was it necessary there and couldn't you get a glimpse of a flashback earlier on when Miwako said that you couldn't change in front of the boys, which should have brought a big question mark. Anything else but the end.

I loved the theme and that also reminded me a little of NaNa, which is also the reason why I started to watch Paradise Kiss. Because I love the art from the Nana series and obviously love the art from ParaKiss. The details for music, clothing in both series is absolutely terrific! Which brings me to the next subject: in Nana it is clear why they put so much attention to both clothing and music. Which they don't do with Paradise Kiss, yes the clothing is explained but the idea of Arashi in a band, that could use some extra background again. Same between about the fights between Hiro, Arashi and Miwako. Arashi said he stole Miwako, flashblack please.

It had so much potential to only miss out because of the fact that it could only have twelve options. So I would say that skipping the anime is a way better job to do and read the manga, than the other way around. What I have done at this point.
I will read the manga, might be in a year because I don't want to keep repeating for myself. But I'm almost 100% assured that the manga will be so much better.

I give this story a 10. I watched it because it was recommended if you enjoyed the anime Nana created by Ai Yawaza. Her stories are always powerful and have a lot of different and unique characters to relate to. The plot was wonderful. For other being only 12 episodes, I was worried that the story would be sped up with alot of confusion but no, perfect pace and it ended nicely. Some people didn't agree with the ending but I say it was satisfying once you realize the meaning of everything that happens on this anime.

For the art, very realistic. And also, alot of ... people hate seeing an anime with a bunch of characters that look the same and hard to follow. Everyone here are unique and have their own distinctive look. Different voices, they all don't sound the same. Also, this anime is about fashion, so the different styles of clothing they create here is pretty nice too. Some people thought it's ugly or old fashion but people need to remember that this is an older done anime. Fashion sense were different then. I seen what was being portrayed with the art given here. The main character, Caroline is changing and learning new things about her and how to control her life, so in each episode her fashion sense grows as well as her maturity and independence.

For sound, the opening song isn't too bad. I know it's called Lonely in Gorgeous. Also, since I watched the anime Nana English dubbed, I did the same for this anime to see if the voices were sorta similar or the same. They were similar. I watched it English sub and their voices fit well with the characters too.. the little music that is played in the background fits well with the scenes. Nothing that jumps out, most noticeable songs played are the intro and outro.

For the characters, I am only going to do the main character because I am trying not to spoil it.. Yukari aka Caroline, she's basically the main character. Her mom is very strict on her and for her 18 years all she's done is study to become the best in school, for her mother. Once her new friends discovered her inner talent before she could, she then elopes for several days. Confident in her choices. Trying to find what exactly she wants for herself, and no one else. How to be your own person and not make excuses or blame others for the decisions you make. The relationship she goes through with her boyfriend George and her other fashion friends helps her grow up and become an adult. Not knowing she actually had someone in her corner to give her advice, she gets herself together and do things the right way. She's also given an ultimatum but does not regret her decisions. Everything is a learning experience and viewers can relate to her because it's something that everyone faces in their life. But she actually had the courage to not follow in anyone's footsteps except her own. It was either a beginning of a new love or beginning of a new career. The message was very powerful on the last episode and it's not a sad one, it's a realistic ending with no sugar coating.

George, Yukari boyfriend and also head of fashion line Paradise Kiss, I felt that the creator made viewers wishy washy with him. The whole time you think he's being a fake controlling person but overall he was very kind, thoughtful and sweet to Yukari. There are a lot of things left unsaid about him that makes you not like him so much but can see how much love the both of them had for each other. These two are the ones you will remember the most. The other characters are great as well. I love all of them and all of them have their own story which I love. You get to know where they all come from from , flashbacks occur as well and the passion they all have and strive for.

All and all, I love a anime that is realistic and that I can relate to. I don't really like short animes but the message is powerful and universal. I recommend this anime and it's one of those you would watch again. I hope my review helped out and I hope whomever that reads would watch it and get a taste of how well put together it is.

This review is mainly intended to convince people to watch this anime (don't read the ending section) but also for finished watchers. I mainly talk about characters here.

I'm writing this review right after I finished the 12th episode, and I've got a lot to say about this beautiful, beautiful piece of work. Its just so realistic, touching, and inspiring. I loved how they portrayed the physical aspect of relationships, because it just made the show so much more believable, and REAL. I will cut the chase and keep my review as succinct as possible, even though I can probably talk about for ages.

George ... -- So a lot of people call him an asshole, but to be honest, I think George is one of the best male characters/boyfriend ever. Now his crude and sometimes emotionally ruthless personality really does characterize him as a dick(player and all, apparently he also had a boyfriend??), there is no doubt in the fact that he inspired Yukari to be who she is by the end of the show. He was someone who encouraged her to be independent, tell all the haters to f*** off, and believe in herself. His incredibly liberal attitude got me shook, because its rare to see such a mature character who has very 'western' ideals. He only does what he wants to do, and pursues his own dreams, regardless of what the society or people around him say. To me, George was an incredibly inspiring character, in addition to being a total gaudy, hot, billionaire (His family is LOADED its insane).

Miwako - At first, she just seemed to be a typical pink haired loli with a really high pitched voice, but in the end, I really liked Miwako. I consider her kind of like that cute, happy friend that just cheers everybody else up.

Arashi - piercings and band and fashion! Yes! At first, Arashi seems like that boorish, angsty teen you don't want to talk to. However, he is surprisingly pure and loyal. He is loyal to his friends, his love music, his love for Miwako, and his beliefs. I love his relationship with Miwako, especially the moment when he says that sex isn't what makes him happy. His like a gigantic teddy bear on the inside and definitely BFF material. The song he sang for Miwako was so heart touching I legit hugged the computer screen.

Isabella - An unique, transgender character. Unique, yes, but still realistic as hell. Though short, the flashback to her childhood as a boy with George was enough to give depth and meaning to this character. His struggle with her gender was on point, and how George gave him the dress was a genius way of establishing their friendship.(Again, why George is AWESOME) Isabella was like the mature mom of the group. She always gives consort to people around her. You can't hate Isabella. And of course she just also happens to be loaded and GORGEOUS.

Hiroyuki -- A sensible, likeable character. Honestly if everybody were to be like Hiroyuki, the world would be a better place. I'm not gonna talk about manga spoilers, but from what I read this guy had a happy ending.

Finally, Yukari -- I love her character. The development in Yukari was astonishing. From her lack of motivation in life and family pressure to her current model self, the process was well written and again, so realistic. Personality wise, I couldn't find anything annoying about her *surprise surprise. She is usually calm and levelheaded, not over dramatic, have great work ethic and an amazing attitude towards life. I love her interactions with George too. She's a female MC that can stand her ground, and I respect her for that.

The characters are what made this anime so enjoyable. So I won't waste my time talking about the story, because the plot is for you to discover and all I've got to say is that its well written and developed. and have an inspirational message.
Music was good. Arashi's song was amazing. But otherwise, it did its job. The opening had a super catchy intro.
Art: it was such a turn off sometimes. So Madhouse was experimenting with some weird photographic inserts as backgrounds, which was more evident in the first few episodes (THANK GOD), like I know you're trying to be unique and hyperrealistic, sometimes it just looked downright awkward. The black, faded out transition cuts were sometimes super awkward too.
Otherwise, the characters were animated with care. I loved how expressive the eyes and eyebrows were.

ENDING:
The first thing I thought of was the movie LaLa land. Yukari and George doesn't end up together. Now people might be mad about it, honestly I was happy about it. Because it was exactly what George(notably) and other characters stood for. This idea that they are all walking their separate paths. If Yukari went to Paris with George, this would mean to contradict her own beliefs. Thank GOD she stays to pursue her modeling career. Life isn't perfect. Life is full of sacrifices.
I mean, why should watchers even complain when even George said to Yukari: "That's the right choice/answer!" when he asked her if she wanted to come with him to Paris.
**This didn't mean I wasn't balling at the end though.

All in all, this was a masterpiece. The only reason why it wasn't a 10 was because of the issues regarding art I had mentioned above. Otherwise, it takes the crown of being the best romance/drama anime I've ever watched.

"Once upon a time there was a lady. She had no children, and no happiness either. And at first she cried for a long time, but then she became wicked"


"Paradise Kiss" is the first Ai Yazawa's work that I got to experience and I have to admit that I'm ashamed that I didn't watch it earlier. It's definitely one of the greastest examples of bildungsroman, in anime, done right. Add to it the fact that it's also one of the few punk anime ever made, and you've got a really interesting title that should not be overlooked.

Plot

As I stated in the foreword, "Parakiss" is first ... and foremost a story about growing up and maturing. Despite being only 12 episodes long the series manages to tell a compelling story with interesting themes and characters. We follow Yukari's journey towards becoming a master of her own faith, her story's main strenght is it's reality. At the beginning of the anime Yukari is just another teen who's overwhelmed by the lifestyle that has been imposed on her and who's trying to find her purpose in life. Once she enters the rabbit hole, which is the world of fashion, love and interpersonal drama, she becomes infatuated with the ideas of rebelling against the social order and exploring all of the sides of her new life. But the more she sees, the more she understands about it's darker and more down-to-earth side. What's great about her story is that we can't really predict what she's going to do next. Yukari's doesn't have a lot of life experience, she's prone to succumb to sugestions, which may not always benefit her, and doesn't really know how far should she go in her actions, and that's why this story works so well. You can understand what Yukari's need to go out of her way in order to manifest her hatred towards the life that she's been experiencing for past 18 years, and thus, why she is acting this way. The important thing is that the show doesn't suppor all of her actions and let's us know that she's oftenly overdoing it and going with the flow without a second thought, so you may feel for her but at the same time you know that she's not always right and you'll want to condemn some of her actions.


Alongise Yukari's story there are also two other going on. The first one is George's, who's the leader of Paradise Kiss and who's the direct cause of Yukari's transformation. The thing that's really interesting about George is that he has already went through what Yukari's going, during the series, and now he has to struggle with problems that come afterwards. The more we learn about him the more of his flaws we start to notice. His story is mainly about what choices you are to make after you make the first steps. George has to realize that his actions have been influenced by and are influencing others, and that being a part of the society means that you'll have to cooperate with others and accept that you may be wrong. While Yukari's story is exploring one's character, he's exploring one's place in society and that's why they complement each other and help each other solve their problems.


The third major arc in this series is Miwako's, but unlike Yukari or George, it's not about improve herself or realizing what should she do with her life but about making important decisions and realizing whom she loves and understand what relationships are really about. The story tackles the topic of love in a very mature, not as prevalent in anime, way. What arouses the conflict is the difference of how Miwako and Arashi understand love, you can genuinely feel for the characters who both have valid points and have to make hard decisions in order to overcome their struggle. As I stated before, this arcs main strength is the fact that it feels real, love is but a simple thing and this story encapsulates this fact very well.


That's about it when it comes to the main arcs, while you could say that there are also few other minor arcs that are going on (such as the story of motherhood and how important it is , in one way or another, for the main cast) I'd argue that those arcs mainly serve in order to compliment the three major arcs that I wrote about, and should be treated as their subplots. Although it should be mentioned that all of them help explore new ideas which make us appreciate main cast even more (e.g. Isabellas' backstory), but unfortunately not enough time is dedicated to them so I could call them a separate stories.


Overall the entire plot is not only very cleverly written, and let's us see the story from many different perspectives with many possible outcomes, but is also structured in a way that makes everything clear and let's you follow multiple arcs without them overwhelming you with unnecesary information. It knows which themes it wants to explore and it does it without overstaying it's welcome.


Characters

People behind series are aware of the fact that in order for it to work the viewer has to care about it's characters, so that's why there's something's going on with the vast majority of the named ones. But let's start with the important ones. Yukari is definitely the most interesting one, we get to see her highs and lows, understand her what motivates her and why is she acting the way she is. Throughout the story we see her evolve from a vulnerable teenager to a person who can be proud of oneself, not all of her choices are smart,and we as the audience are expected to condemn some of them, but that's what makes her seem real, because if you've ever been teen then you must know that not everything is being directed by logic. When it comes to other characters, George and Miwako should not be treated as side ones. As I wrote in the previous segment there's a lot going on with them. The first one starts as a really mysterious guy who's surrounded by this unique gravitas-creating vibe and the second one starting as a quirky comedic character. But that's just a tip of the iceberg. The more you learn about them the more you realize that they are proper characters with human problems. They are prone to commit mistakes and misunderstand eachother. And their arcs help us explore new ideas while also not forgetting that they are people with a lot of other things going on in their lives, the series does it's best to treat them with respect and doesn't bring them down to just few traits. The show wants you to know both the charming and assholey side of George and both serious and playful side of Miwako. Arashi is an interesting case because while he serve's mainly as a complementation of Miwako, he has his moments and some of them hit really hard. He's a great counterbalance to Miwako's idealism and he oftenly brings the more down-to-earth point of view to the table. Isabella may be this show biggest weakness, she's present in every single episode, we can see her being the most mature one of the bunch and understand what role is she fulfilling in Paradise Kiss but unfortunately she doesn't get a proper developement. There's a one backstory but that's way to little for a character with so much potential as her.


That's about it for the main cast. While writing about the other characters I should point out that only three of them get some sort of developement and that's Hiroyuki, Mikako and Kaori, I won't go into much detail about them but I'd just want to point out the fact that they first and foremost are in the story in order to help our main cast realize something about themselves. They don't appear in a lot of solo scenes but that doesn't change the fact that we get to learn about what motivates them, and why are they acting in such a way. They may not be the most fleshed out characters in fiction but they still add a lot to the series, and watching them is a joy. The rest of the secondary cast is really one dimentional (with few exceptions) but, that's what I'd expect, and I'm not going to complain about that, they can only fit so much in this series after all.

Production


When it comes to writing about this anime's production I should point out that it's not really consistent. Overall it's at least good but, especially in the first 3-4 episodes, there are a lot of chibi scenes which break the immersion but fortunately after a certain point they stop appearing. Another thing that should be pointed out is the directing which is excelent, there are a lot of really short scenes which serve mainly in order to convey one message and then the show just moves forward, this type of directing makes it so the show doesn't really waste time because as soon as it tells you the important stuff it just move forward hence you have to constantly keep paying atention in order to not miss out on the minor details (that's why I wouldn't recommend binging this series). As you may have guessed, the pacing in this series is excelent not only due to the lenght of the scenes but also due to the thighteness of the script and the fact that you're always receiving some sort of visual presentation which means that the series' uses it's time to the fullest.


Visual Presentantion may be Parakiss' biggest strenght, every single character from the main cast has an unique and phenomenal design which not only looks great but also tells you a lot about their character. There are a lot of minor details that make you appreciate the designs even more, what's also amazing is the fact that the characters are really well animated which makes the entire thing look even better and more realistic. But not only the characters have amazing designs, there are also three major locations which have been really well mapped out. The main one is obviously parakiss' workroom in which many scenes take place. It looks very styley and you can feel it's soul, the backgrounds are detailed and just by looking at it you see that it's an important place to the main cast. Everything there enchances the experience of watching this series because you can feel how deeply the creators care about creating this punk vibe. The minor locations may not be as detailed and well looking but they still fit the series, most of them are your average places such as school or some office but don't underestimate them because in order to make some of them stick out, the creators put few minor details that will make you feel this place's vibe, even better.

Music

The music in this series is definitely not it's biggest strenght. While there are some insert songs that are really good, majority of the OST is used in order to create a vibe or evoke a feeling inside you, and it delivers on that aspect really well, but that's about it. The music definitelly works, but mainly as a part of a bigger whole instead of standing on it's own.
Also I wanted to dedicate this entire segment just in order to praise the ending video because it's a goddamn masterpiece. The dance is not only cute and fun to watch but it also never gets boring. Furthermore it features one of the coolest songs from the 2000s. Definitely one of the greatest eds ever made


To sum up


Parakiss is definitely a one of a kind anime. it tells a compelling story about growing up and becoming a master of one's fate. It's characters have a lot going for them and the more you watch them the more nuances you start to pick up. The overall productions is on a very high level, especially the character designs which for obvious reasons are on an extremely high level. I'd definitely recommend giving this series a shot if you want to watch something unique, unlike most other anime and I'm looking forward experiencing Yazawa's Ai's other works.

Don't expect me to go into artwork and sound reviews cause I'm no artist but all I can say is that it looked good and I could hear everything without that weird off screen sound change thing some animes like to do.

Anyway on to the real review.

I decided to watch Paradise Kiss after putting it off for a while....actually I put it off once then forgot about it for months. Now if you've read my other reviews then you know that I love slice of life animes. Not slice of life in space or supernatural, or fantasy. But true slice of life animes that show ... real people in real situations. I haven't read the manga nor watched the live action version(I never watch the live action of any anime). So I went into Paradise Kiss knowing nothing of the characters and the story.

What I loved about Paradise Kiss was the fact that this was a true slice of life that could happen to anyone, the story tackled mature relationships, sex, love, falling in love with the wrong people, jealously, fighting with parents, and all of the things I'm sure any teenager nowadays can relate to. I know I have fallen for the wrong guy, argued with my mother, struggled to live up to her expectations and failing, and thought of running away from it all. So I can relate totally and I will always remember this anime as one of the VERY VERY VERY few that tackled real life in its purest form. I don't know about anyone else but we need more slice of life anime types out there as I'm sick to death of yet another "boy gets mysterious powers that enable him to fly a mech but he's a regular high school boy" animes. The horse has been beaten to a bloody mangled mess with that plot.

I'm sure by now that you are wondering why I did not give this anime a perfect 10. Well it is simple. It's too short and the character develop is shotty as all h*ll.

First we have Yukari aka Caroline: She's the heroine of the story. When we meet her she is an arrogant, snotty, haughty little b*tch. But things change when she meets "George" and she sees that unlike her they are all actually working toward their dreams. It softens her up a bit and she even apologizes for talking crap before. It seems that from here on out Yukari was going to be an okay character, flawed still yes, but a girl who starts to make some real changes and turn out a better person for it. However, we get no such luck and in some cases her development is all over the place.

For example; She was "in love" with a boy named Hiroyuki from school. She never confessed her feelings, thought he would never like her, and was taking secret pictures of him from some bushes. yet almost to the middle of the 12 episode series she's all but telling George she wants to bang him. Now wanting to have sex with George isn't the problem here. It's how she went from shyly taking pictures of one guy to out right telling another guy she wants to "get closer" without showing the audience how she reached that point. Sure we start to know that she is becoming attracted to George but it seems so out of the blue.

Anyway, it's hard for me to take Yukari seriously. All she does is say she will do something then sit around all day thinking about George. Then I had about enough of her character after having the gall to lecture George's mother about her life. Okay miss runaway, high school dropout, living at your rich boyfriend's house, and getting modelling jobs handed to you on a silver platter by your friends. I guess you know all about struggling in life to talk to someone's mother that way. Seriously, I don't like this girl, sure she has her moments but that is all she has, moments. and typically those good moments are followed by her being a crybaby, suffer able b*tch.

Like for example; finally walking down the runway and making everyone proud at the school fashion show was great! Then after she doesn't get what SHE wanted out of doing it she pouts, cries, wonders why everyone else is happy, and is generally a pain in the a$$.

George is the typical playboy bisexual. A rich kid living off daddy's money and I'm sure some see him as the antagonist of the show, if there was to be one. He is the bad boy your mother told you not to fall for. he won't treat you like a princess, but he will whisper sweet nothings in your ear until you can't stand it. He'll have multiple partners but tell you that you are number one, deep down inside you know its a lie, but he's an awesome kisser, looks like an Adonis, and can screw like an Incubus so you allow yourself to wallow in the dream he seems to magically weave for you. I have to say. I love George. I really do. I tried to hate him cause in some ways I'm supposed to but I liked him. Why? cause he never told Yukari a lie and seems to stay true to himself and demands that others stop BSing and do the same. For example, he flat out tells Yukari that he can get over her if she wants to end it, he got angry with her clingy behavior after she started to put being with him over her own modelling career, he straight up call her out for blaming everyone else for her own d*mn life decisions. I loved him for it. Sadly we don't get to see more of what makes George tick as a person. We just know that his mother is weak, his father is rich, he's the illegitimate son (his mother was the mistress), he loves designing clothes that are beautiful and whimsical, and he was very accepting of Isabella when he came out as transgendered. I wish I could have known more about the bisexual aspects of him. It's hinted that his boyfriend was the makeup guy (don't know his name) but the story doesn't show us more about his feelings in that area. We do know that he was seeing the guy while he was also seeing Yukari though.

The other characters are Miwako, Arashi, Isabella, and Hiroyuki. They are all very interesting characters but sadly we get no true development from them. I would have liked to know more about the triangle between Arashi, Miwako, and Hiroyuki but alas we get a bunch of small snippets of info and contrived moments thrown together to explain it all. They never go into what Hiroyuki saw in Yukari when honestly he has more chemistry and history with Miwako.

I will try not to spoil here!

The ending is another factor that dropped the ratings for me. I loved George's and Isabella's part in the end as I feel that they are better suited to do what they want to do and I love their friendship even though it wasn't developed much. Yukari's end just shows why I just don't really like her and probably never will, I feel bad for Hiroyuki(and I'm saying this from reading their character bios that give away what happens int he manga).

Personally let me just say that the ending was so freaking vague and such a non ending to the point where I had to read the character bios in hopes of finding out what the heck they were talking about at the end with Yukari and her brother. if you read the manga then I'm sure you would know but to people who haven't it was such a WTF moment. Sure I got the jest of what was happening....

Okay screw it, spoiler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yukari is engaged to Hiroyuki yet still wears George's clothes that he left for her when he left for Paris with Isabella. and they are going to see a play that George was the costume designer for. *whew!*

Now they never mention that it was Hiroyuki she was engaged to. I had to read the bio to get that. They just say fiancee. So basically she is marrying/settling for a man who loves her while she is still in love with George. So glad George opted for Paris.

You know...I don't even know where I picked this one up in the first place, and I certainly never expected it to be this good. This truly was a breath of fresh air, and something decidedly different from any other seinen anime I've ever seen.

There's something about the story which just kept me hooked until the very end - and yet, it's just about a girl taking matters in her own hands and choosing the job that would truly make her happy. With the persuasion of a few people, of course. The setting is all about fashion, and while you may not be interested ... in clothes, this anime puts a very nice twist on it. It all flows very naturally, plus THE DRAMA IS REAL.

The art itself might turn some people off - and I can understand that, as it's rather unique. But in my opinion, it's beautiful, and as stylish as one of the characters' hand sown dresses. It's very expressive and pleasant to watch.

As for the characters themselves, they were what kept me hooked the most. All of them had their clear faults and realistic personalities, and didn't really have that 'anime' feel to it. I loved every single one of them, got mad at them, cried with them, and I cannot express how satisfying it is to watch some well developed characters who grow and mature beautifully. Their relationships are also both believable and interesting. The romance is wonderfully written, and you can't help but squeal when Yukari and George share their first kiss. There may be times where the characters [the protagonist especially] will make you sigh, though.

The music was rather pleasant, but nothing out of the ordinary. The opening and ending songs were, however, both catchy and fun. Extra points because the ending made me stay.

And to conclude everything, let me tell you this. If you need a break from all the constant fluff and tsunderes, and would rather have something down to earth and realistic, then you should give this one a shot for sure. I don't usually rewatch anime, but this one enraptured me, and I recommend it 100%.

I'd heard about paradise kiss a few times but never really took an interest as i thught it was just manga when i saw that there was an anime i thought id take a look.

I ended up loving it i couldnt keep my eyes away but the endigng shocked me and made be a bit teary-eyed as didnt really get it so i too a look at the last chapter of manga and it does give u more understanding of it as they dont really explain much in anime compared to manga so u should check the manga if want deeper understanding.

Overall 9 out of ... 10 awesome as i still did'nt like ending, i dunno why but i just thought why work that hard on building the relationship to throw it all away i know its ment to be something like teaching each oother but still, well i guess its different for every one.

Beautiful art, fashionable clothes, cool characters, interesting storyline focused on the relationships of the characters! Paradise kiss is one my favorites, although it's short it's worthy of your time.

Paradise Kiss is one of the few animes that deserve to be described as flawless. From the beautiful animation, to the heart-warming story, this series executes its purpose with effortless perfection.

Straddling between elements of realism and dream-like extravagance, Paradise Kiss pulls its viewer's into the life of a high school girl turned model. Although the premise may at first seem contrived, the storytelling transforms every girl's dream into a story of escaping routine and finding happiness.

For anyone and everyone who has ever felt trapped the routine boredom of everyday life, Yukari's feelings echo the secret wish to run away. Coupled with oddball characters, this normal ... high school student finds her own definition of living her life.

It's hard for me to rate any aspect of this show below a 10--from the fantastic animation and great voice acting to the masterful storytelling, Paradise Kiss is perfect. If you liked Nana, you'll love this short from Ai Yazawa.

One thing you can say is that Ai Yazawa's art is jaw-drop goregeous and this anime stays true to her creations. A quirky coming of age story, set against a backdrop of high fashion, the heroine "Caroline" (I can't remember her real name!) falls in love with her boss and designer, Gerorge, a free-spirit and artist. Using a stereotypical framework (girl rejects previous life for something completely different and more glamerous and finds love in the process), Paradise Kiss creates a whole new spin. Plus, the SD faces are unique and so funny.

I went into this anime completely blind, I had no idea what it would be about. But soon after seeing the art style I became very skeptical and slowly turnt more negative each episode. But that only lasted until about episode 3 or 4, which for an anime that only consists of 12 episodes, is pretty long. But still I kept watching, for reasons unknown to me something was pulling me in, making me want to keep watching. Which I did and then bam in the blink of an episode I liked it all of a sudden, I started being able to appreciate all of ... the characters and I loved how you could see them grow throughout the series. After a while it turned out that one of the characters thinks in a pretty similar way to me, which was awesome :)
All in all it was a pretty good show, with an heartbreaking ending and I suggest you check it out. You might find yourself liking it more than you may expect.

the paradise kiss series is written by the same author as NANA and because of this i had very high hopes for the series. plus after watching the live action i was quite delighted to learn of the anime. so with high hopes and expectations i watched it. the music was what i was expecting because of the popular track listing of NANA and it came as no surprise of how the music fit well to the plot. the graphics were good as well but not as developed as C but definitively not as immature as BECK.the story was well thought out as all of ... her books are but there was definitively something missing. i suppose the only issue was that is was a mediocre anime and that's all good but after knowing the authors other accomplishments and watching the live action i guess my expectations were too high to give the paradise kiss series a really amazing review. i rate it 8/10 because of its well development and potential.

At first, I enjoyed this show a lot and saw a lot of potential. I especially liked the artstyle. I also loved the soundtrack and the characters are decently written. But there are a few things which made me kind of dislike this show at the end.



I think it would’ve been much better to make this anime 20 episodes long instead of 12. The storyline sometimes feels a little rushed. I wish they would've gone more into depth with the characters and the things happening.



Spoiler warning: One girl basically got raped by her boyfriend, but the show just seemed to completely ignore that? ... It also really sucked that the main girl ended up with the guy who basically wasn’t even part of the story for most of the time, after a sudden 10 year time skip that lasted for like a minute. If they had at least developed their relationship… They just skipped 10 years and suddenly they were getting married... I rooted for the two main characters even though it was sometimes a little toxic, I still really enjoyed their relationship.

As someone who saw Nana years ago, I felt the same depressing feeling when I first saw it. I can't help myself getting into this artstyle and story. I'm not into shoujo dramas and actually I really don't like shy characters who can't even kiss even months later so I always liked the realistic perspective of Nana and Paradise Kiss.
I like the way they show the feelings and psychological balance between characters. And I even knew how it was about to end even from the start. But stayed, cause I know it's not all about destination, it's about the journey. And it was worth it.

There will be SPOILERS in this review.

To start out, the artwork is amazing. I really enjoyed the complexities of color, the texture, and the oddness of the artwork. The music is fitting and enjoyable.

I thought the characters were great and well thought out. Although, for a main character, I did not find myself liking Yukari very much. I found her very childish throughout the series and even when she realizes this, she does not seem to change much.

Miwako was a very enjoyable character and I love her to pieces, but I did not enjoy her relationship with Arashi. ... I thought he was petty and cruel to her. She states in one part of the anime that Arashi seems scary, but he is actually super cute...and then he breaks her cell phone for emailing a friend who happens to be a male. Huh. I was really hoping she would end up with Tokumori, but...

...Yukari seems to be getting married to him at the end. x.x

I really didn't think her and George would be together forever, but I didn't like this ending at all. I did like that George left her all his dresses, but it seems as though that symbolizes that he had moved on and she clung to the past by wearing them. Kind of depressing.

Why do the women always seem to be the ones who get left behind?
Why did she have to marry anyone at the end?

Overall, it was a nice trip but I am not sure I enjoyed the conclusion. Seems to me that Tokumori will always love Miwako and Yukari will always love George, even though they might not be the best fit for each other. So heartbreaking, but maybe that was the point?

Shows like these make me feel like the author wants the audience to view the characters as "mature" and "adult" for not indulging themselves and letting go of petty romances, but it seems cliche to me.