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?
