Itazura seemed to be right up my ally. The underdog story shown at the start is really what drew me in. I enjoy watching someone whose at the bottom rise up and disprove those who didn't believe in them. Kotoko someone who I really wanted to see become better than how everyone seen her. I wanted her to win. I wanted her to succeed.
Boy was I let down.
Story: 5
Itazura na Kiss's story is pretty basic. Kotoko is a young teenage girl who no one expects to become anything great. Irie, however, is on the other end of that spectrum, he's the most popular boy in school, gets good grades and comes from a very well off family. As with most romantic shows of this nature, naturally Kotoko is in love with him. After mustering up the courage to confess her love to Irie, Kotoko is met with a very mean rejection. Things get even more messy as Kotoko's father ends up having his house destroyed and the two have no other choice but to live with the Irie family.
The story doesn't really have much going for it. It's basic and very, very cliched - to the point where hardly I could stomach it. The only good thing about it is the time skips. We see our two main characters go from high school to college and finally into their careers. The characters themselves aren't worth much either.
Characters: 3
While, at the start, I kind of respected Kotoko by the end of the show I was down right annoyed by her. She's very driven and hard working but as all of the standard romantic comedy tropes. She's clumsy and is a massive air-head who is constantly the butt of a joke. The show seems to enjoy making Kotoko's life down right miserable at times. When she does end up with her 'one true love' he ends up being one of the meanest people to her. I kept hoping that she'd snap out of her school girl crush and see that she could do so much better. Her only personality seems to come from being Irie's love interest. She cares only for Irie, even if it hurts her to do so.
I hated how the show treated her and I hated that she kept letting it happen. Even when other characters were introduced, who clearly had strong feelings for her and were much better suited for her than Irie all she would do was stick by Irie.
Irie himself is one of the worst elements of this show. I kept hoping he would finally see how amazing Kotoko was for him but all he seemed to do was find her annoying. It seemed as if he didn't care about her and all I wanted him to do was just leave her so Kotoko could run off and be happier with someone else. As the show went on I saw hints of a softer side to him but those moments were few and only really happened towards the end when Kotoko 'needed saving'.
Irie's parents were actually very nice and I couldn't fathom how they could have created such a monster. Nor could I believe that Kotoko's father would let someone like Irie take advantage of his own child.
The few side characters we spend time with are okay. There's actually a transwoman in this show who I really enjoyed seeing and I wish I could have seen more of.
Art: 4
At times this art-style looked down right ugly. Especially when it came to side shots of a characters face, I couldn't help but wonder why everyone thought Irie was so handsome. The character designs themselves were pretty bland and generic with no one really standing out.
Sound: 3
It's there if only to fill the need for sound. The opening and ending themes I don't even remember and were ones I always skipped.
Enjoyment: 4
If you're looking for a show with all the basic elements of a romantic comedy then Itazura na Kiss has you covered. However, there are much better shows than this one. At times I down right hated this show and how they treated Kotoko in particular. For days I left this show and only watched it in small clumps just because I kept praying that Kotoko would move on from this horrible person. Kotoko deserved way better.
