NO SPOILERS AHEAD
THE CHARACTERS
So, even though some of the interaction in paradise kiss was more realistic than in other shoujo anime, I never got to liking the characters. The main girl didn't really have anything going for her and her love interest was extremely selfish. The fact that they fell in love felt unrealistic to me, the love itself felt more like lust and infatuation, too insecure and I personally just didn't see the point. Even though the other characters were reasonably interesting, I found that the little backstory they got was rushed, and I never got to liking them either. No-one made me smile and I wasn't particularly rooting for anyone. I think the makers were going for a realistic vibe, but part of life is the fun and I didn't have it, and I never really saw the characters have it. So why did I keep watching?
FASCINATION
Most stories I love are the ones that have great characters, reasonably realistic and lovable. And though I think these were meant to be lovable or at least have some appeal they all seemed desperate to me. It missed one of the essential parts that I look for: Comfort. I need a bit of hope and comfort, a great friendship or deep trust or a love story that isn't just driven by passion. When none of that is there it just sort of drags on for me. I did keep watching, not really because I wanted to know about the characters but because I got fascinated by the feeling that it gave me. Somehow I just got an incredible feeling of growing bitterness and despair from every episode. I didn't really care about the story but it did teach me things about what I absolutely don't want from life. I'm a songwriter and I paused several times to write songs because it gave me that feeling of at least knowing my own priorities and goals. They were all pretty dark songs. I certainly found it interesting to watch but I'm never going to watch it again. It's just something I wanted finished, but the fact that I didn't stop proved that I was fascinated, which is why the score isn't dramatic.
BE WARNED
Don't go in expecting a happy go lucky anime, I know, I probably already made that pretty clear. I don't think everyone finds it depressing, but I do, and it kept eating away at me. I get that some people love this anime, and some who crave realism might find what they are looking for. But personally I didn't find the story all that realistic and it just mostly made me feel kind of empty. To me the world doesn't look anything like it was portrayed (figuratively, not literally of course) I hadn't meant to give it a five but I writing this I just couldn't feel good about these aspects of the anime.
SO ENOUGH DEPRESSING STUFF
The art was, well, ART, it was beautiful, a bit more realistic than most anime and really artistically done. The colors were great, I never once skipped the theme-song-video and it was overall pretty awesome. Some of the same shots were used a few times randomly, which bothered me a bit but I liked it a lot overall. It really fit the story and the vibe too. The music didn't stand out for me but never really bothered me either.
YOU MIGHT LOVE IT
I do think that some people will love it, it might really just be personal perspective or priorities, it was interesting, beautiful and flamboyant, and I do think the dialogue was well done and more like the actual confused human beings we all are than a lot of other shoujo anime. I just couldn't see the point in the choices the characters made and I didn't believe them to be real, so the dialogue sort of drowned in that frustration. The anime left me feeling a little hollow which could be either a good sign or a bad sign, I'm not sure yet.
I hope this helped in making your choice, I can't really recommend it but I can't say you won't love it either so good luck!
