Reviews

I happened to stumble upon this little pearl of an anime while browsing for something new to watch. Even though the recommendations were very positive, I was a little bit hesitant due to the possibility of yet another shojo with identical plot and storyline - but boy, was I surprised :) And pleasantly so, no less. Sure, in general "Itazura na kiss" isn't that inventive - most components of a classic "boy and girl meet, go through a struggle of some kind, and end up happy"-shojo, but there's just something in the way the story is told, that is too compelling to not make you engrossed by this anime. And that actually says pretty much since I am a cynical person and get very bugged over sugarcoated sugar mixed with sugar, which usually is the case with a lot of shojos. I like Kare Kano, Hana Kimi, Hot Gimmick and a few other shojos, but generally I tend to avoid them since they don't give me very much. (Sure, I have a couple of exceptions like "Ouran" and Fruits basket - which are kind of silly - but I like 'em anyway.) I tend to stick to other types of anime and manga, but a well told love story is kind of universal and should be recognizable for anyone.

This is hilarious and entertaining at the same time as it's romantic and serious. The weird thing is that it actually even pulls it off. But I say as another viewer mentioned in a recommendation somewhere - what's up with all the excessive ER-visits? Boy, are they prone to illness and accidents in the Irie-family... Also I wonder what makes that baka girl so extremely attractive to all guys out there in her world... She IS, as Naoki says - annoying, loud, stupid and silly...
Sometimes, the story takes a pretty slow pace and becomes slightly repetative, but it doesn't really bother, it kind of stresses the fact that "Itazura na kiss" actually spans a long period of time. This isn't really the kind of anime with cliffhangers or made to make you bite your fingernails. This is more of a story about two people that go through a lot to end up together, and it's a pure joy to follow them along the way :)

Kotoko is one of the most embarrassing idiots I've ran across in any manga/anime, but she is a very sweet idiot :) Naoki makes me swoon as the stupid tsundere moe I am (ah - we always fall for it - such a victory to cure the evil and bring forth the inner softness of a jerk... but hey, news flash... some of the jerks are actually jerks even deep inside...)
Actually, I like all the characters. Kinnosuke, who was extremely annoying in the beginning, kind of harrassed himself into my heart pretty fast, and he would probably be my favourite character of the cast :) And also, I personally love Jinko, although a lot of folks seem to find her annoying - her insanely horrible voice and weird personality makes me laugh :)
I also can't help but to love Naoki's mom - she is too absurd not to adore. Also the brat Yuuki - the younger brother in the Irie family - is a pretty strong character, important for the whole picture :)

The art and style is pretty much standard - same flaws as in many other anime, but it holds a pretty high standard with easily recognizable characters and carefully drawn surroundings - it's not sloppy work, and that's important at least for me (who draw a lot myself). Both the art and style changes and enhances a little bit towards the end, but the change is not detectable in the looks of characters and such, only that it seems a bit cleaner and brighter, characters more carefully shaped.

All in all it's a great series - making one happy and cheerful, there fore the very consistent and high score. Really a little pearl among the oceans of crappy standard cut shojo. Sure, "Itazura na kiss" is very classic in it's storyline - but the author of the original manga really has managed to create some depth to the story, and I am happy I gave this series a chance :) It was definitely worth it. Also, I would say that I agree with all the guys I've seen praising this series are absolutely right - this isn't classic shojo in THAT sense - purely for girls - but rather this is bound to entertain any fan of anime, no matter gender or age. (Except for that it's too emotionally mature for younger kids than say, 14.) But watch it! You won't regret it :)