Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa

Ahoy,

Alright, now for an anime review! This time I'll review an anime series called 'Paradise Kiss' (abbreviated to ParaKiss) or 'Paradaisu Kisu'. I haven't read the manga for this anime, but I'm told the anime follows very close to the manga except for the ending, which is gone into more depth in the manga. I'm a fan of this anime series for a few reasons: 1) It's short 2) It leaves off where the manga ends 3) The animation is still beautiful even though it's an anime series. I'm so used to the art of an anime series being totally different than the style of the manga, but 'Paradise Kiss' has wonderful art in both the manga and anime.

'Paradise Kiss' is a manga and anime series by Ai Yazawa, who is famous for the josei (which means a manga made for 'ladies') manga/anime series 'NaNa'. The manga series ran in a magazine called 'Zipper' where it was later compressed into five volumes and twelve anime episodes. The anime series was produced by 'Madhouse Studios' and began airing in October 2005. (I know, it's an old series, but it was new to me a few weeks ago... XD)

'Paradise Kiss' is a semi-sequel to Yazawa's previous series 'Neighborhood Story' or 'Gokinjo Monogatari', but only in the use of several characters. 'Paradise Kiss' follows Yukari "Caroline" Hayasaka, who is disenchanted with her average high school life. She is beautiful, but spiritless until she meets the ParaKiss crew, who are a team of fashion designer students. ParaKiss is lead by a handsome, but cold designer named George who creates extravagant costume clothing. George and the ParaKiss crew plan to use Yukari as their model for an important fashion contest. While designing the dress, which progresses through the whole series, Yukari leaves high school to taste independence and begin her career as a professional model, as well as continue her developing relationship with George. The ParaKiss crew are the most entertaining characters of the series with the lovable Miwako and her punk boyfriend, Arashi. This anime series is fast paced and will keep you watching. The series is probably recommended for an older audience, due to it's briefly sexual scenes and the required appreciation for a fashion based anime.

I didn't think I'd enjoy an anime series named 'Paradise Kiss', because it sounded like a sad romance, but 'Paradise Kiss' is probably one of my favorite anime series. I should probably learn to stop judging my manga/anime series by their names! 'Paradise Kiss' has a lot of annoying twists, mostly due to Yukari's lack of confidence and George's snide remarks, but in the end the series has a definite shoujo feel. For a short series, the characters are very well developed and make you laugh. I personally, did not like the ending which took an unexpected turn, but it was realistic and a definite Yazawa-styled ending. But... you'll have to read/watch to find out yourself!

Best,
Pseudonymous Jayne