I just finished watching all 24 episodes and wanted to post my opinion here on MAL about Kimikiss: Pure Rouge. I think the ending was appropriate for both Kouichi and Kazuki.
Kouichi had latent feelings for Mao since they were kids. It wasn't until after she returned and they started spending time together he started to realize what he felt for her was more than just friendship. I found the moment when Mao moved out and gave back the book to Kouichi very cathartic. She took the book away from him as kids so he wouldn't cry anymore over it. By getting it back, he was able to release his pent up emotions for Mao, helping him realize how much he loved her. That awakening and realization did not occur however until he was pretty far along in his relationship with Yuumi unfortunately and it started to interfere more visibly with his relationship with her.
His interaction with Kai during the cultural festival about how he looked like Mao - there in body, but not in spirit - made Kouichi reflect on what he was doing to Yuumi by not being honest with her about his feelings about Mao.
I am inspired by Yuumi during the breakup scene. She was so strong and didn't cry at all, but I am sure was very heartbroken. However, this may be the best for her because she is transferring to a new school and will start fresh with new friends thanks to her new found confidence gained by spending time with Kouichi and the rest of the group.
I felt bad for Mao, trying not to let her feelings for Kouichi cause her to interfere with his relationship with Yuumi. She loved him and it hurt her to act like nothing was wrong. She tried to make a relationship with Kai and even went as far as moving out of Kouichi's home in order to keep herself from creating problems. The movie kiss scene was incredible. The movie plot was really all about Kouichi's repressed feelings for Mao and the acting (was it really?) between the two during the kiss scene was deep from the heart. While some of the not so obvious didn't catch what was happening, Yuumi and Akira knew what was happening. What I wish I knew was how many of those lines were in the script or ad-libbed? How much of it came from the heat of the moment versus just a canned exchange? Powerful scene and a precursor of what was to come.
The moment when Kouichi confessed his love to Mao on the bridge was extremely emotional. Mao attempted to be stoic, telling him to go back to Yuumi, which hurt her deeply to say. Kouichi's admission how he was lying to everyone about his true feelings and how he didn't want to hurt anybody else and how he wasn't ever going to let her go (flash back to probably emotional feelings due to Mao leaving for France?) caused Mao to break down, exposing how she was hurting inside watching Kouichi brought catharsis to both of them as they confessed their love one more time and *really* kissed. Every time I go back to watch that strong emotional exchange, it brings tears to my eyes...
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While I thought that Kazuki and Asuka would have been a nice couple, their relationship was very strange. Since they were more friends and teased each other all the time, it would take a while before they come to a conclusion if they are more than just friends. If she had been a little more aggressive with him about how she felt, she would have ended up with him. However, I found her confession and kiss very touching and I know that she is another strong character who would find a guy would would appreciate her.
Kazuki's initial meeting with Eriko and her boldness giving him his first kiss captivated him to trying to understand this girl. They fact that she had such a sheltered life, being extremely smart, not living a childhood like other kids, and apparently being alone most of the time due to her father travelling (not sure where mom was...) left her confused and lonely. Fear of loss when you get emotionally involved with someone can really mess someone up, and her reactions/responses were dead on. It was nice to see her face her fears and break down in front of Kazuki, opening up to someone and bare her soul to them. And (no) thanks to Mao, she was able to realize that Asuka also had feelings for Kazuki and her insecurities automatically made her push away because she feared he would leave her for Asuka. Kazuki's confession to Eriko was sincere and reassuring, her response was sincere and very emotional.
So I think the way things ended up was appropriate and emotionally satisfying. Love isn't easy, it doesn't always end happily when one or both parties are heavily invested in the relationship. Some people who experience joy are hurt while others finally experience joy after being hurt. We have to take that experience and make the best of it and keep moving forward.
After watching a fansub of this show, I put in an order for the collection so I can keep it in my archive because I enjoyed it that much. |