Koi Kaze

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Incest is an extremely taboo subject - and rightly so. Koi Kaze's greatest achievement is that it succeeds in approaching the topic in a balanced, mature way without making light of or overtly sexualising it. For that, I can't help but give plaudits.

The plot is not particularly complex: two siblings inadvertently meet before knowing they are blood-related, and experience a brief spark of a romantic connection, later learning the truth, and struggling with the conflicting feelings of attraction and desire to obey social norms.

Characters are mostly all ordinary, reasonable people with realistic reactions to the subject at hand. MC is a bit of a rotten ... character, but also a sympathetic one.

Art style is consistently good; but it's nothing out of the ordinary for an early 2000s manga.

As far as criticism is concerned, it's a little on the short side - there was definitely room to expand the story further and add more developments.

Ultimately, this is a forbidden love story that is terribly sad and sweet in equal measure. Worthy of a read, even if the topic makes you uncomfortable.

Plot: 7
Characters: 7.5
Art: 7.5
Enjoyment: 9.5

Koi Kaze was a manga series by Motoi Yoshida that dealt with a taboo relationship between two closely related, think familial, characters. Yes, the sweet and innocent portrait of the main character on the first volume cover was smokescreen.

Understandably, despite having an acclaimed anime adaptation and available in North America as a DVD release, the manga itself never had an official English translation. It’s a pity because the manga had a more complete tale than the anime.

Though the story had mature themes, the author handled it masterfully. The story certainly made you feel uncomfortable, but never was it gratuitous.

It all started when Nanaoka and ... Koushirou have a memorable encounter in the subway which ended up with the high school girl and salary man sharing a ferris wheel gondola. While suspended mid-air above the city, the two shared recent heartbreaks, with Nanaoka comforting the older man. After the ride, both discovered that the two of them were estranged siblings.

In Koi Kaze, the author has a well-written story and well-developed characters. The art style is highly effective in conveying the emotions of the characters. It is a beautifully tragic love story that explores the taboo subject in a mature and realistic manner.

I'm glad, that read it.

Much smarter than all mangas with similar topic I've read and not so mainstream as majority of manga in general - that's for what I loved reading the subj very much.

I think, the fact that the hero is an adult is really cool. There exist not so many such mangas, that I know (like Monster, Rurouni Kensin, partly Death Note, Gintama...) and it's much more pleasure to read them, 'cause you as reader aren't treaded as 13-year child, plot is mature and not so random and senseless.