Paradise Kiss

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Whenever I read "Nana" from manga-ka Ai Yazawa, I feel suckered into a world that, not only is fantastic, but is completely relatable... She has a knack for producing characters that are flawed, human. And make them likable... One doesn't realize the skill of an author so much when just given one example of their work, and, since I had only read the "Nana" manga (and absolutely love it, despite its flaws) I wasn't able to see just how good Ai Yazawa's pacing and storytelling can be... :)

"Paradise Kiss", an amalgamation of a love for fashion and love in general, is, as a whole, a ... much better body of work than "Nana". It works so much better because the author doesn't go off into tangents all the time. She focuses on the core group of characters, and builds up each of their stories. By the end of the five volumes you are left with a bittersweet, melancholy mood, haunting you long after you close the cover. You're left wondering just what will happen when such-and-such meet at such-and-such musical, or just what everyone will look like at such-and-such time...

Yazawa's art is just as stylish and edgy as in "Nana", but with a higher concentration on fashion and "style". It is a highly emotional story, full of the troubles associated with following your own path in life, and living accordingly. Yet, there is a self-awareness incorporated in it, with characters commenting about their presence in the storyline and whether or not there are enough pages for them. These comedic touches help the readers to not get bogged down in what could just be one angsty read.

Also, the ending is perhaps one of the most realistic endings I have ever read in a manga. Whereas one expects it or wishes for something different, Yazawa captures the conflicting emotions of growing up well. And for this alone I can recommend it to anyone. It's just that, "Paradise Kiss" has many good things to base a recommendation :)

Okay so I personally feel like this manga was not as good as it could've been. The characters each were pretty deep but I feel like they weren't explored into enough, especially the main character male. Honestly this is pretty refreshing compared to all the typical romance mangas but I felt very unsatisfied upon finishing the manga. Overall the art was beautiful but I feel that there should have been more development with the story and the characters as well.

(SPOILERS AHEAD!!) Ok so honestly the way that the manga started was very unsettling for me. She meets random people who want her to model ... and the next second she's apparently in love with the male main character. THE HECK. And it's not even a crush she flat out says "I'm in love with this dude." GOD. And he's very mysterious and some may feel like thats a good thing but I still feel like I have no idea who the heck the main male lead is and I don't like that. He just disappears to Europe at the end and poof he's gone. And in the end she ends up with the guy she first had a crush with. Omg it irks me so much because all throughout the manga she showed no emotion for the guy she ends up with. If anything i feel like she should've ended up by herself or some thing. This manga has a lot of mystery to it and definitely leaves the readers to their own interpretation. But basically to summarize what I got from the manga is a stupid girl who, yes has gone through hardships, becomes a toy for a narcissistic, shallow man and ends up not together in the end because they both know it won't work. A very realistic story that's not cliche but could've definitely been developed more. The girl still shows love for him at the end when he leaves but that thought is completely thrown in the trash when she's seen married to a different man almost 10 years later. (10 YEARS COMPLETELY NOT EXPLORED INTO.) We basically have no idea what happened to the main lead besides the tiny bit of info that he's making costumes for theater. Ugh honestly I might get hate from my review but this is just my personal opinion. I still loved the characters but ya know like I've repeatedly said, they could've been explored more into. And one last thing I actually hate the main character girl. She's very bland. Her mother was absolutely terrible to her but doesn't do anything to stand up for herself really. She forgives her mother when she gets slapped. Also the mother is very shallow. She only likes success and even favored the younger son over her daughter. But when her daughter proves that she can make it in the modeling industry she does a complete 180 and all of a sudden supports her. Such a disgusting parent. And yet the main char doesn't seem to mind and goes about her business. Ugh her relationship with her mom was one of the main reasons she felt the way she did in the beginning of the manga and I was hoping for some big thing to happen but it never did. (I don't consider her running away a big thing and neither do I consider the mother crying a big thing because right after she continues to abuse her daughter by slapping her across the face completely disregarding the fact that a model's face is everything.) Basically the mom's attitude never changed. Only thing that she did change was the fact that she supports her daughter's modeling career.

UGH god this manga was frustrating to me and to be honest would not recommend but it wasn't the worst thing I've ever read. (PS I'm sorry it might sound like i'm rambling and not make sense but I marathoned this manga in like 4 hours and feel very crazy right now.)

As someone who has engaged with Ai Yazawa’s works like NANA, Tenshi Nanka ja Nai (I’m Not an Angel), and Kagen no Tsuki (Last Quarter), I am very familiar with what she is capable of. Ai Yazawa has the power to write characters who are flawed but you still feel for them and want them to be well, even if you don’t agree with all their decisions. Characters who you look forward to seeing how their journey ahead will be like. Characters who aren’t pretentious and are truly doing their best at what they strive towards. So after about eight weeks of waiting to borrow ... the 20th edition omnibus of Paradise Kiss from my local library, I was shocked by how unenjoyable this manga was for me.

So, what happened? If I were to put it simply, Paradise Kiss felt like a blend between Neighborhood Story (Gokinjo Monogatari; prequel) and NANA that did not mix well. Now, you certainly do not need to read or watch the adaptations of Ai Yazawa’s other stories to understand Paradise Kiss. I’ll explore what did and didn’t work below:


Story & Characters: I usually write my reviews where the story and characters are discussed separately. But Paradise Kiss is an exception, since the characters are the story.

Yukari: When one thinks of a protagonist, they should typically be likeable. Being likeable can mean different things to different people, such as whether they’re relatable, if we think we would ever be friends with someone like them, or maybe they have qualities we like. Quite simply, we just like seeing them on our screen, including the moments where they grow. If none of that applies to the protagonist, at least they’re tolerable and they don’t destroy our enjoyment. Yukari unfortunately did not fulfill the basic requirements of a protagonist.

Yukari grew up being tailored to study without hobbies, and that showed when she got carried away (harassed) by a group of fashionistas who went to a different school than her. Yukari was exposed to an industry that was foreign to her and yielded to it on the pretense of “broadening [her] horizons” and “experiencing new things.” She wasn’t genuinely interested in modelling at the time, as she was mesmerized by this flashy society where she let others doll her up. It was okay for her to see what it was like with the Paradise Kiss crew, but she went along with being a model without doing any research or practice on her own! Throughout the series, Yukari felt like that one crayon who doesn't fit in the case at all. There are all these unique colours in that case, but she's just not part of that society and that's okay.

Yukari was a baggage to the people around her, wanting them to show love in ways she didn’t vocalize or being reckless where people covered up for her. Yukari lacked confidence, and she was a coward whenever she blamed others for situations she did not walk away from or even when people shared their genuine concern. She’s the type of person who would yell at you and want you to comfort her. Sure, she apologizes later (sometimes) after an outburst, but there was no growth in genuinely improving her interactions with others like thinking of other people’s feelings before she opened her mouth. Or at least observing people before putting them on the spot, which saves her the effort of later apologizing. In short, Yukari was a selfish and immature person who was clingy and lacked communication skills.

George: This man is a mess. He is a hypocrite for imposing his ideals, without ever seeing how he could fulfill Yukari’s needs. George does not know how to compromise in love, it’s him in his own world. Maybe there is an exception if you are his mother Yukino who is incapable of caring for herself. But besides Yukino who he doesn’t have a fulfilling relationship with emotionally, it’s obvious he prioritizes himself and his crafts. He will forget about you when it comes to work and not apologize about it, just like how his father Joichi treats Yukino. He is truly not your type of human who will emotionally support you. He goes at the beat of his own drum, and you either submit to him or you don’t. Even being friends with this dude would require extra effort because he leaves his phone off or doesn’t always have the habit of picking up, so it’s better to go to his home and hope he doesn’t have someone sleeping over.

George is seen as mysterious. Yet, what’s really in his heart? What is he thinking? When he says he likes you, to what extent is that? Is he serious about you? Or are you just a toy to him? Yukari danced around this man without settling their issues, and she can’t say with confidence what it is that drew him to her. To be honest, George was the first man who flirted with the then-inexperienced Yukari, and she grabbed the opportunity. George admitted before that he doesn’t resist when people come to him, so he didn’t try to at least present himself as the faithful dude anyone would prefer. Yet, Yukari continued going back to George even though he has been hurtful to her and they don’t even share the same preference sexually.

Arashi: Where do I begin with this trash? For those of you who are familiar with Neighborhood Story, I’m sorry to inform you that he is Risa’s son. For those who are not familiar with Neighborhood Story, Risa is Mikako’s best friend from high school. And Mikako is the protagonist of Neighborhood Story (prequel) and Miwako’s (Arashi’s girlfriend) older sister. I believe Ai Yazawa should not have even made the Neighborhood Story connection because Risa as a person was attentive to the people around her and always supported her good friends. How did such a good person like Risa raise such a sorry excuse for a human? I cannot fathom this either.

Arashi has an inferiority complex and is immature, which shows in how he treats Miwako. Please take note that this man is your example of a toxic partner, where he’s the type to forbid you from talking to a childhood friend and even break your phone by throwing it across the room. Arashi has even forced himself on Miwako, and she goes along with his desires to satisfy him. Arashi wants control in love and he struggles with trusting his partner. Arashi knows he’s a major cause for Miwako’s psychological pain, but after hanging out with her for 18 years, I can’t tell you there is genuine progress. Why do people know they’re horrible and don’t work on improving themselves? I have no idea.

However, strangely enough...Arashi does care for Yukari. He’s bad with words, but he pays attention. Maybe he inherited Risa’s observant nature. But he mostly talks without thinking. What Miwako sees in Arashi is beyond me because there are many people in the world who can be kind AND they show it ._____.

Miwako: Another mystery to the entire series. Ai Yazawa writing that Miwako’s mother Ruriko is away for work is uncharacteristic. For those of you who are familiar with Neighborhood Story, Ruriko was attentive to Mikako as much as possible, so why wouldn’t she do the same for Miwako? Maybe Ruriko was okay with Mikako spending time with Miwako, but Mikako has her own work and family too. The lack of attention given to Miwako by her parents gives some explanation as to why she doesn’t seem to get guidance regarding her future or even Arashi. It’s also out of character for both Mikako and Risa to be uninvolved when Arashi is such a jerk to Miwako. It’s possible that Miwako keeps Arashi’s dark side to herself, but it’s odd that Mikako at least doesn’t seem to pick up on the bad signals.

Despite Miwako being called cute by Yukari, she wasn’t a likeable character to me. I admit Miwako makes the effort to be there for Yukari and she’s responsible for her family whenever she babysits Alice (niece/Mikako and Tsutomu’s daughter). But she really needs to think on her own, like she imitates Mikako without looking at who she herself is. Miwako knew how she felt about Hiroyuki (a childhood friend), yet she stayed and tolerated Arashi. Arashi says his opinion and she goes along with it, even when it’s bluntly unprofessional and unsuitable to the space.

Hiroyuki: The character I liked the most who got the short end of the stick. If you’re familiar with Neighborhood Story, he is Hiroaki’s (“Toku-chan”) son. He’s the only character who made sense to me in terms of characterization when Ai Yazawa made her Neighborhood Story connection. Just like Toku-chan who people confided in when he ran the bar, Hiroyuki is your decent man who has your back. He listens without ordering you around and he respects your decisions, even if it’s not what he would do personally. I completed this story thanks to Hiroyuki LOL.

Other characters like Isabella and Noriji’s (a friendly and caring superintendent from Neighborhood Story) return were fun. Isabella deserved more attention. Isabella was the reliable ‘mother’ of the Paradise Kiss crew who was observant and had a sense of self. I’m happy that she had a supportive worker at home who accepted her gender identity, without feeling like she had to wear boys’ clothing or call herself by a male name. Noriji continued to be reliable, wanting to be there for others without imposing. It’s too bad he doesn’t appear in NANA.


Now...I’m aware several readers are unsatisfied with the ending. I agree that the ending could have been explored. The way the ending was written didn’t make me want to look forward to the characters’ futures, where I felt like Ai Yazawa was just done with them. No character development where we get a timeskip, so we don’t know what happened in-between.

Although, Ai Yazawa’s art was pleasant overall. Her designs were all unique and Yukari truly shined on stage. Isabella was always outstanding.

Overall, I feel accomplished for completing this story LOL. I didn’t even need to read every text where there were times when I skimmed through, or even skipped pages. I could tell what was happening based on facial expressions, for example I just knew that Yukari would raise her voice and cry or George would make a comment without being committed to working together on what was in front of him. This pair took up so many pages, it’s a shame when the attention could have been better divided to other characters. I feel that the themes were present (e.g. bad parenting, feeling charmed by a hottie and considering giving up your future for them), but the execution just wasn’t it for me.