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 :)

For the first time in a long while, my endeavor to find good women's manga ended with a positive result. Even though I'm still not exactly thrilled this was a nice way to expand horizons.

Art: Gotta say, while there are lots of pretty, close shots of beautiful characters in the flashy outfits, everything else is rather awful.
While some drawings like chapter and volume covers, as well as occasional manga panels have more or less realistic proportions, the rest of the manga is filled with skeleton people trying to hide inside skin bags with various degrees of success. It's inconsistent but it's probably a ... stylistic choice so your mileage may vary. I found it to be pretty bad cause fashion to me is about using clothes to bring out the best features of human physique and go even further beyond. Stick people don't work for that.
Next are backgrounds, they are absolutely dreadful, no two ways about it. It's better than something like Sailor Moon or BeruBara who completely annihilate spatial awareness.
Paradise Kiss has three types of backgrounds:
1. Absolutely nothing - nothing uncommon for women's manga, they often focus on characters and their appearance to a point where backgrounds doesn't seem to matter to them.
2. Minimal outlines - bare minimum of a background, at this point you actually have an idea of where things take place. Better than a void of nothingness but lacking in detail and not rally pretty to look at.
3. PHOTOS - straight up photos! No, even worse. It's very badly filtered photos. This practice existed in manga for a while but this is the first time I see it done this badly and lazily. Inio Asano and Mokoto Shinkai at times get criticized after someone praises them for what is essentially a traced photo but after this I'm sure people would give them credit for at least putting in effort to have it look nice and fit the style of their work.
Overall the linework is clean but rough, as in, lines themselves are often not smooth but there's no excess either. Aside from up close shots that have nice and smooth art with varying line weigh the rest is mostly flat looking.

Story: you might think Paradise Kiss is about fashion and you would be right. But it just as easily could've been acting or making music or drawing art. The fashion thing is just a setting for a character driven romance.
ParaKiss romance is rather well done, I expected another Cinderella type story that little girls and teens could insert themselves in and while there is a smidgen of that, it's not the point. The characters here are just believable enough to care about their attempt to build a relationship while having to deal with their own and each others flaws. It captures well the storm that takes place in someone's mind when they are high on love. Making irrational or impulsive decisions or coming to far off conclusions that are however easily understandable.
In the background there's a plot about all of the characters finding their place in life which I think made a compelling addition to romance. While it doesn't exactly go in depth on all of the themes is brings up, the part about growing up is decent. Our main heroine starts as an aimless student that goes wherever her mother points her to but along the way finds her true self, she finds what she wants to do in life and happiness it brings gives her courage to pursue her dreams. It's a sweet message.

Funfactor: Given how I hated most shoujo/josei manga I've read prior, I think it's worth something when I say this was decently enjoyable. I wouldn't recommend it to just anybody but if you like more complex romance that delves into psychology behind human relationship and doesn't just ride on melodrama I'd definitely recommend this.

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.