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| Just by the logo, you can totally tell this is a romance anime. |
Itazura na Kiss was the one anime that FINALLY followed the characters pass high school other than Clannad. And for what you get, it's a pretty good anime. Now let's go back in time.
History
Tada Kaoru began publishing Itazura na Kiss in October 1991. The anime came out in 2008. Wait a second, what's with this time gap?! Well, Kaoru sadly passed away on March 11, 1999 due to cerebral hemorrhage (translation to those who are not medical students or doctors: bleeding of the brain). Kaoru was moving into a new house when she hit her head on a marble table and died after being in a coma for three weeks. Because of her unexpected death, Itazura na Kiss was cancelled. With her husband's permission, the manga is still being published. Very depressing, indeed. But I'm glad that her husband was kind enough to allow the publication of the manga to continue. Another positive thing is that Kaoru told her husband the ending of the series before she died, which was later incorporated into the anime, so at least the people who have seen the anime and I saw the true ending of the series that the author envisioned.
Story
There are a lot of sub-plots in this anime—and when I say "a lot" I mean A LOT. But it can be simplified to this:
A high school girl named Kotoko finally tells a fellow senior named Naoki that she has loved him from afar since she saw him on their first day of high school. However, Naoki, a handsome genius and good athlete, rejects her offhand. Fate intervenes when a mild earthquake ruins Kotoko's family house. While the house gets rebuilt, Kotoko and her dad stay at the home of her dad's childhood friend...whose son is Naoki. Naoki eventually falls for Kotoko and started to have romantic, protective feelings for her.
— Courtesy of Wikipedia
So, from this summary, it seems that this anime is just the typical comedy-romance anime set in high school, right? WRONG! People, judging an anime by its cover is a big no-no in my book! As mentioned earlier, this anime takes you beyond the characters' lives in high school to college and even work! Therefore, I give this anime a big pat on the back for being different than 99.5% of all shoujo anime.
Characters
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| Like anime, never judge a character by his or her appearance! She may be ditzy and clumsy, but at least she's not a glutton! |
Just as there are many sub-plots in the anime, there are many, many characters—but all of them very memorable and comedic. For the sake of time, I'll just talk about three. The first is the heroine, Aihara Kotoko. Yes, Kotoko is a bit of a ditz, clumsy, and not very smart, but what makes her so good a character is her determination and how (unintentionally) funny she is. In fact, I'll tell you one of my favorite moments. Kotoko is trying to finish her summer homework, but has a hard time solving the math problems. But because her room is right across from Irie's, she decides to sneak in and take his summer homework. While sneaking in, she begins acting like a ninja but stubs her toe on the table. Now that's just funny. I mean, it's a lot more funnier seeing it than reading about it, so you might not find it that funny now, but when you're in the moment, it's hilarious.
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| Not the cutest of anime guys, but kudos to the animators for making him different than the ordinary mix of shoujo guys. |
Our next main character is Irie Naoki, but throughout the anime, Kotoko just calls him Irie (because it'd be rude to call someone you don't know that well by their first name). At first you'd think that Irie is going to be a boring, lifeless genius, but as the anime progresses, Irie does have his funny moments and even emotional moments, too. At the beginning of the series, Irie was about as emotional as a rock. So much so, he didn't even read Kotoko's love letter and rejected her in front of everyone. But over time, you grow to love Irie because Kotoko brings emotions out of him, and eventually vice-versa.
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| You would have never guessed she was Irie's mom, now would ya? |
And last but not least, Irie's mother Noriko. Oh. My. God. Noriko is one of the best comedic anime characters—not just in shoujo anime but—of all time. Noriko has an eccentric and paparazzi-like personality, that makes her instantly likable. She's the kind of woman that every girl wishes to be her crush's mom, because she always pushes her son to become the girl's boyfriend. Noriko wants her son Irie to hook up with Kotoko, but struggles because of Irie's personality. Now, there's a reason why Irie acts the way he does, but if I tell you why, it would ruin one of the best comedic moments in the anime, so I'll keep quiet about it—think of it as a favor.
Animation
Those who have already watched the anime may or may not have realized this, but midway through the series (or two-thirds of the way in, if you want a more perfect estimate), the animation style changes. Not drastically, of course, 'cause then everybody would notice. The change happens specifically (and as far as I can tell) to Kotoko's eyes. Nothing to worry, much less care, about, but just a little bit of interesting trivia for you there. Below's a picture of the different eyes, so feel free to compare the bottom image with the one in the section above.
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| Thank god the makeup here is modest. I've seen far too many anime shows with the heroine or someone else animated horribly with makeup. |
Excluding the minor change to the animation, for 2008, the animation was very well done.
Sound
The soundtrack for Itazura na Kiss can be summed up in one word: wonderful. If you ever get the chance, go on YouTube (or better yet go buy the album) and listen to some of the soundtracks, I assure you, you won't regret it. My personal favorites being OST. 15 Amai Namida ("Sweet Tears") and OST 16. Eien no Chikai ("The Eternal Vows").
Overall Enjoyment
Overall, this anime is simply fantastic and a must-see! The humor, romance, characters, and everything is perfect! I mean, Itazura na Kiss is no Clannad, by all means, where the latter can become very dramatic and dark and deep. But if you have just recovered from the depression caused by Clannad, Itazura na Kiss will surely lift your spirits. If anything, I feel that most people who watch this anime will end up liking it—if not, loving it.
The Bottom Line
I hereby give this anime the score of ★★★★☆, with each section rated the following:
Story: ★★★½
Characters: ★★★★☆
Animation: ★★★☆☆
Sound: ★★★½
Enjoyment: ★★★★☆
Because of its rating, this anime is deemed "Great," and I recommend it to the shoujo community, people who want a slice of life anime, fans of Clannad, and to people who just want to watch a good anime. And with that, see you next time, otakus!
P.S. Rest in peace, Kaoru-san! ♥
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