Paradise-Kissing my Life

I don't need a lot to fall again into manga/drama/J-pop culture again ; I just need to have a look by chance at this kind of flyers :

Paradise Kiss the movie ! (Sister can you hear me ???)

Flash-back : I am a French student (with no money), dreaming about coming to Japan one day. My only ways to be linked, more or less, to this country are : 1) learning nihongo in a small-but-still-expensive language institute after school ; 2) reading manga and watching anime and drama. Now I am living in Tokyo, I have to say I am not so attracted by the J-subcultures anymore; but at that time...

So, Paradise Kiss (by Ai Azawa) is a really good memory. Not only the design of the manga, but the scenario was amazing. This is the story of Yukari, a high school student, who struggles to keep performing at school. Actually, she is totally inadapted to the "normal way" (studying, studying, studying to get a proper future) and it makes her tough and even a bit bitter. By chance, she meets a group of fashion-design students who are trying to make their dream come true : creating their own fasion brand, Paradise Kiss (or Parakiss for the fans). As Yukari is slim and beautiful, she becomes their fashion model, and she falls into fascination for the group's leader, Joji, who is a talented as manipulative.

Parakiss is not a funny story. First, it is the perfect image of painful and destructive first love. Joji is a total artist, which means he doesn't exist for human relationship nor love feelings. It is going to be very hard for poor Yukari to undergo his special kind of violence to her (a mix of attraction, indifference, and superior point of view on people and life). I found their relation really interesting when I read the manga, and very original. Then, this is the story of Yukari herself, who needs to realize and accept that she is not done for a traditionnal lifestyle. But getting involved into modeling is risky and it deals with self-confidence - something which is not easy to get when you are in bad romance...

For the movie now : just watching the CM below, I am afraid it is far to be as deep and striking as the manga - it seems to be done for the fans who will be pleased to see the people and backgrounds "in real"; but the actors play so bad, Joji is not disturbing enough and the kiss seems to be everything but paradise. Anyway. When you're a fan, you're a fan. Enjoy !

Comments

[Mogusa]

I hear you !! as usual, the movie version is gonna be lame, because it's just another goodie, just about marketing... but the manga was a real piece of art.

(and Jôji doesn't even have blue hair. I'm nothing but disappointment !)