Step 28: Discover Paradise

I apologize for this blog turning into something of an anime reviewing forum but OH MY GOD I JUST WATCHED THE BEST SHOW EVAR!!!!111oneeleven

You might even say watching it felt like... paradise.

That's not even me being sarcastic. Paradise Kiss is downright ancient by modern anime standards, and while I was familiar with Ai Yazawa's work (I read a few chapters of Nana back in the day), somehow I've only just now sat down to watch ParaKiss. It hits all the right spots: highly complex relationships, a diverse cast (a bisexual character and a transgender character introduced in the first episode? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP), gorgeous clothes, realistic depictions of love and sex, etc.

YES LET'S GET ON WITH IT ALREADY

All the characters are noteworthy and deserving of praise, but I want to talk about George for just a minute. Normally I wouldn't give a pass to a character who is such an asshole, but George is so unabashedly a prick that you can't quite fault him for his innate personality. He goes out of his way to manipulate people--and not always in a bad way. Yukari transforms from a weak girl unsure of her future to a strong woman with a sense of purpose thanks to George's less-than-gentle prodding.

Laaaaadies... (And gentlemen too, apparently.)

I probably won't read the manga because for once, an anime properly adapted the entire comic from start to finish (it helps that the manga was only 5 volumes). But I want to give a special shout-out to the art of Ai Yazawa, which the anime faithfully retained. Yazawa's style is much different than the usual cookie-cutter moe characters with big googly eyes you normally associate with Japanese manga and anime, and she puts her fashion background to illustrious use. I guess my only real complaint is the bittersweet ending to Paradise Kiss, because I loves me some happy endings and ParaKiss doesn't wrap everything up in a nice little bowtie, but it certainly elicited all the feels inside of me. I'll leave you with a blog post someone else wrote that discusses the art of happy endings, and who put into words far better than I could what it means to have a satisfying conclusion to a series while still retaining a realistic nature.

We'll always have Paris... Just kidding Yukari doesn't go with George to France cue me crying all the tears