Paradise Kiss : Series Info

The purpose of this review is to give you a general impression about the series in the hope that it'll attract people to the series. Well, not that this particular series actually needs it since it already has installed loyal fanbase thanks to the manga (and I'm one of  them haha... ). In the manga, George is more of a jerk for the way he treats Yukari. However, in the anime itself he seems a much nicer person.

Original Manga
Original Title: 「パラダイス　キス」 (Paradise Kiss)
Authored by: Yazawa Ai
Serialised in: Zipper magazine

Broadcast information
Starting date: 13 October 2005
Station: Fuji TV
Animation Studio: MadHouse
Character Designer: Nobuteru Yuki

Opening Theme
Lonely in Gorgeous Clip
Performed by Tommy february6

Ending Theme
Do You Want To Clip
Performed by Franz Ferdinand

About the series
Created by Yazawa Ai, the author of the popular Nana series (I love Nana too!!!), Paradise Kiss is essentially about a group of 5 students who struggle with their love life and their future in the fashion design industry. The lead character, Hayasaka Yukari, started out as an ice-queen type of a character who wanted nothing to do with the other students when they ask her to become a model for their design. She, however, quickly becomes entangled with the group when the group's leader and main fashion designer, Koizumi 'George' Jouji, shows a personal interest in her. Jouji somehow gives me a deja vu feeling of Travis.

Despite what some people might expect, however, this is actually quite different from its Noitamina predecessor, Honey and Clover. Honey and Clover takes a much relaxed approach to its story-telling and most of its characters are actually likeable despite their flaws. Paradise Kiss, on the other hand, features a faster-paced storyline and characters that at times border on unlikeable but capable of creating conflicts and melodrama. Whether or not the series is as good or as enjoyable as Honey and Clover is subjective to what you prefer in a storyline. As for me, I hate the ending. It's just so sad...

Characters (SPOILER!!!)
Yukari "Caroline" Hayasaka [早坂紫] / Voiced by: Yu Yamada
Yukari is the heroine of the story, a high school student who is tired of the meaningless and repetitive life that has been forced upon her by her uptight mother. She eventually models for Paradise Kiss after being "kidnapped" by Isabella and whisked away to Paradise Kiss' "atelier". She is often referred to, inexplicably, as "Caroline" by Miwako.

Yukari begins the series as a pretty faced, yet rather unattractive in personality, high school senior that studies dutifully for university entrance exams. When she meets the ParaKiss crew, she begins to discover new depth to her personality and life. Her passionate and sometimes destructive relationship with George is key to this self-discovery. Yukari is competitive, quick to blame others, and desperately wants to experience more; George often points out the flaws in her personality, but admits that he finds them alluring, claiming that she was "born into this world to drive [him] crazy." At the end of the series, Yukari ends up marrying her schoolmate, Hiroyuki Tokumori. (Although this is revealed during the last volume of the manga, the last episode of the series only hints at their marriage.)

George Koizumi [小泉譲二] / Voiced by: Kenji Hamada
George is an eccentric, handsome, and extremely charismatic student of Yazagaku who has extraordinary talent with a gift for fashion design, haute couture in particular. Despite his cold demeanor, he has extravagant ideas on everything, most of which are not accepted by the general public. He wants Yukari to become an independent woman, as well as a girl that will take responsibility for her own mistakes. He considers himself bisexual, or as he says, "an equal opportunity lover"; he also makes constant reference to how good he is with knots, and offers to tie people up repeatedly. His appearance is loosely based on Brian Slade of Velvet Goldmine, and several references to the film are made by him in the manga. He has distinctive blue hair and eyes, making Yukari humorously question if he is an alien. George can come off as cold and manipulative--Arashi warns Yukari that he is "not a man that will make a woman happy"--but he deeply cares for Yukari. George is the one to steal Yukari's virginity, even mocking her for it during sex. The lifestyle that he lives is top-notch; he lives in a loft apartment and drives a vintage Jaguar, but because his mother was merely a mistress, he rarely sees his father. Regardless, his mother dryly complains that he looks and acts just like him. At the end of the series, it is shown that he has designed the costumes for a Broadway show.

Miwako Sakurada [櫻田実和子] / Voiced by: Marika Matsumoto
A student of Yazagaku who works with George to run their own brand, Paradise Kiss. She is the younger sister of the Happy Berry brand's creator/president, Mikako Kouda, who is the protagonist in Ai Yazawa's Gokinjo Monogatari work. She is exceptionally sweet and cute. Miwako tends to act in a rather childlike manner, both in her Lolita style dress and unique vocabulary. She owns a cat named Josefine. At the end of the manga, Yukari and Hiroyuki talk about Miwako, who is married with Arashi and they have a daughter named Erica, who looks more like him.

Arashi Nagase [永瀬嵐/ / Voiced by: Shunsuke Mizutani
Arashi is a student of Yazagaku with a taste for punk style, piercings, and alternative music. He is Miwako's boyfriend, they have both known each other--along with Hiroyuki Tokumori--from childhood. Miwako later reveals that she "chose" Arashi over Hiroyuki when the three of them began high school. Even though Arashi has a generally cynical, sometimes abrasive personality, he does care deeply about those around him. When the members of ParaKiss engage in outrageous behavior, Arashi is usually the voice of reason. He is the son of a musician, Kanzaki Risa, who is a good friend of Mikako Kouda. (Both characters appear in Gokinjo Monogatari.)

Daisuke "Isabella" Yamamoto [山本大助] / Voiced by: Chiharu Suzuka
Isabella is the mother figure to the members of ParaKiss. This tall Yazagaku student is the epitome of high class and femininity. Isabella inspired George's very first dress during childhood, and often had the habit of taking every piece of clothing that he finished. Isabella encourages Yukari when she needs it the most, whether it be regarding George or her abandoned studies. Notably, Isabella is actually a crossdresser, and she is mortified when anyone refers to her as 'Daisuke', her birth name.

Hiroyuki Tokumori [徳森浩行] / Voiced by: Noriyuki Uchino
Yukari's classmate, an intelligent and handsome young man who happens to be the object of Yukari's affections at the beginning of the story. Hiroyuki was once in love with Miwako, but Arashi forbade her from seeing him. He eventually falls for Yukari, who foolishly assumed that he'd never date a girl like her. The two later marry. Son of Gokinjo Monogatari character, Hiroaki Tokumori ("Toku-chan").

Kaori Aso [麻生香] / Voiced by: Miho Saiki
A former Yazagaku student who is now studying abroad. She has romantic feelings for her old friend George, but knows that he is not the type to make a woman happy.

Paradise Kiss official site from Zipper magazine