Thursday 5 February 2015

Manga Review : Paradise Kiss by Yazawa Ai



Title: Paradise Kiss
Original Title: Paradise Kiss
Author: Yazawa Ai
Artist: Yazawa Ai

Year of Release: 2000
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Josei, Mature, Romance, Tragedy

Status: Completed 
Chapters (Translated in English): 48
Volumes & Chapters:
Volume 1 Chapter 1-10
Volume 2 Chapter 11-20
Volume 3 Chapter 21-30
Volume 4 Chapter 31-38
Volume 5 Chapter 39-48


Summary

Yukari wants nothing more than to make her parents happy by studying hard and getting into a good college. One afternoon, however, she is kidnapped by a group of self-styled fashionistas calling themselves "Paradise Kiss." Yukari suddenly finds herself flung into the roller-coaster life of the fashion world, guided by George, art-snob extraordinaire. In a glamorous makeover of body, mind and soul, she is turned from a hapless bookworm into her friends22 own exclusive clothing model.
In this manga we meet characters from Gokinjo Monogatari like Mikako (and her little sister, Miwako - she's in "ParaKiss" staff) and Arashi father (only poster, but still) and new like Isabella.

My Thoughts

Review covers all chapters 


I actually stayed up all night to finish this manga. Why I chose it? No idea, I was roaming on youtube some of my favourite videos and somehow the video about thi manga came up. I liked it, and because it was made as an anime I made a tick in my brain to watch it some other time. Howeve, after getting back from my friend’s place at about 1 a.m. and starting with absolutely different book to read, something clicked in my brain and I said, I want to read this one right now. I started it, and when I finished it, it was already 7 in the morning.

Even though this manga was written about 15 years ago and depending that all old mangas have a really specific drawing, this one had a quite modern approach to many facial features. The story is about a girl who has nothing special and then she gets asked to be a model for a group of very extravagant cloths designers. The story has many ideas which are great for teens. It covers that period of our lives when we have no freaking idea as to what we want to do, and everyone is just saying: “Study, study, study, get into a uni and you’ll figure it out”. But what if we do not know what we want to even study? Well, meet our heroine – Yukari, she is just like all of us who did not know what we wanted to do when we were 17 or 18.

If you have read at least 2 shoujo mangas, there is a specific patterm. The girl always stays with the very first guy she falls in love with. Well, here’s your disappointment. The first time I saw breaking of that pattern in “Daytime Shooting Star”, but then I read Paradise Kiss and to my utter disappointment she doesn’t stay with George. But then here what I tried to think, wasn’t he her second love? Then the pattern wasn’t broken right? However, the first guy – Tokumori, he only saw her when she got pretty or something. So we can’t really say anything. And well even though I like the Yukari and George pair, somehow George was not a really boyfriend material if you ask me. I think I’m getting tangled up in my thought.

Why I think thus us a good manga? It teaches us, that not all of us know what our dreams are, and that we should not be discouraged by that. We can find them in quite abnormal situations, but my advice to you: If you found something that you like and want to do it your whole life. Try making that dream into a reality, but try not to go overbroad, but be who you are.

I hope you will get your own copy and it will give you some insight into a lifestyle of a highschool girl. It may seem that you will find yourself in Yukari. Enjoy 48 chapters of amazing life portrayed by Yazawa Ai.

XOXO


Katie

Rating


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