Dec 5, 2022
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18. Playful Kiss
Manga: Itazura na Kiss
Author: Tada Kaoru
Itazura na Kiss by Tada Kaoru
Мой персонаж в стиле мангаки Тада Каору. Ну, или попытка
Itazura Na Kiss by Kaoru Tada
‘Sweet airhead Kotoko has finally worked up the courage to tell Class A genius Naoki about her overwhelming crush! She pens the perfect love letter, walks up to him in the crowded school hallway, and… is publicly rejected! Luckily, Kotoko’s Class F has her back, and her best friends do everything possible to help her forget the devastating dis. But when a minor earthquake levels Kotoko’s home, she and her father must move in with an old college buddy and his family. The biggest shock of them all? It’s Naoki’s house… and the two feuding schoolmates must learn to live under one roof and keep it a secret! Will the arrangement be domestic bliss, or a total bust? Itazura na Kiss lets the rumors fly as ditzy Kotoko and top student Naoki discover the highs and lows of school drama, meddling families and friendly feuds! Kotoko wants nothing more than to let Naoki know her true feelings, but when he refuses to even knowledge her existence, Kotoko pledges to write him off forever. Too bad the two are forced to become housemates… and their families waste no time hatching a plot to marry them off! Will Kotoko and Naoki weather the storm of gossip and finally see eye-to-eye… and maybe even heart-to-heart?’
Book Review: no spoilers I was going to summarise the shojo manga, but then I realised that the blurb basically did that. This is the first manga that I have ever read, and owned… and I loved it. But I knew that I was going to love it. This is the manga series that loads of my favourite Asian TV shows is based on like Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo (Japanese), Playful Kiss (South Korean), and Miss In Kiss (Taiwanese). I am planning on watching the Thai version, Kiss Me, in the summer, after exams are done. Plus I've bought the Anime on dvd, so that is shipping for Malaysia. You know that I love the story if I am watching all the different adaptations haha. So it is my aim for 2017 to get the entire manga series. This will be expensive, but I love the series so much, that I think it is worth me collecting it… Even if I have to ship the books from America to the UK.
Kotoko is not a strong female character. She basically does everything for Naoki (whether he likes it or not), so she is definitely not the depiction of feminism. But at the same time, I relate to her. In my friendship, and my relationship, I will do virtually anything for my friends or my boyfriend… just not like how Kotoko would do it. But I think what people find troublesome is not how she almost virtually worships Naoki, but how he treats her. He treats her like a nuisance, and almost with contempt. See I know that in the series, he starts to like/love her after a while (which is why he does sweet things for her), so I don’t particularly see it as a problem. It’s more of Naoki not knowing how to deal with his feelings, rather than him being narcissistic and playing games with her feelings. At least that’s how I see it. I have kinda given something away, so I am sorry if that will annoy anyone, but it is kinda obvious that Naoki likes Kotoko, even though he’s mean to her. And you also have to think of different cultures. In Japan, and maybe other countries, they like standoffish boys. Boys that don’t show their feelings, it’s their not necessarily ideal man, but they do like that quality in men, so you have to understand culturally as well. What we might not deem as acceptable, they would. But I like Naoki.
It is a good manga series. I would recommend it to people who like romance ones. But I would probably recommend people to read it online, because it would be free and easily accessible. I am buying the series in paperback because I want the whole series in a physical copy, but that’s going to cost me a couple hundred pounds.
I would give it a 10/10, because it is my favourite manga series, and I love all the adaptions, and I will watch the other adaptions (a movie is coming out too). I would just not recommend it if you need strong female characters in what you read.
Love Lou xx
Itazura na Kiss by Tada Kaoru
Haruruyo! Koi by Tada Kaoru
Aishite Knight by Tada Kaoru