名稱
簡介
Paradise KissWritten by popular mangaka Ai Yazawa, Paradise Kiss has been widely read by young people since it portrays the feelings that many young people the world over tend to experience making it a story easy to resonate with. This comic is widely read not only in Japan, but in many countries around the world. The Paradise Kiss manga has been translated from Japanese to at least nine different languages,Chinese(Taiwan and Hong Kong), Korean, French, Italian, Polish, Thai, German, Spanish and English. The English version is published by TOKYOPOP.
The characters
Yukari "Caroline" Hayasaka (早坂紫 Hayasaka Yukari) - A high school student who is tired of her meaningless and repetitive life, she ends up modelling for George's designs.
Jouji "George" Koizumi (小泉譲二 Koizumi Jōji) - An eccentric but handsome student of Yazagaku who has an extraordinary talent as a fashion designer. He has a lot of extravagant ideas, which are not always accepted by the general public.
Miwako Sakurada(櫻田実和子 Sakurada Miwako) - A student of Yazagaku who works with George to run their own brand, Paradise Kiss. She is the younger sister of the creator of the Happy Berry brand. She is very sweet and cute, and tends to act in a rather childlike manner.
Arashi Nagase (永瀬嵐 Nagase Arashi- Miwako's boyfriend and a student of Yazagaku who also works with George to run Paradise Kiss. He is the son of a musician and a guitarist in a punk band. He tends to act rough, but can be very caring. He also has quite an assortment of facial piercings.
Daisuke "Isabella" Yamamoto (山本大助 Yamamoto Daisuke) - A very tall, mysterious, transgendered Yazagaku student, who has been a good friend of George's since childhood. He prefers to be thought of as a woman, and is mortified when referred to by his real name.
Hiroyuki Tokumori(徳森浩行 Tokumori Hiroyuki) - Yukari's classmate, as well as the object of her affections at the beginning of the story. Hiroyuki was once in love with Miwako, but Arashi forbid her from seeing him. He is very intelligent and handsome. He eventually falls for Yukari.
Kaori Aso (麻生香 Asō Kaori)- 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.
Story
Yukari Hayasaka lives the typical life of a Japanese high school senior. She is constantly under the stress of her mother, who desperately wants her to succeed as a student. Walking the streets, Yukari is accosted by Arashi who tells her she has the perfect look. Shocked by his bizarre appearance and uncomprehending of his intentions, Yukari tries to escape, but bumps into Isabella, is "captured" by "her", faints, and is brought to the Paradise Kiss atelier.
She regains consciousness in the studio and meets the kind and childlike Miwako. The trio explains that they are students at the unique art school Yazawa Gakuen(School), and they ask her to be their model for the school's annual fashion show. At first she angrily declines and leaves in a huff, dropping her student ID.
Soon after, she meets their eccentric leader/designer, George, who under the guise of returning the ID book, introduces Yukari to the world of fashion, to the world of Paradise Kiss. Drawn by the allure of Paradise Kiss members' determination and George's charisma, Yukari is quickly swept off her feet and into the cut-throat world of fashion and romance.
Anime
Produced by Madhouse Studios, the Paradise Kiss anime began airing on October 10, 2005. Some well-known personages are staffed on the production of ParaKiss including director Osamu Kobayashi and Nobuteru Yūki, character designer and animation director for the opening sequence. The opening theme song, "Lonely in Gorgeous," is performed by Tommy february6 aka Tomoko Kawase, vocals for band The Brilliant Green. The ending features Franz Ferdinand's hit song "Do You Want To" over animation by the experimental animator Hiroyuki Imaishi.
