Mischievous kiss

There’s not much to say about Itazura na Kiss that hasn’t already been said, ad nauseum, elsewhere. At this point, it’s generic shojo, vintage 1990; kind of like Fruits Basket, but not as immediately endearing. I’m two episodes in and the characters have yet to evolve beyond their archetypal roles. We have this unlikely pair, the stuck-up boy (Naoki) and the clumsy girl (Kotoko), set for an unlikely romance.

Kotoko is a nice person and I can’t help but cheer her on. I guess I have a weakness for this brand of shojo, as, in many ways, it’s fairly dull (the colours are washed out and there’s no obvious fan-pandering), yet, almost immediately, I’m into the characters. I think it’s that they try to hide their fallibility, or insecurity, and I find that blatant in-perfection hard to resist. That said, I’m not sure I would be bothering with this if I wasn’t aware that rather simply ending once Naoki and Kotoko inevitably hook-up, the story forges ahead, beyond high school and into marriage. Though, at this point, it’s admittedly familiar stuff, the idea of exploring the ups and downs of a relationship over years, possibly even decades, is quite fascinating.