Itazura Na Kiss – Season Roundup
Most. Awkward. Teatime. Ever.
Bullet train summary version
When last I left everyone, let’s see… Oh no. I’m late again. I fear for my future, what with about 37 or so younger and better-looking bloggers joining Yukan since my last post. Well, I have excuses, but you don’t want to hear them. You want to hear about how the shit hit the fan in the past 3 or 4 episodes of Itazura Na Kiss. And it did.
Naoki decided that he was inspired by Kotoko’s urging and his brother’s illness to become a doctor. After all, he’s smart enough, and he cares so little about everything that a patient dying on him would be an inconvenience at best. Perfect candidate! Plus, with his John Stamos looks and style, once he gets old he can make a comeback on television’s E.R. Unfortunately, his pops ain’t happy about that. In fact, he has a damn heart attack right there.
The irony is, when you have a heart attack, who do you call? That’s right. Doctor. Case closed.
But it’s like some cosmic “Reset” button snaps Naoki out of everything — his aspirations of doctorhood, his growing soft side, and his admission of affection for Kotoko.
So back on the path of inheriting the company it is. In fact, he’s getting talked into an arranged marriage for the convenience of the company. But it gets worse.
Not only is she rich, beautiful, polite, smart, and charming — she’s a Brittanian! Treason! Banzai Nippon!
Seriously, though, Irie meeting Christine-call-me-Chris made for some really really freaking awesome Engrish. Holy. Shit.
Irie and his lovely honky move quickly, and despite Mama Irie’s best efforts to ruin everything, the marriage looks all but inevitable. But is it for the company, or is it for his own feelings, as he insists?
Amidst all this, we have Kin-chan moving in for the kill. As his culinary skills improve and desperation takes hold, he boldly proposes to Kotoko.
And she almost accepts too, but as Kin-chan gets a little too upfront with his advances and she pushes him away, it’s not his name that escapes her mouth. It’s Irie-kun’s, of course.
And then…
The final moment of the final episode of the season is one of those reasons that we, the fans of this series, are in fact fans. We’re brought down to the final depths of despair, in our empathy for poor Kotoko, the spurned Kin-chan, frustrated Mama Irie, Yuuki, and even self-sacrificing Naoki — and then we’re pulled up.
Naysayers will probably see it as an example of predictability. After all, doesn’t it all seem like it’s going to turn out exactly the way it “should?” But we had a hard row to hoe just to get to this point. Itazura has been a subtly (for the genre) emotional show up until now, giving us just the right amount of pathos and near-tragedy so that when a big bomb of an episode like this one drops, it’s that much more powerful. And we’re reminded that, despite heart attacks, appendicitis, and marriage proposals, Engrish moments, and being lost in the woods, everything takes a back seat drama-wise to the central conflict, which remains Kotoko vs. her feelings for Irie.
If the rest of Itazura Na Kiss focuses on the ups and downs in a real relationship after the unrequited part ends (as I believe the manga did), we could be in for a real dip in the enjoyment factor, or a real win for the kind of story that we don’t normally see in anime.
OK, I now know that shoujo is definitely not for me, as I still see Kotoko as naive and Irie as an asshole, even after the major event that happened with them. I do want to know how it ends though… Off to read episode summaries!
You do still want to blog Birdy, don’t you? I just want to know if I should continue hear or at my home blog. Please don’t hurt me
Omisyths last blog post..Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu First Impressions: This show is absolute GENIUS
Not sure if I can be considered a “fan” if I only watch it for the comedic parts rather than the romance… which were lacking in quality lately.
FFVIIKnights last blog post..Black Lagoon (manga) – More Omake!
But even with all that drama and tension, we still know what the ending would be like.
The Sojourners last blog post..OH MY GOODNESS. OUR GENDERBENDING HARUHI PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED
“Naysayers will probably see it as an example of predictability. ”
i don’t think itazura na kiss is one of those anime where you will think about “why they get together?” but WHEN and HOW! everyone who watches this anime may get through a lot of emotional rollercoaster of hating character A then loving character A from one episode to another, but what got me hooked in here is the “it’s so simple it’s stupid plot.”
but yes, now that naoki and kotoko are finally together, i start to wonder what will be the entertainment value from hereon out.
biankitas last blog post..Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu 01
The second half of the Itazura will probably be a whole new show – so I’m sticking it on my abysmally short Summer Season watchlist
issa-sas last blog post..Chocolate Underground 4: Last episode was Hell, THIS is Heaven!
I don’t actually watch the anime version of Itazura but I watched the Taiwanese live-action drama of it. It’s really funny
metatr0ns last blog post..Monster Hunter Orage
“but yes, now that naoki and kotoko are finally together, i start to wonder what will be the entertainment value from hereon out.”
That’s the only reason I stared watching Itaruza in the first place. I actually thought they would get together faster.
But I was reminded that I like shujo (though Kimi Kiss ~ Pure Rofl left a pretty bad stain), and I even started watching Bokura ga Ita yesterday :X
“but yes, now that naoki and kotoko are finally together, i start to wonder what will be the entertainment value from hereon out.”
“That’s the only reason I stared watching Itaruza in the first place. I actually thought they would get together faster.”
@Cokematic: i always find that in shoujo, when a couple gets together early out, they either: break up, become less of a comedy and get really boring, or both. well, i’m sure that itazura’s not gonna take that break-up route. well… all i hope is they can keep up the pace without going bland.
biankitas last blog post..Final (???) Round of Anime for Summer 08 Season
From what I posted in my blog, I can’t say my feelings have grown at all for Naoki at all. Even in marriage, it’s still very frustrating to watch Irie treat his wife the way he did since the beginning.
Humanes last blog post..Itazura na Kiss
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