oyceter | Yazawa Ai - Paradise Kiss, vol. 04-05 (Eng. trans.)

(Now trying to post this for the 18th time.... LJ, never leave me again!)

This is one of Yazawa's weaker series, and probably her weakest since before Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai, which is when I think she both found her art style and her voice. I am a little happier with it now that I've read the ending; while I can see why some people might dislike it, the end actually made me like the series more.

Spoilers for series

I think my problem with the series was that it was, in the end, about people trying to make unworkable relationships work. And I respect that as a narrative choice, particularly in the realm of shoujo, where you have True Love and marriage after high school in the spades. But I think I would have enjoyed it much more if the balance between "making the relationship work" and "realizing it won't" were more balanced. Instead, I got four and a half volumes of Yukari's attempts to make her relationship with George work, and I was screaming, "Nooooo! He is Not the One! He is not even close to being the One! He is on an entirely separate planet labelled Wrong and Bad!"

Ahem.

I don't hate George. I just think he is selfish and spoiled and bratty. Same with Arashi. And while I want to shake Miwako and Yukari a bit for staying with them, I generally feel that being selfish, spoiled and bratty is worse than enabling it (if both people are adults, mature or not).

As such, I wasn't very grumpy at all when Yukari realized that they just wouldn't work together, that they never really did. Because that was exactly what I had been thinking during the earlier volumes. I do wish that Miwako hadn't married Arashi, but... ah well.

The thing is, even when I was grumpy and upset, I could see that the characterization was pretty good; I have seen so many relationships like that with my friends that it was completely believable. But that's also why it was so frustrating! I'm usually the friend going around yelling, "Just break up with him/her! It is not working!" And then when it goes on even longer, I start tearing at my hair. On the other hand, the pacing did feel off, and hopefully I am not just saying this because I was frustrated by four volumes of on-again-off-again.

I think for the ending to have more effect, it should have happened a little earlier so that we could see why Miwako decided to stay with Arashi and how Yukari got over George, because a fast ten-year-skip to "Lalala I am great and happily married!" really doesn't cut it for me. It's somewhat annoying even when there is a happy ending, and it's downright criminal when there's a not-so-happy ending.

So. I'm still not quite sure what to think of the series as a whole; I don't think I'd actually rec it to anyone except a Yazawa completist, but if you've started it, it is worth continuing on to the end.

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I don't think I'd actually rec it to anyone except a Yazawa completist, but if you've started it, it is worth continuing on to the end.
Yeah, I think that kind of sums up my reaction to it. In some ways Arashi annoys me more than George; I get the feeling George knows when he's being an asshole, but Arashi probably doesn't.

Ooo, yeah. I really wanted Miwako to leave Arashi and maybe not end up with what's-his-face, or for Yukari to not end up with what's-his-face also. I lament the lack of cool single women in shoujo.

But Isabella! Is awesome!

I keep hoping George came to his senses and is with Isabella at the end, but you can't tell.

I agree that the pacing is off. However, it was the first Yazawa available in English, and actually serves fairly well as an introduction to her art style and way of skewing conventions. I retain a strange fondness for it.

I kind of love it too. Especially Isabella.

Really I think my favorite moment is when Yukari's so happy that George slept facing her -- because hello, totally not important, but oh is teenage love exactly like that. I feel like it did a great job of representing emotionally real stuff, even if it wasn't always the stuff I wanted to have happen, and I hadn't read much like that when I first read Paradise Kiss.

Really I think my favorite moment is when Yukari's so happy that George slept facing her -- because hello, totally not important, but oh is teenage love exactly like that.

Oooo yes. I love Yazawa's focus on the everyday.

I suspect I would have liked this a lot more if I hadn't read a lot of Yazawa already...

Isabella is awesome! And dude! it would be so cool if George and Isabella ended up together.

*nods* I suspect I would like this series a lot more if I hadn't read almost all of Yazawa's other series before this one.

The ending did so much to redeem the series for me. I admit I picked PK up because it was a kind-of sequel to Gokinjo Monogatari. (Speaking of which, I don't suppose you or anyone else knows where to get translated version? I own the series in Japanese, but my langauge skills are not good enough to always know what's going on.) But like you, I spent most of the series wanting Yukari to figure out that George was not good for her as a romantic partner. And not really getting the Arashi/Miwako dynamic until the Big Revelation, at which point I moved to being horrified.

*cough*mangatraders.com*cough*

And not really getting the Arashi/Miwako dynamic until the Big Revelation, at which point I moved to being horrified.

Oh my gosh, yes! I was so horrified!

*cough*OMGthankyou!*cough*

I lost a lot of respect for Tokumori in that scene too. Especially since his relationship calls re: George and Yukari had been spot on. It really makes me wonder about Miwako's childhood that she thinks she has to assume something that hurts her was done with the best intentions, and it's her job to to smooth things over, rather than the other's person's to apologize.

^____^

Dude! Good call on Miwako's childhood; that's especially creepy given how she idolizes Mikako. I have no idea where I'm going with that, since I forgot all details about their home life from Gokinjo, but still. That would be awesome fic fodder.

The two biggest differences I can think of between Mikako and Miwako is that most of Mikako's childhood was spent with her parents divorced, and that until Yukari shows up, it doesn't seem like Miwako has any female friends. So, present father, plus lack of female companionship, plus little girl mannerisms, for me equals creepy as hell. Shoot, I may have to fic this.

Fic it! Fic it!

(I am still so disturbed!)

I hope you don't mind me thinking out loud. I know how I would structure it, and I know how I'll do the Arashi and Tokumori bits. I'm trying to figure out her home life, because I don't think it was anything overtly sexual there. Maybe there'd be an unconscious expectation (by her parents or even herself, seeing how she idolized Mikako) that she'd follow the same path romantically? Or maybe her parents, starting over in their marriage at the same time Mikako leaves home, think Miwako is Mikako, version 2.0 and don't modify their parenting to her different personality? I've been thinking in circles on this one.

Not at all! I only wish I had more to add, except I read Gokinjo so long ago that I don't remember much at all!

I wish I remembered more of this series. ^_^;; The comments are intriguing, but I can't remember what they're referring to. XD

I enjoyed this series okay, but never really got into it, partly because it was one of those reeeeeeally slow ones that came out like one volume a year, so I would forget it all and lose my momentum before the next one came out. I was originally excited because it was a sequel to Gokinjo and was all about the next generation and everything, but it just didn't grab me.

Isabella and George would make me so happy, though. *_*

Hee! Yeah, I think part of my problem with the series was that I read vols. 1 and 2 a year or so before reading the end.

I'm also, um, not that fond of Gokinjo. But that may just be because I've only read it once or something! I think also in general, I'm less interested in the fashion industry stuff.

Isabella/George would be awesome! Hrm. Must think about my Yuletide requests...

I'm not sure how well I would like Gokinjo on a reread. It's been...probably like seven or eight years since I read it (I think I discovered it right around when it was ending or maybe a little before or after). At the time, I really liked it because it was so different from all the shoujo I'd seen before (especially different compared to other Ribon stuff!).

And argh, the thought of Isabella/George makes me want to do Yuletide this year after all. I was thinking I'd give it a miss because I was bad and defaulted last year and still haven't done a NYR to make up for it.

Yeah, I think it'll be interesting rereading Gokinjo, especially if I reread in English (I originally read it in Chinese, which means I read 20 times slower and with 50% less comprehension!).

Doooooo Yuletide..... you know you want to ;).

Yazawa Ai - Paradise Kiss, vol. 04-05 (Eng. trans.)

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