Itazura na Kiss ~Series Review~

In my first impression for this series, which seems so long ago from now, I mentioned how I didn’t really enjoy the first episode and it gave me the impression that it was like every other romance anime… Well, I’m here to say that I completely take back that comment, Itazura na Kiss not only got better and better, but the story was probably at the heart of all the romance series! I still didn’t fell that this was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen because some of the arcs were just boring, but it still managed to entertain me the whole thing. It also had a great opening and ending them, I really loved the songs!

One of the most important things you must keep in my mind with a series like this, is that they have many skips in time. Sometimes, it can be months or even many years, but once you get used to it, you sort of start to like it. The story started off with a dumb girl named Kotoko who fell in love with a genius boy named Irie (You can see how I thought this series would be like any other at first I hope). Though, after she writes him a love letter and he rejects, things only become more complicated from there. Her own house gets destroyed and she ends up having to stay at her father’s friend’s house, which was none other than the home of Irie. The series demonstrates trials of love and the extent Kotoko will take to get the one man she wants. The series is also quite comical, but often the same jokes are repeatedly used, even if they weren’t that funny to begin with. None of the jokes were all that great anyway.

The series had a nice message to it, which is the classic never give up statement. Kotoko never stopped trying to win Irie’s love over no matter how cold he acted. Though, even that got annoying at one point, only because even when the finally marry, she still ends up having worries over their relationship! Though, I can understand her worries to a certain extent, even I felt badly for her at times when Irie was ignoring her a little too much. Overall, the characters in the series were very interesting. The development with each one was definitely noticeable and whenever they had a skip in time, it was also evident with each character. The characters in general, were also all extremely enjoyable and really added something extra to an otherwise average storyline.

The animation style wasn’t anything outstanding, but it captures the time period it really wants to achieve perfectly! The music isn’t all that great either, but it wasn’t really used that often anyway, so it never made that big of an impact on me. Though, as I’ve already mentioned, I did really like the opening and ending themes, which is definitely a plus!

This series really had charm and easily captivated me as soon as I really got into the series. It had some great moments, but also some boring moments, so even if I did really enjoy myself for the most part, I realize how it still has it faults. Though, it did leave me more open to the idea that we should have more classic romances out there! I also like how the everything left me on a positive note. At first I wanted the series to just end at episode 24, but after actually seeing the 25th episode, I realized it was actually a nice added touch, even if did feel more like a special. I would recommend this to anyone who would like something from a romance genre.  Remember now, you should always try your best, no matter how stupid you are! 😉