Paradise Kiss: A Love Story About Reality

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This post contains spoilers. You've been warned. 

Hey there, guys. As you may have noticed, I went past the Valentine's Day deadline for this particular post. I delayed this on purpose because the message behind this whole thing is the kind that we tend to ignore, especially when we strive for love. You probably think this is cynical me trying to tell you that love does not exist. On the contrary, I do believe in love. Rather, I think love is being viewed the wrong way.

THE WORLDY VIEW OF LOVE

As insecure as we can be, we can become very selfish and demand unrealistic expectations for this entity called love. We come up with lists of ideal traits for a partner and fantasize about romantic gestures (most prevalent during this time of the month), because we have this little belief that we are meant to be valued and that romantic love is the solution. Then we are hit with the reality, that love is not treated as this passive cure. You eventually learn that depending on your relationship on shallow romantic gestures does not keep the spark alive in the long run. And when the love story ends, we make this hasty conclusion that love was never real, and it's all just a shallow feeling. This is because some of us expected it to fix our plain lives in the most magical way possible, kind of like the ones we see in movies or on TV.

But love is not to be dealt with, selfishly. Love is putting all yourself and your prejudices aside, just to make room for someone who is worth that kind of effort. In short, it is a shared act of sacrifice, acceptance, kindness, & respect. Emphasis on shared, especially if this feeling is revolved around two people. Again, a lot of people ignore this side of love because it involves sacrifice. It's a very taboo word because sacrifice means letting go.  

Ironically, that's what the anime, "Paradise Kiss" has taught me.  

PARADISE KISS' PORTRAYAL OF THIS WORLDY VIEW OF LOVE

Created under the wing of MADHOUSE, Paradise Kiss came out during the 2000's and it is a 12-episode anime based on the manga by Ai Yawaza (Nana) of the same name. It even came out with a live action film produced by Warner Bros in 2011. It starts out as a romance between a high school student named Yukari and an aspiring fashion designer named George, but it ends as an coming-of-age story. It falls under the genre, "Josei" which means it is an adult anime, portraying realistic dilemmas that people deal with in everyday life. So it is safe to say that this is a tragic love story that ends with hitting the right notes.       

Although there were losses, the characters gain important lessons…even though it was painful. The characters do not end up together, but they were able to pursue their dreams. Paradise Kiss presents an interesting conflict between fantasy and reality. The dream was to simply have everything; their love, their friends, their recognition, and achievements. But the reality tells them that they cannot have it all. The anime revolves around these two polarizing forces, and the stakes become high when the fantasy wrestles with reality. Basically, our main characters want their dreams to meet with their reality. 

THE SETTING MEETS PATTERNS & DESIGN

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When the anime begins in the first episode, we are introduced to Shibuya, Tokyo shown in its most simplest form. This is how we meet Yukari's character. We learn immediately that her dilemma in life is to pass the college entrance exams to one of the top universities of the country. With this in mind, we know that Yukari views life in the most mundane & practical way possible, and it reflects in her surroundings and her uniform. But when she meets George and his friends, we are suddenly introduced to new patterns, designs, and colors. 

What sets Paradise Kiss from other anime is definitely the style of animation. The patterns are not just distinguishable, but they look like they have a life of their own. The clothes move with the characters, but their movement flows differently. It's like they are their own characters in a different reality. Quite fantastical, if you think about it. But all these colors and designs represent new ideas to the anime, particularly ideas that Yukari never knew existed. These different designs are in sync with the other characters because it shows how open-minded they are. When Yukari is being introduced to new perspectives and beliefs, this overwhelms her. But we soon see her wearing different outfits showing unique patterns, here she becomes accustomed to the situation and is slowly maturing as a person.   

THE FEELING OF BLUE

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The different hues of blue is the common color scheme in Paradise Kiss. Blue in anime, film, or on TV, is a color symbolism of fantasy or something unreal. This reflects how Yukari feels when she was starting to make decisions on her own; she sees the whole situation as a fantasy. Her love interest, George, is also seen as a fantasy. He has blue hair, for crying out loud. But apart from that, his charm and enigmatic personality is what draws Yukari completely to him. Whenever they have intimate scenes together, the hues of blue become more present in the background. 

As Yukari enters the world of fashion, she becomes enamored by it and tries to will it to reality. She does this by making a big decision to try modeling. The coming-of-age aspect of this anime comes when Yukari realizes that this was what she wanted to do in her life and that she didn't really have to attend University. But what makes Yukari a very unique character in the Josei category is that we learn that her insecurities stems from the people around her, telling her what she can and cannot do.  So it becomes empowering when she decides to not listen and tries to figure things out for herself. But as she becomes more independent, the first mistake she makes is believing that she can have it all; both George and her modeling career. This is Yukari's dream, her fantasy.

This fantastical love story is not one-sided. George does feel like he is in a fantasy whenever he's with Yukari; he just doesn't see it the way she does. George is the type of guy who already knows what he wants. Beyond that grand exterior, he is ambitious and idealistic. We learn that he has been this way for a long time, and this is because he's an illegitimate child with an emotionally-dependent mother. With this background, we realize George is very weary of his emotions, so he suppresses them and drives all his energy into his work. He even falls for girls who are just as ambitious as he is and most of the time he tries his best to avoid emotions. But when he meets Yukari, he likes being in love and he enjoys the pleasure of her company. Most of all, he realizes how lonely he was. When he notices that Yukari was becoming attached, he begins to worry that Yukari and he would lose sight of what was more important than their love. So he casually questions her, just to see if Yukari is making decisions for herself or for him. His fantasy lies in fulfilling his dreams, and having Yukari learn how to fulfill her own dreams without relying on him. The opening song, "Lonely In Gorgeous" is a possible reference to George's character, as the intro ends with these two looking at each other with a sense of longing. 

George & Yukari's first mistake as a couple, is that they make several attempts in fixing each other. Yukari keeps encouraging him to relax and to not think too much of his ambitions, whereas George wants Yukari to do things for herself and not for their relationship. The pair try to better each other based on what they think is ideal, but this is how they fail. They are not necessarily the best couple portrayed in media. Their relationship can be seen as toxic and sometimes, these characters can be a bit too dramatic. But Josei anime is not focused on showing what is ideal, rather it just shows what really happens. In the falling action, Yukari and George are no longer imposing their own fantasies on each other. They share their future plans, which have nothing to do with being together and this was accepted. They say goodbye in the darkest hue of blue and the anime reaches its end. This is when we learn that reality wins and the fantasy crumbled. 

TAKING THE CATWALK TO PARADISE 

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In the anime, Paradise Kiss is the brand name of the clothing line George's team intend to make together. The title itself represents a dream and the world of fashion is seen as fantasy to the main character's eyes. This is all thanks to unique animation and distribution to sound & design. Paradise Kiss represents everyone's overall fantasy of being together and fulfilling dreams together. In between the events, George's artistry is being questioned. There are characters who do not believe that George's ideas will match with that of the current fashion industry. They also think he will eventually fail as a designer. We also learn that their brand didn't sell enough clothes and their only hope was the success of the graduation fashion show. They didn't get this either. Reality has won, and the characters are forced to come up with alternative plans for their lives. This was not seen as a total loss, but as an opportunity to face new frontiers and new dreams. 

The final dress represents the same dream as well. George is seen changing the dress' design over and over, and this is because his perspective changes throughout the course of the anime. The final dress showed a sad lesson that George learns. His dress tells us that their dreams were impossible and even if they weren't, they were extremely fragile. The blue roses represent the impossibility, while the butterfly accessories represent the fragility. Flowers and butterflies are common across the anime for a reason. They don't really suggest a sense of femininity, but rather they show uncertainty and the beauty of life. Overall, the dress, flowers, and butterflies are physical symbols of all their fantasies. When Yukari was strutting with all of these elements on the catwalk during the finale, it was a literal goodbye to all of their dreams.  

THE FINAL ROMANTIC GESTURE 

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There are few romantic gesture cliches George does for Yukari. He gives her a new haircut, a set of pretty clothes, a personalized butterfly ring, and most of the time he treats her like a queen. But he didn't do those things just so she could feel special. He did those things in hopes that Yukari changes in the way he expects her to. In the very end, George's final act of romance  had a different approach and a new sense of purpose.  He decided to give all of his fashion pieces to Yukari. This is a common gesture an artist would do with their muses, and it's a sign of mutual respect and trust. In this particular case, this is a sign that George changed as well. He no longer forces Yukari to do random things like in the beginning. Instead, he shows Yukari that he still loves her in spite of their shortcomings, by entrusting his life's work to her. 

OVERALL WESTERN INFLUENCE ON REGRETS

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The final scene shows us Yukari doing a monologue about what happened to her. She became a successful model and she was about to see a play, where George is the costume designer. It ends on a sad note, because even if things turned out okay, there are still regrets. This ending is oddly similar to popular Hollywood films like Casa Blanca, Roman Holiday, and the more recent La La Land. In fact the style and tone was highly influenced by the British-American film "Velvet Goldmine". I think George Koizumi's character is similar to that of the main character portrayed by Jonathan Rhys Myers (Yes. VALENTINE OF THAT TMI MOVIE WTF). I guess it kind of explains why the ending song was performed by a British Artist called Franz Ferdinand. And it's a really good song that was able to voice out the characters' desires.

The overall anime even has a strange western influence to it, especially in the ending. It emulated the bittersweet endings between couples who meet again by fate. But just like La La Land, our characters do not meet  again as a couple, but as individuals. The ending touches heavily on regrets and what could've been, and this is a popular story-telling device in dramas. But this seemed more reliant in the western view, as most of mainstream dramas in the east rely too much on happy endings or on melodramas where the couples only learn to move on. In the western view, endings like this come out as more individualistic, making the characters realize that there is more to their life than falling in love. This is the kind of ending Paradise Kiss gives us. 

Sometimes pursuing your dreams usually means having to sacrifice the things that brings us comfort…like our home, friends, vices, and even our love lives. Yukari could have easily followed George to Paris, or  George could have just put his career path on hold for Yukari. But they both realize their dreams were more valuable to them, hence the civil yet painful separation. They both knew it was the right decision. If you truly love someone, you should not hold them back. You should respect their decisions, even if it means not having your relationship in the picture. 

Paradise Kiss shows us a reality that most of us do not want to face, because a lot of us want to bank on the idea that we can achieve our dreams and still have a hot attractive partner by our side. However, we have to keep in mind that our partners are still autonomous beings with their own set of ideas and dreams. If we truly want to have love, we must listen to our partners and support their choices no matter what. Most of all, we have to learn as early as possible that our partners will not always revolve their decisions around you. This is hard to accept at first because we enter relationships to be valued. We think of ourselves first before the person and we subtly become disappointed when our partners do other things that does not involve giving you attention. When this happens, it is up to us to give the love and attention that we deserve. A little balance of loving your partner and yourself are the first steps to a good relationship, and it requires a lot of patience and communication. 

Love based on flowers and grand dinner dates are great and all, but a love based on mutual trust and respect is the one that will truly lead us to Paradise. This is Tama-chan, and I pray that you find happiness. Happy Chinese New Year. 

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