Paradise Kiss is a Japanese live action film based on the five volume manga of the same name by Yazawa Ai whose other notable works include Gokinjo Monogatari, Kagen No Tsuki and Nana.
At the start of the story we are introduced to Hayasaka Yukari. A senior high school student who is studying hard for her university entrance exams. Her life is dull and repetitive and she is struggling to concentrate on her studies. After a misunderstanding in the middle of the street, her life changes dramatically when she encounters some creative, wildly dressed fashion students from Yazagaku Fashion School.
The good
* Kitagawa Keiko's portrayal as Yukari was spot on. Started off stubborn and cynical, judging the fashion students over what they did but eventually grew to respect their creativity.
* I truly heart Isabella. S/he needs to be my roommate. The portrayal was close to the Manga and I was beyond happy. I wasn't sure if the film would really get a guy to play Isabella but then they did. Kudos to Igurashi Shunji for bravely dressing up like that.
* Nagase Arashi [Kaku Kento] and Sakurada Miwako [Omasa Aya] both matched the Manga counterparts. Can't really complain about them other than I was sad that Arashi and George didn't have their hair dyed. I originally thought Miwako's actress wasn't cute enough but I warmed up to her very quickly while watching the film. At least they kept the "CAROLINE" in. With Tokumori Hiroyuki [Yamamoto Yusuke] he was sweet just like in the original story. He was definitely put into the side character role here.
* The music. Opening theme tune Hello by YUI is so nice. It's like the daily routine song you listen to when you're getting ready for school or work.
* The clothes. I'm no stylist but dear god those dresses were pretty. I couldn't wear them as I'm no super model. Gok Wan sbould watch this film. He might gush.
* How George walked into the classroom to find Yukari. School girls go crazy. What a fangirl dream.
* George's expression as he watches Yukari dazzle in the blue dress on the catwalk.
The bad
* Koizumi George [Mukai Osamu] As handsome as the actor was, I think George's portrayal was the one that disappointed me the most and I normally like his character from the Manga. It's like the scriptwriters had made him more of a mean guy. He's supposed to have charisma, charm and amusing cockiness. I was wary over how forceful he could be towards Yukari, trying to make moves on her when she said no. Boo to the stereotype trap. I'd hate to see a Westerner think all Japanese guys were like that. But then again those kinds of guys aren't limited to Japanese anyway. I found he was much more open in his emotions in the live action when it comes to being caring. I just didn't expect the shouting and easily angered nature at all.
* My only gripe with Yukari's character was that she started off too pretty. I expected her to look a little scruffy and... well a little ugly before having her hair done by Seiji.
* I found the chemistry between George and Yukari was sometimes hard to believe when I compared it to the Manga and Anime sources. Before marking my halfway point from watching I had just seen the scene where Yukari and George share their first kiss and I was all, "Why kiss out of the blue then change the next scenes as if nothing happened?" Of course it all became clear when I watched the rest of the film.
The things I would've liked to have seen in the film
* George boldly stating his sexuality. This moment was actually rather funny in the Manga and I would've liked to see how it was done in the film.
* Yukari having a nosebleed (you see it in the Manga). It's quite a rarity to see women get nosebleeds in the same situations as men.
As for the ending...
I heard a lot of people complained about the original Manga ending but on the other side there are those who didn't mind that ending yet disagreed with how the film ended. Honestly I like both for different reasons.
The film's ending was pleasing as it made me George less (the film writers should've added more suave appeal though). Nonetheless this is an alternative ending to the Manga which is very different.
Overall:- I wasn't expecting too much from this live action to begin with, even though the trailer made me squeal for different reasons because Paradise Kiss is one of the few Manga series that I genuinely cherish. Could you really put in every single detail from the original Manga, which consisted of five volumes, into approximately two hours worth of film? Not really.
I was very, very close to not watching the rest of the film after stopping halfway to call it a night but my mind prompted me to keep on going since I had about 45 mins left till the end. Maybe it was a good thing I did because it made my bitterness while watching the live action disappear and my sappy heart couldn't help crying.
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