ParaKiss Movie ♥

I was already very excited when I first heard the news over half a year ago, but I just saw the new 2-minute trailer and now look forward to it even more! ♥ ParaKiss is one of my favorite mangas, I love the detail of the clothes, the story, and I just love/hate George's character, eccentric but full of charisma. Sometimes you feel like he's the worst kind of guy, other times he's really really sweet. But I wouldn't want to have a long-term relationship with a guy like him, he wouldn't make you emotionally happy. The story and art of the manga are incredibly fantastic.

Paradise Kiss is a manga by Yazawa Ai (creator of Nana), and it's being made into a live-action film that hits screens in Japan on 4th June 2011. Kitagawa Keiko plays Hayasaka Yukari, a highschooler unsure about what she wants for her future; while Mukai Osamu plays Koizumi Jouji/George, a eccentric but very talented fashion design student. Kitagawa Keiko was one of my favorite Seventeen models when I read Seventeen (around 2005~2007, after that I stopped being 17/she "graduated" from the magazine haha) From the trailer, Mukai Osamu looks to be a fitting George.

Basically, Yukari is a highschool student whose life consisted of just existing to go to school, waiting to graduate but not knowing what she wants in life. Geroge and his gang have to create a dress for their school fashion show, and one of the members spots Yukari on the streets and decides she's be perfect to be their model. At first she refuses, thinking they're a weird bunch, but later on decides to accept. Her interactions with them cause different facets of her personality to surface as she learns more about herself, the people around her and how to pursue and stand up for what she wants.

There's an 12-episode anime adaptation of the manga as well. The opening theme, Lonely in Gorgeous, is really good; captivating ♥ The manga series is only 5 volumes long, but even then the anime cut a lot of parts from the manga :( I watched the anime first before reading the manga, and cried at the ending (it was sad! Though upon reflection it was probably for the best). There is more character development in the manga, and it evokes more emotions than the anime.

One thing to note is that ParaKiss is a josei manga - aimed at ladies in their 20s or older, which don't always have a happy/expected ending. (Which suits me just fine as I'm getting kind of sick of typical school-life/shoujo manga) The plot is fairly realistic. Really, the first thing that struck me after I finished it was how possible the scenarios were. And the characters are flawed, which make them more realistic and relatable to.

Here's the trailer! (It's in Japanese though!)