As the Paradise Kiss manga reaches the 27th anniversary of its release, it still holds up as one of the most realistic coming-of-age stories the medium has to offer. By Ai Yazawa, the author behind the cult classic shojo, Nana, Paradise Kiss mixes fashion, teen romance, and rejection of societal norms as main character Yukari Hayasaka embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
Many of the themes in Paradise Kiss still ring true today, along with its inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters that feel surprisingly revolutionary for its original 1999 release date. Among countless coming-of-age anime that are set in fantasy worlds and center the experiences of boys, Paradise Kiss remains a pillar of josei manga for its realistic depiction of young relationships and complex female characters.
Paradise Kiss Mastered Using Fashion as a Form of Self-Expression
Paradise Kiss follows Yukari, a high school girl whose whole life revolves around schoolwork and entrance exams. When she is recruited as a model by a group of fashion students who form the collective known as Paradise Kiss, she suddenly discovers a world of art and passion that rejects the societal rules she lives by. Manga author Ai Yazawa was a fashion student herself, and she uses this inspiration to convey each character’s personality through clothing.
Character design is important in any anime, but Yazawa takes this a step further by using real-life fashion subcultures to make Paradise Kiss feel much more grounded in reality. There’s the hedonistic love interest George Koizumi, whose style is heavily inspired by glam rock and dandyism, bubbly Miwako Sakurada’s lolita fashion, mother figure Isabella Yamamoto who wears lavish, elegant gowns, and the rational yet aggressive punk rocker, Arashi Nagase.
Fashion as self-expression in Paradise Kiss also makes the manga a particularly exciting read for fashion lovers, as characters are drawn wearing pieces from existing designer collections. Compared to other manga that define characters through tropes or archetypes, it’s thanks to Yazawa’s understanding of fashion subcultures that each character feels complex and relatable, and makes the manga stand out as unique in the medium.
Paradise Kiss’ LGBTQ+ Representation Aged Incredibly Well
Another reason Paradise Kiss stands out as uniquely realistic is its positive representation of LGBTQ+ characters. George Koizumi, who serves as Yukari’s main love interest, is a bisexual man who is open and secure in his lifestyle and isn’t demonized for it. Infidelity is a common plot line for bisexual characters in media, and while George is flirtatious, it never truly threatens his relationship with Yukari. While his character can be manipulative and controlling, it is not represented as a direct result of him being bisexual.
Isabella Yamamoto is a transgender woman whose story is similarly handled with care. It is common for LGBTQ+ anime characters to be played for laughs, but Isabella is graceful, feminine, and completely accepted by her friends in the fashion collective. It was even George who first granted her wish to wear dresses, and she serves as his muse. There are no cheap jokes made about Isabella’s gender, and any discussion of her backstory and identity is done on her terms.
While not perfect, Paradise Kiss‘ LGBTQ+ representation is a breath of fresh air, and feels way ahead of its time period. Compared to other anime that depict LGBTQ+ characters as abusive, predatory, or just the butt of every joke, Paradise Kiss‘ characters have realistic faults that aren’t as a result of their identities. For a story about the importance of self-expression, it makes sense that Yazawa was so well-intentioned in her creation of George and Isabella.
Paradise Kiss Explores the Real Struggles of Coming-Of-Age Romance
The relationships in Paradise Kiss feel just as messy and complicated as real teenage romances. Yukari and George’s whirlwind romance accurately shows a relationship between a naive, sheltered girl and a more experienced love interest. George can be hot and cold with Yukari, using her naivety to his advantage to manipulate her into becoming the independent woman he expects her to be. Their relationship ends in a bittersweet way with mutual respect but not lifelong love, making it more grounded in reality than the idealistic teen romances in shonen anime series.
The love triangle involving Miwako, Arashi, and Hiroyuki is similarly far more real than most romance anime. While love triangles are usually a light-hearted will-they-won’t-they, Miwako’s choice between the two boys results in the end of childhood friendship, intense jealousy and insecurity, and even sexual abuse as Arashi attempts to stake his claim on Miwako. While both characters are shown to eventually grow from their mistakes, it’s up to the reader to interpret their relationship as truly happy or a result of manipulation.
Paradise Kiss‘ josei genre allows the story to explore more mature topics like sexuality and abusive relationships that often go underrepresented in anime and manga. A typical battle shonen might include a teen romance storyline, but character development often takes a backseat, and shonen rarely tackles the complex struggles of female characters. Characters in Paradise Kiss are messy, imperfect, and toxic, but their realism is what drives its themes and messages home for a young adult audience.
Even 27 years later, Paradise Kiss‘ main theme of the pursuit of passion over societal expectations will still resonate with many readers. By blending the beautiful and exciting world of haute couture with a mature exploration of manipulation in relationships and LGBTQ+ lifestyles, Ai Yazawa created a timeless coming-of-age story. While the anime adaptation may have rushed the ending, the manga provides all the intricate fashion drawings and captivating story that make it a josei classic.
- Author
- Ai Yazawa
- Artist
- Ai Yazawa
- Release Date
- March 23, 1999
- Chapters
- 48
- Volumes
- 5
