Final Exam
March 25, 2008 | Television | Kimikiss Pure Rouge
I’m going to miss you, Kimikiss Pure Rouge.
It was only six months, but I feel a little like I’m losing a close friend. A close friend I didn’t pay nearly as much attention to it as I should have. The past year has been a good one for romantic dramas, embodied in gems like Clannad and True Tears, but what of Kimikiss? In many ways, it was the plain girl in a room full of cheerleaders. However, if you’ve watched enough high school romantic comedies, you probably know by now that the plain girl typically gets the boy in the end.
In the course of its run, Kimikiss never bothered much with pretension, nor did it make any extra effort to impress. That was its charm, I suppose. Yet, despite its homely nature, the show’s characters, relationships, plot, and emotions were just complex enough to make it something special. As romantic dramas go, it was wonderfully paced, and even though the climatic and emotionally charged ending may have seemed trite upon close examination, I was still smiling like an idiot when the ED theme kicked in one last time, our cast of characters finding some measure of happiness in their own particular way, in that brief moment of time. That’s how you end a show like this.
Of course, fans could argue and disagree until the sun comes up about the choices and decisions each character made in the end. And they should. Audience participation is a big part of what makes shows like this so much fun to watch. Our own experiences color our opinions of each character: what would I have done in that situation? What did I do in that situation? What should I have done in that situation? Kimikiss may very well be the perfect ren’ai game adaptation, for it compels its viewers to ask those very questions of themselves. The only thing missing was the multiple choice test.
And did our would be selves choose wisely? I think so. Take the final scene between Kazuki and Eri, for example. The entire time, thoughts of, “Damn, this guy is smooth,” were running through my head as Kazuki said one right thing after another. The reason he said the right things, however, is because he thought the right things. Kazuki was never smooth. But he was in love. And he was willing to say so. In a lot of ways, Kazuki stands out as the admirable half of the show’s fractured male protagonist, having stayed true to himself from the beginning and having treated the two girls who loved him with the dignity and respect they deserved. Eri is a lucky girl.
What about Kouichi? As tempting as it is to call him out for being a coward, I think he too made the right decision in the end. Anything else would have been an insult to Yuumi. After all, she found the strength and confidence in herself to acknowledge and accept that their relationship wasn’t meant to be. And Kouichi responded in kind. Of course, in a lot of people’s eyes, his pledging his undying devotion to Yuumi was the proper and “manly” thing to do. Mao clearly saw it that way.
But, if you ask me, Kouichi is far more a man for having swallowed his pride and having been honest with Yuumi about his feelings for Mao than he would have been had he chose to continue stringing her along in an effort to keep a promise that they both knew shouldn’t and couldn’t be kept. He may have made a fool out of himself, and he may have hurt Yuumi along the way, but he still did the right thing. And Yuumi? She’ll do just fine.
Which brings us to Mao, the little heartbreaker. All I can say is that I couldn’t help but laugh when she gave Kouichi the stink eye when he told her he had broken things off with Yuumi. “Onee-chan is going to have to teach you a lesson!” She’ll keep him an honest man, mark my words.
Sometimes, you just have to give people the benefit of the doubt. Sure, the imperfect characters in Kimikiss practically beg for criticism, but I think it’s best to remember this simple fact: in multiple choice tests, there’s a higher probability of choosing the wrong answer than there is of choosing the right answer. And “all of the above” doesn’t come around to save your ass all that often.
At its core, Kimikiss may have been little more than a high school soap opera, but there’s something in its approach that allows it to connect with viewers in a way more refined shows never do. It’s only fitting that some of the same team responsible for adapting Honey and Clover for anime had a hand in Kimikiss as well. Honey and Clover had a way with connecting with its viewers, too.
And just as Honey and Clover reminded us of what it was like to grow up, Kimikiss reminds of us of what it’s like to be in love. And I think people like to remember what it’s like to be in love.
I know I do.
The reaction among my (tiny handful of) forumgoers is, so far, unanimous: Good premise, mostly decent execution, but the mopefest in the back half of the series went on way, way, way too long. And Kouichi is just too K-drippy to be likable, which is a shame because he built up a lot of credit earlier in the show.
The Kazuki story arc was pure gold through and through. The Kouichi arc started well and ended up a mess.
Now that I think about it, your comments about Kazuki/Kouichi in the final episode do really change the way that I see the show. I was really annoyed in the second half of the show because of how it broke up all those “easy” relationships at the beginning and made everyone melancholy, but I can’t really fault the show for executing things well in the end. I might’ve wanted Kazuki with Soccer-tan and thought that she was a lot more fun and interesting than Eri, but it’s true, he really was in love with Futanari-san so it just wouldn’t work between him and Asuka anyway.
Also, onee-chan will teach you a lesson…WITH HER BODY.
Great post–I’ll miss Kimikiss too, although it may not have been perfect (the animation in particular went downhill as it went on) it was always what I watched first if I had a couple things to choose from, and I think that says it all. This could have been just like any other game-to-anime adaptation, with a dozen girls who all improbably like one guy, and the plot consisting of breezing through highlights of all the side character’s routes before the finale, but they took a chance breaking the male lead’s part up into different people, and I’m really glad they did. Kouichi did mope for a little too long after he’d clearly realized his feelings for Mao, but Kazuki and Eri put a smile on my face every time they were on screen, and there really wasn’t anyone in the whole cast I didn’t like (except for the frogs). Here’s hoping there will be other game adaptations like this down the road.
Looking around at the general reaction to Kimikiss from the “Western” and “Eastern” audiences (I use these terms loosely), I find it baffling that there’s such a large disparity between the two. Generally speaking, Kimikiss is rated very poorly by the Eastern audience, and that’s from both game players, non-game players who have been exposed to other forms of the franchise (manga, novel), as well as non-gamers. Most criticism is levelled at the inconsistency of its themes, poor quality artwork for a decent chunk of the series, the stupidity of the main male leads and the soap-opera style plot.
On the other hand it has been almost universally hailed as a work of genius, or at least a top rating show, by Western audiences. People find the characters realistic, they seem to like the plot, and they seem to, as you say, “connect with the characters.” Is it because the Western audience is familiar with the soap opera format? Is it because the characters in Kimikiss behave in a Western manner?
One comment from me - I haven’t watched a single minute of the anime, so I’ve only kept up with the general “feel” from the various blogs around the place. But I’m certain that the central theme/concept of the anime is at complete odds with the central theme/concept of the original game. That’s a HUGE no-no for me. You can change the plot around as much as you like, you can change the characters around as much as you like, but to change the central theme so much is just something I can’t fathom. You might as well change the name and make it a new anime, because it’s just an empty shell bearing the original’s name which becomes a huge disrespect to the original work.
I don’t know if Western reaction to the show has really been all that uniform. It’s been generally positive, yes, but I’ve seen more mixed reviews than I have absolutely glowing reviews, and negative reviews do exist. I could have just as well devoted a couple of paragraphs in my post to those aspects of the show I didn’t care much for (the quality control issues with the art, for example), but I felt more compelled to write about those things I liked than I did to write an actual review.
Of course, I can’t speak for Japanese audiences, but I’ve heard similar about fans of the original game not reacting all that positively to the anime series. I don’t know if that suggests an Eastern vs. Western dichotomy or if it’s just a reflection of the fact Japanese audiences are more likely to be familiar with the game than Western audiences. The soap opera format (or something like it) is plenty popular in Japan, after all.
As for the “authenticity” issue, I think it’s worth remembering that Kimikiss is, for all intents and purposes, a franchise at this point, with the original game having been adapted for manga, light novels, and now an anime series. I don’t know how much license has been taken with the original story and characters in this particular case, but I think it’s to be expected that extensive license will be taken, and purposely so, when you grow a franchise from a single work. I kind of see it as a fact of life and the normal way of doing business in the anime and game industry.
I haven’t played the original game, of course, but given what I know of its structure and what I know of the structure of ren’ai games in general, a literal translation probably wouldn’t have made for a very good anime series. I actually see the apparent changes - the fracturing of the protagonist, for example - as positive changes, but, at the same time, I can empathize with those fans of the game who were disappointed with how those changes impacted their favorite characters, relationships, or storylines.
But to say the anime started down the wrong path the minute it diverged from the game simply as a matter of course strikes me as a bit short-sighted. There are instances in which adaptations improve upon the original material (the Angelic Layer anime is a vast improvement over the manga, for example), and there are plenty of games out there that won’t make for clean anime adaptations without some sort of change. Visual novels and story-centric bishoujo games generally adapt well without making extensive changes, but a ren’ai game like Kimikiss? I don’t know. I have my doubts, at least.
And, of course, the most important question for me in the end, regardless of the details of the adaptation itself, is, “was it enjoyable?” In the case of Kimikiss, I can say, “yes,” with great confidence, and with that, I don’t see where the authenticity issue should be of any great importance. That’s my personal approach, at least.
The ending theme is amazing, and was the highlight of the show for me. The way they used the extended version blew my mind, I haven’t been able to find it. I guess it was more of a drama than romance but not as much as True Tears is. The Kuryuu and Hiiragi thing, I thought it was left a little bit late, not a big deal at least. My main problem with KimiKiss was the slight overuse of “No, it’s nothing” appearing every episode, though it was needed to let you know of their teenage woes.
Perhaps I was a bit trigger-happy with the universal praise of Western audiences, because since I posted I’ve seen those less glowing reviews you mentioned. The general idea is still relevant though - in numerical terms, Kimikiss seems to be scoring 75+ in the “West” compared to ~40-60 in the “East” (to be more specific, in Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese blogs and forums). I don’t know whether knowledge of the game changes anything at all, because non-gamers have largely been saying the same things as gamers minus any comparisons to the original. So I’m stumped as to why the quite glaring difference between the two.
Oh, when I talk about theme changes I’m not merely talking about diverging from the original source. Take the masterful Aria anime, for example - the structure and story often diverge widely from the manga, yet you would never argue that there was a significant difference in the themes of the two. Many would even say anime > manga. To a lesser extent I could say the same with Clannad. I could point out 10s, even 100s of changes large and small that existed in each and every episode. Yet the heart, the core of the story is still the same. Same with Honey and Clover. (Haven’t seen Angelic Layer, anime or manga, so I can’t really comment on it. Were the central ideas behind the two different forms significantly different?)
Kimikiss, on the other hand, was supposedly founded on the idea that the world had too much messy and complicated relationships, plus the modern trend on sex as the final destination or even just the mid point of a story. . It wanted to re-examine the almost mythical, pure love that existed in the stories of yesteryears, and the innocence, embarassment, excitment etc. of the simple act of kissing (often a first kiss) as an expression of love.
Which is almost the opposite of what the anime ended up being about, as far as I can tell. As I said before, I often don’t care how much you mess around with the plot. You can kill off the main character in episode 2. You can switch everyone’s gender around (like Kyonko XD). All that’s fine if you keep the central theme, or to put it in different words, keep it in the spirit of the original. Otherwise all you end up with is a body without a soul.
Maybe it’s my disillusion with franchising that only pays lipservice to an original work. If the producers made up a new name and made up their own original characters instead of cashing in on an existing product, I would be less displeased. Which isn’t to say that there’s no chance I would enjoy Kimikiss as it is now if I watched it, just that any rating I give at the end would be heavily weighed down by the changes to the soul of a piece of work.
I get your point about the important question of “Do you find it enjoyable?” though. That’s the thing, isn’t it? At the end of the day, enjoyment is a large part of any creative work, whether anime, movie, novel or game; creativity does not exist in a vacuum. So I respect that approach too.
—-”in numerical terms, Kimikiss seems to be scoring 75+ in the “West” compared to ~40-60 in the “East” (to be more specific, in Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese blogs and forums).”
I wonder. Could there be some bandwagon effect among Asian communities? My impression is that Chinese and Korean fans follow 2ch much closer, whereas few westerners frequent such places (nor do they particularly care about what Japanese otaku like). In that sense, many started with a clean slate, being blissfully unaware of the backlash.
You know, when the masses love to hate something, everyone joins in, regardless of whether it’s fully justified.
—-”the animation in particular went downhill as it went on”
Yeah, I don’t find that surprising. Kimikiss may have looked good at the start. However, if everyone hates the series, the studio moves to reduce losses (poor DVD sales predicted; it’s a decision I would make myself, despite being a fan of the show). Kimikiss probably became last priority, hence the declining quality.
—-”Is it because the Western audience is familiar with the soap opera format?”
Not necessarily (Kimikiss is more similar to an eastern-style mini-series anyway). Overall, tastes do seem more diverse among western audiences. From what I understand, strong anti-shoujo and anti-josei sentiments exist among many otaku. Therefore, “infecting” a male/otaku-oriented show with soap opera elements was a huge mistake, regardless of execution.
In English speaking communities, shows like NANA, Nodame Cantabile, and Bokura ga Ita have been highly praised by male fans, so 2ch-esque prejudices are probably not as commonplace.
I understand your point about theme changes, FF. I personally don’t see it as a black mark against Kimikiss given how happy I was with the result, but not all adaptations (nor all fans) are created equal. And, of course, without having played the game, I don’t have intimate knowledge of what did and did not change, so it’s not something I really considered in my evaluation of the show. Ignorance is (sometimes) bliss.
And to answer your question about Angelic Layer, the differences between the anime and manga weren’t thematic in nature, at least not in my opinion. The two versions did press different emotional buttons, however.
Anyway, franchising in the anime, manga, and game world is kind of a funny thing in that you have license and property holders often playing fast and loose with someone else’s creation with their explicit permission and cooperation. It kind of puts a damper on the whole, “anime as art,” thing, doesn’t it? However, given the small profit margins that plague the industry and the fact that so many creations are, essentially, “creation by committee”, it’s to be expected. It also makes me look a bit silly for wasting a thousand words on something like Kimikiss, but I suppose looking silly on a regular basis is just one of the many hazards associated with being a fan.
Anyway, turning to your comment, Bill, I think you’ve hit on something with regard to the influence of 2ch, at least within the Japanese fan community. That can be a pretty caustic place. And it’s one of the more vocal elements of the Japanese fan community, so it does have a tendency to drive public opinion, often in very unusual and frustrating directions.
Of course, we’ve since imported some of that to the West. There have always been assholes in anime fandom here in the States, but my general feeling is that the level of discourse among fans has really gone down the toilet since 4chan came online. There are other factors, of course - the community is getting younger and the internet makes it oh-so-easy to be an asshole with impunity - but I don’t think 4chan has been an especially positive influence on anime fandom. Perhaps it’s a generational thing. Damn kids better get off my lawn.
I’ve really enjoyed this show. It’s nice to sit down and watch a simple show without having to suspend disbelief for any fantasy/sci-fi elements. This scratched the simple drama itch while Sketchbook took care of the simple slice-o’-life side of the equation.
I’ve been rather annoyed by the highly negative reaction a lot of people had to Mao over the course of the show. There was only one time where I was really concerned she would become a liability. That was in those few episodes where we first got signs that she liked Kouichi more than just as an older-sister figure, but we hadn’t yet seen how she was going to deal with it. I was relieved when she chose to back further out of Kouichi’s relationship with Yuumi to prevent any potential slip-ups. I think a lot of people have become so sick of contrived three way relationships, that they reacted with immediate hatred toward Mao for becoming a potential third wheel with looking past that to the fact that she tried her level best to stay the heck out of the Kouichi-Yuumi relationship. But Kouichi being the dense idiot he is, kept dragging her back in with the “Where’d Mao-neechan go?” “What’s wrong Mao-neechan?” “Why don’t we double date? You snag Kai, and I’ll go get Yuumi.” Then again, as soon as Yuumi announced her transfer the writing was on the wall.
And the whole of anime character-dom could do with a lot less “nandemo nai.”
Of course, that shoud say “without looking past…”
I do wish Mao’s character had been developed a little more, though. In the beginning, she was presented as the show’s central character, and she clearly played an important role in the Kouichi x Yuumi storyline. Yet, it seemed like she was missing in action for a fair chunk of the show. Or, that was my impression, at least. Admittedly, by memory is a bit fuzzy with regard to some of the show’s middle episodes.
Of course, that could have been one reason why some people regarded her as a potential third wheel. Sometimes, she did seem more a complicating factor in Kouichi and Yuumi’s relationship than a character deserving of sympathy or concern. What turned things around for me, however, was her backing off for Yuumi’s sake. She became a much more interesting (and human) character at the point. It also helped that her relationship with Yuumi didn’t sour along the way. The show did an excellent job avoiding the stereotypical, “hands off my man!” love triangle situation so commonly found of high school romance anime.
This could be a good lesson about reserving judgment on a show and until it’s had an opportunity to say its piece. Sometimes, all is not as it seems. Take True Tears, for example: the longer it ran, the murkier (and, in my opinion, the better) the story got. Yet, a lot of discussion about the show early on consisted of people making their case for who Shinichiro would end up with, as if the show had telegraphed the final result plain as day in the very first episode or something. I actually had a difficult time discussing the show with other people due to all the confirmation bias going around.
She did go (intentionally I believe) MIA for a while right in the middle of the lovey-dovey bliss phase of the Kouichi-Yuumi relationship. Once things settled into a pattern, Kouichi seemed to have the same reaction we had. “Where’d Mao disappear to?” Then he started getting her involved again, and that was the beginning of the end. Once she made peace with herself, she was trying to keep them together right up through the “baton pass.”
The way a lot of the characters reacted with relative maturity to the various triangles involved was refreshing. Much more so than the “battle” going on between Kazuki and Shana in another genre.
I’ll probably start into True Tears shortly. I’m terrible with confusing/forgeting names (even worse with foreign names), so I started limiting myself to one show within a given genre at a time. I learned this lesson quickly when I was watching ef and Kimikiss at the same time last fall. I think a lot of secondary characters like Asuka earn fan-names like “Soccer-tan”(I called her “Sporty Spice”), beyond just for humorous effect, as an aid for people more used to keeping track of 2 Steves and a half-dozen Michelles.
“In many ways, it was the plain girl in a room full of cheerleaders. However, if you’ve watched enough high school romantic comedies, you probably know by now that the plain girl typically gets the boy in the end.”
Yeah… we need to start having those “the rich girl gets the rich boy” dramas now. I’m sick of those mediocre cliche plots mentioned in the quote above.
2c into the Asian/western perspective:
I think ultimately people from Asia who watch Kimikiss tend to have the game background, and tend to be the stereotypical profile that feeds the moeblob harem mindset in renai anime. On the other hand people over here and westward are likely to stick to anime first and foremost, and Kimikiss sticks out like a sore thumb in terms of its purer renai themes. Western blogs generally applaud its novelty and pan its execution, right?
2c into the theme differences AND western/Asian perspectives:
Haven’t played the game but read a little bit, I can say that the theme is actually preserved in the anime! But the question becomes rather do people even see the forest for the trees? This kind of generic romantic stories are dime a dozen anywhere, but in Asia it’s particularly a common breed. Instead of sitcoms and action TV in the US, we see this kind of soapy stuff on prime time TV in asia in a big way. So I think the eastern public is just more critical about these kinds of stories.
I suspect the unique tack the kimikiss game used to orient its players is simply missing from the anime, causing subsequent disappointment, but that’s just a guess.
I highlighted the ‘plight’ of the game fans in a post I made months ago, so I can empathize with these ‘Eastern’ audience. But nonetheless, I believe KimiKiss is a wonderful anime in itself. Not a good adaptation, especially with how the characters were inherently made real and flawed in the process, but still great. It’s the kind of show that leaves you feeling happy and optimistic afterwards, albeit being bittersweet because o the sad fate of the other characters :)
I like how things were wrapped up in the show. Despite my previous claims of disliking the indecisive Kouichi, I admire him for being able to stand up for his feelings in the end, unlike some Bakayukis out there.
I finished watching the final episode about five minutes ago, and I was generally pleased with the way the ending was handled. I’m thrilled that Mao and Jazz Boy didn’t re-hook-up, though that really wasn’t likely (Jazz Boy was my least favorite of all the characters, in case you couldn’t tell). Still, considering how Kimikiss kept me wondering who would end up with whom, I couldn’t discount the possibility.
That was probably my favorite part of the show: the doubt. I really liked Asuka (”Soccer-tan?” What a great nickname!), wanted her to win Kazuki, but was mostly sure that wasn’t the way it would end up… but the doubt was there. Ditto Yuumi/Mao/Kouichi… I’m an unabashed Mao-nee-fan, I admit, so of course I wanted it to end up the way it did, but you could never be sure.
Which is a refreshing change from the usual ‘railshooter’ method of plotting (see: Clannad, which I very much like).
Perhaps the art quality sagged. Perhaps it didn’t follow the game (to which I say, “so what?” I’ll never play it, and if I hadn’t've read that it was based on a game, I’d never know or care). Perhaps it wasn’t the greatest thing since rye bread. Perhaps it isn’t ARIA or Haibane Renmei.
But y’know what? I don’t care. It didn’t try to be high art. It tried to be Kimikiss Pure Rouge, and nailed it. For which, I will be forever grateful.
Kimikiss became pretty boring in the middle of the series. I didn’t like Kouichi nor later Mao moping around. But the ending was pretty satisfying and wrapped things up nicely. I’m mostly happy that Eriko Futami ended up with Kazuki, she’s my favorite character from Kimikiss.