Review: Itazura Na Kiss (2013 & 2014)

One of the series that gets a remake more often that not is Kaoru Tada's Itazura na Kiss (1990-1999). Perhaps, it's the endearment of the series that transcends through time that made this series adaptable and relatable to the new generation of viewers, and thus a new adaptation has been born yet again ...

Casts: Miki Honoka, Yuki Furukawa, Yamada Yuki
Date Aired:  29 March 2013 - 19 Jul 2013 ( season 1);  24 Nov 2014 - 23 March 2015 (season 2)
Date Watched: 24 - 31 Aug 2017  ( Started with episode 7 from 2015 till now )
Summary:

Kotoko Aihara, is a cheery 16 year old girl who had one-sided love to the school's popular boy, Naoko Irie. She harboured these feelings till they started 12th grade, when she mustered the courage to confess to the boy she likes. Of course, she gets rejected outright. After that day, things have never been the same.

That same day, she lost her house to a fire/earthquake. Friends of her father's saw what happened and offered to help them out. As she (and her father) moves into the house, she can't help but not notice that the house she is moving into belongs to the Irie family.

Review

This too good to be true series has captivated the hearts of many women.  The series has been in a way the pioneer of all shoujo series out there, and paved the way for stories to be created such as this.   

The Good

What's so good about this adaptation of Itazura na Kiss?

The soundtrack

The music that just perfectly complements each scene and makes the audience empathize with the characters as well as be involved in their lives.

The storyline 
The story never fails to impress the audience. No matter how many times you have watched the series and no matter how many times you'd know what happens to them in the end, you are still going to fall in love with the series. This series can pull some serious heartstrings. You will always find yourself wandering what happened to the characters (even though by heart you already know what's going to happen next).

Keita Kamogari
Played by Arata Horii 

Kamogari Keita (Arata Horii),  Tomoko Ogura (Risako Ito), Kotoko Irie (Miki Honoka), Naoki Irie (Yuuki Furukawa), Motoki Kikyo ( Mirai Suzuki), Marina Shinagawa ( Juria Kawakami) 

The lone person who made Naoki feel jealous for the first time (He kinda didn't feel it with Kinnosuke, was it because he knew that Kotoko only treats him as an elder brother or that Kinnosuke is not really an ikemen like Kamogari). But anyway, he was the reason that there's a scene at the  school cafeteria and for Naoki to have a small "outburst of jealousy". (As seen on season 2, episode 07)

Naoki Irie
Played by Yuuki Furukawa 

He was the hit and miss in the story. I always think that this story has been always focused on Naoki Irie. I'd like to think about the part on how he slowly changed to become better after meeting Kotoko, even though she was such a nuisance. There was not a bit of chemistry at the beginning but as the story progresses, you do get to see the chemistry slowly forming. I guess, this really has everything to do with the story line and how the story scene pulls you through.
Yuuki Furukuwa really does personify Naoki. In some way, in all of the version of Naoki, he's the lone guy who speaks fluent English ( granted that Yuuki Furukawa was raised in Canada). So, he can exude this coolness and intellect without lifting a finger. 

Konomi , Kotoko in the making.
Played by Ayu Matsura (kid)/ Karin Ono (teen) 

Yoshimi "Konomi" Sagawa (kid:Ayu Matsura, teens: Karin Ono) 

She mirrored the life of Kotoko back in the day when she was still pinning for Naoki. Konomi's feelings, however, were reciprocated early on. I think despite how Yuuki (kid:Yuga Aizawa, teens:Yoshiaki Miyaki) thinks, feels and acts, he's more warm-hearted than his brother, Naoki. They are indeed brothers. 

Scenes that truly calls for a kiss

I think in almost every episode of season 2, Naoki and Kotoko kiss ( to the point that they might be taking this far too much. My recollection of the first j-drama only had like 2 kisses despite the title. Those were the times. It was the tw drama that pushed the envelope, even drawing the attention of the media last time because of the risque depiction of their honeymoon.). But it is in these moments were you feel the distance between the 2 characters slowly inching their way closer to one another. I do get that for most of it, the scene really calls for it (although there's still that cafeteria scene that I really wish they would plant another fat one!)

Nishigaki-sensei

Played by Yuki Kimisawa
Somehow this guy will always steal the thunder from Irie being the hospital's playboy doctor. But of course, Irie keeps his cool. Irie do have some respect for Ishigaki sensei as he too is one of the best doctors  at Tonan Hospital. He does uplift the mood in the hospital and is always playful and jovial. 

The Bad

(Fr L-R) Noriko Irie (Tomomi Nishimura), Kotoko Aihara (Miki Honoka), Jinko (Nanami Fujimoto), Satomi (Kasumi Yamaya)

Overacting by supporting characters ( albeit it does help liven up the scene a bit but still.. )

Over-exaggeration of the characters, Jinko,  Satomi, Noriko  and of course Kotoko Aihara. ( Enough said)

Naoki Irie 

To tell you the truth, I was against Yuuki Furukawa's version of Naoki at first. He was good at playing cold parts but when it came to him closing the gap of turning into a warm hearted person, he kind of backs out. He is still lacking in a lot of sense but I guess, hopefully, as time comes and his acting progresses, he might just have the chops for it. ( I do note that the industry in Japan today somehow have lowered its standard, I admire the times when they took acting seriously, now one after the other, adaptation these days are just for the fans who go for the looks of the actors/actress not minding if he/she can carry a scene.)

The Ugly
The beginning of the story ( The High School Arc)

It was really painful to watch to the point that I would have given up on watching the series altogether. I think there was a point in time where I really hate Kotoko and Kin-chan. The scenes were unbearable to watch. The redeeming factor i think, was the study session and the high school graduation.

I guess, good things come to those who wait, and after a few episodes, you will be rewarded.

Kotoko's shouting.

I guess it was part of her nature but this time it's just too much. We know that she just wanted to express her feelings and the only way to do that for her is to just shout her heart out. We do get it but sometimes it is just too much to bear. 

Trivia:

• The series was never finished because the mangaka died before ever completing the series. 
• Interestingly, Yuki Furukawa will be in another adaptation of Boku dake ga Inai Machi. ( Netflix will also stream this series) in Dec 2017.
• The last movie to the Mischievous Kiss: The proposal will be shown in December 2017. 
• Yuuki Furukawa (18 Dec 1987)  has a 10-year age gap with Miki Honoka ( 7 Mar 1997)  and he can still pull it off. You have to thank good genes)

Final thoughts about the series:

This series is not for everyone. I have to honestly say that I  was pretty much annoyed with Kotoko. In any of the adaptation, Kotoko is that one character who gets on my nerves. How can a girl just blindly follow a guy and devote her whole life to this guy. But then again, this is what endeared us in the first place. Her sheer willpower ( and probably luck and fate. What are the odds that your parents and his parents are great friends!) made her get the man of her dreams.  This series is also anti-feminist. The girl is a crybaby, and good-nature to a fault.  Although Naoki gives Kotoko her freedom to do whatever she wants, Kotoko still tries to do something that she and Naoki can do together. It's as if her life only revolves around the guy.  She still conforms to society's norm of the girl having to take care of the guy, albeit to Kotoko, this is the thing that she wants the most. What frustrates me is that she cannot think for herself nor do the things she can be capable of without relying on the guy. Also, up until the final episode, she never calls her husband by his first name. It's as if she had put her husband on some high pedestal. I think Naoki would have loved it ( or be embarassed) if Kotoko calls him by his first name. She lacks the self confidence that her husband truly have fallen for her. She always second guess that it always has been a one-sided love, where in fact, Naoki have already slowly fallen for her. 

Rating: 8 out of 10

As being the series that is almost close of the adaptation of comic book to live action, I will give this show the credit it deserves. After all, how many series have breathe a new life to an old beloved shoujo manga with the adaptation that it deserves. ( *Cough* Death Note *Cough*)

The series can still be streamed in Netflix.