Line #125 Manga/KazeToKiNoUta


1	[[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kku..jpg]]
2	->''"Gilbert Cocteau, you were the greatest flower to ever bloom in my life. In the faraway dreams of youth, you were a bright red flame, blazing so fiercely...You were the wind that stirred my branches. Can you hear the poem of the wind and trees? Can you hear the tumult of our youth? Oh, there must be others who do remember their own days of youth....''"
3
4	It is 1880 at Lacombrade Academy, an all-boys' boarding school in France. Serge Battour is a cheerful and kind [[NewTransferStudent new student]] who is trying to fit in with the rest of the student body, despite the taboo of his Gypsy heritage, made obvious by his dark skin. However, his roommate Gilbert Cocteau--who will sleep with anyone if he can manipulate them to his advantage by doing so--is not helping the situation, especially when he makes it his personal goal to bring about Serge's downfall. [[WillTheyOrWontThey The two boys may destroy each other or come closer together.]]
5
6	''Kaze to Ki no Uta'' ("The Song of Wind and Trees" or "The Poem of Wind and Trees") is a manga series by Creator/KeikoTakemiya that was serialized from 1976 to 1984 (starting its run in ''Shoujo Comic'', but later moving to ''Petit Flower'' in 1981 where it continued until its conclusion). It was one of the first shoujo manga to focus on a homosexual relationship between boys and the first to have sex play a major role in the story; Takemiya, along with her roommate and fellow mangaka, Creator/MotoHagio, is credited with kickstarting the shounen-ai genre (Takemiya's earlier work, ''In the Sunroom'' was the first manga to have shounen-ai elements). The series, though controversial, was able to win the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award for shojo in 1979, as well as now being regarded as a classic.
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8	The series was also adapted into a 60-minute OVA in 1987 that more or less summed up the first three volumes of the series, as well as revealing what happens at the end. The OVA was targeted towards those who have already read the manga, [[CompressedAdaptation being quite fast-paced and skipping some story arcs]].
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10	This is a great series for those seeking a more unique take on the male/male genre, interesting characters, and endearing storyline. And when watching or reading, [[TearJerker be sure to have some tissues ready.]]
11	----
12	!!''Kaze to Ki no Uta'' provides examples of:
13	* AnachronismStew: Pascal refers to Serge as ''Manga/AstroBoy'' in jest, and there is an Astro Boy puzzle (when the story is told) and a bottle with a label that reads, 'Hello Mr. Kizakura, how are you?' in transliterated Japanese (in the flashback) in the pub where the {{Flashback}} of the infamous Gilbert incident takes place. (Kizakura, a sake company, was founded in 1951.)
14	%%* ArtEvolution: Compare the [[http://manga.animea.net/kaze-to-ki-no-uta-chapter-4-page-3.html art of the earlier volumes]] of the manga with the [[http://fuckyeahtakemiya.tumblr.com/post/11063627615/yomigaere-jules-bb-sometimes-there-are-things art of later volumes.]]
15	%%* AttentionWhore: Liliath is one of these.
16	%%* BarbieDollAnatomy: Played straight in the OVA, but sometimes averted in the manga.
17	%%* BerserkButton:
18	%%** Don't call someone 'dirty' when [[SonOfAWhore Serge]] can hear you.
19	%%** Don't give Gilbert any orders.
20	%%* BigFancyHouse: The chateau 'Cherubin de la Mer' and the Battour estate.
21	%%* BishieSparkle: Gilbert has a pretty serious case of this.
22	%%* BlueBlood: Almost everyone.
23	%%* BoardingSchool
24	* BookDumb:
25	** Gilbert is easily more intelligent than most of the boys in his class, yet has little, if any, academic merit to speak of (although this may simply be because he [[BrilliantButLazy just doesn't care]]).
26	** Subverted with Pascal. He has proven to be more than capable of doing well in classes, but has failed three years in a row because he prefers to spend his time studying more useful/interesting things (like knitting) [[spoiler:and because he wants to graduate with the very highest grade possible, as his dream is to raise a prodigy; he's willing to be held back a few years if it means he can build up the knowledge]].
27	* BookEnds: The titular 'poem' appears as both an opening and closing monologue.
28	%%* BoysLove: Quite possibly the TropeCodifier, for manga, anyway. (A lot of the core BL tropes were put in place by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mori_Mari Mari Mori]]'s "aesthetic" novels of the 1960s.)
29	%%* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Though both boys, Gilbert and Serge.
30	%%* BuryYourGays
31	%%* ButIWouldReallyEnjoyIt: Serge towards [[spoiler:Patricia]], it seems.
32	* CanisLatinicus:
33	** The text in Latin in chapter 3 is badly mangled, including nonexistent words and dialogue that has nothing to do with what the characters are allegedly saying. In the OVA, it sounds a little more like actual Latin, but the accent the characters speak with is very, very thick and almost impenetrable.
34	** The Latin Rosmariné speaks in the mass is actually taken random Latin text and has nothing to do with what he is actually said to be saying. The hymn they sing, however, is real (although mangled) Latin, not taken from anywhere else (according to Google), except the "Agnus Dei" part, which is actually... from Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_(Lloyd_Webber) Requiem]]''.
35	%%* ChildhoodFriends: Rosemariné and Jules; Serge and Angeline.
36	%%* ChristianityIsCatholic: Justified since it's set in a Catholic school in a predominantly Catholic country.
37	%%* CondescendingCompassion: Gilbert interprets Serge's initial kindness to him as this, and it really, ''really'' annoys him.
38	%%* ContemplateOurNavels: Gilbert's endless musings on why he hates and loves the wind.
39	* ADayInTheLimelight: ''Koufuku no Hato'', the one-shot epilogue to the story, focuses on Rosemarine and Jules.
40	%%* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The seniors were infatuated with Gilbert as soon as he arrived in the school... when he was ''11''.
41	%%* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Gilbert's drug addiction.]]
42	%%* DiesWideOpen: Gilbert.
43	%%* DramaticWind: Plenty of it, fittingly enough.
44	* EliteManCourtesanRomance: Serge's complicated social status derives from the fact that his father was a French nobleman but ruined the family's reputation by marrying a Romani HighClassCallGirl.
45	* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
46	** In Gilbert's first appearance, he's just finished sleeping with another boy for a written paper. He hits him when he tries touching him again, walks out of the room with his clothes undone, gets called by the principal, and sleeps with him too.
47	** Subverted with Rosemariné. His first appearance involves him taking grave personal offence at an act of bullying done by some seniors to a junior. It soon turns out that his moral code allows plenty of other instances of bullying, including his own physically abusive treatment of Gilbert.
48	%%* {{Expy}}: If you watch the full-length ''Manga/TowardTheTerra'' anime, be sure to look out for Serge Starjon.
49	%%* FanDisservice: Most of the sexual content, [[spoiler:since so much of it is either dubcon or outright rape]].
50	%%* FanservicePack: Serge matured rather nicely, didn't he?
51	* {{Filler}}: The backstory arcs are far longer than they needed to be and are shown back-to-back, meaning the reader is taken away from the main story for six volumes. As nice as the chapters centred around Serge's parents are, the story could probably progress just fine without them.
52	%%* FirstKiss: Gilbert comments on being Serge's first kiss. [[spoiler:He isn't. That would be Angeline.]]
53	%%* FlowerMotifs: Because it's just not a 70s shoujo manga without them.
54	%%* {{Foreshadowing}}
55	%%* FriendshipMoment: About 90% of Jules and Gilbert's interactions, especially in earlier volumes.
56	%%* {{Gayngst}}: Karl has a fair bit of this towards the beginning.
57	%%* {{Gonk}}: The character designs of some of the extras are...interesting.
58	%%* GorgeousPeriodDress: School uniform aside, Gilbert's ''entire wardrobe'' seems to consist of this.
59	%%* HeartwarmingOrphan: Serge.
60	%%* HeelFaceTurn: Rosemarine.
61	* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Pascal says that Gilbert's 'illness' is incurable, and one might risk sharing it if one tries to help him.
62	%%* HotBloodedSideburns: Leo.
63	%%* HotGypsyWoman:
64	%%** Camille, [[spoiler:Serge and Gilbert's neighbour from the last two volumes]].
65	%%** Paiva, although she doesn't really fit the overall character type.
66	%%* {{Hypocrite}}: The treatment the student at the school gives other students and the use of violence seems erratic. They despise Gilbert and his affairs, but have no problem with Lilias, and while they protest vehemently Breaux's violent advances on Gilbert, they are more than willing to lynch Serge for his presumed affair with Gilbert.
67	* HypocriticalHumor: Some of Gilbert's classmates refer to Gilbert as 'the school's cancer' and talk about how he 'defiles' the school, while referring to the private study room as 'the Turkish bathhouse', the classes as 'the wilderness' and the club as 'the public bathhouse'.
68	%%* ImpoverishedPatrician: Jules de Ferrier.
69	%%* InternalMonologue
70	%%* JapaneseRanguage:
71	%%** [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Dren/Doren]] knocks out Serge with a bottle labelled 'ETHEL'.
72	%%** This is one of the reasons Pascal's Latin in the OVA is almost unrecognisable as Latin.
73	%%* KidsAreCruel: Particularly later in the series [[spoiler:once Serge and Gilbert have actually hooked up]].
74	%%* KissingCousins: Serge and Angeline.
75	%%* LookBothWays: [[spoiler:Gilbert didn't.]]
76	%%* LonelyRichKid: Serge's desire to befriend Gilbert is at least partly due to his belief that they have this in common.
77	%%* LoveBubbles
78	%%* LoveHurts: So very, ''very'' much.
79	* LewdLustChasteSex: While makeout scenes are drawn in great detail, consensual sex is all either highly symbolic or fade-to-black. Interestingly, rape scenes tend to also be more explicit, presumably so they may [[FanDisservice thoroughly traumatize readers]].
80	%%* ManipulativeBastard: Auguste, Rosemarine, Gilbert. In that order.
81	* MediumAwareness: A couple of blink-and-you'll-miss-it instances of characters grabbing onto/hiding behind their own speech bubbles.
82	* {{Melodrama}}: It's a shoujo manga from the 1970s set in Europe in the 1880s. Were you ''really'' expecting anything else?
83	%%* MoneyToBurn: Gilbert pulls this at one point, and Jules momentarily mistakes him for Rosemariné.
84	%%* TheMourningAfter
85	%%* NewTransferStudent: Serge.
86	* OddFriendship: Deeply religious, straight-laced, hard-working honor student Karl and rebellious, eccentric, BrilliantButLazy atheist Pascal. Serge strikes something of a balance between the two, but they were friends before they met him.
87	* OneGenderSchool: The story primarily takes place at Lacombrade Academy, a fictional all-boy's school in Provence.
88	* ParentalAbandonment:
89	** Serge's parents died within a year of one another when he was very young.
90	** Gilbert's parents moved away without him [[spoiler:after his mother went a bit crazy and [[OffingTheOffspring tried to kill him]] when he was still ''an infant'']].
91	* PlentyOfBlondes: All but about three of the female characters are blonde, and a rather large number of the males as well.
92	* PublicDomainSoundtrack: The OVA has a lot of classical music pieces in their soundtrack.
93	%%* RegalRinglets: Angeline.
94	%%* RaceForYourLove
95	%%* RescueSex: [[spoiler:Jules and Gilbert.]]
96	%%* RomanticRunnerUp: Patricia.
97	%%* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack: Ususally justified by the setting, although not always (for example, characters are often shown in other clothes in the dorms, suggesting they're not mandatory outside of school hours, yet Serge and Gilbert still wore theirs for most of the summer vacation).
98	* ShoutOut
99	** Serge's father was named Aslan, almost certainly in reference to ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia''.
100	** Near the end of volume 1, Pascal tells Serge, 'Bye, lil' Manga/AstroBoy, ally of justice!' and in volume two, some boys are seen completing an ''Astro Boy'' jigsaw puzzle.
101	%%* SlapSlapKiss: Gilbert and Serge take this to ''ridiculous'' levels.
102	%%* SlippingAMickey: If [[spoiler:Auguste]] offers you wine, drink it at your own risk.
103	%%* SlutShaming:
104	%%** Gender inverted with Gilbert.
105	%%** It formed part of the discrimination against Paiva, which has lead to it becoming a BerserkButton for her son, Serge.
106	* SmokingHotSex: Serge does this at one point in what is probably the closest thing the series gets to full-on {{Fanservice}}.
107	%%* SomethingElseAlsoRises: Some of those "random shôjo flower moments" actually read as this.
108	%%* SpiritualSuccessor: To Takemiya's earlier oneshot ''Manga/NatsuENoTobira'' (''The Door to Summer''), in that they both revolve around 14-year-old boys at a French boarding school.
109	%%* StarCrossedLovers:
110	%%** Aslan and Paiva.
111	%%** Serge and Gilbert.
112	%%* StupidSexyFlanders: Gilbert invokes this with Carl on purpose to get him to leave him alone.
113	%%* SuddenDownerEnding
114	%%* TeenGenius:
115	%%** Jules has actually already graduated but sticks around to keep his friend Rosemarine company.
116	%%** Pascal. Occasionally bordering on MadScientist.
117	%%* ThereAreNoTherapists: Gilbert could ''desperately'' use one.
118	%%* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[spoiler:Michel, Pascal's younger half-brother.]]
119	%%* TurnOutLikeHisFather: Auguste
120	%%* WillTheyOrWontThey: [[spoiler:They do]].
121	* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Six volumes are devoted to Gilbert's childhood and how Serge's parents met and his early life.
122	* WifeHusbandry: Auguste manipulated, tortured and warped Gilbert's mind as a child so he'll be absolutely devoted to him, "his puppet" as he calls him. The only difference is that Gilbert becoming his lover seems to have been initially unintentional, and that Auguste didn't wait until he was even ten.
123	%%* TheXOfY

Context Manga / KazeToKiNoUta