History Manga / ParadiseKiss

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pk16.jpg]]

''Paradise Kiss'' is a 5 volume {{Josei}} manga series by Creator/AiYazawa (of Manga/{{Nana}} fame) that ran in Zipper magazine from 2000 to 2004. It's a sequel [[SpinOff of sorts]] to her previous work ''Manga/GokinjoMonogatari'', with several characters from it making appearances and being relatives of the cast, but it can be read as stand-alone and has in fact been published in countries where Gokinjo [[NoExportForYou has not been released]].

%%* OedipusComplex:

* FashionDesigner: Most of the main cast is designing a dress together.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: ''Everyone'' in the Paradise Kiss group has [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience a different outrageous haircolor]] (George=blue, Miwako=pink, Isabella=purple, Arashi=yellow/blonde) but they're all supposed to be dyed, ''nobody'' thinks it's normal, and it's played as just another part of their rather eccentric appearances. This has the added effect of making Yukari (who has normal, black hair) look more out of place within their group than she already is. This is not the case in the live-action film.

It tells the story of Yukari Hayasaka, a high school senior whose life revolves solely around her studies and her upcoming university entrance exams. That is, until she meets punk rocker Arashi and stylish [[{{Transgender}} lady]] Isabella, who accost her and ask her to model the [[PimpedOutDress dress]] they're working on for the upcoming fashion show of their arts high school. They proceed to [[strike: kidnap]] take her to ''the Atelier'', where she meets [[{{Kawaiiko}} sweet and lovely]] Miwako and charismatic and handsome George, [[InsufferableGenius fashion designer extraordinaire]] in the making. Together, they form the Paradise Kiss ensemble. This chance encounter shakes her dull and monotonous life, and thrusts her into a self-discovery journey and a passionate and [[TheMasochismTango rocky romance]] with George.

* {{Transgender}}: Isabella.

* BiTheWay: George may be a [[JerkAssWoobie jerk]] and rather [[ChivalrousPervert kinky]], but he's by no means [[DepravedBisexual depraved]] and his bisexuality is handled pretty matter-of-factly.

It tells the story of Yukari Hayasaka, a high school senior whose life revolves solely around her studies and her upcoming university entrance exams. That is, until she meets punk rocker Arashi and stylish [[{{Transgender}} lady]] Isabella, who accost her and ask her to model the [[PimpedOutDress dress]] they're working on for the upcoming fashion show of their arts high school. They proceed to [[strike: kidnap]] take her to ''the Atelier'', where she meets [[{{Kawaiiko}} sweet]] and [[TheCutie lovely]] Miwako and [[TheDandy charismatic]] and [[{{Bishonen}} handsome]] [[strike: Johji]] George, [[InsufferableGenius fashion designer extraordinaire]] in the making. Together, they form the Paradise Kiss ensemble. This chance encounter shakes her dull and monotonous life, and thrusts her into a self-discovery journey and a passionate and [[TheMasochismTango rocky romance]] with George.

%%* {{Bishonen}}:

* {{Nosebleed}}: in a rare female example, Seiji makes Yukari nosebleed with the sheer force of his [[{{Bishonen}} bishieness]].

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* {{Transgender}}: Isabella, though [[{{Bishonen}} you might not have known at first]].

* WholesomeCrossdresser: "She wore a man's suit to the interview. It was swanky!" The manga implies that having to wear a suit and dress as a man to get a job she wants in Japan is one of the reasons why Isabella [[spoiler:decides to follow George.]]

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Isabella, due to both her clothing and some physical traits (she has long-fingered, extremely knobbly hands that look like an old lady's... or a skinny man's). George is a milder case, but he probably looks more like a twenty-something than eighteen. This is lampshaded in the manga, where one scene of George and Isabella being exceptionally melodramatic has captions reminding the readers that they're still in high school.

It tells the story of Yukari Hayasaka, a high school senior whose life revolves solely around her studies and her upcoming university entrance exams. That is, until she meets punk rocker Arashi and stylish [[{{Transsexual}} lady]] Isabella, who accost her and ask her to model the [[PimpedOutDress dress]] they're working on for the upcoming fashion show of their arts high school. They proceed to [[strike: kidnap]] take her to ''the Atelier'', where she meets [[{{Kawaiiko}} sweet]] and [[TheCutie lovely]] Miwako and [[TheDandy charismatic]] and [[{{Bishonen}} handsome]] [[strike: Johji]] George, [[InsufferableGenius fashion designer extraordinaire]] in the making. Together, they form the Paradise Kiss ensemble. This chance encounter shakes her dull and monotonous life, and thrusts her into a self-discovery journey and a passionate and [[TheMasochismTango rocky romance]] with George.

* {{Transsexual}}: Isabella, though [[{{Bishonen}} you might not have known at first]].

The series was adapted into a 12 episode anime series in 2005, which proved an excellent excuse for Yazawa to design [[UnlimitedWardrobe a heap of all new outfits]] for the characters (Note that it lacks the manga's habit of [[NoFourthWall having the characters share]] [[GenreSavvy their knowing insights with the reader]]). A [[LiveActionAdaptation live-action film]] was released in June 2011.

%%* GenreSavvy

It tells the story of Yukari Hayasaka, a high school senior whose life revolves solely around her studies and her upcoming university entrance exams. That is, until she meets punk rocker Arashi and stylish [[{{Transsexual}} lady]] Isabella, who accost her and ask her to model the [[PimpedOutDress dress]] they're working on for the upcoming fashion show of their arts high school. They proceed to [[strike: kidnap]] take her to ''the Atelier'', where she meets [[{{Kawaiiko}} sweet]] and [[TheCutie lovely]] Miwako and [[TheDandy charismatic]] and [[{{Bishonen}} handsome]] [[strike: Johji]] George, [[InsufferableGenius fashion designer extraordinaire]] in the making. Together, they form the Paradise Kiss [[TrueCompanions ensemble]]. This chance encounter shakes her dull and monotonous life, and thrusts her into a self-discovery journey and a passionate and [[TheMasochismTango rocky romance]] with George.

Overall, it's an [[{{Deconstruction}} unconventional]] {{Josei}} manga with a cast of unusual characters, with the world of [[AuthorAppeal alternative fashion]] as a backdrop. It can be seen as a deconstruction of the shoujo romance genre.

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Poor Hiro. Yukari had a crush on him for a long time, until she met George and fell for him on the spot. [[spoiler: And that was after Miwako chose Arashi over him]]. Subverted in that [[spoiler: Yukari still likes and respects him, and in the end she actually ends up marrying ''him'' and not George.]]
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: [[spoiler:Isabella, towards George.]] She seems to have accepted that it's not going to happen, though.
* AuthorAppeal: Ai Yazawa wanted to be a fashion designer before she became a mangaka. And it ''shows''.
* BeautifulAllAlong: subverted, since the only makeover Yukari gets is [[ImportantHaircut trimming her bangs]], and [[BeYourself even before that she was a real beauty]], she was just too busy studying to notice.
* BigFancyHouse: Isabella lives in a big fancy mansion, George lives in a big fancy appartment. A ''very'' big, ''very'' fancy appartment.

* {{Bishonen}}: in spades.

** HilariousInHindsight if you ever saw the TopGear episode where Jeremy describes Jag owners as being "slightly caddish, but in a really likeable way" which fits George to a tee

* CostumePorn: And how!

* TheDandy: George
* DistantFinale: Only alluded to in the anime. From the manga we learn that [[spoiler: George designs costumes for Broadway, Yukari is a successful model and actress, engaged to Hiro, who is a doctor. Arashi and Miwako have a baby, Erika, and they're still good friends with Yukari and Hiro. Isabella is not mentioned, but presumably she's still working with George.]]
* EducationMama: Yukari's mother Yasuko fits the trope down to a tee.
* ElegantGothicLolita

* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: So is the power of Miwako's ultra-concentrated {{Moe}}!
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: George, George, George...

* GenreSavvy

* GiantPoofySleeves: the big [[PimpedOutDress school festival dress of doom]] has a serious case of this.
* HeroicBastard [[spoiler: George]]
* HimeCut: [[ImportantHaircut instantly]] turns Yukari from a scruffy schoolgirl into a stylish beauty.

* InsufferableGenius: George ''lives'' this trope.

* ImportantHaircut
* JerkAss: George, at his worst.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: George, at his best.

* {{Kawaiiko}}: Miwako.
* LadykillerInLove: George, with the twist that [[spoiler: it's not towards Yukari, but Kaori]].
* LonelyRichKid: Isabella's backstory. George is also a bit of one.
* LovableSexManiac: Arguably deconstructed with George.
* LoveMartyr
* TheMasochismTango: George and Yukari.
* MediumAwareness: contantly in the manga, but left out in the anime.
* MyGirlIsNotASlut: Inverted and possibly deconstructed since [[spoiler: Arashi [[SexualHarassmentAndRapeTropes forces himself]] on his girlfriend Miwako]], but later exhibits ''huge'' guilt about it.

* NoFourthWall: Absent from the anime adaptation, used to great effect in the manga.
* NoodlePeople: Just look at the pic.

* OedipusComplex: Arguably the main reason George is so fucked in the head.

** The contrast between Yukari's boringly ordinary self and the sheer eccentricity of the vast majority of the cast is played both for laughs and completely seriously as she starts questioning her outlook on life. A more subtle example is Arashi, who finds himself playing this role quite often when his team mates engage in their crazy absurd antics, making certain [[TheReveal revelation]] [[SexualHarassmentAndRapeTropes about]] [[BackStory his past]] particularly shocking.
** Hiro often plays this role in the Arashi/Miwako/Hiro triangle, and to Yukari.
* PimpedOutDress: and it's a plot point. A ''big'' plot point.

* [[spoiler: [[SexualHarassmentAndRapeTropes Rape Is Love]]: Arashi and Miwako's first time. Deconstructed in the manga, actually: Arashi ''does'' come to aknowledge how fucked up it is and feels like crap about it.]]
* RealSongThemeTune: "Do You Want To" by Music/FranzFerdinand.
* RomanticRunnerUp: Hiro may be seen as this in the beginning, but since the series is partly about desconstructing romance tropes to hell and back, [[spoiler:it gets beautifully subverted in the end]]. He still gets the shaft in fanworks, though.
* SeriousBusiness: George's [[InsufferableGenius talent]] as a fashion designer is regarded as an exceptional artistic gift, so much it sometimes gets a little blown [[TrueArtIsAngsty out of proportion]]. Then again, it's justified since it concerns his future life and career.
*** And then he goes and decides [[spoiler: ''not'' to make a living of it, since that would imply catering to some kind of audience and he doesn't want to compromise his purely artistic, non-commercial view of fashion design.]]
*** He still decides to [[spoiler: try haute couture in the end, and ends up designing costumes for Broadway shows]].
* SkinshipGrope: Miwako, on Yukari.
** Also, Arashi on (who he thought) was Miwako. Turns out it was her ''older sister'', Mikako.
* SomethingAboutARose
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Several cases, but especially Mikako and Miwako.
* TallDarkAndSnarky: George
* TeamMom: Isabella.
* TeenPregnancy: George's mom is still in her thirties. Not very absurd though given that she was a model and had George when she was still very young.

* TrueCompanions

* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler: Hiro]] for Miwako, [[spoiler: Isabella]] for George.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: "She wore a man's suit to the interview. It was swanky!"
** Subverted a little since the manga implies that having to wear a suit and dress as a man to get a job she wants in Japan is one of the reasons why Isabella [[spoiler:decides to follow George.]]
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: ''Everyone'' in the Paradise Kiss group has [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience a different outrageous haircolor]] (George=blue, Miwako=pink, Isabella=purple, Arashi=yellow/blonde) but they're all supposed to be dyed, ''nobody'' thinks it's normal, and it's played as just another part of their rather eccentric appearances.
** This has the added effect of making Yukari (who has normal, black hair) look more out of place within their group than she already is.
** Averted in the live-action film, to some fans' dismay.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Isabella, due to both her clothing and some physical traits (she has long-fingered, extremely knobbly hands that look like an old lady's... or a skinny man's). George is a milder case, but he probably looks more like a twenty-something than eighteen.
** This is lampshaded in the manga, where one scene of George and Isabella being exceptionally melodramatic has captions reminding the readers that they're still in high school.

* DancingTheme: The ED, to a song by ''FranzFerdinand'' of all people.

* ProductPlacement: There's a few FranzFerdinand posters scattered around the place.

* RealSongThemeTune: "Do You Want To" by FranzFerdinand.

Paradise Kiss is a 5 volume {{Josei}} manga series by Creator/AiYazawa (of Manga/{{Nana}} fame) that ran in Zipper magazine from 2000 to 2004. It's a sequel [[SpinOff of sorts]] to her previous work ''Manga/GokinjoMonogatari'', with several characters from it making appearances and being relatives of the cast, but it can be read as stand-alone and has in fact been published in countries where Gokinjo [[NoExportForYou has not been released]].

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: ''everyone'' in the ParadiseKiss group has [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience a different outrageous haircolor]] (George=blue, Miwako=pink, Isabella=purple, Arashi=yellow/blonde) but they're all supposed to be dyed, ''nobody'' thinks it's normal, and it's played as just another part of their rather eccentric appearances.

Paradise Kiss is a 5 volume {{Josei}} manga series by Creator/AiYazawa (of {{Nana}} fame) that ran in Zipper magazine from 2000 to 2004. It's a sequel [[SpinOff of sorts]] to her previous work ''Manga/GokinjoMonogatari'', with several characters from it making appearances and being relatives of the cast, but it can be read as stand-alone and has in fact been published in countries where Gokinjo [[NoExportForYou has not been released]].

* {{Expy}}: Miwako is a clone of her sister, Mikako, main character of the original series. Interestingly, [[PlayingWithATrope she is aware of it]], and she [[{{Angst}} doesn't find it amusing]]. George is [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed based on]] [[VelvetGoldmine Brian Slade]], [[LampShaded alluded to]] in the series as Brian is George's idol.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeFashionable: George dresses up Yukari in the clothes he's designed (and has done the same for Isabella, a beloved platonic friend).

* NoFourthWall: absent from the anime adaptation, used to great effect in the manga.

* OnlySaneMan: the contrast between Yukari's boringly ordinary self and the sheer eccentricity of the vast majority of the cast is played both for laughs and completely seriously as she starts questioning her outlook on life. A more subtle example is Arashi, who finds himself playing this role quite often when his team mates engage in their crazy absurd antics, making certain [[TheReveal revelation]] [[SexualHarassmentAndRapeTropes about]] [[BackStory his past]] particularly shocking.

* PortmanteauSeriesNickname: [=ParaKiss=]. It's actually used by the characters.

* PortmanteauSeriesNickname: ParaKiss. It's actually used by the characters.