Don't let HER give you CPR.
Todome no Kiss (トドメの接吻, Kiss that Kills) is a 10 episode Japanese Television Drama Dorama from 2018.
Otaro Dojima (Kento Yamazaki) works as a popular host. Because of a past incident, he believes that love makes people unhappy. He now only pursues money and power.
A mysterious woman with a pale face and red lips (Mugi Kadowaki) appears in front of him. She kisses him and he dies, but the next moment he regains consciousness. He realizes he is now 7 days in the past. The mysterious woman also follows him. Due to her kiss, Otaro Dojima dies and goes back to the past over and over again.
The series covers Otaro's pursuit of Mikoto (Yuko Araki), the heiress to the Namiki Group with a fortune of 10 billion yen, while getting around her protective adoptive brother Takauji (Mackenyu Arata), who has his own secrets.
The show was followed by the short series Todome no Parallel (トドメのパラレル, Kiss that Kills -Parallel-), which are 10 shorter episodes that are told from other characters's perspectives after Eight is kissed and/or dies, as well as Alternate Timeline stories where the characters decide to do things differently from the original series.
Has a Recap page that is under construction.
This series contains examples of:
- Adoption Angst: Justified as Takauji overhears his parents saying that if they knew Mikoto, they wouldn't have adopted him. Further emphasised by both parents' refusal to leave the Namiki group to him. This drives most of the plot as well as the origin story of the protagonist Otaro.
- Affably Evil: Takauji in the later episodes, especially when Saiko is kidnapped.
- Anti-Hero: Otaro is morally corrupt. There's a reason almost every main character has called him "scum" at least once. He's willing to do awful things just to be rich and has no problem using others for this goal.
- Anti-Villain: Takauji is a kind and thoughtful older brother in the earlier episodes, who is later driven to extremely questionable decisions, violence, and murder attempts due to Otaro interfering with his life and relationship with Mikoto through time leaps. In the final episode, it is implied that without interference, Takauji and Mikoto would be happy together.Otaro: I stole her life from her.
Mikoto: No, it was Takauji who did that.Otaro: It was I who sent his life off the tracks. - Arranged Marriage: Mikoto with Takauji (depending on the timelines) due to their responsibility to the Namiki Group.
- Believing Their Own Lies: Otaro fully seems to believe that love makes people unhappy.
- Black Mail: Arai holds the tape of the cruise ship engine room over Takauji's head in order to make Takauji marry Mikoto and thus secure Arai's position as vice-president of the Namiki Group.
- Big Brother Instinct: Takauji towards Mikoto, such as in Episode 1 when he steps in front of the potential suitor Edano to prevent him from approaching his sister, after a videotape exposing Edano as a womaniser.Takauji: There's no way I'll hand my sister over to a guy like you.
* Big Entrance: Takauji's first scene involves him jumping a fence and galloping in on a horse to save his sister and Otaro from another runaway horse. - Bittersweet Ending: After Saiko is killed, Harumi reveals to Otaro that he has the same ability, but in his case will send the other person back 3 months instead of just one week. After some soul-searching, Otaro agrees to go back, after which he essentially cuts everybody out of his life while resolving their issues in one fell swoop. The series ends with him wanting to put his family back together in his own way.
- Blessed with Suck: Saiko hates her power, seeing it as her punishment for surviving the accident.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: After slyly alluding to Saiko's ability and the other person missing the hint and walking away, Harumi looks right at the screen and says, "But I just told him the secret!"
- Brother–Sister Incest: Takauji and Mikoto, but justified as Takauji is adopted.
- The Casanova: The protagonist Otaro sleeps with multiple women and tells them sweet, honeyed words which makes him even more popular with them.
- Character Development: Otaro's attempts to win Mikoto's heart, and particularly his interactions with Saiko, are what help change his attitude towards people.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Harumi, the homeless guy.
- Crazy Jealous Guy:
- Kazuma is this for Otaro as he hates seeing him pursue other girls.
- Takauji becomes this the more Otaro keeps interfering with his life and his relationship with Mikoto.
- Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: Otaro dies a lot in this series. Good thing Saiko knows when and where it happens so she can just send them back in time with her kiss. The one instance that she doesn't make it in time, she decides to kiss Mikoto instead, and then simply convince her afterward that it was all a dream.
- Did Not Get the Girl: Otaro neither ends up with Saiko nor with Mikoto. He tells the former to not fall for scummy men like him and the latter to be happy with Takauji.
- Driven to Madness: Takauji in the later episodes, mostly unintentionally but due to Otaro's time leaps and interferences.
- Downer Ending: Some of the Todome No Parallel episodes have this.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: In a roundabout way, the main characters have this in the final ending.
- Embodiment of Vice: Otaro exemplifies greed. This is emphasized in how he refers to Mikoto as "10 Billion" when talking about her with Kazuma or Saiko.
- Entitled Bastard: Otaro, who is proud of it. He asks favors from Saiko even though he puts her in danger and is only using her ability for his own goals and she gets nothing in return. He also asks for favours from his clients who can sometimes be reluctant for one reason or another.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Otaro can't understand why someone would do something that would not benefit them in the end.
- Forceful Kiss: Otaro and Saiko to various degrees of consent. Takauji attempts this on Mikoto, but he is interrupted.
- Gold Digger: Otaro only seeks to improve his social status and would do anything to get richer, which is why he's so obsessed with Mikoto who comes from a wealthy family.
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: Takauji initially ignores Mikoto's love confession in Episode 1, but realises he loves her after seeing Otaro's advances.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: Groundhog "Week" Loop, more like. Unless he gets a kiss right before a full week has passed, though, time continues normally, and he'll be sent back at a later time than the previous time-travel attempt.
- Happily Ever After: Episode 6 of Todome no Parallel ends in one.
- Host Club: The protaganist Otaro works at one.
- It's a Wonderful Plot: The series eventually turns out this way. Incidentally, it even starts on Christmas Eve!
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Right before Saiko kisses Mikoto to bring Otaro back to life, she whispers, "Find happiness with Eight." Tragically, Otaro doesn't realize Saiko's feelings until she sacrifices herself to protect him from Takauji. When he finds a way to go back in time again, he decides to stop her from getting involved with him.
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Jerkass Woobie: Takauji, especially in the later episodes, due to his backstory and his blackmail by his uncle Arai. - Kick the Dog: Otaro does this frequently, such as when he flaunted his couple rings with Mikoto in front of Takauji who's in love with her.
- Kiss of Death: Subverted. At first it seems like he Otaro dies when Saiko kisses him, but it turns out that he only goes back in time.
- Knight Templar Big Brother: Takauji after he realises that Otaro only wants to marry Mikoto for money and is time leaping to achieve this.
- Love Confession: Considering the title, there are many in the series. The very first of the show is Mikoto's confession towards Takauji in episode 1.
- Love Makes You Crazy: The way Takauji behaves around Mikoto is not normal. To be fair, the circumstances driving him are far from normal. Highlighted in Episode 7 of Todome no Parallel.
- Love Makes You Evil: Takauji is willing to kidnap someone and attempts to kill another just so he can have Mikoto.
- Manipulative Bastard: If Otaro finds a string to pull on someone he will do it. He lies to women left and right, especially Mikoto whom he tries to gain her sympathy by telling her lies and pretends to be in love with her when he's only after her money. He also forces Saiko into a contract where he uses her abilities for his own gain and gets her in danger. He also threatens Hasebe into searching for the cruise ship tape.
- Man of Wealth and Taste: Takauji is always either dressed in sharp suits and coats or brand-name outerwear as befitting his background.
- Mental Time Travel: The kiss actually does kill both parties... right before they're sent back in time with all their memories intact.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Hotai to Takauji. Otaro later calls him out on this.
- Not Blood Siblings: Takauji and Mikoto as Takauji is adopted, and they both admit that they don't see each other as siblings.
- Only in It for the Money: Otaro makes sure he isn't misunderstood that he doesn't care about Mikoto's feelings.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: During the first few episodes, Otaro is referred to only as "Eight" or "Host" by the other characters.
- Parental Abandonment: Otaro's father runs away from home after the cruise ship accident from 12 years ago that he was accused to be the cause of. Otaro calls him out on his disappearance and cowardice.
- Parental Favoritism: Takauji and Mikoto's parents completely dismiss the idea of having Takauji inherit the family fortune despite his being the older child, due to Takauji being adopted.
- Pet the Dog: Otaro tries to save a child from being hit by a car after remembering the child was hit in a previous time loop, this is the only kind deed so far that he has done without a benefit being in it for him.
- Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Time-travel does not revert a person's memories in this universe.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Doubles as Make Wrong What Once Went Right. He always goes back in time to get things going in his favor and selfish wishes which causes a mess which he realizes at the end so he goes back 3 months ago to really set things right and prevent the mess from happening.
- Stalker Shrine: Kazuma makes one of these of Otaro, complete with hundreds of photos and a giant character of 愛 (love) imposed on top.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: A very light version is given to the main characters by Otaro in the final episode.
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Saiko gained her powers after surviving the ship-sinking incident. Harumi obtained his from being the sole survivor of a family suicide.
- The Unfettered: Otaro is ready to go to any lengths just so he can go up the social ladder ranging from using others to making himself look like a hero.
- Those Two Guys: Takauji's friends, Hasebe and Hotai: Hasebe is short and softhearted but principled, while Hotai is tall, violent, and morally lacking.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: When Takauji kidnaps Saiko in an attempt to discover her secret, it's not until the very end of the episode that we learn that Otaro and Saiko had already time-traveled before. Otaro later says that it was difficult for him to do everything exactly the same way in order not to arouse suspicion.
- Undying Loyalty: Hotai to Takauji, as Takauji was his only [Because You Were Nice to Me friend] during his childhood. This extends to assault and attempted murder.
- In Love with the Mark: Subverted, as Otaro falls in love with Saiko, the tool he uses to get close to the mark (Mikoto).
- Yandere: A rare male example happens with Kazuma who's obsession with Otaro leads him to attempt to kill him many times.
