Paradise Kiss - Ai Yazawa

Rating:

This review may contain spoilers. This manga has kept me hooked from the very beginning, and while I admit I’m biased—since I identify with Yukari more than I’d like to admit— this work by Ai Yazawa perfectly captures that stage of life when you transition from being a teenager to becoming a woman, with all the challenges that come with it: deciding what to do with your future, discovering first love and the power dynamics within a relationship, and the wounds within the family unit, to name a few.

Yukari is a young woman who has always done what’s expected of her; even though she isn’t good at it, she persists in her determination to meet her mother’s expectations—a mother she feels she has disappointed ever since she was a child. She has no idea what to study, which college to apply to, or even if she’ll be capable of it—when suddenly, she meets a group of friends who will change her rigid view of the world.

The members of the Paradise Kiss atelier are young people around the same age as our protagonist, but without that strict outlook on the future; they follow discipline not out of social convention, but out of passion for what they do—in this case, creating clothing.

At first, Yukari looks down on Arashi, Miwako, and Isabella, letting them know that she “has no time for games,” but it doesn’t take her long to realize that even though these young people’s lifestyles aren’t what’s considered conventional, they’re in a way more certain about what they want, and unlike her, they have clear goals they’re determined to achieve no matter what.
Then George enters the scene, the romantic interest in this story: an emotionally unavailable man, yet passionate, experienced, chivalrous, yet equally toxic. It seems that Yukari sets aside her mother’s expectations to become what George considers the perfect woman—who, thanks to the nature of “Caroline,” is not her.

Throughout the story, the protagonist evolves to find herself, discovers her passion thanks to her new friends, and realizes that to achieve her goals, honesty, determination, and self-confidence are what will help her succeed.
The part I enjoyed the most was the ending. There are loves that, despite their intensity and importance, won’t last for the rest of our lives—there won’t be a “happily ever after.” However, that person will always have a place in our hearts for what they contributed to making us who we are today; just like Yukari, I, too, would cry during the play, even if it were a comedy.