Customer Reviews

KimiKiss Volume 1

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Take a look at the cover of "KimiKiss" and it should tell you everything you need to know. A cute girl in her school uniform with blushing red cheeks, posed to receive her first kiss...

Based on a dating sim for the PS2, there are actual several different series in the "KimiKiss" franchise. This five-volume series was released in Japan as "KimiKiss: Various Heroines" and is anthology style, telling the story of a different girl in each volume, sometimes with a back-up story featuring other characters from the story. Most of the stories are straight-up love stories, rather than the usual mixed-up love triangle.

This first volume features Kouichi, a shy high school student who doesn't know how to talk to girls. Kouichi is followed around by his little sister Nana, who seems to have more than a sisterly affection for her big brother. Into the picture comes Mao, a beautiful high school student with the face of an angel and the body of a model. Kouchi, Nana and Mao used to play together when they were little, but drifted apart in High School when Mao blossomed and Kouchi became too shy to talk to her. Mao never gave up on Kouichi however, and offers to give him "boyfriend lessons" in order to give him confidence and to learn how to be popular with girls. Included in these "boyfriend lessons" is teaching Kouchi how to kiss, and it seems that Mao might have some other plans on her mind.

The back-up story for volume one continues with Nana, the little sister, who starts to feel left behind by all the kissing going on and decides to do something about it. After asking Mao what a kiss feels like, she decides she needs to know more and goes with her friend Narumi to do some research. After checking out books in the library, the two girls decide the best way to learn about kissing might just be to practice with each other.

Obviously, the lure of a series like "KimiKiss" is the girls, and artist Shinonome Taro has definitely delivered. There is plenty of fan service, although it is more of the "innocent" kind than that of books like Sundome. Don't worry, Kouichi and Mao definitely head to the beach, and Mao seems to spend a lot of time in the shower even hopping in with Nana once.

But for all the fan service the emphasis of the story is on the romance rather than the body parts. There is much more sweetness here than spice. "KimiKiss" is that of that particular genre of Japanese comic, of the shy young boy who falls head-over-heels in love with the girl of his dreams, and finds out that she might just like him back. The best thing about "KimiKiss" is that the girl of Kouchi's dreams also likes to parade around in a bikini and doesn't mind sneaking up to the rooftop of the school in order to get kissed.

I don't really feel like writing an in-depth review right now, but I think this series deserves at least one post.
Each volume contains a stand-alone romance between two awkward teenagers experiencing their first love; predictable, simple, but cuddly & oh-so-sweet like a marshmallow. There's an innocence to each of these little love stories that charms your soul. The characters are believable & huggable, & the art is crisp & attractive.
It makes for an all-around warming, feel-good read.
This particular volume is the best of the series, chronicling the blooming relationship between two childhood friends (with an adorable bonus short-story).

If you enjoyed the fluffy, tender Ai Yori Aoshi, you should absolutely look into picking up KimiKiss.

I didn't realize until I placed my order that these are in English-kinda ok but I like manga better in Japanese, of course. Does anyone sell Japanese version on Amazon?

This is not a 'gripping drama' nor an extended saga such as Negima or School Rumble. It's a rom-com and appropriately rated 'older teen'.
It would be beneficial to understand the foundation of the story. This series of books (of which there should be eight) are this authors take on the scenarios played out in the dating-sim game of the same name. Each book follows the boys relationship with one girl. The next book starts at ground zero again with another girl becoming the main female character. There is no story cross-over, so if a girl from a previous book is encountered she has no history with the boy. The books could be read in any order.
The book is little different print-wise from many other manga and one thing in its favor is that the pages don't seem to have been reduced / shrunk to fit the format as much as, say Negima was. Where Negima makes reading glasses a requirement, this looks ok as is. The covers have a nice finish though they seem to be of a lighter card stock than other graphic novels.
A fun, light read.