(L) Koi Kaze

[TronDD]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Yeah, I am interested to see how it will be received also. As far as the voice actors go, I hope that they can find people who are open-minded and understand the deeper issues here. Obviously the fact that they're siblings is the point of the show, but if someone can't see past that surface, I think they're really doing the show a great injustice.

I don't think the voice actors are going to care that much as long as they are getting paid.

I think how the show will be recieved will be determined by how they present it. Will there be big letters all over the box saying "INCEST", "TABOO", and "MY GOD IS NOTHING SACRED!!!"? Anime is already dismissed as something "wierd and different" by most Americans. Anime fans also seem to be more tolerant of these types of scenarios. I don't see why this show will be treated any differently if it's presented like other anime.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by rothgar

I think you're right that people will be attracted to the controversy. I thought it was a decent show cause it did a good job of showing the guy's anguish, an anguish he should suffer. I'm afraid though that instead of seeing this series as a study of one man's anguish, some people are going to think that the show supports incest as long as "true love" is involved. I too have sisters, and I find a few of the posts in this thread very weird.

Hmm... as someone who also has sisters, it really didn't look or feel anything like a "normal" brother-sister relationship. Of course, they are related by blood (hence all the anguish), but I think that a brother-sister bond is about more than just blood. That's why, although I couldn't sympathize with the situation, I could see the nature of the anguish and see past the disgust. After watching this show, my moral opinion on incest hasn't changed, but I can better appreciate the emotional struggles people who are facing these kinds of things go through. As you said, I think appreciating this show is more about empathizing with the anguish, as opposed to approving of the behaviour.

Originally Posted by TronDD

I don't think the voice actors are going to care that much as long as they are getting paid.

Of course you're right. I guess I always like to believe that the best voice actors are the ones who like the role they are playing... but that's a pretty baseless judgement. I'm just sort of "romanticizing" things I guess; when it comes right down to it, it's a job, not a higher calling.

Originally Posted by TronDD

I think how the show will be recieved will be determined by how they present it. Will there be big letters all over the box saying "INCEST", "TABOO", and "MY GOD IS NOTHING SACRED!!!"? Anime is already dismissed as something "wierd and different" by most Americans. Anime fans also seem to be more tolerant of these types of scenarios. I don't see why this show will be treated any differently if it's presented like other anime.

That is true enough. It is, as you say, a niche show that fits into an already niche market. I think that, as a drama, the show definitely has merit, so I imagine they will market to that strength. So, in other words, I think you're right; it will all depend on how they present it.

[luniz]

i don't think it will do too well, it's definately creepy at points and people can be surprisingly intolerant of stuff like incest.

i don't believe in love at first sight, so i don't think i would let anything happen. my sister is cool and fun to hang out with but i can't imagine being attracted to her.

[Yamano667]

If she was a supermodel ?? would you be attracted to your sis

Originally Posted by luniz

i don't think it will do too well, it's definately creepy at points and people can be surprisingly intolerant of stuff like incest.

i don't believe in love at first sight, so i don't think i would let anything happen. my sister is cool and fun to hang out with but i can't imagine being attracted to her.

[ShikaShika]

Finished the series yesterday. I thought it was a great anime no matter what your opinion of incest is. It sure as hell confused me, because I didn't know how to feel most of the time. One part of me wanted them to end up together because it's "true love" and everything, while the other part suddenly realizes "but is this really ok?". Also, I have a little sister myself, but non the less the anime didn't bother me.

I must say I really feel for the main characters. Thank god I know I will never end up in that situation, it must be so horrible... Knowing you shouldn't do something, but at the same time knowing you can't go on without going through with it... The voice actor for Koushiro was outstanding, the best I've ever heard. He really added another dimension to the character.

All in all, a very sad story, and by the end for various reasons you still pity them. I think Koushiro and Nanoka will do fine, but the parents... Great drama though...

[feiX]

----double post edited out-------
aieee sorry...browser spazzed out on me and told me my post didn't submit properly

[feiX]

hi all never really been to the animesuki forums before but wandered my way on in here after searching for koi kaze.

I just finished rewatching Koi Kaze a second time (all in one run this time...), and I must say that this is a wonderful show that would be worth my money to buy on dvd along with kimi ga nozomu eien.

I also wanted to say thanks to all those who joined in the discussion as I read most of the posts and thoroughly enjoyed reading what people had to offer in their opinions, and some of the posts just made me love the show even more.

Now, I'm far from being an in depth psychological analyst, and would have never come up with some of the psychobabble that a few of you have written about, but I wanted to write about some of the thoughts I had in mind regarding this show....excuse if some of it doesn't make sense, as i consider myself a very average or maybe even a bit below average intelligence person...lol


one of the things I loved about the show was that it was a love story in its purest form, meaning of course that at the very core are the passionate feelings of love, despite the surrounding facts and events. I guess to put it another way as somebody has posted it before i believe, "love conquers all".

Also being an avid watcher of hentai anime, the topic of forbidden love is no new story to me, as a lot of hentai out there are littered with incestual relationships (obviously with the "whoo hot raunchy action let's get it on" mindset), which make me just disregard it as another romp in the park. After watching Koi Kaze, it's so wonderful to see it in such a different light, a more realistic approach, and it sure has made me think seriously about such relationships and how hard it is to be in that kind of situation. I think the show handled itself well in the realization that it is indeed a forbidden relationship, and the moral values of society are certainly against them, but even knowing this, how can you just get rid of feelings that you've already felt and experienced to some degree. Personally I like the response that Koushirou gave to Chidori after she met Nanoka at his apartment, which went something like this: "Whether or not somebody is miserable isn't for you to decide."

Another thing I liked about the show was its ability to actually make my heart race. I think I can safely say that this is the first time that any anime has ever made my heart beat faster just by the events happening in the show, especially since this is taken at a relatively slower pace than most anime. I will admit that this is due in part to the fact that this show is dealing with a forbidden/taboo romance, which makes it all the more racy. Aside from that, this show does a great job of taking a string of events and leading them to one freeze frame which gets the heart movin (the scene that comes to mind is the moment at the beginning of episode 12 when they both trip and fall on each other). I'm glad that scene didn't end up as a near "what did she do, trip and your lips cushioned her fall?" moments, as probably most others would have done.

hm...other things i liked....the music! well...what else can i really say, other than that they are wonderfully composed and are like making love to my ears. It did an awesome job of setting the mood accordingly.

Ah yes...also the voice actors. superbly done! 1) Nanoka's voice is very cute and is indeed a very welcome change to the simulated high school girl voices heard everywhere. 2) I never thought I'd hear Wolf's Rain's Tsume's voice in a role such as this, but I must say, a very fitting voice and well executed. He's good with nuances and crying, not so much in laughing but still very good.

As for the ending, I did catch the fact that they were discussing the destruction of the theme park and rebuilding a shopping center over it, removing the row of trees in the process. Kyoushirou and Nanoka made a promise to each other saying that they would visit this spot where their connection first began next year, but for me I'd like to think that 1) of course they won't be able to keep the promise, and will definitely run into some very troubling times, but on the other hand 2) in the end nobody will be able to break the bond of love that they've shared, even if it means casting away everything that they know currently, to live their lives in peace. If Nanoka was willing to go as far as suicide to keep their love, I don't think anything will really be able to break them apart.

well i've been sitting here writing this message for ....a long time now, thinking about what should be written, and I can't really put into words all the other feelings I've felt about this show, but just know that I love the show, and I'm glad I've collected it together with Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, which as i've mentioned before, is another series I believe would be worth getting on dvd. It's the first anime to ever actually make me shed tears, and yes, I have seen Grave of the Fireflies as well. For me, the quality of an anime is measured by how well it sticks with me. If I often find myself thinking about the anime, the events that occurred, and such things like that, then I know that to me it was an excellent anime. KGNE and Koi Kaze happen to be two of those, along with gungrave. Of course not all the anime I really like are like this, these are just the excellent ones..lol


Well I've said enough now, and even though I didn't write out all that I feel for this show, I'm quite sure i've gotten more than just the gist of it through. I want to tell my friends that I love this show and that they should watch it as well, but unfortunately most of my friends have had the moral beatdown of society upon them, and would most likely look down upon this as one of those things that only (excuse me for saying this) "those sick, perverted japanese" would come up with, so I'm a little reluctant about letting them borrow the disc I keep it on, since I've recommended KGNE as well. Oh well, as much as I dislike hearing those kinds of things coming from my friends (who watch anime and play games which, ironically, originate from japan all the same), I'll probably end up letting them watch for themselves.

I want to thank Yoshida Motoi for creating such a romance drama title that'll be forever remembered by me (and as I've gathered from these posts, many others as well)!

[Jiji]

Wow, feix, well said. I may quote you in a future webpage I am building to KK, if you don't mind.

[Broccoli]

Just picked up the September issue of Newtype Beikokuban, and noticed that Koikaze was absent from the TV Listings/Synopsis ('Anime Land') section, whereas Tenjou Tenge, which was and shown back-to-back on the same network, did appear in the listings. It would have been the TV episodes 11 and 12 had they been listed.

Makes me wonder what happened. I am almost certain the original Nihongoban NT did have those episodes described, but without the actual thing to verify, I can only speculate...

[roguenoir]

Yeah, the last few episodes disturbed me greatly (I'm not saying this is a bad series.) I'm not very surprised this series got licensed, especially considering (spoilers for other series):

Spoiler:

Angel Sanctuary implied sex between brother and sister when they were in bed naked. Rahxephon (movie) implied sex between a boy and his adult lover, also 12 years older. However, both of these series are clearly fantasy while Koi Kaze could possibly been based on real events.

[SpOiLeR]

wow sorry for resurrecting this thread. I just finished watching the whole series saturday (all in 1 day!).

I spent about 2 hours reading the whole thread from beginning to end and I've got to say, everyone was predicting that nothing would happen between the two and half way thru, u guys found out about the sex.

I don't have much to say as pretty much everything that needed to be addressed has already been said. Basically this was the 2ND anime that really touched me. The first was Saikano.

I think it would be safe to say that Saikano and Koi Kaze share the same kind of mood. Both have beautiful soundtracks. Well, despite the incest my friends were warning me about before I watched this, I'm still glad I had done so.

This brings me to cherish my own sister more than ever (who is 9 years younger than me).

I was wondering about a possible OVA to this series but now I see that with it's open-ending it's needless to make one. Like Saikano, the ending was quite open to interpretation.

I'd like to see more animes in the future with a serious tone like Koi Kaze. A masterpiece indeed.

[Paean]

Originally Posted by Leviathan926

wow thats a really deep analysis. you took it from a scientific standpoint. about GSA and all... I looked at it from a literary point of view. like the metaphors and foreshadowing going on in the movie. haven't finished watching it like you have, so i won't comment on anything; but the most obvious motif seen in the series is the teddy bear. The exhange of that shows role reversal; and that's a predominate motif in the story.

Dynamic character development is what's intriuging as well as the transferance of roles/behaviors. great drama flick in the final episodes. but Kimi ga Nozomu Eien is still my favorite.

Looks like the author is into Mars and Venus.

EDIT:Someone on this forums mentioned something about a loss of innocence and purity. Couldn't that be one possible meaning for the mudfight in one episode? After all, Koshira and Nanoka talk about "getting dirty", and while it sounds innocent enough at first glance, it could have a double meaning referring to the path they chose to trod.

Or, one could look at is as childlike ignorance in the face of societal norms. Lots of strong readings possible here.

[evil|plushie]

-_- ....Nyaaa.....

In the end, I'm not too sure if they saw their relationship as being dirty. It went against the laws of society, they knew that much, they may have thought it wrong possibly, but in the end, they willingly embraced it. Koshira told his coworker not to judge who was happy or not and Nanoka flat out told the coworker that she wanted to be alone with her brother. That doesn't sound like people who think that what they did was dirty or wrong to me.

[Paean]

Originally Posted by evil|plushie

-_- ....Nyaaa.....

In the end, I'm not too sure if they saw their relationship as being dirty. It went against the laws of society, they knew that much, they may have thought it wrong possibly, but in the end, they willingly embraced it. Koshira told his coworker not to judge who was happy or not and Nanoka flat out told the coworker that she wanted to be alone with her brother. That doesn't sound like people who think that what they did was dirty or wrong to me.

Perhaps you're right. After all, they did laugh and fool around in spite of all the bewildered stares of the people around them.

This is what makes the anime interesting--the open-endedness of the final episode makes for multiple possible interpretations, all of which can be quite valid.

I guess the only real thing that was resolved was their inner conflict with regards to their feelings, and not their situation per se. Their future is uncertain enough as it is.

[Broccoli]

Paean PM'd me asking how the manga went after the TV series ended, and I thought it might be of general interest, so here goes.

The Koikaze manga serialization in the semi-monthly magazine Evening concluded two weeks ago, after a little over 3 years and 35 chapters.

Volume 4 of the manga was published at almost the same time as the start of the TV anime series. The anime followed the story of the manga fairly closely until Nanoka goes looking for her brother in his apartment (end of episode 11 of 13/somewhere in chapter 28), where the anime and the manga took different paths.

In the manga,

Spoiler:

- Koushirou says he's got condoms, and the two get intimate (probably influenced by the anime)
- they do not ponder death
- in the last scene, Koushirou confesses to Nanoka (「好きだよ」 ), in front of her and not behind her back
- Koushirou keeps his job
- the park does close (probably another anime influence), but the author chose not to make a big deal of it like the anime does

I wish I know enough Japanese to understand all of it. But I'll see if I have the courage to ask my Japanese translator aka sister for help.

Manga volume 5 will go on sale on December 21.

The first volume of the region 1 DVD is slated for release on March 8 of next year.

The last of the region 2 DVDs will be released on [US's] Thanksgiving day.

[TerryMathews]

I have no brother or sister, and am therefore basically unequipped to understand the emotions involved with the situation provided by Koi Kaze.

That said, in my (limited) experience with life, the people who are most willing (eager?) to pass judgements WRT right/wrong are those who have never had to make such a difficult decision.

I do have a fiancee that I love very much, and I don't know what I'd do if society told me that I wasn't allowed to love her...

[TronDD]

Originally Posted by TerryMathews

I have no brother or sister, and am therefore basically unequipped to understand the emotions involved with the situation provided by Koi Kaze.

That said, in my (limited) experience with life, the people who are most willing (eager?) to pass judgements WRT right/wrong are those who have never had to make such a difficult decision.

I do have a fiancee that I love very much, and I don't know what I'd do if society told me that I wasn't allowed to love her...

The question is, what would you do if you suddenly found out she was your biological sister? Would your feelings change? What if you found out she was your sister a week after you met her, would you not have fallen in love?

Screw what society says :fingers:

[Fronzel]

I missed Koi Kaze as a fansub, and I notice the first volume is coming out fairly soon. What's it like?

[Dagger]

Originally Posted by Fronzel

I missed Koi Kaze as a fansub, and I notice the first volume is coming out fairly soon. What's it like?

I assume you already know that this anime is about incest.

Koi Kaze takes a serious approach to what is obviously a very controversial subject. The character designs are plain and realistic. The music is either gentle or not present at all; the show's color palette is very muted. In fact, the entire series has a slice-of-life feel to it, along with a deeply melancholy atmosphere.

Personally, I found it difficult to watch, but watching it was definitely a worthwhile experience--the characters are extraordinarily well developed and sympathetic, even though they end up making some really bad choices. Koi Kaze is not coy about its subject material; the two main characters' emotions for each other are clearly, slowly and methodically explored.

I do recommend this anime. It takes a lot of maturity to appreciate. Koi Kaze's artistry, unflinching realism and quiet tragedy are what make it really stand out.

[shadowplay]

It's very nice and well-told romance story, bit angsty at times and definately thought-provoking and morally challenging (well it's about pedoincest relationship afterall ). It's done realistically since there's no comic relief or any sort of fanservice. Great soundtrack too. Definite watch if you're into romance/melodrama and not having any moral issues.