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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

DVD Classic: Koi Kaze

"Koi Kaze" is an incestuous romance series viewers will either love or hate, but regardless, the cinematography is incredibly beautiful.

The story follows Koshiro Saeki, a Japanese businessman working for a wedding catering company. Brooding over getting dumped by his girlfriend, he catches the glimpse of a beautiful high school girl. She drops her wallet on the way out of the train, so Saeki returns it.

He hardly expects to run into the schoolgirl on the way from work to an amusement park. With the reserved tickets he receives from his boss, he takes the girl out for a date and falls in love with her. However, he doesn't even expect that she is his little sister, and that she will be living with him at home with his father. Saeki now has to agonize over suppresses his feelings for his sister, Nanoka Koshinata.

Although the manga tends to keep the incestuous drama to a minimum, the anime plays out the drama to a disturbing climax near the end. It's one of the most difficult anime to watch, and opinions of the series will likely remain sharply divided.

However, the real draw of this series is the cinematography. Everything from the gentle cherry blossoms in the opening to the light pastel colors is beautiful. The music also manages to carry the tone of the series incredibly well, transitioning from moody synth crescendos to cute, childish piano passages.

Probably the most appealing character is the businessman's little sister Nanoka Koshinata. Her voice actor, Yuuki Nakamura, plays her with lovely innocence and never overextends the drama. In fact, she plays her so well that viewers will agonize over the illicit relationship at the end.

Image courtesy of stochasticmanga.wordpress.com

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