Anime: Koi Kaze

A Review Note

This review was written after watching episode 7.5 because I didn't anticipate watching 8 episodes in one sitting, and further did not anticipate absolutely needing to write a review as soon as possible. Since then, I have finished the series and saw no need to change the review.

Overview

The most distressing thought as I watched the first few episodes of this anime was: How the heck am I going to review this? I think it's perverse that I even have to put a rating under enjoyment. In this case, I'm forced to fall upon my secondary definition of the enjoyment category; how much does this anime insist that I keep watching?

There is little doubt in my mind that I like Koi Kaze a lot as a work. Romance is one of my favorite genres, but it's completely impossible to take the vast majority of animes in said genre seriously. Koi Kaze forces you to take it seriously.

Anime is very, very good about tossing taboos in your face. Had Koi Kaze merely been about the love story between a 27 year old man and a 15 year old girl, I wouldn't have blinked twice. Statuatory rape is something I can understand easily. Based on my understanding of anthropology, I consider the relatively low incidence of it to be a product of minimal social intermingling between age groups rather than any laws or customs. Incest, on the other hand, is one of the very few (nearly) universal taboos.
Yet, Koi Kaze succeeds admirably in making you understand the characters and the reasoning behind their actions. You'll never stop mentally grimacing at the actions the characters take, but you'll understand them.

It's just plain disturbing to find yourself smiling at Koshiro and Nanoka's heartwarming interaction, and then you remember that he wants to have sex with his little sister. It's jarring, something akin to watching that South Park episode about NAMBLA where they talk about the beauty of loving a boy, and everyone pauses to reflect on his insightful comments about life, and then Cartman interrupts saying, "Dude, you have sex with children." Simply put, the taboos instilled in us, perhaps even genetically, are screaming every second of watching Koi Kaze.

Throughout my life, I find circumstances where I reach the point of doing something socially, morally, or ethically wrong. Sometimes, at that point, that little circuit in my brain closes, and I think better of the action, and I stop. And sometimes, I simply do not stop. Watching Koshiro reach those boundaries, and wondering whether he'll stop, or heedlessly push onward is engrossing because we've all been there. The fact that his particular boundaries he's up against are taboo just give it a greater air of tension.

Add this to the fact that his sister is sister in blood only, and I can't blame him for whatever he does, merely look on in fascination and horror as he does it. As long as he doesn't cross the final line. And even if he does, it's arguably a victimless crime, as long as they don't have children. Love is a pretty special thing, and rationality tends to fall out of the picture where it's concerned.

In fact, incestuous marriages are not especially uncommon even in modern society, especially between those not raised together(for example, Koshiro and Nanako here, or first cousins raised in separate families). The biggest wedge between incest is a lack of physical attraction, facilitated almost entirely by pheromones and your sense of smell(I found the scenes of them commenting on each other's scents to be entirely more fascinating than I should have). Interestingly, separated siblings in real life do indeed find each other more attractive than an average person, usually explained by compatibility due to genetic predisposition, which is countered by the Westermarck effect for normal siblings.But evolution fails every day, all the time, in more ways than I can count. As a failure of evolution, incest is considerably less wrong than the soldier who throws himself on a grenade to save someone else, or the man who runs into a burning building to save a child that is not his.

I digress. In the end, Koi Kaze is never about right and wrong. That would have been the easy way out, and Koi Kaze never pulls its punches.

Animation

Koi Kaze has a noticeably low animation budget. I did think that they did an excellent job of using animation as a medium, using nonrealistic depiction sparingly, but effectively.

Sound

The soundtrack is effective in feeding me the right emotions at the right times, but I don't even half-consider getting the OST. It does its job, and not much more.

I thank whatever anime deities there are that neither Koushiro nor Nanoka were given abnormally high voices.

Character

Both Nanoka and Koushiro are excellent characters, although Koushiro is the more interesting of the two. As the tortured soul who has to make the hard decisions, he pretty much has to be.

It's interesting that they chose to make Koushiro tower over Nanoka. The difference in bulk is way overstated. The only other anime I remember to do so blatantly was Saikano, and it is hard for me to express how much I disliked that anime.

This is a totally reprehensible show and MUST NOT be watched by minors. Fair warning to anyone watching this show: It deals with incest between an adult brother and underaged sister.

The producer of the show hoped people would go beyond the obvious taboo theme of the show and be able to “feel the irresistible feelings of being in love,” but this crossed the line. There are other ways to make the viewer “feel the irresistible feelings of being in love” than this. There has to be.

KK, the second best drama in my book, being Kimi ga nozomu eien the first. This one has many beautiful good points, such as: incredibly well developed protagonists, they are as well done as a real person would be. They are completely accomplished as characters, and this anime does not fall (like many others) in the stupid inhuman-perfection commonly seen in anime characters. These are the kind you can relate to, because they’re absolutely full of flaws, internal suffering and deception. A10 to the character part.

The story’s realistic, for a fact things as terrible as that can happen to a family (like separation) and immorality as a concept exist because it’s indeed a lot more "normal" than we could ever realize. This story should make you cry or get really pissed off. If the second is the case, it could be either with society/humankind, with the creator of Koi Kaze, or with these two characters. It is one of those stories that make you THINK and FEEL so much that, at least I, after watching it, I remembered why do I love anime. Of course, a 10.

Animation and sound are special: they have their beauty. The music is limited, but sensitive. The animations (and drawings) are really beautiful, they get along with the relevance and reality of the story, making you feel you are watching something serious, where u can’t miss any detail at all. 10 and 9 respectively.

As for value and enjoyment: best drama of it’s year, one of the best dramas EVER. Did I enjoy it? I did suffer every episode. If it was its mission, this show accomplished that mission pretty well, and I will never forget this KOI KAZE.

My first review... I hope it’s enough. If you did not see this drama, I’m telling you, you should.

(NOTE TO READER: If you happen to read this review, whether in-full, or just a skim, please rate the review. I will appreciate the feedback, negative or positive, and will return the gesture if you have made your own review.)

Koi Kaze is a pretty adult themed show from the get go...Be prepared to have your feelings of socially acceptable behavior (Morality) battle with your empathy (Understanding or approving the love bond between the brother and sister)

I will say, the short but sweet series moves at a fairly slow, methodical pace, until eventually reaching a climax that may not answer EVERY question, but it will leave you satisfied, if not still a little confused about how you felt about the shows themes in their entirity.

Animation

I think the thing I noticed the most about the animation quality of KK was the movements of hair, and all the times that the characters facial expression may make a very slight change.

There is also alot of detail done to express the difference in lighting, from shadow casting by streetlight, to slightly shadowed faces sitting near the window when the sun is setting.

The intricacy was what impressed me the most, and also no two characters sharing too many similarities.

Sound

The music is normally fairly melancholy, which suits the slow paced, serious mood of the show. Comedy comes in meager portions, and the main protagonists (Koshiro and Nanoka) are pretty much always engaging in a serious situation.

The Seiyuu also seemed to escape alot of the overly excited style that is in shows depicting the lives of Middle school students, in favor of a more realistic exchange of conversation.

The Intro and Outro both use the same style of music that is seen most in the show. The intro uses a slow paced Piano with a slightly sad sounding girl singing.

Story

The main point of the story, is obviously the unorthadox bond between Koshiro and Nanoka, and how they each react to their realization of how they feel about one another.

The evolution of Koshiro's feelings over the course of the program adds to the question... "Is it really wrong?, ... Do I bless their emotions or condemn their actions?" It seems so pure and right, even though by all socially acceptable means, their relationship isn't.

Koi Kaze raised quite a few questions, at least as far as Koshiro and Nanoka are concerned... "Should love be acceptable between siblings, though not socially or morally acceptable, despite the purity and trueness of their feelings?" For some, the question would be easy, but putting yourself in such an awkward position is nearly impossible.

I thought that this was a very powerful depiction of what that sort of situation might be like for all of those involved, and gave a pretty disconcerting mix of emotions on how to feel about the main plight of the show, when normally, the emotion that you might 'supposed' to be feeling, is much more clear and easy to understand.

Character:[/b]

Koshiro's poker face and short, blunt, apathetic answers are at least underlined by his character narration. Which is a nice way of adding to the storytelling.

Nanoka seemed very disconnected from everything and everyone else around her. She was obviously obsessed with Koshiro, and being a young girl so confused about her emotions in such a taboo situation, she handled it as adult as she could have. When she finally confessed, it was very beautiful, and heartfelt.

The interaction of Chidori with Koshiro and Nanoka later on in the show also adds alot of questions about the morality of the two, which of course it should, unless you faithfully believe that love is beyond any restrictions, even blood. I think that's the main thing I liked about the show...there was no clear message, it was just a romance between siblings.

From the beginning, this is definately the strength of the program. Koshiro's plight is extremely well illustrated by the sudden breakup with his girlfriend, and his realization of feelings he's never had before surfacing in the wake of meeting a 15 year old girl.

Value:[/b]

This show takes after the powerful situational "What would you do if it were you in that position?" style that was done so well in the past in shows like Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien. (Which if you like this, definately check that out as well)

It adds a very different element to the Romance and Drama genres that I liked very much. The fact that my emotions were torn between what was socially acceptable and viewed as 'right' or correct, and what was true love, and beautiful, made me think that the show was very well written, and made it enjoyable.

Enjoyment:[/b]

The show is a tad on the dry side, though that's what is keeping it in the realm of realistic. It shows day to day occurances, that might not be so important in other shows, but in Koi Kaze, they wanted you to see them lazing around the house having an idle chat in their pajamas... rare that you see something like that.

An unorthadox and rare jewel depicting a questionable, but honest love affair..

Animation and sound are not really what matters here, ne?

The value of this anime is really stored in the somewhat shocking situation presented to us (for most cultures anyways), the intense emotions and dilemma, the moving characters and the normal, realistic, routine world in which everything is set up. We feel it could just happen nextdoor, but it's at the same time too unbelievable.

Koushiro and Nanoka are so human and torn by their taboo incestuous love, that their fate is easily acceptable and we find ourselves wishing them happiness. I also found myself feeling pity for Koushiro, which is not necessarily a good thing. When the series ends, you then wonder how come you could watch through their relationship. I was torn and touched too by what I saw and felt. It's the eternal conflict between love and happinesss vs social conventions and the feelings of people around you. Makes you think about any classical stories out there? Me too :)

Such good writing is amazing in a short series that took it's time to develop and let us cope with the whole situation. There's no action, only angst and love and a few mishaps making the characters painfully confront the obvious almost daily.

The voice actors are also well casted for the main characters, especially Nanoka. Her voice is rich and mature, not what you would expect from the normal female student out there. I rarely notice voice performance, but this one is very well done.

This is an intense anime about emotions, and I recommend it to people who are not easily shocked and who can appreciate good plotline and slow development of a story.

Koi Kaze, which literally translates as Love Wind, tells a story about an older brother named Koushirou Saeki (28 years old) and his younger sister named Nanoka Kohinata (15 years old), who gradually fall in love with each other. Superficially, Koi Kaze’s story sounds like it would be about a horrid, appalling, incestual relationship, but there is a bigger theme that transcends it. As Koi Kaze’s producer Yasuyuki Ueda (Haibane Renmei, Serial Experiments Lain, Niea_7) stated in his message about Koi Kaze at Geneon Animation USA’s Lounge, he hopes that viewers would be able to see past Koi Kaze’s “more than obvious themes” and be able to “feel the irresistible feelings of being in love.” Because of the adult themes expressed in Koi Kaze, viewers must be mature enough to understand and cope with its controversial themes.

Koi Kaze begins with an ordinary day of Koushirou who works at a matrimonial agency in Japan. Recently, he just broke up with his girlfriend because she said, “There’s someone else I’ve fallen in love with.” Despite his inability to express his emotions very well, he’s quite torn up inside. On his regular commute to work, he catches a glimpse of an attractive high school girl on the train. Reflexively, he tries to ignore her, but ends up helping her because she drops her train pass as she gets off the train. Later that evening, he returns home to live with his dad. His dad reveals to him that Koushirou’s younger sister will start living with them tomorrow. By living with them, it would cut down on her commute time to the high school she’s going to attend. Since Koushirou’s parents have been divorced since he was younger, Koushirou hasn’t seen nor talked to his sister for over ten years. The next day at his job, his ex-girlfriend unexpectantly drops by to pick up her keys to her house from Koushirou. Before they part, she poses a question to Koushirou, “Have you ever loved someone from the bottom of your heart?” This question troubles Koushirou because he’s already 28, and really has never loved anyone in that way before. Will he ever find real love? Later that day, his co-worker Chidori gives Koushirou two tickets in an attempt to get him back together with his ex-girlfriend. But suddenly, Koushirou sees the same girl that he met at the train station the day before. Strangely enough, he gives the two tickets to her. However, since the girl has been waiting for her dad, she invites Koushirou to the amusement park. Essentially, they go on a “date”. They get along so well together that they end up revealing their current heart breaks to each other. Koushirou reveals his break up with his ex-girlfriend and the girl reveals her disappointment about a guy she thought liked her. Koushirou even begins crying because he found it so easy to communicate with her. As they are about to part for the evening, Koushirou’s dad calls from the distance, and both Koushirou and Nanoka respond, “Dad?”

You would think a synopsis of the first episode would be spoiling the series, but the first episode is barely the tip of the iceberg. From then on, each passing episode depicts the growing relationship between the two siblings. Koushirou juggles his newfound, yet frustrating feelings for Nanoka and tries to be the responsible “older brother”. Nanoka, while oblivious to her brother’s feelings for her, slowly grows very attached to him. Later in the series, you’ll learn that Nanoka has always wanted to look up to her older brother and was hoping to do all the “normal” things siblings do. She has been really looking forward to living with her older brother for a while. But before she realizes it, she falls in love with Koushirou. At times, she becomes confused by her older brother’s erratic behavior and struggles with why she feels a growing love connection between them. The rest of story has a few surprises but nothing felt absurd. The flow of events felt natural and realistic, and that is what makes Koi Kaze so good. There are many times where Koushirou and Nanoka speak their minds, trying to get a grip on their feelings, trying to sort them out logically. But just like in reality, love is both a simple, yet complicated emotion that at times becomes difficult to understand. While I thought Koi Kaze was going to be more of a one sided romance, the drama and romance between Koushirou and Nanoka are well balanced as they struggle with their feelings for each other.

The visual appeal of Koi Kaze’s animation style isn’t awe-inspiring or spectacular, but it is definitely unique. There aren’t any big mecha flying around or flamboyant gunfights, but the animation feels down to earth, flowing, and dream-like. It is even quite sexy at times. There was a particular emphasis on the characters more so than the overall environment. Characters’ eye movements, facial expressions, body language, their dress attire, and movement were all well done. Each character had a unique way of expressing themselves. As for backgrounds, sometimes it may look water-colored, but I believe this was more of an artistic effect rather than an issue of cutting corners. On the contrary, they are very beautiful and attractive. They complimented the mood and atmosphere of Koi Kaze very well. In addition to the water-colored backgrounds, there are particular environments that have much detail. Places such as trains, train stations, train stops, streets, the office place, and home environments really looked real. They even used actual places in Japan to draw the train stops and stations. The crowdedness of the trains to even a little scene when Nanoka was being felt on the train all felt real. Little nuances such as this added to the realism, atmosphere, and mood of the series. There are many scenes where Koushirou and Nanoka are surprised and the environment surrounding them seems to fade away, leaving just the two of them in focus. The feeling of how your heart is stopping for a split second and time doesn’t matter is hard to animate, but with Koi Kaze I felt that it was done well on multiple occasions.

In addition to the realism in Koi Kaze’s setting, it is also found in character interaction and development. Koi Kaze really excels at these two areas. The two main characters’ personalities were formed quite early. Koushirou is 28, has a usual salary job, just got dumped, and is indifferent to everything. Of all the characters, he’s probably the focal point of the story. His growing frustration with his feelings for Nanoka is a critical part of the series. At times, he is very harsh to Nanoka because he can feel the growing relationship beyond that of brother and sister. How he acts around her and what he does because of her felt natural and realistic. Nanoka on the other hand is 15 years old. She begins as an innocent, naive, straightforward, cute, charming high school student, but there are hints throughout the series that indicates her transition to being a woman. At one point of the story, she complains of muscle cramps, but it’s really that she’s menstruating. As the series progresses, her emotional development is astonishing. I thought that she would be more of a static character, but she ended up being just as developed as Koushirou.

Aside from the two main protagonists, there are two support characters that don’t have a lot of screen time, but play a role in representing views of society. Koushirou has two co-workers that he’s friends with at the matrimonial agency. One of them is named Chidori Kaname. She works a lot with Koushirou and always seems to be friendly with him. She represents the strong anti-incestual and “looks down upon older men dating high school girls” nature of society. She enhances the controversial nature of Koi Kaze’s themes by bringing a sense of painful reality to the series. The other co-worker is Kei Odagiri. He is quite perverted and contrasts Chidori. He always rants off his fantasies of meeting and dating high school girls despite his older age. Ironically, Koushirou and Chidori continually dismiss his fantasies, but Koushirou ends up acting out some of Kei’s “fantasies” before he evens knows it.

The realism in Koi Kaze is similar to that of Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, a soap opera-like anime. They both emphasize the same level of realistic plot and characters that are essential to a great drama driven romance. However, there are significant differences. Kimi ga Nozomu Eien focused on a love triangle between the three main characters and was based on an H (Hentai) game. Koi Kaze, on the other hand focuses on the love relationship between two characters, and more importantly, they are siblings. Koi Kaze offers a romance story that usually isn’t taken seriously even in the anime. Many anime generally treat this type of romance in a comedic nature, but Koi Kaze treats it seriously. While incest is viewed and treated as a sinful sexual taboo, one can’t help but to be interested in Koi Kaze. The script of Koi Kaze is well written and has a realistic way of unfolding its plot. In the end, Koi Kaze conveyed itself so well that you may even think about what you personally would have done in their situation. It’s easy to think about their situation with a calm mind, but when love is involved, people tend to do remarkable or even disheartening things. I believe this feeling of insecurity that Koi Kaze address is what makes Koi Kaze so special. It instigates the topic of incest and really makes you think about it. Whether you agree or disagree with the ending, the answers to those questions depend on the person watching, making it a good anime to discuss. It is because of the anime’s controversial topic that makes it stand out amongst all other romance anime.

As for music, I wasn’t able to fully appreciate the soundtrack until after re-watching the series. Because Koi Kaze focuses so much on character interaction and development, your focus doesn’t lie so much on the music when you are watching it for the first time through. The fact that you won’t remember too much of the music doesn’t necessarily mean that it is bad. It probably is a good thing because that means that the music didn’t prevent me from really getting to know the characters and immersing myself with the story. The music was good enough to effectively carry the mood of the scene. As for the soundtrack, it is quite solid. Most of the music is chamber orchestra-like, meaning that only a few instruments play throughout the whole track. The songs have a remarkable range of tone from pleasant and energizing, to sorrowful and tender. You would immediately be able to recognize the main theme of the series.

The opening theme, "Koi Kaze" by EF, is quite catchy and memorable, and definitely reflects what the main characters in the story are thinking. Like the title of the series, the opening theme talks about love. The end theme, "Futari Dakara" by Ito Masumi, is pleasant and tender. You probably can recognize Ito Masumi’s voice. She is responsible for performing the end themes for Haibane Renmei, Scrapped Princess, Zone of the Enders TV, and the opening for Azumanga Daioh.

Kenta Miyake, who played Koushirou Saeki, and Yuuki Nakamura, who played Nanoka Kohinata did an excellent job. Granted, they were the main characters of the series, but they really gave these characters depth and memorability. I was impressed with Yuuki Nakamura’s performance, since this is her first leading role in an anime. Other seiyuu (voice actors) for other characters weren’t given as much time to speak, so their voices weren’t as memorable. The old father, the mother, a sexy co-worker, the perverted co-worker, Nanoka’s peppy high school friends’ voices felt just okay.

It is a big understatement that I really enjoyed Koi Kaze. If you like drama driven romance, I really recommend Koi Kaze, it is another must watch. I liked the fact that it is controversial and made me think about my moral values. After watching Koi Kaze, I found out that the relationship that grows between the two main characters is real. According to ANN, this type of relationship is called genetic sexual attraction, where close relatives who were brought up not knowing about one another may find each other highly attractive when they later meet as adults. This is due to lack of "Westermarck effect" where two people live in close domestic proximity during the first few years in the life of either one, both are desensitized to later close sexual attraction and bonding. Koi Kaze’s plot and characters definitely would stay in my mind for years to come. Obviously, Koi Kaze is not meant for viewers who prefer watching something action packed or are not open-minded. Koi Kaze is a serious drama with mostly dialogue and monologue. If you’re ready to watch a realistic, yet controversial romance anime, get ready to immerse yourself in the little world of Koi Kaze; it just might get you thinking about your views of love.