[Anime of the Week] Paradise Kiss & Saikano (1/31-2/6/2010)

YAH! I'm posting this early because I'll be busy with getting my lip pierced, work and going to an anime convention to post this up on Saturday. Ha ha. Well, I decided to give you two anime this time around since it's been a small while ^___^

The first anime I decided on is one for the super shojo lovers. It's a mature shojo though (there is sex and talk about such stuff. There's also teens running away and other such stuff, but none of it is like X rated), so don't say I didn't warn you! It's called Paradise Kiss. PK is based on a manga by Ai Yazawa who is famous for her Nana series which also has an anime. My friend keeps telling me to watch it... I probably should since I liked PK so much!

# of Episodes: 12
Rating: OT
Plot: Yukari is a typical high-school student who listens to her parents and attends school everyday. As she starts to question her way of life, she encounters a group of fashion design students who has a clothing label known as "Paradise Kiss". The group needs to find a model to showcase their designs in an up-coming fashion show and decides to pick Yukari instead. Initially, Yukari was reluctant to be associated with this seemingly eccentric group, but eventually, she realises that they are really nice people. Furthermore, their passion and enthusiasm to follow their ideals and dreams make Yukari realise that she has not been enjoying her life and this motivated her to pursue her own dreams.

This next anime is really dear to my heart. I originally read the manga version when I was a freshmen in high school. This was back when I was all shy about reading manga that even talked about sex at school, so reading Saikano was a huge feat- not only does it talk about sex it has sex in it (it's in between softcore porn and hentai). I didn't get to see the anime until about a year or so after reading the manga. Honestly, the manga is made for males 21+, but if you can ignore that point and read it as a love story, I highly reccomend reading the manga as well as watching the anime because both are different.

# of Episodes: 13 + 2 ova
Rating: TV-M
Plot: Shuji and Chise are two Hokkaido high school students barely starting a relationship with each other. Then, with no warning, a squadron of bombers from an unknown country destroy the city of Sapporo. All hope is lost when suddenly, the bombers are destroyed by a small red light floating across the sky. At this point, Shuji finds out that the one responsible for eliminating the enemy forces is Chise, who reveals herself as a cyborg engineered for mass-destruction.