Paradise Kiss

Paradise Kiss (パラダイス・キス, Paradise Kiss?), abbreviated to "PaRaKiss" by fans, is a manga series, originally published in Shodensha's Zipper magazine, which has been adapted into a 12-episode anime series, produced by Madhouse, and which was aired in Japan on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block and on the anime television network, Animax, who have broadcast the series across its respective networks worldwide, including Japan, Southeast Asia and East Asia.

Written by popular mangaka Ai Yazawa, Paradise Kiss is the semi-sequel to her previous work, Gokinjo Monogatari, and several characters from that series are given cameos. This comic is widely read not only in Japan, but in many countries around the world. The Paradise Kiss manga has been translated from Japanese to at least nine different languages, Chinese (Taiwan and Hong Kong), Korean, French, Italian, Polish, Thai, German, Spanish and English. The English version is published by TOKYOPOP.





Story

Yukari Hayasaka lives the typical life of a Japanese high school senior. She is constantly under the stress of her mother, Tomoko, who desperately wants her to succeed as a student. Walking the streets, Yukari is accosted by Arashi Nagase who tells her she has the perfect look. Shocked by his bizarre appearance and uncomprehending of his intentions, Yukari tries to escape, but bumps into Isabella, is "captured" by her, faints, and is brought to the Paradise Kiss atelier.

She regains consciousness in the studio and meets the kind and childlike Miwako, Arashi's girlfriend. The trio explains that they are students at the unique art school Yazawa Gakuen(School), and they ask her to be their model for the school's annual fashion show. At first she angrily declines and leaves in a huff, dropping her student handbook.

Soon after, she meets their eccentric leader/designer, George, who under the guise of returning the ID book, introduces Yukari to the world of fashion, to the world of Paradise Kiss. Drawn by the allure of Paradise Kiss members' determination and George's charisma, Yukari is quickly swept off her feet and into the cut-throat world of fashion and romance.